Today’s Crypto News in Asia — 7/16

Japanese Line’s new exchange; Bithumb opens in Japan and Thailand; Thailand SEC allows Bond Coin; HKMA launches blockchain trade platform

What Crypto insiders are reading on Asia.

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In this episode, Joyce Yang from Global Coin Research is joined by Hope Liu, CEO, and co-founder, of EximChain and Ryan Fang, co-founder and COO of Ankr.Network. Both Ryan and Hope grew up in China, but their teams operate in the US. Each individual has unique perspectives on the distinction between the Western and Eastern blockchain space. In our conversation, we cover topics such as cryptocurrency regulations, Chinese local government blockchain sandboxes, B2B go-to- market strategies in China, and finding Crypto-related talent in Asia.

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Top News

Japanese messaging giant Line has opened their new cryptocurrency exchange and it’s available everywhere except US, Japan, Russia, Belarus and several African countries. The company is in the process of applying for a US cryptocurrency exchange license. http://bit.ly/2zIFPBF

Formerly hacked exchange from Korea, Bithumb, has announced that it plans to open operations in Japan and Thailand after receiving the required regulatory approval from local governments. http://bit.ly/2zEGUut

Hong Kong Monetary Authority will launch a blockchain-based trade finance platform, one of the earliest government-backed trade finance platforms with 21 banks including HSBC and Standard Chartered. http://bit.ly/2zKJn6

The SEC of Thailand has allowed the Gov’t-backed Bond Association to create a “Bond Coin”, a custom token on a private blockchain between permissioned participants including issuers and investors alongside regulators and registered firms. http://bit.ly/2zHKzYB

Coin and Exchange News

Bitcoin cash network highly centralized, 49% of all nodes run on Alibaba’s facilities per Bitpico. http://bit.ly/2zFaKz6

Bitmain is looking to aggressively increase its R&D hiring, including a push to significantly grow its high-tech offices in Israel and add 40 employees. http://bit.ly/2zHYo99

Business and Regulation News

Pundi X is looking to deploy 5,500 units of its crypto point-of-sale devices in Hong Kong by the end of August, surpassing that of bitcoin ATM globally. http://bit.ly/2zJ3Vwm

Luxury sellers are open to accepting digital currencies. http://bit.ly/2uEKZcf

Roger Ver broadcasted a YouTube discussion with his fellow bitcoin-enthusiasts on WeChat, focusing on the app’s traffic and its new BCH wallet. http://bit.ly/2urDdDh​

Lee Sedol, the world’s top player of 4,500-year-old Chinese board game Go, is working on a blockchain version of his beloved game in association with The Blockchain Inc.http://bit.ly/2uDA9mT

Check our past 5 weekly pieces on Takeaways on Asia Crypto from Techcrunch Zug, Cryptokitties, Binance, Bitmain, and China’s Crypto winners

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