Bitmain’s revenge, Hong Kong’s crypto rollercoaster: Asia Express
Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments.
Bitmain allegedly fired staff after salary complaints
Bitcoin application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining manufacturer Bitmain has allegedly fired three of its employees for speaking to the media regarding the withholding of salary payments by their employer.
According to local news reports on Oct. 17, citing an alleged internal Bitmain memo, the company accused three staff members of breaching various clauses in their employment contracts for sharing their remuneration on social media platforms. The note reads:
“The EMT [Executive Management Team] has decided: (1) Employee Li of product operations and circuit development, is to be fired immediately and blacklisted. (2) Employee Xie of product operations and circuit development, is to be fired immediately and blacklisted. (3) Employee Ding, administrative intern at strategic development PMT, is to be fired immediately and blacklisted. The intern’s post-secondary institution shall also be informed of the incident.”
“In addition, the company reserves the right to pursue legal action against the individuals above,” Bitmain allegedly wrote. “Without authorization by the company, nothing can be said, nothing can be given [to outsiders!]”
On Oct. 9, Cointelegraph reported that Bitmain allegedly paused September salary payments for its staff members as the company “has yet to achieve a net positive cash flow, especially in the orders of [new] ASICs.” In addition, employees allegedly face a 50% cut to their base salary, with all bonuses and incentives being removed.
Founded in Beijing, China in 2013, Bitmain is one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining ASIC manufacturers, with an estimated 70% market share during the previous bull market that ended in 2021. The firm’s Antminer ASIC series currently leads the industry in terms of hash rate computations for mining Bitcoin. Over the past year, several Bitcoin mining operators have gone bankrupt as the price of Bitcoin plunged while electricity costs surged.
Hong Kong investors spooked by JPEX scandal
Despite efforts to regulate the sector, it appears that some Hong Kong residents have lost their confidence in crypto after the largest Ponzi scheme in the city’s history, the $175 million JPEX crypto exchange scandal, unfolded last month.
According to a new study published by the HKUST Business School Central on Oct. 17, 41% of Hong Kong residents are no longer interested in holding crypto assets, a sharp rise of 12% compared to before the JPEX incident. The survey featured 7,900 respondents and was conducted between April and October.
The study also revealed that 84% of Hong Kongers have heard of crypto, with 27% of respondents claiming they either hold digital assets now or were previously crypto investors. For those investing in crypto, over 80% said they would not invest over 50,000 Hong Kong dollars ($6,390) into the sector. Interestingly, 57% of respondents said they understood that crypto exchanges must obtain a license before operating in Hong Kong, an increase of 15% compared to before the JPEX scandal unraveled.
Wu Huang, a professor at HKUST Business School Central, commented:
“We hope that the results of this survey can provide industry stakeholders with more perspectives to help build a sound virtual asset industry. As virtual assets play an increasingly important role in the digital economy, there is a need to strengthen education efforts to make the public better Understand the risks and potential of this emerging field.”
Last month, JPEX staff fled their corporate booth at Singapore’s Token2049 event after the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission issued a warning regarding the exchange’s unregulated activities. Subsequently, Hong Kong police arrested more than 10 corporate executives and influencers connected to the exchange on charges of fraud. The JPEX scandal has since grown to over 2,300 victims, with losses estimated at $175 million. The exchange was unlicensed at the time of the incident.
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On Oct. 16, Bloomberg reported that BC Technology Group, owner of licensed Hong Kong crypto exchange OSL, is contemplating the sale of the latter for 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($128 million).
On Oct. 17, BC Technology Group issued a clarification stating: “The Board wishes to clarify that the contents and statements in the [Bloomberg] Article are factually inaccurate and highly misleading” and that it was not contemplating a sale of OSL.
Unfortunately, investors who bought BC Technology stock based on the divestiture euphoria were not so happy. After publishing the clarification statement, shares of BC Technology tanked 22% during the trading day, wiping off $54 million in market capitalization. “Shareholders of the Company and potential investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the shares of the Company,” management wrote.
Bitget’s new crypto credit card
Joining the likes of its peers, cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is launching its own crypto-fiat credit card. According to an Oct. 16 announcement during the Future Blockchain Summit in Dubai, the Bitget Card, issued by Visa and backed by digital assets in users’ accounts and wallets, will be denominated in U.S. dollars and will be accepted in over 180 countries.
Although many exchanges have rolled out their own crypto debit or credit cards, some have seen pushback from payment processors. On Aug. 25, Mastercard said it would end its cryptocurrency card partnership with Binance in Latin America. Although the firm did not cite a specific reason, experts have pointed to Binance’s recent regulatory scrutiny as the underlying cause.
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According to the US Department of Justice, Wolf Capital’s co-founder has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for luring 2,800 crypto investors into a Ponzi scheme.
Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.
Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.
The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.
The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.
However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.
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The chancellor will be accompanied by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and other senior executives.
She will meet with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Beijing on Saturday to discuss financial services, trade and investment.
She will also “raise difficult issues”, including Chinese firms supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Treasury said.
But it did not mention whether Ms Reeves would raise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would do during his visit last year.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Pic: AP
On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.
“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.
“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”
Read more – Ed Conway analysis: The chancellor’s gamble with China
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Nandy defends Reeves’ trip to China
However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.
While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.
It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.
Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.
Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.
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How much do we trade with China?
Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.
During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.
The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.
Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”
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