This article has been updated to include comments from Binance CEO Wei Zhou and to remove an inaccurate reference to Xfers offering a cryptocurrency wallet. Binance has launched a new cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore after months of anticipation, albeit with limited features, Binance CEO Wei Zhou told Cointelegraph on April 24. Users of the platform are only able to purchase bitcoin (BTC) using Singapore dollars (SGD,) meaning far fewer trading pairs are available for consumers compared with the company’s main exchange. Zhou noted that additional currencies will be added as regulations allow for it. The Binance Singapore website suggests that …

The CEO of Singapore-based Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA) — which has a controlling stake in major South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb — has revealed plans to expand to the American and Japanese markets. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on April 18. BXA CEO BK Kim told Cointelegraph Japan in an interview that BXA’s strategy is to pursue a so-called reverse merger route by acquiring a publicly-traded company that is already listed on either Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The route can be a faster way to take a company public than a traditional Initial Public …

Top Stories This Week NYT Reporter: Facebook Seeking $1 Billion in Venture Capital for Crypto Project According to a tweet by New York Times (NYT) tech reporter Nathaniel Popper, Facebook is reportedly looking to various venture capital firms to develop its digital token that has been previously reported on. Popper, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said that Facebook is seeking $1 billion to develop its cryptocurrency project, which itself has not been publicly confirmed by the company. The Times reporter also noted that the project involves a stablecoin that would be pegged to a basket of foreign currencies …

Singapore blockchain startup Perlin is helping the world’s largest business organization, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), roll out the technology, the company confirmed in a press release on April 12. Perlin, which is already involved in blockchain pilots for various major businesses, including Asia Pacific Rayon, will now gain access to ICC’s members as the organization attempts to bring innovative technologies to the fore. Now one hundred years old, the ICC counts 45 million businesses under its wing, including Amazon, CocaCola, FedEx, McDonalds and PayPal. “In collaboration with Perlin, […] we can help facilitate practical and truly disruptive transformation …

Singapore authorities have charged two men for promoting cryptocurrency multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme OneCoin in the first case of its kind for the city state, local daily news outlet Business Times reported on April 10. The two men, who were not named, reportedly engaged in activities involving incorporating a subsidiary to promote OneCoin, as well as signing up new members and taking investments in return for education courses and OneCoin tokens. The case is the latest to afflict OneCoin, which had managed to operate for several years and accrue giant investments before its two Bulgarian founders were indicted by United …

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of second-largest crypto exchange Binance, has announced that its branch in Singapore will open in April. A Cointelegraph correspondent reported on the development on April 4 from the Deconomy conference in Seoul. CZ took part in Deconomy, which is being held in South Korea from April 4-5, at the panel dubbed “Centralized vs Decentralized.” During the panel, he revealed that Binance’s fiat-to-crypto exchange service in Singapore will be opened later this month, but has not provided any other details regarding the launch. Another major announcement made at Deconomy is related to the launch of Binance DEX …

Singapore-based crypto exchange KuCoin has partnered with Israel-based payment processing company Simplex to let its users purchase crypto via credit card, an official announcement revealed on March 27. The exchange has already added the service to its assets page, the announcement reports. Now users can purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHABC) and Litecoin (LTC) for both dollars and euros. The service is reportedly available in more than 100 countries. As the release notes, Simplex — which also has offices in the United Kingdom, U.S. and Lithuania — has already provided its “fraud-free” payment processing services …

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange DragonEx has notified its users that it suffered a hack, according to an official announcement on the platform’s Telegram Channel on March 25. The incident— described as “attacks from hackers” that resulted in the transfer and theft of both “users’ [...] and Platform crypto assets,” reportedly occurred on March 24, and was immediately detected by DragonEx. An admin from the exchange notified users that: “Part of the assets were retrieved back, and we will do our best to retrieve back the rest of stolen assets. Several Judicial administrations were informed about this cyber crime case including Estonia, …

Singapore government-backed blockchain accelerator Tribe has gained BMW and Intel as two major strategic partners, local English-language technology news outlet Tech In Asia reported on March 22. Tribe, which began operations late last year, is the brainchild of Tri5 Ventures, a venture capital firm aiming to support later-stage startups. Existing partners of the scheme include PwC and South Korean blockchain network Icon Foundation. Now, both BMW and Intel will provide expertise to the startups selected for support. The car giant will focus on the mobility industry, while Intel will share knowledge gained through its activities in the blockchain and cryptocurrency …

United States-based institutional cryptocurrency exchange Seed CX has partnered with Singapore-based fintech company Hydra X to offer its trading service in Asia. Seed CX announced the development in a press release published on March 21. Per the announcement, Seed CX will join the list of supported digital asset trading venues available on the Sigma trading platform offered by Hydra X, which is currently in public beta. The partnership will also reportedly allow institutional Sigma users to access Seed CX’s fiat-crypto gateway. Seed CX is a licensed digital asset exchange for both spot market and U.S. Commodities and Futures Trading Commission …

Electronic market liquidity provider B2C2 has won its case against Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Quoine and could claim now over 3,000 Bitcoin (BTC) ($11.5 million), local English-language daily news outlet Business Times reported on March 14. The dispute, which saw Singapore’s first cryptocurrency court case begin last November, involves trades made by B2C2 on Quoine’s platform in April 2017. At the time, Quoine was experiencing what it describes as technical difficulties, which resulted in temporary major liquidity problems. As such, B2C2 was able to place Bitcoin (BTC) to Ethereum (ETH) trades at a highly artificial exchange rate of 10 BTC per …

The Singapore government will press ahead with a pilot of its blockchain-based maritime trade platform TradeTrust through an official partnership, trade news outlet Asia Middle East Maritime Focus reported on March 7. TradeTrust, which aims to leverage blockchain to streamline complex manual processes involved in international shipping, will first focus on blockchain-powered electronic bills of lading (EB-Ls). Processing the essential trade document can often incur long time spans and considerable extra costs using paper-based methods. The pilot follows a January Memorandum of Understanding signed by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Maritime Port Authority, Singapore Customs and the Singapore Shipping …