Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitholic has changed its name to Bithumb Singapore this month. Bithumb, for its part, is known as a cryptocurrency exchange based in South Korea. Local media News1 Korea shared the announcement in a report on Aug. 8. According to the report, the name change is part of an overseas expansion for Bithumb; however, the paper notes that Bithumb’s equity structure remains unknown. According to the announcement, the exchange’s name change occurred sometime this month. Moreover, a Bithumb official reportedly confirmed with the outlet that “Bitholic plans to launch a coin trading business under the name of Bithumb …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has flagged an online Bitcoin (BTC) scam scheme that offers Bitcoin investment using forged claims by a former prime minister. Website uses forged statements by a former prime minister to solicit Bitcoin investment On July 31, Singapore's central bank and financial watchdog issued an official warning, stating that the agency has become aware of a website that invited online users to invest in Bitcoin via an article containing falsified claims. According to MAS, the scam website referenced fabricated statements falsely attributed to Goh Chok Tong, a local politician who served as Singapore's second prime …

Singapore’s plans to exempt certain digital currencies from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would benefit cryptocurrency-related businesses, according to a partner in PwC Hong Kong’s corporate tax practice. As reported by Hong Kong’s English language newspaper South China Morning Post on July 29, Gwenda Ho argued that the Singapore government’s proposal to drop the seven per cent GST for cryptocurrencies when using them to pay for goods and services would have a positive impact on crypto exchanges, asset managers and blockchain entrepreneurs. Per Ho, the adoption of the proposed law would also put Singapore’s sales tax regime on an …

Singapore-based blockchain company Perlin has acquired blockchain development startup Dispatch Labs, Dispatch Labs CTO Zane Witherspoon told Cointelegraph on July 26. Perlin acquired Dispatch’s talent, provisional and non-provisional United States patents on Dispatch’s blockchain IP, and strategic business partnerships. Former Dispatch CTO Zane Witherspoon will now manage Perlin’s Developer Ecosystem. The company did not disclose the value of the transaction. The acquisition comes in the wake of the news in mid-June that Dispatch incurred considerable losses despite extensive investment and a recovering cryptocurrency market. Although Dispatch Labs received funding from its executive team, subsequently raising over $13 million in a …

The Philippines-based UnionBank has successfully completed a pilot of a blockchain-based cross-border remittance from the Philippines to Singapore, according to a press release published on July 23. The pilot is the result of a partnership between UnionBank and Singapore-based OCBC Bank, wherein the parties deployed the Adhara liquidity management and international payments platform and UnionBank-UBX's i2i platform to make the remittance. To ensure financial inclusion for the unbanked Specifically, the bank used a blockchain-based tokenized fiat to remit from OCBC Bank to an account holder at a rural Cantilan Bank. The project thus aims to provide millions of unbanked Filipinos …

Huobi cryptocurrency exchange will transition its HUSD token from its current stablecoin system to an ERC-20 token through a partnership with crypto startups Stable Universal Limited and Paxos Trust Company. Per a press release published on July 17, Stable Universal will develop a new ERC-20 HUSD Token, which will be pegged to the United States dollar and held in reserve by the New York State Department of Financial Services-regulated custodian Paxos. Huobi will be the first platform to list HUSD Token. In the coming days, Huobi will change over from its current HUSD system to the new ERC-20 token, which …

Cryptocurrency asset management firm Altonomy has raised $7 million in a seed round from digital assets investment company Polychain Capital, according to a press release on July 15. Singapore-based market maker Altonomy is planning to allocate the raised funds to source liquidity for institutional customers like spot and derivatives exchanges. Altonomy provides liquidity for Bitcoin (BTC) futures projects from CME Group and works with stablecoins USDC, Tether (USDT), TrueUSD (TUSD) and Paxos Standards (PAX). The company will ostensibly connect over 60 cryptocurrency exchanges and over-the-counter desks around the world following a recent increase of institutions in the cryptocurrency market. Although …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced the expansion of its fiat-enabled trading platform in Singapore in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on July 10. Binance Singapore has been first launched in April, but with limited functionalities and only one trading pair. Now, Binance Singapore will now allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrency for Singapore dollars. Currently, local users can buy Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Binance Coin (BNB) on the platform, with more crypto coming in the future. The platform reportedly allows for instantaneous deposits and withdrawals via the Singapore Fast and Secure Transfers system. Furthermore, since its soft-launch …

Singapore plans to exempt cryptocurrencies that are intended to function as a medium of exchange from Goods and Services Tax (GST) — the local equivalent of Value-Added Tax (VAT). The news was revealed in a draft e-tax guide published by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) on July 5. The proposed exemption, if accepted, is set to take effect on January 1, 2020, and will overhaul the current system wherein the supply of digital payment tokens is treated as a taxable supply of services. IRAS outlines that until now, cryptocurrencies that function — or are intended to do so …

Singapore-based online car marketplace sgCarMart and decentralized data exchange protocol Ocean Protocol are launching a blockchain-powered “Know-Your-Vehicle” data marketplace. The development was announced in a press release on July 5. The so called Know-Your-Vehicle used car data marketplace will purportedly provide a secure way of sharing and accessing of information about used cars in Singapore, where almost 9,000 cars reportedly changed ownership per month in 2018. The product is set to provide customers with the capability of tracking data origin on a vehicle and then trace its history. Subsequently, the parties are looking to use this data in helping other …

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has entered a joint initiative to promote the adoption of blockchain trade solutions, according to a press release on July 1 The DCCI, which acts as an international business hub in Dubai, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with two entities the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Singapore-based blockchain startup Perlin. According to the report, DCCI is the first chamber of commerce in the world to offer blockchain tools developed by the ICC, as well as the Centre of Future Trade (CoFT), a collaborative project the ICC and Perlin announced …

Huobi Group is jointly developing a new public blockchain for decentralized financial (DeFi) services, according to a press release on July 1. Major global digital asset financial service provider Huobi has partnered with Chinese blockchain startup Nervos enabling companies to deploy their own blockchains, tokenized assets, as well as DeFi services, according to the announcement. The joint initiative, provisionally called “Huobi Finance Chain,” is targeting enterprises, financial institutions, as well as exchanges, and is set to operate as a regulatory-compliant financial blockchain network. Specifically, Huobi is planning to enable regulators to access the network and contribute to it as validators. …