JD.com Joins Digital Yuan Pilot, Canadians Get New BTC & ETH Exchange + More News

Sead Fadilpašić
Last updated: | 2 min read

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.

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CBDCs news

  • JD.com, a multi-billion dollar Chinese e-commerce platform, has joined the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC)’s digital yuan initiative. It becomes the largest company so far to admit that it is working with Beijing on its breathless drive to become the first major economy in the world to release a digital version of its fiat currency. Per Yicai, JD.com will help develop mobile and blockchain-powered solutions, a digital wallet and solutions that will allow users to pay for goods and services online or at physical outlets.

Exchanges news

  • Today, online investment management platform Wealthsimple launched its bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) exchange Wealthsimple Crypto. It will be available for Canadians on iOS and Android through the Wealthsimple Trade app, the company said, adding that more cryptoassets might be offered in the future.
  • Medium-sized South Korean crypto exchanges are poised to make new hires in preparation for next year’s crypto regulations, per D Daily. Companies deemed to be virtual asset service providers (VASPs) – such as exchanges – will have to abide by strict new regulatory policies as of March next year. The media outlet stated that while larger firms already have anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance teams in place, a number of second-tier exchanges are now rushing to fill vacancies in this field.

Blockchain news

  • Avalanche (AVAX) mainnet is now live, said the open-source platform for launching decentralized finance applications and enterprise blockchain deployments. The announcement outlined specific benefits for decentralized organizations, developers, users and others, which come with this launch, for example, enterprises and institutions on Avalanche can run in their own independent blockchains.

Mining news

  • The government of the de facto South Caucasian state of Abkhazia has reversed its ban on crypto mining. Per EA Daily, the Abkhazian cabinet has approved a decision to overturn the ban – imposed back in December 2018. However, the cabinet has expressed a wish to keep mining in check, after state energy operators warned of a pending “energy crisis” as mining continues to boom. The nation will create a register for mining hardware, and will impose a two-month ban on the import of mining rigs.
  • Crypto mining company Bitfarms has entered into an equipment lease with digital liquidity provider BlockFills for 2,000 WhatsMiner M31S miners to be delivered and installed by the end of October 2020. According to the press release, the company has also signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with BlockFills to provide additional lease financing for approximately 7,000 more new generation miners by the end of 2020.