Asian Banking Giant Joins Singapore’s CBDC Effort, Hong Kong To Launch Crypto ETF, Argo Blockchain May Be Forced To Shut Down

Get your daily, bite-sized summary of cryptoassets and blockchain-related news – examine the stories that fly under the radar of today’s crypto news.
__________

CBDC news

• Financial Services Group DBS today announced a collaboration with Open public products (OGP), a Singapore government technology team, to launch a live pilot where purpose-based money-based vouchers (PBM vouchers) are issued using tokenized SGD to facilitate “real-world” face-to-face transactions with selected merchants, the press release said. This is part of Project Orchidan industry effort led by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), to develop the technology infrastructure and technical expertise to enable a Programmable Digital Singapore Dollar (DSGD).

Investment news

• Hong Kong has announced plans to launch a crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on major crypto assets such as bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH), Ming Pao reported. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Executive Director Leung Fung Yee said the agency has been working to establish a mechanism to authorize the ETF, including appropriate laws to govern it.
• US-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management (APO) has chosen Anchorage Digital to become its custodian for crypto assets, according to a press release. Anchorage said it expects to retain a “significant portion” of Apollo’s digital asset portfolio. The former became the first federally chartered crypto bank in the United States last year.
• Crypto lender Hodlnaut reportedly lost about $189.7 million due to exposure to the Terra /LUNA crash. According to Bloomberg, a legal report alleged that Hodlnaut’s directors “downplayed the extent of the group’s exposure to Terra/Luna both in the period leading up to and following the Terra/Luna collapse in May 2022”.

Mining news

• Bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain warned it could be forced to close after a $27 million stock sale appeared to have collapsed, sending the stock down the most since its 2018 IPO, Bloomberg reported, citing a company statement. Argo said it raised about $5.6 million by selling nearly 4,000 new ones Bitmain mining machines and is exploring other financing options. “Should Argo not be successful in completing additional financing, Argo would become cash flow negative in the short term and would have to curtail or cease operations,” the miner said.

DeFi news

• Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform 1 inch announced the collaboration with the fintech firm Revolut and the launch of the ‘Learn & Earn’ cryptocurrency course as part of Revolut’s education program which is run with various partners. According to a blog post, the course teaches basic fundamentals of the DeFi space, while 1INCH tokens are given as a reward for completing a lesson.

Regulatory news

• The The White House of the United States is hosting an international meeting in Washington, welcoming officials from 37 countries and 13 global companies aimed at addressing the growing threat of ransomware and other cybercrimes, including the illicit use of cryptocurrencies, Reuters reported, citing a senior US official. The White House hopes the meeting will allow participating countries to “enact a set of cyber norms that are recognized worldwide to counter criminal ransomware threats and hold malicious actors accountable,” the official said. The participants plan to issue a joint statement at the end of the meeting on Tuesday.

Exchange news

• Bitten announced the launch of its new feature ‘Bitget Insights’, which serves to integrate social media with social trading via the exchange. The launch marks the next stage in Bitget’s crypto-social trading initiative, the press release said, adding that via this feature, traders will have the opportunity to gain insights from experienced traders.

Adoption news

• Michele Foletti, Mayor of Lugano, and Milena Mayorga, El Salvador’s Ambassador to the United States, announced that the Swiss city of Lugano and the Republic of El Salvador have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on economic cooperation. The announcement was made during the first Plan B forum. The agreement also provides for the physical presence of a representation of the government of El Salvador in the Lugano territory, which will promote cooperation with educational and research institutions, and encourage the development of initiatives related to Bitcoin and blockchain technology, it said.

Wallet news

• Synonyma Bitcoin software company, has launched Bit kit, a new Bitcoin wallet app that features portable online profiles and passwordless online accounts. According to the announcement, Bitkit allows users to have portable social profiles, dynamic payment contacts, interoperable data feeds, etc. It is powered by Slash tags protocol, which allows additional key pairs to be derived from a standard BIP-39 Bitcoin seed.