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More than 30 major Japanese firms, including banks, are set to trial a common, private digital currency next year to improve payments.

Japanese crypto exchange DeCurret, a member of the group, announced the news on Thursday. Other members of the initiative include the top three Japanese banks — MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mizuho — as well as several other financial and retail companies.

Together, they all plan to test a “two-layered digital currency” model that has a common area, the core function of a blockchain-based digital currency, and an additional area, which implements business logic and smart contracts, to maximize programmability. This model would contribute to the development of the Japanese economy, according to the group.

“This ‘two-layered’ digital currency will not conflict with existing digital payment instruments (e.g., electronic money, credit, and debit cards), centralized payment infrastructure (e.g., the Zengin system), or studies on CBDCs [central bank digital currencies],” said the group. “Rather, the two-layered digital currency will be able to enhance inter-operability of these payment platforms through ‘bridging’ them.”

Other group members include Japanese telecommunications giant NTT, Accenture Japan, Daiwa Securities Group, and Nomura Holdings. Observers of the initiative include government agencies of the country, such as the Bank of Japan and the Financial Services Agency.

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Quick Take

• Alameda Research is a Hong Kong-based quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm that does a combination of arbitrage, quantitative strategies, liquidity providing, and OTC trading across crypto platforms
• The firm has been an active participant in decentralized finance (DeFi) by deploying capital to DeFi applications for yield opportunities and launching Serum, a decentralized exchange, through FTX
• In total, the firm has deployed its capital to at least 53 startups and protocols across seven verticals, which The Block has mapped out below

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OKEx has announced it will resume crypto asset withdrawals.

The exchange said in a post around 10:45 UTC time on Thursday that it will resume the withdrawals by November 27.

The news of the resumption comes over a month after OKEx suspended withdrawals because a private key holder – who later was identified as the exchange’s founder Star Mingxing Xu – was taken away by Chinese police to “assist an investigation” in October.

“The problem has been resolved so far and the relevant personnel has returned to work position,” the company said.

Rumors that Xu might soon be released from law enforcement started to surface on early Thursday morning China time via social media on WeChat and Twitter. 

The price of OKB, the exchange’s native token, has jumped by nearly 20% within the last 24 hours as the rumors started to circulate.

Since October 16 when OKEx suspended crypto asset withdrawals, users had tried various ways to move their locked crypto funds out of the exchange at a discount that could be more than 20%.

Such a steep discount rate has now narrowed down to almost zero within minutes after OKEx’s announcement.

For instance, the price of USDT against Chinese yuan being quoted by most third-party over-the-counter merchants on OKEx is around 6.4 yuan as of press time. 

That is almost the same compared to quotes on Huobi or Binance as well as the US dollar’s foreign exchange rate against Chinese yuan, which is around 6.5. But just earlier this week, the quote for 1 USDT among OKEx’s OTC merchants was as low as 5 yuan. 

“OKEx has been sticking to a 100% reserve policy and there will be no risk of bank run [after withdrawal resumption],” the company added in the post.

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Crypto exchange Binance filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against Forbes Media and two of its writers in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.

The lawsuit is in response to a recent Forbes story, penned by the writers Michael del Castillo and Jason Brett, which claimed that Binance “conceived of an elaborate corporate structure designed to intentionally deceive regulators,” among other allegations.

In the suit, Binance, “organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands,” denied all claims. It said the contents of the story are “false, misleading and highly defamatory.”

“Binance does not violate, and fully complies with, all applicable laws, rules and regulations in its operations,” the lawsuit reads. “Binance does not seek to evade or ‘side-step’ any regulatory entities in any jurisdictions.”

Binance alleges “millions of dollars” in losses due to the Forbes story. As a result, the exchange is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be proven at trial.

Seeking justice

A Binance spokesperson told The Block that the exchange filed the complaint to protect its reputation and seek justice.

“This suit is intended to seek justice in false and defamatory statements that have caused major reputational and business damages, including a gross misrepresentation of our true actions and intentions in good faith and operations within the boundaries of the law,” the spokesperson said.

They went on to say that Binance is not against freedom of information and press.

“This suit is not a reflection against our core value and belief in freedom, but ensuring the truth and justice. We want to assure you [The Block] and the media that this suit doesn’t represent any threats to the reporting of Binance. We and any leading industry players need media to keep us accountable and reporting information to the public,” said the spokesperson.

To be sure, Binance has previously threatened to sue The Block over a story that claimed the exchange’s Shanghai office was shut down following a visit by Chinese police.

Represented by Charles Harder 

Binance is being represented by attorneys Peter Pizzi and Selina Ellis of Walsh Pizzi O’Reilly Falanga LLP, as well as media litigation attorney Charles Harder of Harder LLP, in the Forbes case.

Harder has previously represented top figures such as U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, as well as Hulk Hogan in the Gawker Media case. He also represented Harvey Weinstein momentarily, to sue the New York Times, but that case was never filed. 

Commenting on the Binance lawsuit, Harder said: “Binance demanded Forbes’ retraction or correction, but it has refused. This lawsuit therefore became necessary. Binance intends to see this lawsuit through to the end, to ensure the truth and protect its reputation.”

The Block has reached out to Forbes for comments and will update this story should we hear back.

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.