CBDC Among Priorities in Japan, eToro card, Flashing Crypto Loans + 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.
CBDC news
- The Bank of Japan (BoJ), the nation’s central bank, has called central bank digital currency (CBDC) issuance one of its “top priority issues.” Takeshi Kimura, the BoJ’s department director-general of Payment and Settlement Systems (the part of the BoJ charged with CBDC-related matters), told the Asahi Shimbun, “We will move forward with discussions while pushing up the level of consideration beyond the preparatory stage.” Like most central banks, the BoJ is still yet to commit definitively to launching a CBDC.
Exchanges news
- Stock, commodities, and crypto trading platform eToro is to launch a debit card, following its acquisition of Marq Millions Ltd, the UK based e-money business, Techcrunch reported, citing CEO of eToro, Yoni Assia. The card will initially be available to eToro Club members in the UK, then Europe, and will later be extended to non-eToro users, the report added.
- Huobi Japan has joined the Japan Security Token Offering Association, reported Fisco, via Gentosha. The crypto exchange will become the first non-domestic crypto exchange to join the association. Japanese market leader bitFlyer also announced it had joined the association earlier this week.
- Kraken has announced that specialized payments platform Paysafe choose this exchange as a crypto asset liquidity provider. According to the announcement, the partnership precedes Paysafe’s launch of its own crypto buy and sell services through its digital wallets Skrill and Neteller.
DeFi News
- More than USD 138 million worth of flash loans – a new all-time high – were issued on Monday via Aave, the fourth biggest DeFi platform by total value locked. DAI and USDC made up nearly 95% of flash loans issued on the day.
- Nexo (NEXO), platform for instant crypto loans, has expanded its Instant Crypto Credit LinesTM to accept TRON (TRX) as collateral, creating the first TRX-backed fiat loans, said the announcement. Among a number of benefits for TRX investors, TRX users gain access to Nexo’s Earn on Crypto product, an interest service where users can receive up to 10% interest on digital assets.
Blockchain news
- Real estate investment specialist Max Property Group (MPG) has received approval from Dutch Financial Markets Authority (AFM) to launch Max Crowdfund, a blockchain-based international real estate crowdfunding platform on which real estate-backed loans will be placed. Per the press release, the platform will use the Ardor (ARDR) public blockchain developed by Jelurida. It should be rolled out and first loans placed “soon,” while investors will be able to make real estate investments from EUR 100 (USD 118).
- South Korean energy provider Korea Southern Power is set to make a multimillion investment in blockchain and other industry 4.0 tech, reported DToday. The firm said its investment will be worth some USD 360m, and will allow it to create 46,000 new jobs. It is operated by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), which is majority-owned by the government. The move is part of the South Korean government’s “New Deal” policy aimed at revitalizing the economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Aqilliz, a technology company that specializes in blockchain-powered solutions for digital marketing, has announced the completion of a blockchain-based loyalty program pilot in partnership with multinational internet service and telecommunications provider, MyRepublic, dubbed MyRewards. According to the press release, Aqilliz leveraged blockchain project Zilliqa (ZIL) for the MyRewards mobile app, finding that transaction costs can be “significantly” lowered with blockchain technology, in addition to the benefit of supply chain transparency.
Mining news
- Marathon Patent Group, one of the Nasdaq listed crypto mining companies in the US, today announced the purchase of 700 next generation M31S+ ASIC Miners from MicroBT. The miners are expected to arrive mid-August. Additionally, Bitmain has notified the company that 660 of the 1,660 Bitmain S-19 Pro Miners previously purchased will be delivered in mid-August. Upon delivery and installation of the 1,360 miners the company’s aggregate hashing power capacity would increase by 320% to 184 PH/s.
- Bithumb’s Bithumb Global arm said it has launched cloud mining operations in conjunction with an “alliance of 15 partners,” reported Hanguk Kyungjae. The firm stated that it operations would focus on bitcoin (BTC) and ETH mining at first – with a view to adding support for other tokens in the near future.
M&A news
- Decentralized communication platform Mainframe (MFT) has announced the acquisition of Sablier, a money streaming platform for real-time payments designed to send continuous payments via the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. Per the announcement, Mainframe plans to integrate this money streaming technology into its fixed-rate lending protocol.
Crime news
- Crypto scammers in Japan have made a bomb threat to a government office on the island of Hokkaido, reported FNN. The scammers sent the Numata Town Hall an email stating that a bomb had been placed in a women’s second-floor toilet and would be detonated if crypto funds were not deposited to a wallet by UTC 3am on June 29. That deadline has now passed, and the town hall is, fortunately, still intact.
