Morning News: Robinhood’s Merry Million; Central Ethereum Hub
Robinhood App Gains a Million Crypto Signups Canadian Group’s Bid to Become “Central Ethereum Hub” Man Admits to Bitcoin-financed LSD Drug Sumggling All Quiet on First Day of S Korean Real-name Trading
Catch up on the most essential cryptocurrency and blockchain news stories breaking in Asia and the Americas while the rest of the world was asleep.
Robinhood App Gains a Million Crypto Signups in Four Days, US Crypto Interest “Remains High”
American trading app Robinhood’s new cryptocurrency platform has already amassed 1 million users – ahead of its official launch in five US states next month. The company announced its plans to begin cryptocurrency trading four days ago. Despite the fact that it will only initially be available in five states, Robinhood officials say that a million users have signed up for early access, marking a 30 percent increase in the company’s over 3 million user base. CNBC quotes a senior analyst at consultancy Tabb Group as saying, “Interest in the cryptospace remains very high,” and adding that commission merchants “are starting to execute and settle bitcoin futures contracts.”
Canadian Group’s Bid to Become “Central Ethereum Hub”
An Canadian ethereum venture capital group, consisting of pension fund OMERS, investment group Purpose Investments and crypto startups Citizen Hex and L4 Ventures, is looking to raise USD 50 million as part of a bid to buy significant quantities of ether and purchase controlling stakes in ethereum-based businesses. The company says it intends to position itself as “the central business and investment hub for the ethereum ecosystem,” and has announced a reverse takeover deal with Movit Media, a fitness and sports instruction app and content producer.
Nagoya Man Admits to Bitcoin-financed LSD Drug Sumggling
Police in Nagoya, Japan, have arrested a 25-year-old man on suspicion of buying illegal drugs from the Netherlands using bitcoin. The man confessed he had paid a supplier in the European nation to send him LSD “components” via international mail, paying his supplier in cryptocurrency to help avoid detection. The package, however was intercepted by Japanese customs officials. The man admitted to sending 4,000 yen to a connection he made over the internet as part of the deal.
All Quiet on First Day of S Korean Real-name Trading; Stock Market to Benefit from Boon as Korean Crypto Fever Subsides?
Banks in South Korea have reported a quiet morning [/URL]as regulations requiring crypto investors use their real names and ID numbers when making transactions between banks and exchanges came into force. The financial community had been braced for an onset of new account requests today at branches of the six banks now requiring real-name account usage. However, Yonhap says the morning has been subdued. The media outlet quotes an official at Shinhan, one of the banks in question, as saying, “We have not had many requests yet as most cryptocurrency investors are still investing with [other banks].”
Meanwhile, financial experts in the country say small-scale investors who have been frightened off cryptocurrencies by tightening government regulations and the Coincheck hack will begin investing funds in Korea’s stock market, KOSDAQ, with the index set to rise to the 1,000 mark. Hyun Joon-ho, head of investment strategy at Hyundai Investment & Securities, says, “As the government continues to involve itself in the activities of cryptocurrency investors, the possibility of another crypto price surge is decreasing. Contrast that to the KOSDAQ, which is now looking healthy.”
