Coinbit suspends operations, marking second crypto exchange shutdown this month

China Launches National Blockchain Center to Develop TalentHaving initially been announced in February, China’s National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center was formally launched on Wednesday. The center is based in China’s capital city of Beijing, and plans to collaborate with existing crypto and blockchain businesses, think tanks that concern themselves with blockchain and digital assets, and local universities in an effort to further advance blockchain technology within China’s borders.Photo by Hanson Lu on UnsplashEnterprise blockchain developmentEncompassed within the National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center lies the Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing. The academy’s leading achievement to date has been its development of the ChainMaker blockchain. The state-sponsored blockchain incorporates clusters of high performance servers of 1,000 units or more, and it claims to achieve a throughput of 240 million transactions per second.The blockchain is being geared towards enterprise use, and the sharing of information between businesses. The ChainMaker project team has also developed an immutable storage mechanism called “Hong”. It’s understood that the team plans to open-source that technology in due course. The storage system is being used by around 80 government departments in Beijing to collect and store data.ChainMaker is collaborating with fifty corporations, with most of them being state-owned entities.Linking up separate networksIn these efforts to advance China’s blockchain sector, the Center is being backed by China’s Ministry of Science and Technology. One of its key objectives is to ensure that the research center enables a comprehensive, nation-wide network to link together disparate blockchain systems, including those already built, within China. Furthermore, the Chinese authorities want the Center to support existing industries, serving them by bringing blockchain technology to their operations, and in that way advancing businesses with that added competitive edge.Zheng Zhiming, a leading academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that existing blockchain projects are isolated from each other. Zhiming believes that this is holding them back, impeding their growth. This latest approach through the National Blockchain Technology Center is geared to address that shortcoming.It’s interesting to note that while the Chinese authorities have taken a very hard line in relation to cryptocurrencies, they are very much trying to advance their blockchain sector. Likewise, they are pulling out the stops for China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, the digital yuan or e-CNY.It emerged last week that the Bank of China has partnered with French international banking group BNP Paribas, in an effort to promote further use of the digital yuan among the bank’s corporate clients.A dual strategyMeanwhile in China’s autonomous territory of Hong Kong, the city has been given an implicit mandate from the Chinese central government to open its doors to cryptocurrency-related businesses. Cleverly, the Chinese are covering both eventualities. While they don’t want citizens within mainland China to have access to decentralized cryptocurrencies and dApps, they still don’t want to miss out on any upside that the technology and its innovation may bring.On that basis, Hong Kong has been given the space and freedom to compete for crypto business on a global basis, competing in that respect with other emerging centers such as Singapore and Dubai.

Gaming Industry Pioneers to Gather at Korea Blockchain Week 2023The highly anticipated Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) 2023, Asia’s largest blockchain and Web3 conference co-hosted by FACTBLOCK and Hashed, is on the horizon.Marking its sixth year, the conference is set to take place from September 4 to 10 at various venues, including The Shilla Seoul hotel. It will feature a series of panel discussions, keynote speeches, and networking opportunities focused on emerging blockchain and Web3 technologies.Photo by Terry on UnsplashUnveiling expert insights on blockchain, Web3, and moreThe main event, a two-day conference from September 5 to 6 titled “IMPACT,” will host prominent industry figures to discuss blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, decentralized finance (DeFi), Web3, and artificial intelligence (AI). Several gaming enterprises are also set to present their projects and insights into blockchain gaming.In particular, Henry Chang, CEO of Korean gaming publisher Wemade, will deliver a keynote speech titled “Mega-Ecosystem Wemix: Beyond Games.” As a two-time title sponsor of the event, Wemade will also set up exhibition booths for visitors to explore the vast blockchain ecosystem of its WEMIX3.0 Mainnet.There will also be a panel discussion dubbed “Creating a Sustainable Blockchain Gaming Economy: The Importance of Tokenomics” featuring Hilmar V.Pétursson, CEO of Pearl Abyss subsidiary CCP Games, as well as Hwang Sun-young, Production Director at Nexon’s NFT-centered blockchain games ecosystem MapleStory Universe.More leaders like Jose Ko, CEO of Neowiz’s blockchain gaming platform Intella X; Jake Moon, COO of Netmarble’s blockchain subsidiary MARBLEX; and Bryan Song, Biz and Ops Team Lead at game developer Krafton, will talk about the thriving landscape of high-quality blockchain games in Korea during the conference’s last program on September 5.The second day will go on to feature a discussion on the impact of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and gaming on business adoption with Justin Waldron, Co-Founder and CEO of Storyverse, and Robbie Ferguson, Co-Founder and President of Immutable, sharing their insights on the topic.Kyu C. Lee, CEO of Com2uS USA; Han Yoo, Chief Operating Officer of NOD Games; and Tin Nguyen, Founder of Sipher and Athler Labs, are also set to lead a panel centered on the disruptive potential of blockchain in the gaming industry.In addition, companies like XPLA and IPX will hold separate functions to foster lively networking and promote their respective blockchain gaming ecosystems.NFT-centered eventScheduled for September 7 to 8 after the IMPACT conference is The Gateway: Korea, an annual Web3 event that will bring NFT enthusiasts and digital artists together at SFactory in Seongsu-dong, Seoul.

