UK Appoints Bim Afolami as Economic Secretary to Oversee Crypto Regulation

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and China are set to pilot the digital currency "E-CNY," also known as the digital yuan, in an effort to promote tourism spending. This collaboration stems from a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in 2020. The digital currency, developed by the People's Bank of China, MAS, and the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China, will enable travelers from Singapore and China to use E-CNY for tourism purposes in both countries. The discussions regarding this digital currency took place at the 19th Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation in Tianjin. The E-CNY is China's digital version of the yuan, primarily designed for domestic retail payments. It aims to fulfill the public's need for cash in the digital economy era and support the development of retail payment infrastructure. While China has been testing the currency domestically, it plans to explore cross-border payment programs in the future. Singapore's central bank's managing director, Ravi Menon, has expressed that private cryptocurrencies lacking fundamental financial service tests will eventually diminish, emphasizing the importance of central bank digital currencies, tokenized bank liabilities, and well-regulated stablecoins in the future monetary system. The collaboration between Singapore and China also includes the launch of an exchange-traded funds link between the Singapore Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange. Furthermore, the two countries have agreed to implement a 30-day mutual visa exemption agreement next year, enhancing their trade pact.

Binance has withdrawn its application for a financial license in Abu Dhabi as part of its reassessment of global operations and compliance requirements. The application, submitted by BV Investment Management, a Binance unit, aimed to manage collective investment funds. The decision to retract the application was made to align with the company's revised compliance needs. Binance's former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, who acquired UAE citizenship, has pleaded guilty in an anti-money laundering case and requested to return to the UAE before his sentencing. Binance has also ceased operations in several other countries, including Germany, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Russia, due to regulatory compliance efforts.

Several major South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have started listing the US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT as trading volumes increase. Bithumb, the second-largest exchange in the country, added support for USDT on December 7, following Coinone's listing on November 30. Both exchanges support USDT on the Tron blockchain protocol. South Korean exchanges have faced scrutiny in recent years and have been pressured to delist certain coins. Despite concerns about Tether's USD reserves, the South Korean exchanges seem unfazed and believe investors can check the audit reports and reserve details. USDT is popular in South Korea and Asia, where it is used for trading Bitcoin on peer-to-peer markets. Bithumb hopes that the USDT listing will help improve its financial results. As part of the listing event, Bithumb is offering customers fractional Bitcoin rewards for maker orders. This development comes after a customs service raid on an international gambling ring that used USDT. Officials suspect that the ring paid online casino users in USDT, which was then exchanged for fiat on an illegal crypto exchange in the Philippines.

More than 1,000 Bitcoins that were mined in 2010 during the early days of Bitcoin have been moved to trading desks. The transaction involved inputs from multiple addresses and the coins were consolidated into a separate address. The value of the coins at the time of mining was only $100, but they are now worth over $43 million. It is speculated that the original owner of the coins, who may have been a Bitcoin pioneer, has now sold them. The movement of old Bitcoins is not uncommon, as similar transactions have occurred earlier this year. These coins are typically considered lost by their former owners. Despite the reluctance of long-term holders to sell their coins at current prices, the price of Bitcoin remains higher than the average acquisition price.