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.
Banking news
- A major Brazilian bank has closed the accounts of at least five companies that deal with cryptoassets, reports Portal do Bitcoin. The media outlet says that Caixa Econômica, the largest 100% government-owned financial institution in Latin America and the country’s third-biggest, suspended all of the accounts within the space of less than a fortnight and quotes one brokerage official as stating that his company’s accounts have now returned online after a “five-day freeze.”
- A number of Chinese banking and e-pay customers say their accounts have been frozen after they used their cards to buy crypto, per Chinatimes. However, the same media outlet quotes spokespeople from e-pay provider Alipay and other Mainland Chinese financial service providers as denying that they have a policy of freezing accounts when they detect customers have engaged in crypto-related activities.
Digital fiats news
- The central Bank of Korea (BOK) has created a legal advisory group for its forthcoming central bank digital currency offering, reports Chosun. The BOK has not yet confirmed that it will actually launch a digital fiat, but is edging toward a pilot – and the new group has already held its first meeting in a bid to iron out potential legal wrinkles.
Defi news
- Users of decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform Compound will start getting their token from June 15 onward, the company recently announced. Following the successful conclusion of the distribution testnet for the COMP token, Compound’s community-driven proposal, dubbed Compound Governance Proposal 007, has been created. The token will be used to further upgrade and develop the protocol.
Stablecoins news
- Another South Korean local stablecoin has been launched, this time in the seaside city of Boryeong, reports Asia Today. The city authorities say their token will be co-issued by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation, which has collaborated with a number of other South Korean cities and metropolitan neighborhoods on similar projects.
Exchange news
- Changelly, a non-custodial crypto exchange, recently announced it will soon be launching a new trading platform, called Changelly Pro. While details remain scarce at the moment, the company’s Twitter update states that Pro will be a “full-featured exchange.”
Adoption news
- Zain Group, a telecommunications operator in the Middle East and Africa, has joined the Hedera Governing Council, the governing body of Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR), a public distributed ledger platform and a blockchain alternative for corporations. Zain Group becomes the first Council member from the Middle East, says the press release, and joins LG, Google, IBM, Boeing, and other companies interested in distributed ledger technology.
- Ripple is looking to expand further into the South-American market with a new cross-border payment corridor in Brazil. Speaking for the Future of Finance YouTube channel, the company’s Head of Global Banking Marjan Delatinne confirmed the news, also mentioning “exotic” countries like the Philippines. Ripple’s RippleNet product is currently used by three major banks in the country: Santander, Bradesco, and Banco Rendimento.
- Alternative investment banking and securities firm Wilshire Phoenix filed a proposal with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) for a publicly traded bitcoin (BTC) fund. The proposal, submitted last Friday, is planned to only work with BTC, with the company adding that it may need to operate with USD a bit as it buys, sells and otherwise manages the cryptocurrency.
- Shanghai’s first blockchain industrial park has opened, with more than 20 blockchain-related companies moving in, reports Chinaemail. The park’s operators say that a number of blockchain-powered food traceability, digital finance and data transaction-related pilots will be conducted at the site, which was built using public funds.
Security news
- Users of the crypto wallet Wasabi, that also use Trezor hardware wallet, have been warned not to update the tool to its latest version as it may lock them out of their funds. Announcing the warning in a Medium blog post, Wasabi’s sotfware developer Jumar Macato said not to update the Wasabi Wallet installation and Trezor devices to v 2.3.1 (Trezor Model T) and version 1.9.1 (Trezor One) until the issue is resolved.
