Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Group has launched a new product designed to streamline the token listing application process. According to a statement shared with Cointelegraph, the new service, which Huobi developed to provide a more transparent listing process, is called the Huobi Automated Listing Platform. Per the announcement, projects that want to list on Huobi Global or an autonomous digital asset exchange Huobi HADAX, will have to register and submit specific documentation about the project. The announcement states that the Huobi Automated Listing Platform “will not automatically list any token or coin that applies.” Upon passing the verification process, applicants …

Singapore-based venture capital firm Golden Gate Ventures will launch a $10 million fund for investments in blockchain and cryptocurrency companies, Reuters reported August 10. Golden Gate Ventures (GGV), one of the leading venture capital firms in Southeast Asia, will invest in early-stage companies including cryptocurrency exchanges, security providers, and blockchain tech startups through the LuneX Ventures fund. Local tech media platform e27 reports that the fund was launched through a partnership between GGV and Kenrick Drijkoningen, GGV’s former head of growth. Drijkoningen told e27 that LuneX Ventures has a “strong pipeline of five to 10 investments ready to go,” noting …

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has launched its own airline loyalty digital wallet that uses blockchain technology, it announced July 24. The software has been co-developed by Microsoft and KPMG Digital Village, according to the press release. The new wallet -- dubbed ‘KrisPay’ after SIA’s ‘KrisFlyer’ loyalty programme -- converts frequent flyer miles into digitized ‘KrisPay miles’ that can be used to pay for retail purchases via a mobile app. As minimum expenditure, users of the wallet can spend 15 KrisPay miles (equivalent to about S$0.10, or US$0.73) to make or offset purchases at point-of-sale for food and drink, petrol, beauty treatments, …

The Fusang Investment Office, an Asia-based fund management firm focusing on family offices, is planning to launch a crypto-custody service in Hong Kong, local news outlet the South China Morning Post reports Sunday, July 22. The custody service, Fusang Vault, will hold digital assets for clients as well as provide periodic audits, according to the company’s CEO Henry Chong. The service’s launch is planned for the fourth quarter of 2018. Comparing digital assets to financial bonds, Chong noted the increasing need to provide an independent third party that would hold clients’ crypto assets, just like a demand for custodian bank …

Singapore e-government service provider CrimsonLogic has unveiled its cross-border blockchain network for global trade, according to a July 18 press release. Dubbed the Open Trade Blockchain (OTB), the platform is principally designed to boost the efficiency of trade corridors between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations. Various operators have already signed up to join OTB, including the China-ASEAN Information Harbor Co., TIFFA Group, and Singapore’s Commodities Intelligence Centre. According to Eugene Wong, the chairman of CrimsonLogic and its subsidiary, GeTS, which will operate the platform, blockchain tech can “help create greater trust amongst cross-border traders,” adding …

The U.S., Switzerland, and Singapore were ranked as the top three “most favorable” countries for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) in a recent report, according to a press release the researchers shared with Cointelegraph July 14. Analysts associated with the Crypto Finance Conference compiled the research based on publicly available data of the top 100 ICOs by country in terms of funds raised and ranked them by number of projects launched. The report highlights the U.S. as the most favorable country for ICOs with a total of 30 companies launched in the field. The second country is Switzerland, which is responsible …

Singapore-based startup Cryptology is aiming to make crypto transactions simpler and cheaper by building a “next generation” cryptocurrency exchange, which would be among the few that combine crypto and fiat transactions on a user-friendly platform, and offers the additional option of a mobile app. The company also expects to have an edge over rivals by partnering with a payment system that will help seamlessly integrate fiat and crypto transactions and lower fees for users. Web version and mobile app The company says that the web version of the platform is comfortable to use and “absolutely intuitive.” All the trading operations …

Singapore-based crypto-finance company FUSION has secured $12.3 bln in financial assets from three strategic partners, who will lock those assets on the startups’ public blockchain platform, Reuters reported June 1. The funds were reportedly provided by three companies, FormulA, Carnex, and KuaiLaiCai, which operate in the fields of asset management, car financing, and restaurant supply chain management, respectively. By depositing the sums on the FUSION blockchain, the participants commit to using the blockchain to manage and process transactions from those funds. By using FUSION, the companies reportedly will receive access to a global finance network, be able to deal in …

Japanese crypto exchange BitTrade has been acquired for S$67 mln ($50 mln) by a Singaporean multi-millionaire and entrepreneur, Asia One reported yesterday, May 30. The acquisition will see Mr. Eric Cheng take a 100 percent stake in BitTrade Co., Ltd, one of only 16 domestic crypto exchanges to receive a license from Japan’s financial watchdog, the Financial Services Agency (FSA). Cheng is also acquiring BitTrade’s affiliate company, FX Trade Financial Co., Ltd, one of Japan's leading forex trading platforms. As Asia One notes, the investment makes Cheng the first foreign investor to hold a 100 percent stake in an FSA-licensed …

Singapore’s central bank said today, May 24, that it had issued a warning to eight cryptocurrency exchanges over securities compliance and ordered an ICO to stop issuing tokens. In a press release, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) reiterated operators in the city-state “are responsible for ensuring that they comply with all relevant laws.” The warnings continue the narrative put forward by authorities this year, with Singapore aiming to provide a permissive, yet regulated environment for blockchain and cryptocurrency businesses. “The number of digital token exchanges and digital token offerings in Singapore has been increasing,” MAS’ assistant managing director of …

Several major global banks have successfully completed a cross-border payment pilot test using Thai bank Krungsri’s (Bank of Ayudhya) Blockchain Interledger, according to a press release May 22. The pilot, conducted in the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) regulatory sandbox, was executed by Japan’s Mitsubishi Group, their banking unit MUFG Bank, and the Standard Chartered Singapore bank. The test involved sending money in a period of seconds from a Thailand-based Mitsubishi Group subsidiary to the Standard Chartered account of a Singapore-based Mitsubishi Group Subsidiary, using Kungsri’s Interledger tech. Thakorn Piyapan, head of the Krungsri Consumer Group and the Digital Banking and …

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. As society starts to move away from cash, central banks’ potential to reap profits off issuing that cash could be threatened. Many governments are worried about the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies and hence are considering the merits of creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Central banks have woken up to the risks cryptocurrencies can pose to policy makers’ bread-and-butter business: the economy. Hence the debate about the pros and cons of government digital currency closed private blockchains versus …