The Daily: Coincheck Relists Nem, Okex Adds Dong

In this edition of The Daily, we report on Coincheck’s decision to resume nem (XEM) trading and relist two other coins — ether (ETH) and lisk (LSK). Also, Digital asset exchange Okex has added support for the Vietnamese fiat currency on its C2C platform and we cover the reasoning behind the move. Also in The Daily, a Canadian company has reached an exclusive agreement to negotiate the acquisition of a large European cryptocurrency exchange.  

Also read: Coffee Company to Pay Farmers in Bitcoin, Bitfury’s Latest Investment

Nem Price Spikes as Coincheck Resumes Trading

Japanese digital asset exchange Coincheck has resumed trading of three digital coins including nem (XEM), the cryptocurrency that was in the focus of arguably the biggest hack in crypto history. Approximately $530 million worth of nem were stolen in the attack on the platform in January of this year. According to its website, Coincheck has also relisted ether (ETH) and lisk (LSK) after a “technical safety confirmation” was obtained in cooperation with external experts.

The resumption of XEM deposits, withdrawals and trading resulted in a spike in the price of the cryptocurrency. Its market capitalization briefly surpassed the billion-dollar mark in the hours following the announcement. The market has since corrected itself and after losing almost 10 percent in the last 24 hours, XEM is selling for less than $0.11 at the time of writing and has a capitalization of around $955 million. On Oct. 30, the recently reopened exchange reintroduced bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin core (BTC), ethereum classic (ETC), and litecoin (LTC).

Okex Adds Support for Vietnamese Dong

Cryptocurrency exchange Okex has updated its customer-to-customer (C2C) trading system in order to allow users to place orders in another fiat currency, the Vietnamese dong, according to an announcement published on Tuesday. The Malta-based Chinese company launched its C2C platform last year, a variation of the peer-to-peer model, to enable customers to trade cryptocurrencies using fiat currencies. According to an earlier press release, no additional charges, other than what the users see as a buy/sell price, will be applied.

C2C TRADING: We now support Vietnamese Dong (VND) on our Fiat to Token trading platform.#OKExAnnouncement https://t.co/CZ1Gy5efaQ pic.twitter.com/0YFsKmc2eg

— OKEx (@OKEx) November 13, 2018

In the past few years, Vietnam has become an important cryptocurrency market and blockchain hub in the region of South East Asia. The country’s government, however, is still undecided on the question of how to regulate the industry and whether to legalize crypto-related transactions. Authorities in Hanoi are currently reviewing several alternative approaches to governing the sector, as news.Bitcoin.com reported recently. These range from imposing a total ban on activities involving digital assets to introducing a relatively lax regulatory regime. Several other platforms, such as Remitano, Mesito and Localbitcoins, are already offering peer-to-peer services for Vietnamese residents.

Canadian Company Poised to Acquire Exmo

Gover Media Plus, a company incorporated in Canada, has recently signed a Letter of Intent with Exmo, a leading European digital asset trading platform. The non-binding agreement will allow the holding company to exclusively negotiate the terms of the acquisition of the cryptocurrency exchange. According to a press release, the parties will unite their efforts in order to formulate a structure for the proposed transaction, making sure it is cost effective and compliant with legal and regulatory requirements. Upon successful completion, the new entity will continue Exmo’s business activities, providing services to over 2 million users in Europe, North America and Asia, said Roland Bopp, CEO of Gover Media.

The news about the upcoming acquisition comes after Exmo’s recent decision to update its deposit/withdrawal terms. The trading platform, popular in countries from the former Soviet space, has increased the fees for some of the available payment options. For example, the commission for withdrawals of funds in Russian rubles to Mastercard and Visa cards has jumped by one percentage point to 6.95 percent plus 100 rubles (~$1.5) per transaction. The fee for Advcash withdrawals in U.S. dollars has been increased as well, from 3.45 percent to 4.45 percent. The applicable commission for ruble withdrawals to Payeer accounts has been cut down to 1.95 percent.

What are your thoughts on today’s news tidbits? Tell us in the comments section.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Smartmockups.

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