Asia Express

Malaysia gets out the steamroller as Bitcoin mining stolen electricity issue worsens, Korea’s new ‘exchange closure’ scam. Asia Express

Our weekly roundup of news from Asia curates the industrys most important developments.

Southeast Asia became a Bitcoin mining hotspot after the great China crackdown of 2021. Now authorities in various regions are battling a huge surge in electricity theft used to fuel these mining activities.

This week Malaysian authorities arrested seven individuals suspected of illegally mining Bitcoin using stolen electricity, according to state media outlet Bernama.

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Low user numbers and sex predator scandals are killing South Korean metaverses, 3AC sues Terra, Malaysian crypto kidnappings. Asia Express.

Our weekly roundup of news from Asia curates the industrys most important developments.

South Koreas tech-savvy population, blazing-fast internet, and deep-rooted gaming culture made it the ideal testbed for metaverse applications. Despite these advantages, some of the country’s top metaverse platforms are now closing their doors.

The latest casualty is 2nd Block, a metaverse built by Dunamu, the operator of South Koreas largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit. 

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China’s elderly are joining crypto tapper cults, WazirX faces fraud probe and asset freeze, Do Kwon’s flight home delayed again: Asia Express

Our weekly roundup of news from Asia curates the industrys most important developments.

The Chinese online community has been complaining that their parents are becoming obsessed with cult-like cryptocurrency mining groups that are scamming the nations elderly, local finance outlet Blue Whale Finance () reports.

The so-called mining apps related to the schemes are simple, even for the technically illiterate. They require participants to rapidly tap phone screens to accumulate points, as well as complete daily tasks like watching videos and ads. 

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South Korean investors panic sell on altcoin delisting rumors, Binance to reward faithful BNB hodlers, Australian Bitcoin ETFs. Asia Express

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industrys most important developments.

Roughly half of the altcoins listed on major Korean exchange Upbit have plunged between 10% to 20% in the past week amid rumors of an impending, but so far non-existent, regulatory crackdown.

As reported by ebn.co.kr, investors panic sold after seeing the widespread dissemination of fake news that “financial authorities will quarterly review 600 domestic virtual assets from next month and suspend trading of coins that do not meet listing maintenance standards.”

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OKX blames “coin-stealing hacking gang” for deepfake AI theft of $11M, Zipmex unlicensed, Microvisionchain’s millions in grants: Asia Express

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industrys most important developments.

Crypto LaLa, operations manager at Quant Matter, says their account on crypto exchange OKX worth $11 million was drained by hackers within 25 minutes with no email or two-factor authentication warnings.

“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Crypto LaLa wrote on June 11. “I have many years of extensive experience in the cryptocurrency space, and this was the first time I had personally seen my assets being stolen. To this day, I still cant believe that all the money in my OKX account was stolen. My hands are still shaking, and I am extremely angry, frustrated, and sad.”

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Bitcoin markets are safe from a Mt Gox dump for now, Hong Kong to boot out unlicensed exchanges, Binance sells Gopax claims at rock bottom.

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industrys most important developments.

Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of defunct Japanese crypto exchange Mt. Gox, said that the firm will not dump its Bitcoin stake to repay creditors as of now: “As far as I know, everything is fine with Mt Gox. The trustee is moving coins to a different wallet in preparation for the distribution that will likely happen this year; there is no imminent sale of Bitcoins happening,” Karpeles wrote.

In a statement to Cointelegraph, Neil Roarty, analyst at investment platform Stocklytics, said that any potential flash sale by Mt. Gox could upset the current supply and demand dynamic:

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