Binance’s U.S. legal woes may have repercussions for its expansion in Thailand

Bit Origin, the Nasdaq-listed (BTOG) pork processor turned crypto mining infrastructure firm, has acquired 40.5 million Dogecoin (DOGE), the company’s first purchase of the world’s largest memecoin by market cap since it announced that it was establishing a Dogecoin treasury. In a press release published on July 17, the Singapore-headquartered company with operations in the United States, Canada and China, set out that it would become the “first publicly listed company on a major US exchange to accumulate Dogecoin as a core asset.”Photo by Kanchanara on Unsplash$500 million treasury fundingThe firm outlined that it had entered into agreements with accredited investors, implicating the sale of $400 million in Class A ordinary shares in the company. An additional $100 million unlocked via convertible debt brought funding for its Dogecoin treasury to $500 million. Jinghai Jiang, Bit Origin’s CEO and Chairman, asserted that “what started as a joke has evolved into a globally liquid asset with a payments utility.” Jiang asserted that very few digital assets match the settlement speed and scale of community that Dogecoin offers. X Money potentialIn particular, he singled out the potential use of DOGE for X Money, a new payment system that is in the process of being established by Elon Musk’s X social media platform. Alongside many proponents of the cryptocurrency, Bit Origin is hoping that Musk will implement the use of DOGE to power X money. Jiang added:“In an age of broken institutions, Doge embodies a shared culture of optimism and resilience that transcends existing political and financial systems.” On social media, the company outlined that it believes in “Dogecoin not just as a meme, but as a future payments backbone.” Having utilized the services of Chardan Capital Markets as a placement agent, the company has already completed an initial closing of $15 million under the convertible debt facility that has been established.  On July 21, Bit Origin published another press release, detailing the acquisition of 40,543,745 DOGE with the memecoin holding having been purchased at an average acquisition cost of $0.2466 per DOGE.  Nearing inflection point for paymentsCommenting on the development, Jiang stated:“From our experience in mining, we understand the tradeoffs that define proof-of-work systems. We see Dogecoin’s utility potential for micropayments nearing an inflection point, driven by renewed developer activity and broader institutional interest in tokenization.” Dogecoin emerged in December 2013 having been developed by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus as a joke. The project borrowed much of its code from Bitcoin. Despite having originated as a joke, the project has developed a sizeable community. The digital asset currently holds a market capitalization of $40.5 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.  Bit Origin rebranded from China Xiangtai Food Co., Ltd. in April 2022. Up until that point, it had been involved in the pork processing business. The company pivoted to crypto mining, partnering with MineOne on a Wyoming mining facility in the United States. The facility was ordered to be shut down by the former Biden administration on the basis of it being a national security risk to have a Chinese project located within a mile of a U.S. Air Force base that houses nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles.

StashAway Malaysia, a Malaysian Securities Commission (SC)-licensed digital investment platform, has extended its market offering to include crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within the Southeast Asian nation. Malaysian daily English language newspaper the Sun reported on Jan. 22 that StashAway will enable Malaysians to invest in two top-tier cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), through its regulated platform.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashFidelity productsThe company is providing its Malaysian clientele access to crypto investment products offered by American multinational financial services company Fidelity Investments. These include the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH). StashAway Malaysia Country Manager Wong Wai Ken explained the company’s rationale in adding the two products. He stated: “Many of our clients have expressed interest in the long-term potential of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin but have been hesitant because of security concerns or the complexities of navigating crypto exchanges. We’re now offering them a familiar and safe way to diversify their portfolios by incorporating crypto through a platform they already know and trust.” On a previous occasion, Wong told the Sun that its role is to help investors to diversify their portfolios. Adding access to cryptocurrency fits that objective. The StashAway executive believes that while there may be growing mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency, many investors are turned off gaining exposure due to the risks involved with self-custody or the fees and counterparty risk involved with cryptocurrency exchanges. StashAway charges management fees ranging from 0.2% to 0.8%. The Fidelity crypto ETF products will be offered with a 0.25% annual management fee.  Last June, Malaysian commercial bank Affin Bank became the first entity to offer a crypto ETF in Malaysia. The bank partnered with local fund management company Cross Light Capital to launch the actively managed digital asset fund. Titled the “Performa Digital Asset Fund,” the product incorporates investment in Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded products (ETPs), with the remaining third invested in blockchain-related equities. The approval of eleven Bitcoin ETFs in the United States led to greater consideration for the approval and addition of such products internationally. However, in the first few months following the launch of these products, regulators, exchange platforms and asset management firms still remained cautious.  In March of last year, Bursa Malaysia, Malaysia’s stock exchange, dismissed the notion of adding cryptocurrency to its multi-asset exchange. Within the region, regulators in Singapore and Thailand both dismissed the idea of enabling Bitcoin ETFs within their markets.  Since then, Thailand’s regulator has moved closer in its consideration of such a product offering. In the case of Malaysia, earlier this month, the country’s Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, called for stakeholders such as the central bank to focus on cryptocurrency so that the Southeast Asian nation doesn’t get left behind. StashAway is headquartered in Singapore. Besides Singapore and Malaysia, the company also serves investors in Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong. The digital platform has 50,000 users in Malaysia, where it serves retail and accredited investors. The company was the first robo-advisor platform to acquire a Capital Markets Services License from the SC in Malaysia.

X-PLANET to Sell NFTs for 35th Anniversary of Choushinsei Flashman’s Korean ReleaseCom2uS Platform, a subsidiary of Korean game developer Com2uS Holdings, announced last Friday that it will launch non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its NFT marketplace X-PLANET to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Japanese television show Choushinsei Flashman’s Korean release.Photo by PJ Gal-Szabo on UnsplashFan-favorite showChoushinsei Flashman is a live-action superhero series that gained immense popularity when it was released in South Korea in 1989. The original series produced by Japan’s Toei Animation captivated fans with its dynamic action sequences and the exploration of deeper themes such as family separation and loneliness.Merging the retro and modern worldsX-PLANET is collaborating with Toei Animation and Korean publishing company Daewon Media to carry out the NFT project. The 35th anniversary NFT will officially drop on November 1 at 9:00 AM (UTC) for $150 each. Buyers will receive a 35th-anniversary merchandise set, which includes a Rolling Vulcan figure lamp, a set of Video Home System-themed photo cards, an acrylic phone pop socket, and an acrylic frame. The Rolling Vulcan figure lamp in particular is gaining the most attention, as it is being officially released for the first time in three decades.The marketplace also opened an official mini website dedicated to the event and announced that it would be airdropping NFTs of Mag, the show’s representative robot mascot, on a first-come, first-served basis from Friday until the end of the month.X-PLANET is also planning to hold a Choushinsei Flashman 35th anniversary fan meeting in Korea early next year, which will invite seven Japanese actors from the show plus a secret guest. The sale of NFT tickets to the fan meeting will open in December, the platform said.