Bakkt takes stake in Japanese textile firm in pivot to crypto treasury strategy

Several leading Chinese technology firms have reportedly shelved their plans to launch stablecoins in Hong Kong, following regulatory pushback from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). According to the Financial Times, the authorities have expressed growing concerns over the risks posed by privately issued digital currencies, prompting companies to delay their initiatives.Photo by Jacky Yu on UnsplashBeijing’s focus on control and digital yuanThe companies’ hesitation underscores Beijing’s broader push to preserve control over its monetary system while advancing the rollout of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the e-CNY. Earlier this month, the PBOC unveiled a new Shanghai-based center to oversee the e-CNY’s international operations, signaling China’s ambition to extend the digital yuan’s reach beyond its domestic market. Over the summer, companies including Ant Group, backed by Alibaba, and e-commerce platform JD.com signaled interest in Hong Kong’s pilot stablecoin initiative or in issuing crypto products such as tokenized deposits. Those plans are now on hold as firms assess policy signals from Beijing and weigh the implications for their businesses. Research efforts reflect China’s cautious approachChina’s cautious stance is also reflected in its research priorities. The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), a vice-ministerial body under the Ministry of Science and Technology, has begun inviting grant applications for projects focused on stablecoins and cross-border regulatory frameworks. In announcing the initiative, the NSFC cautioned that the unchecked circulation of privately issued stablecoins could erode the effectiveness of the country’s capital controls. Globally, approaches to fiat-pegged digital assets diverge. In the United States, President Donald Trump in July signed the GENIUS Act, the country’s first stablecoin legislation, into law. A White House fact sheet argued that stablecoins could strengthen demand for U.S. Treasuries and reinforce the dollar’s standing as the world’s dominant reserve currency. In Europe, however, regulators remain wary. In a blog post that same month, European Central Bank (ECB) adviser Jürgen Schaaf warned that the widespread use of U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins in the euro area could pose financial risks, noting that dollar-based tokens already account for the vast majority of global stablecoin market capitalization. Geopolitics adds to market volatilityThe recalibration by Chinese firms comes against a turbulent geopolitical backdrop. Cointelegraph, citing President Donald Trump’s interview with Fox News, reported that Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, scheduled for Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. The anticipated meeting follows a string of shifting statements from Trump throughout October—ranging from skepticism about meeting Xi, to announcing new 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, and later adopting a more conciliatory tone. The back-and-forth has coincided with heightened volatility across crypto markets. Market turbulence deepened as a wave of liquidations swept through crypto derivatives, erasing nearly $20 billion in positions on Oct. 10, the largest such event on record. Bitcoin plunged to as low as $104,749 on Oct. 17 and has since rebounded to around $114,000 as of Oct. 28. The pullback by Chinese tech groups underscores the fine line regulators and firms must navigate: advancing digital finance innovation while safeguarding monetary stability and control. How that balance is managed across China, the U.S., and Europe will shape the future of stablecoins and define their place in the evolving global financial order. 

