China’s great cryptocurrency exodus | Financial Times

Hi guys. Cryptocurrencies have fans and critics of seemingly the same strength. China’s crackdown, and tightening regulations in other G20 countries, are revolutionizing the world of cryptocurrencies, forcing miners to look for safe havens (Big Story). Are Chinese Investors Missing Boats In India’s High Tech Boom (Smart Data)? Don’t miss Ken’s perceptual view of why Google is shaking big Japanese banks (our view). And last but not least, find out why Eric Schmidt is the worried person (spotlight). Please be careful wherever you are. — James

Big story

Call it the great cryptocurrency outflow from China.Beijing’s crackdown on cryptocurrency mining hits miners Build a hub Kazakhstan, the United States, Ukraine and El Salvador are in the spotlight and are in the spotlight around the world.

China, which accounts for at least 60% of the world’s Bitcoin mining, issued stricter regulations on energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining and transactions in May. Countries testing the digital yuan don’t want other cryptocurrencies to cause turmoil.

Main impact: Some miners have moved to Kazakhstan, which borders China in the northwest. BIT Mining has shipped thousands of mining machines from Sichuan to Kazakhstan. The Canada-based IBC Group, which is mining Bitcoin and Ethereum in China, also said it would move its staff to Kazakhstan and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, China’s logistics group Air freight A 3-ton Bitcoin mining machine to Maryland, USA.Texas, where cheap energy is promised Ascended as a destination Of choice.

Singapore is attracting attention as a cryptocurrency trading center, Write mercedes.. Among the executives moving to Asian financial hubs is Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange that handles trillions of dollars a year. Gemini, a US exchange founded by Winklebos twins, is also increasing its workforce in Singapore.

Up shot: When China cracks down, it means business. The outflow of great cryptocurrency mining will have a huge impact on industries around the world. Tolerances and abundant power are major determinants of where mining hubs emerge.

Top 10 Mercedes

1. Flying car? Okay, Japan The airline starts passengers Flying car service With a two-seater drone that can reach up to 110km / h. (Nikkei Asia)

2. After a late start this year, SoftBank’s second Vision Fund is investing in start-ups around the world — Over $ 13 Billion Only in the second quarter. (FT)

3. Vietnam Citizens do not want to gamble with digital money.But I still want to create Unique digital currency.. Do you think you are familiar with other Asian communist countries? (Nikkei Asia)

4. Vietnamese Government too Imposing regulations On livestreaming platforms such as Facebook and TikTok. (Nikkei Asia)

5. Tencent seems to have avoided Beijing Big Tech crackdown.But that long-term planned merger of games Rejected.. (Nikkei Asia)

6. Didi Comply with warnings Change to mapping functionality beyond security concerns before IPO.It was still deleted Chinese App store. (FT)

7. Chinese Companies that include a fitness app backed by Tencent keep Alibaba support LinkDoc Pulled We The IPO is planning after the Didi blunder. (FT, Nikkei Asia)

8. Too many stories Chinese Big Tech crackdown? FT’s Beijing bureau chief details the decisive implications of Didi Here.. (FT)

9. Meanwhile, other parts of Asia are closing the gap. Bukalapak, an e-commerce group Indonesian Largest IPO After 2008.. (FT)

10. Elsewhere Zomato, one of India The most well-known unicorn is set to lead the wave of high-tech IPOs in the country this year. (FT)

Our view

Google The acquisition of a small mobile payment startup announced by major shareholders this week has shocked Japanese banks and other existing payment service providers. 4-year-old Tokyo start-up company Pudding It employs only 12 people and has only hundreds of thousands of registered mobile app users. However, banks are wary because the deal may indicate Google’s intention to develop financial services for consumers directly in Japan.

Sources close to Google I told the nikkei Working on the development of the Japanese version Google Pay A financial platform with the goal of commercial launch in 2022. The acquisition of Pring will allow you to get started quickly with Google Pay.

Pring has direct remittance agreements with more than 50 banks, including three so-called megabanks in the country, allowing users to transfer money from their existing bank account to the balance of the Pring mobile app. The start-up is also registered with the government as an authorized money transfer service provider, which is the de facto license to provide mobile payment services in the country.

This has helped Google reduce a lot of bureaucracy, explaining why the US tech group has agreed to pay about $ 180 million for the acquisition, industry sources said. Google’s established position in Japan is likely to be a tough competitor, but few companies in the world are developing meaningful direct-to-consumer payment business models. This is noteworthy.

— Ken

Smart data

China’s investment in India’s fast-growing high-tech industry Fell off a cliff, Opens the field for US investors.

According to data provider Tracxn, Indian start-ups raised a record $ 7.2 billion in 336 funding rounds in the quarter to June. Of these, Chinese investors participated in just 10 rounds and were worth a total of $ 745 million. In contrast, US investors have participated in more than 100 rounds worth $ 5.7 billion.

High tech giant like Alibaba And Tencent Previously, he was one of the most influential investors in India’s fast-growing startup scene, Regulation Introduced last year as tensions between India and China increased.

Spotlight

Eric Schmidt Sounds like a worried person..former Google CEO, who is currently chairing the US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, says China is bridging the gap between AI and the US lead in quantum computing.

Schmidt said the gap was less than “a few years.”

“That’s really, really big.”

Schmidt emphasized that without “a very strong partnership with Asian friends,” the United States would not be able to fend off China’s challenge. He added that the United States needs to maintain leadership in “strategic” areas such as AI, semiconductors, energy, quantum computing, and synthetic biology to maintain leadership in technological competition with China. ..

Schmidt called for closer relationships with researchers, universities and governments in Japan, South Korea and Europe.

Trading art

“That number is insane.” So when the news was reported, a local venture capitalist told #techAsia. Flipkart Mammoth Raise $ 3.6 billion this week.

The deal was led by existing shareholders, valuing an Indian e-commerce company at $ 37.6 billion. Walmart,Japanese Softbank, Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund GIC, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, Sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority And of China Tencent..

The first reason this deal is interesting is its size. This is India’s largest private sector financing year and cements FlipKart’s position as one of the world’s most valuable private technology companies.Second, if you read Smart data As mentioned above, it turns out that Chinese investors missed this boom year in Indian technology due to foreign investment regulations introduced last year. So it’s amazing to see Tencent involved in this funding round.Did it do something else? Complex debt transactions, Like april ShareChat??

More importantly, as FT correspondent Stephanie Findley points out, funding is done just as New Delhi wants. Tighten e-commerce regulations..The new rule proposes to limit “flash sales” and may force flipkart — and rivals Amazon — To change the business structure again. This is not ideal as Flipkart may be released next year. Investors seem indifferent, at least for now.