Japanese e-commerce giant Mercari planning bitcoin payments

HTX experiences $258 million outflow post-hackHTX, the digital-asset trading platform associated with Chinese-born crypto mogul Justin Sun, has witnessed a substantial net outflow of $258 million since resuming operations after a significant security breach.According to Bloomberg, data from DefiLlama indicates that the outflow occurred between the exchange’s restart on Nov. 25 and Dec. 10, signaling unease among some clients following last month’s cyberattack. In November, HTX reported a loss of $30 million in crypto tokens due to the breach, prompting a temporary suspension of withdrawals and deposits.Towards the end of last month, the platform re-enabled withdrawal services for major cryptocurrencies, gradually bringing the exchange back to full service, supporting withdrawal of all digital assets.Photo by Amritanshu Sikdar on UnsplashMultiple hacksJustin Sun is also associated with the Poloniex exchange and the HECO Bridge, a network established by HTX for blockchain transfers. Both Poloniex and HECO fell victim to hacks in November, resulting in the theft of approximately $200 million in crypto. It’s worth noting that hackers had previously stolen $8 million from the HTX platform in September.HTX, which was formerly known as Huobi up until a business rebrand in September, boasts an average trading volume of $1.5 billion in the past 24 hours, securing its position as the fifteenth largest exchange when measured in terms of trading volume.Increased vigilanceIn the wake of several high-profile crypto platform failures in 2022, digital-asset investors are increasingly vigilant about monitoring flows and reserves at virtual currency exchanges. In particular, that trend gained momentum after the FTX platform’s collapse last year due to fraud.November turned out to be the most damaging month this year so far in terms of platform digital asset theft. Exit scams and exploits encountered during the month totaled a staggering $363 million in losses.In October, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) included HTX, alongside KuCoin, on a warning list, due to their promotion of services in the UK, without having obtained the required regulatory approvals.A third of reserves in BitcoinDefiLlama data reveals that Bitcoin constitutes the largest portion of HTX’s reserves, accounting for approximately 33%. Tron’s TRX token, launched by Sun in 2017, represents around 32% of the reserves. HTX’s native exchange coin, HT, makes up 14%, followed by a Sun-backed token named stUSDT at 12%.In August, Travis Kling, Founder of Ikigai Asset Management, had this warning relative to Sun and HTX:”Justin Sun is a criminal. There’s a hole in Huobi, a hole in TUSD and a hole in Tron DeFi. Act accordingly.”TRX, at the center of U.S. fraud allegations against Sun, prompted a March lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing him and his firms of market manipulation to inflate the token’s trading activity. Sun dismissed the suit on the X social media platform back in March, stating that it “lacks merit.” On Sunday, Sun claimed that the Tron blockchain network which he founded had reached a new milestone of 200 million users.Despite security firm BlockSec reporting the recovery of the $8 million stolen in September, hackers still appear to control the $30 million taken last month. The ongoing situation raises concerns about the security measures and resilience of HTX in the face of persistent cyber threats.

JD.com, also known as JINGDONG, a NASDAQ-listed Chinese e-commerce giant, is understood to be making plans to acquire stablecoin licensing in key international markets.  According to Chinese news site, Guancha.cn, Richard Liu, the founder of JD.com, which recorded revenues of $41.5 billion in Q1 2025, outlined details regarding the company’s stablecoin plans in a press briefing held in Beijing on June 17. Liu stated: "We hope to apply for stablecoin licenses in all major countries with sovereign currencies. With these licenses, our goal is to enable global foreign exchange transactions, starting with business-to-business payments."Photo by Shutter Speed on UnsplashReducing costs & settlement timeThe JD.com founder added that using stablecoins, the company “can reduce payment costs by 90% and complete transactions within 10 seconds,” while going on to point out that payments made by way of the traditional SWIFT financial messaging system take up to four working days to settle. While JD.com plans to commence with a utilization of stablecoins for business-to-business transactions, Liu said, “We hope that one day, people around the world will be able to use JD’s digital currency for global payments.” JD.com’s move towards the use of stablecoins follows a similar step taken by Ant Group, an affiliate company of Chinese e-commerce rival, Alibaba Group. It emerged last week that subsidiary company Ant International intends to apply for stablecoin licensing in Hong Kong, Singapore and Luxembourg. Additionally, Ant Digital Technologies, another Ant Group subsidiary, is also planning on applying for a stablecoin license in Hong Kong, once the Chinese autonomous territory rolls out its stablecoin regulation this summer. Stablecoin sandbox participantWhile JD.com has now announced its intentions with regard to the use of stablecoins, it has not as yet fully deployed its own token. However, JD Coinlink, a subsidiary company under its JD Technology arm, recently launched the second testing phase for a Hong Kong dollar (HKD)-pegged stablecoin.  The project first announced its intentions to issue a HKD-pegged stablecoin called the “JD Stablecoin,” back in June 2024. At that time, it asserted that reserves would be composed of highly liquid and credible assets, with those funds being regularly audited and held independently via licensed financial institutions.  Last July, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) launched a regulatory sandbox for stablecoin issuers with JD Coinlink joining Animoca Brands, Standard Chartered and Hong Kong Telecommunications as participants. The sandbox allows participants to test both the issuance and the use of stablecoins for a variety of use cases including payments, supply chain management and capital markets. Hong Kong has set Aug. 1 as the effective date for its Stablecoin Ordinance, which will enable certain stablecoins to be issued without a license when offered to professional investors, while a stablecoin must be licensed if offered to a retail market participant. JD.com has developed its own proprietary blockchain, Zhizhen Chain, with that network already accounting for $7 billion in supply chain finance-related transactions. KuCoin CEO BC Wong commented on JD.com’s stablecoin plans, stating that the development is a “big signal,” while noting that in the United States, the GENIUS Act, legislation concerned with the issuance and exchange of stablecoins, has just been passed by the U.S. Senate.

HK Regulators Facilitate Dialogue between Banks and Crypto EnterprisesIn a recent column, Arthur Yuen, Deputy CEO at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), stated that the HKMA and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will jointly convene a meeting on Friday to share opinions on providing banking services to virtual asset service providers (VASPs).Proportionate CDD measuresYuen said that banks should “differentiate the risk levels of customers and apply proportionate CDD [customer due diligence] measures,” and “refrain from adopting a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to reject account opening applications.” To address misconceptions about CDD, the HKMA issued a circular on Thursday, offering further clarification and sharing notable cases and best practices.The HKMA called on banks to enhance employee training on account opening procedures and create task forces to help companies seize new business opportunities. The HKMA plans to actively take part in developing and introducing international standards, and provide guidance and support for banks to adopt appropriate anti-money laundering measures.SFC’s guidelines in MayMeanwhile, SFC CEO Julia Leung said in a discussion with Bloomberg that the SFC will issue virtual asset guidelines in May.Reactions on TwitterIn his tweet, Justin Sun, the founder of blockchain DAO ecosystem Tron, hinted at the potential development of a Tron-based stablecoin in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Innovation Encryption Fund (HKIEF), an investor in blockchain projects, also took to Twitter to predict the details of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in the city.According to HKIEF, USDT and USDC will be classified as security tokens, while BTC and ETH won’t be deemed securities. Exchanges trading non-security tokens will need both a VASP license and a trust license. Hong Kong-based virtual asset exchanges will be required to obtain a full license by May 31, 2024.