Boerse Stuttgart’s Crypto App Grows 40% This Year + More News
Crypto Briefs is your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Adoption news
- Boerse Stuttgart Group’s crypto app BISON, launched more than a year ago, has hit the 100,000 active users mark. The press release states that the number of active users of BISON has grown by more than 40% since the beginning of 2020. On peak days, c. 16,000 price alerts are triggered and sent as push notifications, while in February 2020 the maximum order size doubled to EUR 100,000 (USD 109,470). Bison has in plans a desktop version of the app and adding Bitcoin Cash (BCH) as an additional tradable cryptocurrency.
- Nomura Research Institute (NRI) and BOOSTRY, a joint venture of NRI and Nomura Holdings, have offered the first blockchain-based digital bonds directly to Japanese investors. The announcement explains that they issued two bonds: JPY 25 million (USD 231,050) digital asset bond with a three-month maturity and no interest paid to holders, and a JPY 5 million (USD 46,210) second bond that both pay holders a low-interest rate.
- BC Group, a listed digital asset and fintech company, has announced that it delivered an 8x increase in year-on-year (YoY) revenues of RMB 72 million (USD 10.1 million) in 2019, an increase of 737% on RMB 9 million (USD 1.2 million) in 2018, while the overall group revenue climbed 14% to RMB 165 million (USD 23.3 million) YoY. The press release also says that active customers went up 254% YoY for OSL digital assets platform; the platform volume surpassed USD 1 billion a month in the fourth quarter of 2019; and OSL Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions was the Group’s main revenue driver in 2019, accounting for 44% of revenues (compared to 6% in 2018).
Exchanges news
- OKCoin has obtained an elusive permit from the Japanese financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA). All exchanges, including both overseas exchanges with branches in Japan and overseas-based platforms that target Japanese customers, must obtain an FSA-issued license. Per a press release shared with Cryptonews.com, the OKCoin Japan exchange will offer trading in bitcoin (BTC) and four major altcoins.
- Binance has announced that it will open a South Korean branch this week. Per Fn News, the exchange giant says that Binance Korea will open on April 2, and withdrawal services will begin on April 9. The firm is also planning to launch a new stablecoin named BKRW, which it says will be pegged to the won. The company is also reportedly in talks that could see it acquire monitoring site CoinMarketCap. Also, the company announced that it launched the Binance Loans service.
- Singapore’s Bitget exchange is set to enter the American market. Per media outlet Next Money, the exchange has registered as a financial services business with the American Treasury’s regulatory Financial Crimes Enforcement Network while it gears up for a stateside launch.
Crime news
- Police in South Korea are still searching for Telegram Nth room chief suspect Cho Joo-bin’s crypto holdings. Per reports from News1 and Channel A, investigators have so far been unsuccessful in their searches on a number of smart and electronic devices, and searches of Cho’s mobiles, USB drives and home computers have so far yielded no results. However, investigators have found another mobile device hidden in a sofa they say they are keen to investigate. They are also hopeful of discovering the identity of some 15,000 Telegram account holders who may have paid Cho to watch videos featuring the rape and sexual exploitation of some 74 women, including several underage girls.
Mining news
- HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a dedicated cryptocurrency mining operation with access to 30 megawatts of low-cost green power at a leased facility located in Lachute, Quebec, from Cryptologic Corp. for a price of c. CAD 4 million (USD 2.8 million). The press release says that the acquisition will more than double HIVE’s total available power capacity globally to approximately 50 MW, placing it among the largest of any publicly-listed cryptocurrency miner.
Regulation news
- Russia’s crypto law might be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, reported Happy Coin News, citing Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the Duma’s financial committee. He estimates that the law will be passed “closer to summer.”
Tax news
- Crypto accounting platform Blox and tax software Sovos have released the “2020 Crypto Tax Report,” which finds major gaps in reporting data and a lack of client understanding around crypto tax law. According to the press release, more than 50% of the surveyed CPAs (certified public accountants) believe that most of their crypto clients likely owe back taxes. Crypto exchanges should be now providing 1099s (information return forms) to their clients to help them understand taxable crypto events and avoid improper or under reporting of their income, said Paul Banker, general manager of Tax and Regulatory Reporting at Sovos.
