A week has gone by and there is a lot of activity in the crypto space. Bitcoin chip maker Ebang is preparing to go public on the Nasdaq exchange. South Korea’s exchange Bithumb is planning to launch an initial public offering in its country of origin but will likely face obstacles. Nearly $200 million in Ether stored in digital wallets linked to the Plus Token Scam are on the move. On the day of the move, Ethereum’s price dropped 4 percent.
Chinese Crypto Chip Maker Ebang to List on Nasdaq
A Chinese bitcoin miner manufacturer has got a second bite of the cherry in listing on a major exchange, but this time, in the U.S.
Ebang will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market on June 26 under the ticker symbol EBON. It will become the second Chinese based-cryptocurrency firm to list on a U.S. exchange.
This follows the company filing for a $100 million initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April of 2020. Ebang is planning to raise $106 million from the sale of 19.3 million shares at a price range of $4.50 to $6.50. This means that the company can raise as much as $125 million with a hard cap of $100 million.
A successful IPO will see the firm being valued at close to $800 million. Ebang unsuccessfully attempted to list in Hong Kong in 2018.
Ebang’s 2018 annual revenue of $319 million dropped 66 percent in 2019 to $109 million. The company also suffered a loss of $2.5 million in Q1 this year.
In 2019, Canaan, a competitor to Ebang, raised $90 million in a U.S. public offering after selling 10 million shares for $9 each.
$188 Million in Ethereum Tied to Plus Token Ponzi Scheme on the Move
Millions of funds in Ether held in wallets linked to the Plus Token Ponzi scheme are on the move. 789,534 ETH, worth $188 million were moved from a wallet with ties to the Plus Token digital assets. This was the first time the wallet showed movement since December 2019 when some of the operators of the alleged scam were arrested.
The Plus Token cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme operated in China and South Korea. It attracted around $3 billion in cryptocurrencies, notably bitcoin, ethereum, and EOS.
This large transaction comes at the back of another relatively large transaction involving 26.3 million EOS tokens ($67 million) that were moved from a Plus Token wallet to another wallet address.
The Plus Token Ponzi scheme is believed to be one of the largest scams in crypto history.
Thailand Central Bank Working on a CBDC Prototype
The Bank of Thailand is the newest monetary regulator to flirt with a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) after announcing the development of a prototype of a decentralized digital payment system for businesses.
The pilot project will be based on Project Inthanon, a DLT project undertaken by the central bank in collaboration with the country’s top eight commercial banks. The project is slotted to start next month and will run until the end of the year when the central bank publicizes the summary of the project through a report.
Bithumb Plans to Launch an Initial Public Offering in South Korea
Reports from local media suggest that South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is planning to hold an (IPO) in its home country.
The exchange’s operator has begun preparations for the launch and is bringing on-board Samsung Securities as its underwriter.
Bithumb’s road to the listing will not be easy as the exchange faces a number of issues preventing it from filing a successful IPO. The exchange’s ‘opaque’ composition of shareholders could work against it, reports MoneyToday. One of the obstacles faced by the trading platform includes taxation issues.
The South Korean finance ministry recently announced plans to impose cryptocurrency tax and promised to reveal more details in July. The country’s move to tax cryptocurrencies has come under attack. Sung Tae-yoon, an economist from the Korean Yonsei University said the government’s move is a bit “premature.” The economist believes that taxing the cryptocurrency transactions will likely affect the growth of the emerging market.
Bithumb has also previously considered going public in the past through a reverse merger in the United States.
Japanese Financial Regulators Are not in Favor of Gambling Dapps
Japanese financial regulators are more likely to approve new digital currencies for trading if they show financial transparency and have no involvement with gambling Dapps, a Xangle research shows.
The new report says that the Financial Services Agency (FSA) is more likely to approve virtual assets if they do not support Dapps with gambling or anonymous features.
Xangle picked Quantum (QTUM) as the cryptocurrency that meets the requirements laid out by the industry self-regulatory group, the Japan Crypto Asset Exchange Agency (JCAEA). Per the report, QTUM was transparent in its answers and had enough liquidity to be listed on exchanges. The virtual asset recently went live for trading on Coincheck exchange.
Singapore Charges Woman for Dealing in Bitcoin Without License
Authorities in Singapore have charged a 23-year old woman for illegally dealing in Bitcoins using funds obtained through criminal activities.
She is the first person to be indicated under the new Payment Service Act of 2019 that came into effect on January 28. Under the Anti-Money Laundering (AML), any person engaging in cryptocurrency transactions should obtain a license from a regulator. The charged woman had no such license.
According to an official police document, the woman facilitated digital currency services in late February. She allegedly received a minimum of 13 transfers to her account totaling $2,405 and she used the money to buy bitcoins.
The police further say that the woman was conducting the transaction on behalf of a loan shark only identified as “Boss.” The woman was paid for her services. The money deposited in her account came from online scams, which the police did not specifically reveal.
