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Bitget commits fund to bolstering Indian blockchain innovationBitget, the Seychelles-incorporated derivatives and copy trading platform, has unveiled its plan to invest significantly in Indian-based blockchain startups.Photo by Sylwia Bartyzel on Unsplash$10 million fundThe company announced the initiative by way of a press release published by PR Newswire on Monday. This strategic move is part of Bitget’s Blockchain4Youth (B4Y) initiative, which has earmarked a $10 million fund for Web3-focused projects.Bitget revealed that the B4Y initiative kicked off on Nov. 6 and will continue until Dec. 4, coinciding with BUIDL for Web3, India’s multi-chain summit event. This summit, sponsored by Bitget in collaboration with Lumos Labs and BuidlersTribe, provides a platform for Indian startups to showcase their innovative concepts to Bitget as well as prominent venture capitalists.Nurturing Web3 startupsThe core objective of Bitget’s investment initiative is to identify and nurture high-potential projects within the cryptocurrency space, offering them financial support to drive innovation in cutting-edge technologies.As part of the Blockchain4Youth project, Bitget has committed to deploying $10 million in investments over the next five years. Through complementary research the company has carried out recently, Bitget is likely to have identified that targeting the younger demographic is going to be good for business over the longer term.Gracy Chen, Managing Director at Bitget, lauded the developing blockchain and crypto sectors in India. Chen emphasized India’s status as a prime investment destination in Asia, citing the country’s abundance of talent and entrepreneurial drive.BUIDL for Web3Notably, the BUIDL for Web3 initiative is set to attract a diverse array of developers and founders, celebrating their resilience and creativity. The month-long program will commence by shortlisting over 100 startups, ultimately selecting 10 to present their projects to Bitget and well-known venture capitalists such as Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture and Draper Labs. To facilitate this process, Bitget has established a dedicated portal to receive applications from aspiring startups.Chen stated:”India’s resilience and constant advancements towards blockchain and crypto makes it the most wanted place to invest in Asia currently. The talent, the entrepreneurial spirit, it’s everything celebratory and we’re here to empower it. With our Blockchain4Youth, we look forward to accelerating the next big fours of crypto space.”Strategic investmentThe crypto derivatives platform has been active when it comes to investment recently. Last month, it unveiled a $100 million crypto ecosystem fund. Titled the EmpowerX Fund, the initiative was revealed during the company’s fifth anniversary summit held in Singapore.In April, Bitget invested $20 million into Sei Labs, the development company behind the Sei layer one blockchain. The company has been actively progressing various aspects of the business in 2023. In August it rebranded the BitKeep Wallet to Bitget Wallet following the acquisition of the Singaporean project earlier in the year. Integration of that business had added additional users to its platform such that it exceeded the 20 million user mark.Bitget’s commitment to investing in the Indian blockchain ecosystem is a testament to the rapidly evolving landscape of crypto innovation in the country. However, India is not its only target market. In July, the firm indicated that it was looking to expand further within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Authorities in China have disclosed that Yao Qian, a prominent figure in the country's blockchain industry and former head of China's central bank digital currency institute, is under investigation by the nation's anti-graft watchdog. The announcement was made on Friday, revealing that Yao is "suspected of serious violations of discipline and law." However, specific details regarding the nature of the investigation were not provided.Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on UnsplashCareer and recent roleYao Qian currently holds the position of head of the technology regulation department at the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Earlier in the month, he authored an opinion piece titled “Warnings Mount Over Novel Bitcoin ETFs That Have Taken the U.S. by Storm” on Caixin, a prominent Chinese financial news platform. Born in 1970, Yao initially served as the inaugural head of China's central bank digital currency research institute in 2017 before transitioning to the securities regulator in 2018. Contributions to blockchain discourseThroughout his career, Yao Qian has been actively involved in discussions surrounding blockchain technology. In 2022, he published a book covering various topics within the blockchain space, including DAOs, DeFi, NFTs and X-to-earn models. In the foreword of his book, Yao emphasized the growing significance of Web3 innovation, noting it as a development direction of high importance and value for nations. Lack of specifics surrounding investigationThe announcement of Yao Qian's investigation has left many observers in the blockchain industry with questions, as authorities did not provide clear reasons for the probe. Despite his past contributions and current role in technology regulation, the investigation raises uncertainties about Yao's future involvement in the blockchain sector and his standing within Chinese regulatory circles. As developments unfold, stakeholders within the blockchain community will continue to monitor the situation surrounding Yao Qian's investigation and its potential implications for China's blockchain policies and initiatives. 

The trustee of the failed Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox is preparing to initiate repayments of bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH), prompting fears of a market sell-off among traders and investors.Photo by Dmytro Demidko on UnsplashConfirming repayment detailsThe crypto community on the /mtgoxsolvency subreddit disclosed that the Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange has initiated the process of verifying creditors' addresses for forthcoming repayments. Emails have been sent to creditors, confirming that their repayment details have been validated with relevant cryptocurrency exchanges. The communication from Mt. Gox appears to be staggered, with users on different platforms receiving emails at varying times. Some Bitstamp users reported receipt of the email, while several Kraken customers mentioned that they were still awaiting the confirmation. Mt. Gox, cautioning creditors, clarified that users with disabled or frozen accounts would not be able to receive repayments using the provided addresses. Additionally, the emails specifically pertain to payments in bitcoin and bitcoin cash. This recent communication follows Mt. Gox's announcement in November, where it committed to returning approximately 142,000 bitcoin, 143,000 bitcoin cash and 69 billion Japanese yen, valued at over $5.67 billion at the announcement date and approximately $6.46 billion at the present moment. During the November announcement, Mt. Gox assured creditors that repayments would commence in the following months and weeks. Creditors with payment methods deemed "effective at this time" were earmarked to receive their assets first. Towards the end of December, some creditors reported the addition of yen-denominated balances to their PayPal accounts by Mt. Gox, signaling progress in the repayment process. Market fearsThe fear among market participants of a distribution of bitcoin from the Mt. Gox estate has cast a shadow over the sector over the course of a number of years. With this latest development, it appears that the estate is finally on the cusp of executing on that distribution. If distribution is achieved in the short term, it will come at a time when bitcoin has experienced a major unit price pullback already. Since the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States earlier this month, it appears that another bankrupt crypto exchange, FTX, has sold $1 billion worth of Grayscale Bitcoin ETF shares into the market. That move is believed to have been responsible for a dramatic drop in bitcoin’s unit price. In tandem with that event, some commentators believe that a pullback at this point is healthy for the market. That’s the view of Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments. Taking to social media, Edwards wrote:”We're still not here yet. This pullback is very overdue and lower is healthier.” At the time of writing, bitcoin has a unit price of $39,884, down from a high earlier this month of $48,494. Confirmation emails have been reported by several Reddit users, with Bitstamp confirming for most, and a few Kraken users also acknowledging receipt. Nevertheless, a significant number of Kraken users mentioned they are yet to receive the confirmation email. Mt. Gox officially closed its doors in February 2014, almost a decade ago, after succumbing to an exploit in 2011.