Kraken Bank Starts Its Global Expansion From US + More News
Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Exchanges news
- US-based major crypto exchange Kraken said that the State of Wyoming has approved Kraken’s application to form the world’s first Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI), tentatively called Kraken Financial. Kraken Financial is the first digital asset company in US history to receive a bank charter recognized under federal and state law, and will be the first regulated, US bank to provide comprehensive deposit-taking, custody, and fiduciary services for digital assets, the company said, adding that they hope to expand globally soon. “Our offerings will evolve over time, but we plan to provide clients with everything they expect from a seamless banking gateway between digital assets and national currencies,” Kraken added.
- Police in Seoul, South Korea, have provisionally seized shares belonging to an operator of the nation’s biggest crypto exchange Bithumb. Per media outlet Anjun Shinmun, lawyers representing Kim Byung-Geon, the head of the BK Group, a firm associated with the exchange, claimed that “a large number of Bithumb Holdings shares belonging to [Bithumb Holdings] chairman Lee Jung-hoon were seized by the Seoul Central District Court on September 14.” Both men have been accused of masterminding a token sale for a coin that was supposed to have been listed on the Bithumb exchange, but never did – leading to the token declining in value. Investors claim that Lee and Kim – who blame each other for the fiasco – are guilty of fraud and embezzlement.
CBDCs news
- Société Générale Forge platform has selected the Tezos (XTZ) blockchain for central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments, said Nomadic Labs, one of the largest research and development centers in the Tezos ecosystem. As reported in July, the Bank of France selected eight companies in order to experiment with CBDC and the French banking giant was one of them.
M&A news
- CB Insights said it acquired Blockdata, a Netherlands-based software company that tracks the global blockchain economy. Blockdata will remain a stand-alone product with its own team and will be available on its own as well as available to CB Insights clients, it added.
Blockchain news
- South Korean commercial bank Kookmin (KB Bank) has agreed on a deal with the Korea Association of Property Appraisers that will see it use blockchain technology-powered solutions to do away with paper-based property and asset appraisals processes. According to outlet Financial Shinmun, the entities will co-build a digital appraisal system and the bank’s paperless drive will see it, and rival financial institutions, use digital solutions for its mortgage and loans appraisals.
- China’s Shandong Province has claimed its new blockchain-powered cross-border trade financing platform is enjoying success in the region. Per a report from Shandong Life Net, the province’s branch of the Rural Commercial Bank has launched a blockchain-based financing network that allows exporters such as textiles firms to export their goods to overseas buyers using expiated loans. The media outlet stated that 1,431 exports have been executed on the platform so far.
- Russian banking giant Sberbank said that its Swiss subsidiary has joined the Komgo blockchain network. Per a press release, the bank stated that the move, involving its Sberbank Switzerland arm, was the first time a Russian bank had “joined a blockchain-based commodity trade finance platform.” The bank added that “the pace of digitalization in the trade finance business sector is accelerating greatly.” Komgo makes use of the Quorum blockchain platform and its blockchain-keen banking partners include the likes of Japanese giant MUFG.
- Avalanche said that it is launching its fully-featured mainnet, “a highly-scalable, open-source” platform for launching decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and enterprise blockchain deployments in one, interoperable ecosystem, next Monday, September 21.
- Freehold, a new community-oriented organization, said it launched today with initial support from Blockstack PBC, the company building core protocols for decentralized computing network Blockstack (STX). Freehold aims to build community through educating and incentivizing new and existing crypto enthusiasts.
Crypto adoption news
- BitPay, a US-headquartered provider of crypto payment services, said it enabled its users to buy cryptocurrency from within the BitPay Wallet App using Wyre, a regulated payment institution that connects fiat rails to blockchain ecosystems. Customers can now buy bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) using a debit card or Apply Pay through the BitPay Wallet App, it said.
