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Bitmain’s revenge, Hong Kong’s crypto rollercoaster: Asia Express

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments.

Bitcoin application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining manufacturer Bitmain has allegedly fired three of its employees for speaking to the media regarding the withholding of salary payments by their employer. 

According to local news reports on Oct. 17, citing an alleged internal Bitmain memo, the company accused three staff members of breaching various clauses in their employment contracts for sharing their remuneration on social media platforms. The note reads: 

“The EMT [Executive Management Team] has decided: (1) Employee Li of product operations and circuit development, is to be fired immediately and blacklisted. (2) Employee Xie of product operations and circuit development, is to be fired immediately and blacklisted. (3) Employee Ding, administrative intern at strategic development PMT, is to be fired immediately and blacklisted. The intern’s post-secondary institution shall also be informed of the incident.”

“In addition, the company reserves the right to pursue legal action against the individuals above,” Bitmain allegedly wrote. “Without authorization by the company, nothing can be said, nothing can be given [to outsiders!]”


Weekly Overview

Bitmain’s revenge, Hong Kong’s crypto rollercoaster: Asia Express

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments.

Bitcoin application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining manufacturer Bitmain has allegedly fired three of its employees for speaking to the media regarding the withholding of salary payments by their employer. 

According to local news reports on Oct. 17, citing an alleged internal Bitmain memo, the company accused three staff members of breaching various clauses in their employment contracts for sharing their remuneration on social media platforms. The note reads: 

“The EMT [Executive Management Team] has decided: (1) Employee Li of product operations and circuit development, is to be fired immediately and blacklisted. (2) Employee Xie of product operations and circuit development, is to be fired immediately and blacklisted. (3) Employee Ding, administrative intern at strategic development PMT, is to be fired immediately and blacklisted. The intern’s post-secondary institution shall also be informed of the incident.”

“In addition, the company reserves the right to pursue legal action against the individuals above,” Bitmain allegedly wrote. “Without authorization by the company, nothing can be said, nothing can be given [to outsiders!]”


Market Analysis

Reddit mods dumped tokens hours before blockchain program termination

Analysis of token movements from Redditor moderators' wallets suggests at least three moderators dumped thousands of dollars worth of Moon tokens just minutes before the actual announcement.

Blockchain

Tether to publish reserve reports in real time in 2024: Bloomberg

Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief technical officer and upcoming CEO, said the firm plans to start publishing reserve data in real-time in 2024, according to a report.

Regulations

Blockchain improves charity transparency — But is it right for everyone?

Can blockchain technology actually help to improve transparency within charities?

Blockchain

Chamber of Digital Commerce opposes SEC's overreach in Binance lawsuit

The Chamber of Digital Commerce asserts that the SEC employs the enforcement-based method to classify digital assets as securities and impose penalties on cryptocurrency businesses.

Regulations

Google Cloud teams up with MultiversX amid blockchain firm’s focus on metaverse

MultiversX announced an array of new features on its xPortal super-app with tools to build next-gen metaverse features on the same day of the Google Cloud partnership.

Blockchain

SEC wins default judgment against Thor Technologies and founder

Thor Technologies has been instructed to pay a sum of $903,193.06, which encompasses a disgorgement of $744,555, and prejudgment interest amounting to $158,638.06.

Regulations

Community reacts to SEC dropping XRP case and LBRY shutdown

While celebrating a new court win in Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC, the community mourns the demise of LBRY, which some say was “regulated to oblivion.”

Regulations

Community reacts to SEC dropping XRP case and LBRY shutdown

Ripple’s new win in the legal battle against the United States securities regulators has been marred for crypto enthusiasts by news of the blockchain platform LBRY shutting down operations, which has triggered the community to react.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its intention to dismiss all claims against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chair Chris Larsen on Oct. 19. The event marked a significant legal win for Ripple in the civil case filed by the SEC in late 2020.

On the same day, LBRY, a major blockchain file-sharing and payment network, announced the termination of its operations, citing “several million dollars” in debts owed to the SEC, its legal team and a private debtor. LBRY’s creators are known for building Odysee, an open-source video-sharing website that uses the network, aiming to bring a decentralized alternative to major video platforms like YouTube.

The SEC filed a lawsuit against LBRY in March 2021, accusing the firm of similar securities law violations to those it brought against Ripple. Even after the SEC downgraded the $22 million penalty against LBRY to around $111,000, the firm eventually decided not to continue its appeal against the SEC.

“Whilst we celebrate another massive win for Ripple, let's not forget the damage the SEC has already done to crypto,” prominent XRP influencer, Ashley Prosper, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Oct. 19. The crypto enthusiast expressed hope that the LBRY app and its eponymous native token would rise again due to the “rampant censorship on X and the ever-present censorship on YouTube.”

Altcoins

Central Bank of Argentina to introduce 'digital peso' bill 'as soon as possible'

The BCRA has accelerated its work on legislation to implement the CBDC workflow in the country.

Regulations

European Banking Authority, ESMA issue crypto entity suitability guidelines

The joint guidelines include granting authorization for ART and CASP issuance and conducting prudential assessments for potential acquisitions.

Regulations

EU data protection regulators urge anonymity for smaller transactions in digital euro

The European Data Protection Board and the European Data Protection Supervisor issued a joint opinion statement on the regulation of “digital euro.”

Regulations

How decentralization can mitigate 'dystopic' artificial intelligence risks: SingularityNET exec

Janet Adams, the COO of SingularityNET, said that AGIs falling into the hands of military could pose existential threats to humanity.

Blockchain

Prosecutors argue 'effective altruism' inadequate in Bankman-Fried case

Bankman-Fried's legal counsel asserted that this argument lacks relevance and does not absolve the fraud allegations.

Regulations

Bitcoin eyes $30K, XRP price jumps 6% after Ripple's legal victory

Bitcoin keeps heading higher as BTC price strength flies in the face of a hawkish Fed, but concerns over a retracement are building.

Bitcoin

EtherHiding: Why hackers may prefer Binance’s BNB Smart Chain

According to cybersecurity analysts at 0xScope and CertiK, threat actors may prefer using BNB Smart Chain contracts because it’s cheaper and seen as having lower security than Ethereum.

Blockchain

EtherHiding: Why hackers may prefer Binance’s BNB Smart Chain

According to cybersecurity analysts at 0xScope and CertiK, threat actors may prefer using BNB Smart Chain contracts because it’s cheaper and seen as having lower security than Ethereum.

Ethereum

‘This will be our last post’ — LBRY throws in towel against the SEC

Blockchain company LBRY Inc. — the creators of the LBRY blockchain — has issued its final message to the crypto, citing “several million dollars” of debts that have now made it impossible for the firm to continue.

“This will be our last post,” said the LBRY Inc. team in an Oct. 20 statement on Odysee, a LBRY-powered video-sharing website, which was also shared on X.

LBRY said several millions of dollars of debt owed to the SEC, its legal team and a private debtor ended up being too big a barrier to overcome.

“LBRY Inc. must die, there is no escaping this. It has lost a judgment to the federal government, has several million dollars in debts, and has pledged to shut down.”

“Thank you to everyone who fought with us for online freedom,” LBRY added in an Oct. 19 X post.

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Altcoins

‘This will be our last post’ — LBRY throws in towel against the SEC

“Thank you to everyone who fought with us for online freedom,” the LBRY Inc team said.

Blockchain

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