Nomura-Backed Digital Exchange Acquires Trading License in Dubai

While many people assumed that Bitcoin hashrate had moved overseas once China implemented a Bitcoin mining ban in 2021, miners within mainland China still dominate the activity. 55% of hashrateThat’s according to a report on X by Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of crypto data analytics firm CryptoQuant. Taking to the social media platform on September 23, the CryptoQuant CEO claimed that Chinese mining pools account for 55% of all Bitcoin mining activity.  Since the 2021 ban, an increasing proportion of hashrate has been accounted for elsewhere, including the United States. Ju clarifies that U.S.-based mining pools now account for 40% of Bitcoin hashrate. He added:”U.S. pools primarily cater to institutional miners in America, while Chinese pools support relatively smaller miners in Asia.”Photo by Joshua Sortino on UnsplashShift towards U.S.-based miningWhile the majority of Bitcoin mining is accounted for within China’s borders, Ju acknowledges a growing shift towards U.S.-based mining. Some commentators have speculated that while officially a ban was put in place, in reality the ban presented an opportunity to jettison inefficient mining equipment, selling it on overseas, while maintaining only the most efficient miners within China. Others such as Daniel Batten, an advisor to Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital, went further in suggesting that the reporting of a blanket ban on Bitcoin mining within China was misleading. Instead, he believes that mining was suspended for a time and then rebooted. Taking to X in June, Batten wrote: “Stop referring to it as a ban. It wasn't and it plays into [mainstream media] narratives of Bitcoin mining being unwelcome by nation states.” At the time, rather than Ju’s 55%, Batten estimated that 15% of overall hashrate was accounted for by Chinese miners. Profitability challengesIn the months following the halving of the Bitcoin mining reward, miners have been struggling to maintain profitability. Bitbo data indicates that miner revenue weighed in at $827.56 million in August, representing a 10.5% drop when compared with $927.35 million in July. The situation has raised questions about the ongoing sustainability of securing the Bitcoin network via the current mining model.  Yet despite these adverse conditions, miners have been maintaining the high hashrate level. JPMorgan analysts recently indicated that the Bitcoin hashrate has recovered to pre-halving levels. A report by Decrypt earlier this month claimed that some miners are aggressively purchasing new mining equipment while maintaining significant holdings of Bitcoin rather than selling it off. Alongside what was perceived to be a ban on Bitcoin mining in 2021, China prohibited the trading of cryptocurrencies. Notwithstanding that, it’s thought that many Chinese residents have access to crypto via bank accounts in Hong Kong, connected with global crypto exchanges. Hong Kong is perceived to be China’s sandbox for crypto with many speculating that the current pro-crypto stance taken within the Chinese autonomous territory had been approved by the authorities in mainland China. Whether China will lift its ban on crypto trading remains the subject of ongoing speculation. 

XPLA joins hands with EDUM to bring Study-to-Earn services to learnersSouth Korean gaming corporation Com2uS Group’s layer 1 blockchain XPLA has established its newest partnership with EDUM, a Study-to-Earn (S2E) project operated by Dream Ladders, a blockchain subsidiary of educational and career services provider Jinhak, according to an official announcement on Monday (KST). Together, they plan to bring blockchain to education, helping students benefit from a new, innovative approach to learning and proving that blockchain can be useful in any environment.Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on UnsplashOptimizing the learning experience with Web3EDUM is set to leverage Web3 technology to provide students with access to affordable, high-quality educational services for everyone, no matter their economic background. Users will be able to earn rewards in the form of EDUM or EDUMP tokens when using different functions on the EDUM mobile application. EDUM is the project’s market-based utility token that can be cashed through external exchanges or even swapped with EDUMP, which has a fixed value and can only be used within the EDUM ecosystem. EDUMP tokens can also be used for purchasing NFTs or lectures on the EDUM platform.The project will also incorporate NFT technology as a key mechanism. Learners on EDUM can record their achievements as NFTs through certification performed by a Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP). The platform offers benefits to instructors as well, whose content such as lectures, exams and textbooks can be protected and compensated by being minted as NFTs.Going beyond gamingBy working with EDUM, XPLA aims to venture into the realm of education, which is outside of its usual gaming focus, helping the platform revolutionize S2E services and creating more real-world use cases for blockchain technology.

Short-Term Crypto Investment Prevails Among Hong Kong’s Retail InvestorsHong Kong’s retail investor interest in virtual assets has experienced a significant surge in recent years, albeit a recent survey suggests that most retail investors take a short-term investment view relative to crypto assets.Photo by Robert Bye on UnsplashIFEC studyThis newfound enthusiasm for virtual assets emerges from a recent study published by the Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC), a subsidiary of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Hong Kong’s securities regulator. The survey found that 6% of retail investors in the city had entered the virtual asset market in 2023, as compared to merely 1% in 2019.Conducted from June to July of this year, the study encompassed 1,000 individuals aged between 18 and 69. The survey uncovered a trend toward crypto investing among retail investors who’ve been enticed by the allure of the emerging asset class. Intriguingly, every single one of the digital asset retail investors in the study held cryptocurrencies in their portfolios. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and stablecoins, while still relatively niche, were also present in the portfolios of 6% and 2% of investors, respectively.11% to invest in crypto within 12 monthsAnticipating a further uptick in interest, the IFEC report posits that 11% of those surveyed have intentions to invest in virtual assets or related products within the next 12 months. This indicates that the allure of virtual assets continues to exert its magnetic pull on investors in Hong Kong.Despite the growing interest, a noteworthy finding in the survey is that 75% of retail virtual asset investors admitted to their primary motivation being the pursuit of short-term gains. Simultaneously, 74% of these investors perceived virtual assets as a prevalent investment trend, and 73% cited the fear of missing out on popular investment opportunities as a driving factor. These statistics underscore the need for enhanced investor education within the sphere of virtual assets.Lack of regulatory awarenessAnother interesting aspect of the data which emerged from the survey was the finding that only 47% of all surveyed investors are aware of Hong Kong’s recently introduced virtual asset trading regulations, which came into effect on June 1.An additional facet of this investor behavior study was illuminated by research conducted by the Department of Applied Social Science at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). This research, based on data from a separate IFEC report that surveyed 501 people from November to December of last year, revealed that many retail investors in virtual assets exhibited overconfidence in their judgment.These investors were also found to have a proclivity to overemphasize past information, lean heavily on readily available and easily recalled information, and overestimate personal intuition.With that in mind, Eric Chui, Head of PolyU’s Applied Social Science unit, advised virtual asset investors to adopt a more deliberate and rational approach. Chui emphasized the importance of building financial literacy and collecting high-quality market information to make informed investment decisions, while steering clear of irrational investment behavior and biases.