Author：Lily

Editor：Colin Wu

1. Korbit requires employees’ families to report their Korbit accounts to the companylink

On the 16th, the Korean exchange Korbit announced that it will monitor the Korbit accounts of executives and employees’ family members to strengthen internal control standards and avoid improper transactions and conflicts of interest.

2. Upbit to support SHIB’s fiat transactions and GAL’s BTC transactions link

South Korea’s largest exchange, Upbit, will support SHIB’s fiat transactions and GAL’s BTC transactions; it only supports deposits from the ERC-20 network, and does not support deposits through other networks such as BNBChain.

3. South Korea to allow Security Token Offerings (STO) link

The South Korean government stated that it will allow the issuance of security tokens (STO) and establish a safe token circulation system. The regulations including the issuance and circulation of STO will be announced early next month.

4. Curve Finance announces addition of Chinese language interface link

Curve Finance announced the addition of a Chinese interface, which is currently only available in English and Chinese, but in Traditional Chinese. The official website also includes a Chinese telegram group, a Chinese video introduction, a Chinese Wiki, and more.

5. Xiamen National Accounting Institute: Ideas and Suggestions for Taxing Cryptocurrencies in China link

This paper proposes the taxation of bitcoin from three aspects: mining, circulation and sale; individual “barter” can be considered as property transfer and subject to personal income tax; individual sale of bitcoin obtained from “mining” should be subject to VAT and income tax; and the government should establish a standardized digital cryptocurrency trading platform.

6. OSL, HK’s compliant cryptocurrency trading platform, lays off employees again link

OSL, Hong Kong’s first compliant cryptocurrency trading platform, is cutting costs by about 1/3, including by laying off staff, though OSL declined to say how many. OSL already laid off 15% of its workforce in June 2022.

7. Coinbase to halt its operations in Japan link

Coinbase officially announced that it will stop its business in Japan. The deposit function will be closed on January 20, 2023. Users must withdraw crypto assets or legal tender from Coinbase Japan before February 16.

8. Thai SEC issues regulations requiring digital wallet management system link

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand issued regulations on January 17 requiring cryptocurrency custodian providers to establish a crypto wallet management system to ensure customer security. The regulations came into effect on January 16.

9. Bitzlato’s weekly summary

9.1 Bitzlato is accused of laundering $700 million by U.S. authorities link

Hydra users exchanged more than $700m in cryptocurrency with the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, Bitzlato also received more than $15 million in ransomware proceeds. Although Bitzlato claimed not to accept users from the US, it did substantial business with U.S.-based customers.

9.2 The founder of Bitzlato Ltd. was arrested on January 17 link

The founder of Bitzlato Ltd. was arrested on January 17 in Miami for his alleged operation of money transmitting business. Anatoly Legkodymov, 40, a Russian national who resides in Shenzhen, China, is scheduled to be arraigned on January 18.

9.3 Binance named as counterparty in FinCEN order against Bitzlato link

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, was named as a counterparty in an order against the little-known cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, accused of laundering $700 million by U.S. authorities on Wednesday. “Binance is pleased to have provided substantial assistance to international law enforcement partners in support of this investigation. This exemplifies Binance’s commitment to working collaboratively with law enforcement partners worldwide,” a Binance spokesperson said.

10. HashKey Capital closes Fund III with US$500 million in commitments link

HashKey Capital, one of the largest blockchain investors in Asia, announced the completion of its three-phase Fund, HashKey Fintech Investment Fund III, with 500m US dollars, targeting infrastructure, tools and applications with mass adoption potential.