Hack-victim Coincheck gets new Japanese license: Nikkei is reporting that Japan’s Coincheck is to get its license back after suffering a $530 million hack in January, one of the biggest in crypto history. Reuters reports that Coincheck, which says it repaid about $400 million to investors, had been operating on a provisional basis since the hack and in that time has twice been ordered by the Japanese regulator to improve its internal controls. In April, Monex, Japan’s third-largest online brokerage, completed a $32 million acquisition of Coincheck and this reportedly led to an improvement in governance.
Asia’s mainstream crypto ambitions face insurance hurdles: Reuters is reporting that Asian exchanges and traders both face the risk of hacks and thefts and do not have the requisite insurance to deal with losses. Industry insiders say getting the buy-in from insurers would allow the industry to attract investment from mainstream asset managers. “Most institutionally minded crypto firms want to buy proper insurance, and in many cases, getting adequate insurance coverage is a regulatory or legal requirement,” Henri Arslanian, PwC fintech and crypto leader for Asia, told Reuters. “However, getting such coverage is almost impossible despite their best efforts.”
Death knell sounds Bitmain Hong Kong IPO: Chinese bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain is having a hard time convincing regulators that it should be allowed to have an initial public offering in Hong Kong, according to various media sources. “HKEX will be particularly cautious and concerned over the regulatory uncertainty arising from bitcoin mining makers’ IPOs in Hong Kong,” Frank Bi, a partner at international law firm Ashurst in Hong Kong, told CoinDesk. “Coupled with the potential market speculation which has been reflected over the price of Bitcoin recently, it is even more difficult to present a sustainable business model of this industry.”
Blockchain a boon for food security: Irish researchers say distributed ledger technology brings greater efficiency, transparency and traceability to exchanges in food supply chains. The University College Cork-Teagasc research project highlighted scandals such as the sale of horse meat as beef, and the contamination of strawberries with needles in Australia as examples. China, in particular, is a country that is already developing a robust system of using blockchain for medicine and food supplies.
UK taxman knocks on the crypto door: The UK has published its first detailed tax legislation on digital currencies and holders will be asked to pay capital gains tax or income tax, depending on the type of cryptocurrency transactions they are involved in. “In the vast majority of cases, individuals hold crypto assets as a personal investment, usually for capital appreciation in its value or to make particular purchases. They will be liable to pay capital gains tax when they dispose of their crypto assets,” a new government advisory says. It also says mining, airdrops or financial trading will also be considered as liable to income tax.