Asia’s largest car maker is high on Ethereum

Japanese car maker Toyota’s blockchain research arm is exploring how Ethereum can contribute to its “mobility” campaign.

This campaign focuses on the company’s futuristic concept of a connected transportation system where vehicles are fully autonomous and capable of communicating with public infrastructure through data exchange. These autonomous vehicles are envisioned as public entities that provide services to all users, including the disabled and elderly.

In a research paper published on July 19, Toyota proposed implementing blockchain technology as part of its “mobility” concept.

It sees blockchain as enabling automation through programmability, much like how smart contracts on Ethereum automatically execute agreements without intermediaries.

Blockchain would also bring a standardized interface that connects to other services. For example, in the automotive industry, blockchain could facilitate automated payments for tolls or parking fees directly from the vehicle’s wallet.

And by tokenizing rights, vehicles can be transformed into service entities. This is akin to how digital rights can be managed in the music industry, where non-fungible tokens (NFTs) represent ownership and usage rights of digital assets.

But to achieve this, a blockchain account is required, and private keys can be lost to unexpected incidents like device failures.

Toyota suggests Ethereum’s ERC-4337 standard could be key. The Ethereum standard introduces account abstraction, which allows users to execute transactions with smart contract codes instead of just private keys.

The car company also suggests the use of ERC-721 (NFTs) to grant permissions to blockchain-based vehicles.

Toyota is Asia’s largest vehicle manufacturer by market capitalization with $270 billion. It is second only to Tesla on the global stage.

Bitcoin bears rejoice as Hong Kong launches inverse ETF

While the crypto world was abuzz with the launch of spot Ether ETFs in the US, Hong Kong has also made headlines with the debut of Asia’s first inverse Bitcoin ETF.

The fund is managed by one of China’s largest asset managers, CSOP Asset Management. It allows investors to bet on falling Bitcoin prices.

“By enabling bets against the market, financial instruments like this have the potential to balance speculative activities and contribute to long-term market stability, which is crucial for the maturation of the crypto sector and the acceptance of crypto as established investment assets,” Tristan Frizza, founder of Zeta Markets, told Cointelegraph.

Hong Kong’s crypto ETF roster has been expanding, even beating the US in listing a spot Ether ETF.

However, the number of interested cryptocurrency businesses has been dropping.

Most recently, exchange HKX became the 13th exchange to withdraw its license application with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) or get rejected.

Hong Kong’s securities watchdog has granted only two businesses, HashKey and OSL, to legally operate in the city.

Meanwhile, some other exchanges are coming back from the dead.

Bitforex, an exchange that the SFC identified as “suspicious” in March 2024, has resurfaced after five months of silence and a withdrawal freeze.

In an X post on July 19, Bitforex claimed that their team was detained and investigated by police in China, making the platform and users’ assets inaccessible.

The exchange added that the platform has been permitted to “reopen soon,” but services will be limited to withdrawals.

Seoul’s $2M crypto drug dealers arrested in dark web crackdown

South Korean police have arrested a group of 10 individuals allegedly involved in the sale of illegal drugs for crypto, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on July 24.

The group allegedly promoted their products on the dark web to customers in the capital city, Seoul metropolitan area, from January to April 2024. The police additionally booked 50 people suspected of selling and using narcotics.

Cannabis leaf perfectly centered among other cannabis leaves surrounding it.

Authorities seized six types of drugs in the case, including 38 pounds (17.2 kilograms) of marijuana plus 205 cannabis plants, methamphetamine, and LSD, with a combined estimated market value of $2 million (2.7 billion Korean won).

One of the apprehended suspects was identified as the supplier of the alleged operation. From April 2023, the alleged supplier cultivated marijuana in greenhouses and containers in a remote mountain in Chungcheongnam province in the nation’s west.

Over four months, the operation earned approximately $18,600 (26 million won) in cryptocurrencies by distributing to customers using the “throwing method” in the metropolitan area.

The so-called throwing method is one of the preferred drug drop-off techniques in South Korea, where the dealer leaves products in an agreed location and sends a confirmation picture to the customer. The customer then picks up the goods to finalize the transaction without ever meeting the dealer.

Under local laws, criminals involved in the sale of illegal drugs can be punished by at least five years of imprisonment.

The nation’s Narcotics Control Act states that repeat offenders “shall be punished by death penalty” or “imprisonment with labor” for at least ten years. But the nation hasn’t carried out a single execution since 1997 while 59 people still remain on death row.

Six of the ten suspects have been identified as repeat offenders.

China retail giant subsidiary unveils HKD stablecoin on public blockchain

Jingdong Coinlink, a subsidiary of Chinese retail titan JD.com, unveiled a Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin to be issued on a “public blockchain.”

On July 18, Jingdong was listed as one of the participants in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) stablecoin sandbox. The sandbox arrangement allows potential stablecoin issuers to conduct testing and hash out potential regulatory requirements.

HKMA, the city’s de facto central bank, announced its stablecoin issuer’s sandbox program following the launch of a consultation paper around regulating stablecoin issuers.

The HKMA concluded its consultation paper stating that stablecoins must always be fully backed by reserve assets at any given time, which should be supported by monthly attestations verified by independent auditors.

It added that reserve assets should be “high-quality liquid assets,” such as banknotes and coins, licensed bank deposits, marketable securities representing claims, overnight reverse repurchase agreements or tokenized versions of these assets.

Jingdong’s website uses similar wording to describe its reserve assets: “highly liquid” and “highly trustable.”

India’s crypto industry gets answer on tax cuts

India’s crypto industry has been left disappointed after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman left out any mention of crypto in her budget speech on July 23, leaving crypto tax as is.

Nirmala Sitharaman headshot

The industry was pushing for a reduction in the nation’s 1% cryptocurrency trading tax, which is imposed on transactions as tax deducted at source (TDS), to 0.01%.

The 1% TDS is levied on top of the 30% flat tax on crypto gains and has been blamed as a leading cause for the 97% drop in trading volume across India’s exchanges since it came into effect in 2022.

“We were hopeful that the government will bring down taxation to make it at par with other asset classes,” Ashish Singhal, co-founder of CoinSwitch said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, that has not happened. It’s a missed opportunity to encourage startups and investors in the crypto space.”

Sathvik Vishwanath, CEO of Unocoin, told Cointelegraph that the 2024 budget is a sign that the government does not see crypto as a serious business in India yet, as it is still compared to the likes of gambling and betting.

However, Vishwanath adds that it’s a matter of “when and not about if” local crypto tax will be reduced.

“Our country will need more developed countries promoting crypto, announcing ETFs or making it legal tender before we can make a strong decision to amend taxation for the industry,” Vishwanath said.

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