In this past week, China’s CBDC was seen a step closer to real use case as China Construction Bank opened digital yuan wallet registration in last Saturday, blockchain being a keyword of Alibaba’s AntGroup prospectus, regulators in China’s Inner Mongolia stop preferential electricity treatment for 21 crypto mining farms, Hong Kong to approve the first license of virtual asset trading platform……

Major China bank disables digital yuan wallet registration after launch draws intense public attention

China’s one of the major banks China Construction Bank (CCB) started wallet registration for DCEP (digital currency electronic payment).  Around noon on Saturday local time, users of CCB, one of the big-four state-owned commercial banks, started to notice that a central bank digital currency wallet feature was available inside the bank’s mobile app.

Users could apply for digital RMB wallet by searching for “digital currency” on CCB App. The wallet currently supports bank card recharge, QR code collection and payment, as well as transfers.

However, the bank disabled the feature as it was floored in by thousands of people. Now when anyone searches again with the same term “digital currency” inside CCB’s mobile app, a message pops up saying: “This function is not yet officially available to the public. Please wait patiently.”

Blockchain being a keyword of AntGroup’s prospectus

AliBaba’s AntGroup submitted the prospectus to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Chinese giant simultaneously submitted the A1 application proof to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The listing application of Ant Technology Group Co., Ltd. on the Science and Technology Innovation Board was accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Ant Group’s A-share IPO plans to raise 48 billion yuan.

The prospectus pointed out that Ant Group continues to invest in the research and development of core blockchain technology to create a future-oriented trust infrastructure in the era of digital economy.

The prospectus also pointed out that as of July 31, 2020, the company has 583 registered patents, 303 approved patent applications and 5317 patent applications pending approval related to blockchain technology worldwide.

AntGroup claims that the AntChain business of the company has been commercialized and generated revenue since 2019, but the revenue proportion from blockchain is still at a low level.

China’s Inner Mongolia stops preferential electricity treatment for 21 crypto mining farms

21 crypto mining enterprises’ qualification to trade in “electric power trading center” was suspended after China’s Inner Mongolia government launched on-site inspection on 30 big data and cloud computing enterprises in 7 cities.

As Inner Mongolia, in northern China, is among the most suitable areas to operate bitcoin mining businesses thanks to its cheap electricity supply, low land prices, cold weather, and a small population, the multilateral trading market enables the relevant power suppliers and power consumers to determine the electricity price in a more flexible way. The suspension that the electricity charges for crypto mining farms in Inner Mongolia may rise by 30%.

Hong Kong SFC issues approval-in-principle to OSL for virtual asset automated trading and brokerage licenses

The Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission (SFC) approved in principle the application for a virtual asset trading platform license by OSL company of BC technology group. If the SFC completes the final approval of the license, it means that the first licensed virtual asset trading platform in Asia will be born in Hong Kong.

As a member of Hong Kong-listed company BC Technology Group (0863.HK), OSL received a preliminary license approval from the SFC for license Type 1 (dealing in securities) and Type 7 (automated trading service) regulated activities under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. The approval highlights the confidence of regulators in Hong Kong in the safety, compliance, risk management and internal control of the market.