Bitget Launches Crypto Loans Product

Bithumb Live Files for BankruptcySouth Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb’s live commerce platform Bithumb Live — an attempt at business diversification — has filed for bankruptcy. The platform entered bankruptcy proceedings last year, brought on by business difficulties and various suspicions of embezzlement involving its CEO.Photo by Melinda Gimpel on UnsplashAccording to legal sources on Monday, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court declared Bithumb Live’s bankruptcy last Monday. The court plans to hold creditor meetings and inspections on November 28 to incorporate creditors’ opinions into the bankruptcy proceedings and assess the status of the company. Major companies like LG Uplus, SK Telecom, SK Magic, and Lotte Card are among the platform’s creditors.Bithumb Live’s backgroundBithumb Live was founded in September 2021 by Bithumb and Bucket Studio, who each invested KRW 6 billion (approximately $4.4 million). Bucket Studio is a content distribution company that gained considerable attention with the global success of the Netflix original series “Squid Game” last year because it holds a 15% stake in Artist Company, an entertainment planning agency co-founded by “Squid Game” lead actor Lee Jung-jae and actor Jung Woo-sung. In particular, Bucket Studio’s CEO Kang Ji-yeon is the sister of Kang Jong-hyun, who is embroiled in allegations related to the ownership of Bithumb.Bithumb and Bucket Studio each hold a 37.5% share of Bithumb Live, making a combined ownership of over 75%. Bithumb Live, led by Kang Ji-yeon, had been established with the intent to create a commerce platform with various features like a metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and cryptocurrency payments. After its establishment, it announced that it would challenge its key competitor Naver’s prominent live shopping platform by preparing to sign deals with 15 different companies.Financial hardshipsHowever, the platform hit a roadblock just one year after its establishment and found itself unable to escape financial difficulties. According to last year’s business report, Bithumb Live’s liabilities exceeded its assets by approximately KRW 248 million and the platform recorded a net loss of KRW 10.2 billion. Unable to withstand such losses, it announced an indefinite temporary closure via its internal messenger to employees in October of last year. The employees ended up working only four hours a day, resulting in a more than 50% reduction in working hours. Subsequently, the number of employees, which was 73 in September, plummeted to just four in January of this year, essentially signaling a total stop to business operations. In the first half of this year, Bithumb Live’s net loss amounted to almost KRW 1.1 billion.Management entanglementsOn top of these financial strains, the company was also plagued by Kang Ji-yeon and her brother Kang Jong-hyun’s owner’s risk, which encompassed allegations of embezzlement and misappropriation. In July of this year, Kang Ji-yeon was sent to trial on charges of embezzlement and misappropriation at Bucket Studio. Along with her brother and former Chorokbaem (CRB) Group Chairman Won Young-sik, she was accused of granting call options on convertible bonds held by Bithumb affiliates Vidente and Bucket Studio for free to companies controlled by Won’s children between December 2021 and July 2022, inciting damages worth approximately KRW 58.7 billion to the respective companies. In the process, she was also found to have received KRW 32.2 billion in acquisition payments. Kang Jong-hyun had been detained and on trial since February of this year.Bithumb Live’s largest shareholder, Bucket Studio, is also in a tight spot. Back in June, the Korea Exchange imposed a penalty of three points on Bucket Studio for reversing its disclosure. The company had been penalized five points the previous month after withdrawing its decision to issue convertible bonds. In particular, the studio also recorded an operating loss of KRW 7 billion and a net loss of KRW 195.6 billion last year based on consolidated financial statements. In the first half of this year alone, it suffered an operating loss of KRW 896 million, raising red flags for its management.

Qatar Criticized for Regulatory Inaction Against Crypto CompaniesThe Qatari Central Bank (QCB) has come under fire from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for its lack of efforts in enforcing regulations that prohibit virtual asset service providers.In a report released earlier this week, the global watchdog for money laundering and terrorist financing highlighted the need for Qatar to enhance its capabilities in effectively combating evolving forms of criminal activity, including taking action against virtual asset service providers.Photo by Akbar Nemati on PexelsContinuous improvement neededAlthough acknowledging “substantive improvements” applied to its control system, the FATF report emphasized that Qatar must further improve its understanding of more complex forms of money laundering and terrorist financing.While Qatar has shown positive progress in gathering beneficial ownership information through its unified register, which consolidates data on its citizens, the FATF report emphasized the need for stronger controls to ensure the accuracy and currency of the collected information. The report also criticized Qatar’s authorities for underutilizing their sophisticated analysis capabilities in identifying instances of money laundering.Lack of control despite VASP banDespite the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority’s (QFCRA) announcement in December 2019 that virtual asset service providers (VASPs) are not allowed within or from the Qatar Financial Centre, the country’s regulatory authority has made little progress in penalizing firms that facilitate or provide crypto asset services.Interestingly, while Qatar has banned virtual asset service providers, it has expressed interest in exploring the potential use cases of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). In June 2022, it was reported that the QCB is in the early stages of developing a CBDC.Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani, the governor of Qatar’s central bank, revealed that the QCB is evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of CBDCs and determining the appropriate technology and platform.As the country explores the potential of a CBDC, it must ensure that its regulatory framework aligns with international standards and best practices. By doing so, Qatar can strike a balance between fostering innovation in the digital currency space and safeguarding its financial system from illicit activities.Global coordinationThrough the Paris-based money-laundering watchdog, and calls from the G7, the European Central Bank, and others to regulate on a global basis, the official response to controlling digital assets and VASPs is becoming more globally coordinated. Central bankers and government officials have learned that decentralized finance has the ability to be borderless.FATF has been active in getting more countries on board. Effective from Thursday, Japan now implements FATF’s “travel rule” with respect to digital assets. That action was taken following a FATF finding that Japan wasn’t following best practice relative to anti-money laundering (AML) measures. Pakistan recently banned cryptocurrencies in an effort that appears to have been motivated by wanting to stay off the FATF’s gray list of non-compliant countries.While Pakistan managed to get itself off that list, the United Arab Emirates found itself on the gray list. The UAE’s Central Bank issued guidance on AML relative to virtual asset companies, in an effort to come back into FATF compliance.It remains to be seen how Qatar will respond to the FATF’s critique and whether it will take concrete actions to address the concerns raised. The international community will be closely monitoring Qatar’s efforts to combat financial crimes in the virtual asset sector and to establish a robust regulatory framework for its future CBDC endeavors.

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.