Korean Prosecutors Allocate $734K Budget for Crypto Crime InvestigationsThe South Korean Supreme Prosecutors’ Office has earmarked a budget of up to KRW 986 million (approximately $734,000) this year for investigations pertaining to virtual assets, according to data received by the local newspaper Law Times from the Ministry of Justice last Thursday. The significant size of the budget suggests that the prosecution is prioritizing efforts to combat the growing surge in virtual asset-related crimes.Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on UnsplashBudget divisionWithin this budget, KRW 778 million has been designated for the purchase of software licenses for virtual asset tracing and analysis equipment, while KRW 280 million has been allocated for an integrated strategic plan to establish a platform for analyzing and tracing unauthorized virtual asset transactions. The budget for this platform consists of preliminary planning costs. Related expenditures are expected to increase as the project is fully implemented.“It is true that our budgets are being concentrated on crimes related to virtual assets due to the fact that they have recently become a social issue,” said a prosecution official. “It may not be a lot compared to our overall budget, but assigning almost KRW 1 billion for one specific field of investigation is still a considerate amount.”Rising crypto crimesIn Korea, crimes associated with virtual assets have been increasing annually. This includes tax evasion, bribery, foreign exchange law violations, and money laundering, as well as cryptocurrency market issues including issuance, listing, and distribution. According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, reported cases of suspicious virtual asset transactions received by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) surged from an average of 66 cases per month in 2021 to 900 cases in 2022, then 943 cases in 2023 — a fourteen-fold increase in just three years.Subsequently, the scale of the damages caused by cryptocurrency crimes has also seen a sharp rise. The total value of all reported damages skyrocketed from KRW 467.4 billion in 2017 to KRW 1.02 trillion last year, more than doubling in five years. The cumulative loss over this period exceeds KRW 5.3 trillion.Focused effortsThe prosecution has thus dispatched financial experts from organizations including KoFIU and Korea Exchange to create a joint virtual asset crime investigation unit under the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office dedicated to investigating cryptocurrency crimes.The prosecution’s Cybercrime Investigation Division has also begun developing a tracking system optimized for the Korean market to trace the flow of virtual assets. The foreign software that is currently being used for tracking comes with considerable expenses and limitations, particularly for tracking flows within the domestic market, where there are many transactions involving smaller, locally-issued cryptocurrencies called “kimchi coins.”“We are dedicating our manpower and technological development to virtual asset investigations,” said a high-ranking official from the prosecution. “We will also strive to secure the budget necessary for these efforts.”

Parachain Fork Sees Transition to Enjin BlockchainEnjin, a Singapore-headquartered non-fungible token (NFT) platform, has announced its transition to a new mainnet named Enjin Blockchain, with the goal of further advancing Web3 adoption. As part of this transition, Enjin has forked its Polkadot parachain, Efinity, to the new blockchain.The project made the announcement via a blog post published to its website on Thursday.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashIntegrated functionalityAccording to the team at Enjin, the Enjin Blockchain distinguishes itself from other blockchain solutions by integrating functions such as NFT creation and transfer directly into the foundational code of the blockchain, eliminating the reliance on smart contracts. This integration aims to streamline and simplify the process of creating and transferring NFTs.In addition to this fundamental change, the Enjin Blockchain introduces several new features. One notable feature is “Fuel Tanks,” which enables developers to subsidize user transaction fees, making it more cost-effective for users to interact with the blockchain. Another feature is “Discrete Accounts,” which allows users to engage with blockchain-based projects without the need to download specific wallet software.Fork to Efinity MatrixchainAlongside the transition to the Enjin Blockchain, the team has also forked Efinity, the Polkadot parachain, to the new mainnet. This rebranded version will be known as the Efinity Matrixchain and will facilitate a smooth transition for existing users.Witek Radomski, the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Enjin, emphasized that the launch of the Enjin Blockchain aims to support creativity by making the creation and distribution of NFTs more accessible and affordable. Radomski stated: “Enjin Blockchain makes the creation and mass distribution of NFTs affordable and accessible to everyone. Our aim is nothing short of revolutionizing gaming, ownership, and online identity.”Enjin’s chief financial officer, Oscar Franklin Tan, expressed his belief that NFTs and digital ownership will be pivotal in the future of gaming, particularly with advancements in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality. Tan emphasized Enjin’s commitment to supporting this next wave of gaming and the resulting “explosion of content.”Enjin believes that it sets itself apart from the competition due to the fact that it’s built on top of the open-source Substrate framework, a mechanism that facilitates the development of customized blockchains that may be run on an entirely autonomous basis.Using this unique approach, Enjin Blockchain doesn’t depend upon the use of smart contracts. Instead, critical functions such as creating, using, and transferring NFTs are integrated directly into the core, foundational blockchain code.NFT lending stabilityIn related news, the stability of NFT lending has been aided by the use of blue-chip collateral. Paraspace, an NFT protocol, recently reported that despite facilitating NFT loans totaling over $280 million, it experienced no bad debt and only 16 NFT liquidations. This success can be attributed to the protocol’s requirement that only blue-chip NFTs can be used as collateral, ensuring the value and stability of the assets involved.As Enjin embraces its new mainnet and the Efinity Matrixchain, the platform positions itself as a key player in the evolving NFT and blockchain landscape. With a focus on accessibility, affordability, and the support of creative endeavors, Enjin aims to drive innovation in gaming, ownership, and online identity.