Japan’s Premier Says the Country is Committed to Fostering Web3Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a keynote address at the WebX conference in Tokyo, emphasized Japan’s commitment to fostering the Web3 industry and its potential to revolutionize the internet and catalyze societal change.During his address, Kishida underscored the transformative impact of Web3, envisioning it as a catalyst for innovation across various industries. He expressed his hope for the Web3 sector to regain attention and vitality, fostering the birth of numerous novel projects.EOS Foundation CEO Yves La Rose, present at the conference, noted the Prime Minister’s encouraging words and highlighted the welcoming attitude Japan is cultivating towards Web3 in the Asian region.Photo by Bastian Riccardi on UnsplashRegulatory progressKishida went on to describe Web3 as part of “the new form of capitalism,” recognizing its potential to drive economic growth while addressing social issues. Koichi Hagiuda, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council chairman, added that the country is diligently working to establish a robust regulatory framework to safeguard investors, providing a foundation for further Web3 policies.Japan has proven to be ahead of the curve already on workable regulation when it comes to digital assets by comparison with most of its international peers. Last month, the local regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), announced that it was participating in Singapore’s “Project Guardian,” an initiative by the Singaporean regulator to explore the potential of digital assets.The country has found itself with a more progressive regulatory policy in place as a direct response to the collapse of the Mt.Gox crypto exchange in 2014. For that reason, FTX Japan had to safeguard client funds and is in a position to look towards restarting the business.Hagiuda also pointed to the significance of initiatives like “Start Next Innovator,” a project by Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry that aims to send 1,000 entrepreneurs and students to Silicon Valley over five years to foster Web3 startups.Japanese launch imminent for BinanceThe event, which was initially reported on by local media on Tuesday, coincided with a significant announcement from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, revealing the imminent launch of the cryptocurrency exchange’s services on a new Japanese platform in August 2023.Binance, in its bid to enter the Japanese market, confirmed its plan to offer cryptocurrency services to Japanese users starting in August. The exchange had acquired the local platform Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC) in November 2022, which paved the way for its reentry into the country.Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), virtually addressed the WebX conference, praising Japan’s innovative approach to the Web3 sector and recognizing it as a leading country in terms of Web3 regulatory environment. He fondly recalled his own experiences living in Japan during the early stages of his career as a developer, emphasizing the clarity of Japan’s regulatory boundaries towards cryptocurrencies and stablecoins since 2017.The Web3 industry in Japan witnessed a flurry of headlines in June 2023, with the national tax agency revising legislation to exempt token issuers from paying corporate taxes on unrealized cryptocurrency gains.Prime Minister Kishida’s affirmation of Japan’s commitment to Web3 and Binance’s planned launch in the country reflect the growing interest and enthusiasm surrounding the Web3 sector in the Asian nation.