Decentral Block Post

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments.

Last week’s Token2049 conference in Singapore was a life-changing experience for some; for others the event did not meet expectations, but for a select group of individuals, the imminent prospect of being pursued by law enforcement meant they had to abandon their booths and flee the event.

On September 21, local news outletsreportedthat Hong Kong police had arrested 11 individuals linked to troubled cryptocurrency exchange JPEX on charges of fraud and operating an unlicensed virtual assets exchange. More than 2,000 users are estimated to have been affected by the scandal, with total funds of $1.3 billion Hong Kong dollars involved in the incident ($166 million). Police allege users’ assets have been embezzled by JPEX staff.

In a dramatic raid on September 13 — day one of the conference — Hong Kong police arrested key executives, leading its staff to abandon its corporate booth. The exchange subsequently applied for voluntary deregistration with the Australia Securities & Investment Commission, disclosing that its Australian entity had little assets left. After the news broke, JPEX reportedly raised its withdrawal fees to 999 USDT per transaction to prevent capital flight.

In anannouncementon September 20, JPEX said that 400 million Tether (USDT) worth of users’ deposits would be eligible for redemption. However, the catch is that the funds can only be redeemed starting in late 2025. The firm stated that due to the ongoing law enforcement investigation, its telecom service providers and asset custodians have frozen applicable services.

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments.

Last week’s Token2049 conference in Singapore was a life-changing experience for some; for others the event did not meet expectations, but for a select group of individuals, the imminent prospect of being pursued by law enforcement meant they had to abandon their booths and flee the event.

On September 21, local news outletsreportedthat Hong Kong police had arrested 11 individuals linked to troubled cryptocurrency exchange JPEX on charges of fraud and operating an unlicensed virtual assets exchange. More than 2,000 users are estimated to have been affected by the scandal, with total funds of $1.3 billion Hong Kong dollars involved in the incident ($166 million). Police allege users’ assets have been embezzled by JPEX staff.

In a dramatic raid on September 13 — day one of the conference — Hong Kong police arrested key executives, leading its staff to abandon its corporate booth. The exchange subsequently applied for voluntary deregistration with the Australia Securities & Investment Commission, disclosing that its Australian entity had little assets left. After the news broke, JPEX reportedly raised its withdrawal fees to 999 USDT per transaction to prevent capital flight.

In anannouncementon September 20, JPEX said that 400 million Tether (USDT) worth of users’ deposits would be eligible for redemption. However, the catch is that the funds can only be redeemed starting in late 2025. The firm stated that due to the ongoing law enforcement investigation, its telecom service providers and asset custodians have frozen applicable services.