Crypto Flipsider News – September 13th – ADA’s Alonzo Update, Grayscale Trusts + ARK Investment, South Korea Crackdown, XRP + Ripple Executives

Read in the Digest;

Smart Contracts Are Now Available on Cardano Following Alonzo Hardfork
Three Grayscale Trusts to Report to SEC + Ark to Invest in Canadian ETF
South Korea Continues Crackdown on Crypto Exchanges
Ex Ripple Executives Launch Micropayment Platform + XRP to Be Listed on Japanese Exchange

Smart Contracts Are Now Available on Cardano Following Alonzo Hardfork

One of the most anticipated events in the Cardano community has finally been completed. After months of progress on the Alonzo testnet, on September 12, Cardano completed its hardfork.

The hardfork forms part of Cardano’s Goguen era, which opens up the Cardano network to smart contracts. Developers can now write smart contracts in Plutus scripts.

With the introduction of Plutus scripts on the Cardano Network, developers will also be able to build decentralized applications (dapps). According to Cardano, Plutus script is “a purpose-built smart contract development language and execution platform using the functional programming language, Haskell.”

Flipsider:

Regardless of the progress on the network, there are still questions about how the network will run now
According to various sources, the much anticipated Plutus dapps will not be ready to go live soon

Why You Should Care

Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem will likely develop over several months, with smart contracts now available on the Cardano network. According to Neil Davies, after the hardfork marked the first time the network exceeded half a million transactions, the network is now more optimized to handle transactions.

Three Grayscale Trusts to Report to SEC + Ark to Invest in Canadian ETF

A batch of Grayscale trusts has been given a new regulatory designation. According to a Grayscale report, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash Trusts have become SEC-reporting companies.

In accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the three funds must submit their financial statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In line with their inclination to cryptos, Michael Sonnenshein, the CEO of Grayscale, said that investors have “expressed desire” for more of Grayscale’s investments to become SEC-reporting companies.

In a similar development, ARK Investment Management has revised the prospectus for its ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), which could open up the possibility for the firm to invest in crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Canada.

ARK currently holds over 8.5 million shares of GBTC, making it the second-largest holding in the fund. If ARK invests in the Canadian ETF, they would be swapping their $350m worth in GBTC for the Canadian ETFs, which track better.

Flipsider:

Regardless of the hype around ETFs, they have underperformed in the market
Since the start of the year, GBTC has been down by 22%, while the Canadian ETF has dropped 6%

Why You Should Care

As the crypto industry continues to mature, we have seen more and more involvement from institutional investors. More than ever, we seem to be closer to the approval of the first Bitcoin ETF by the SEC, the Valkyrie Bitcoin ETF.

South Korea Continues Crackdown on Crypto Exchanges

The crackdown on cryptocurrencies seems to be spreading from China. The focus is now on South Korea, where its regulatory agency has set a deadline for overseas and local crypto exchanges to register as legal trading platforms.

There are four major exchanges in South Korea: Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone. These platforms account for over 90% of the country’s total digital asset trading volume.

The problem has not been a lack of interest from crypto exchanges but in the requirements for registration as legal trading platforms. Only about 20 exchanges have met the requirements, with most local exchanges struggling to meet the conditions set out by the regulator.

To register, crypto exchanges must work with local banks to open accounts in the real names of customers. However, most South Korean banks have refused to because of fears of being exposed to illicit activities, including money laundering.

Flipsider:

Regardless of the stance of South Korea towards cryptocurrencies, the country remains one of the top adopters of crypto
Also, this month, a South Korean crypto firm, Hashed, has raised over $170 million in blockchain funds

Why You Should Care

If they fail to meet the requirements before the deadline of September 24, more than 40 crypto exchanges will be shut down in the country. If they fail to meet the deadline, over $2.6 billion in crypto could be wiped out.

Ex Ripple Executives Launch Micropayment Platform + XRP to Be Listed on Japanese Exchange

Since its SEC lawsuit, Ripple has been one of the most talked-about cryptos. Today, ex-executives of Ripple have been linked with a new blockchain-based payment platform, pingNpay. The project was founded by Richard Bell and Jeremy Light, who both worked on payments at Ripple.

The early development of the project has been done in stealth. However, recent reports have shown that the global micropayment network for high frequency, low-value payments will launch at some point in 2022.

For Ripple’s XRP, there is a glimmer of good news. A major crypto exchange in Japan has announced that it is going to start trading the Ripple-affiliated cryptocurrency.

TaoTao has announced that it is going to start XRP trading on September 22. Trading will be launched after the maintenance of the platform on that day.

Flipsider:

While Ripple is set to be listed on a Japanese exchange, it has faced roadblocks in the United States
Following the suspension of XRP trading at the start of the year, major US-based exchange Coinbase has refused to resume XRP trading

Why You Should Care

Like Ripple and its entire payment network, pingNPay seeks to create a new category of payments that will lead the way for payments in the future. These projects are looking to revolutionize the finance industry, leading to the mainstream adoption of cryptos.