{"id":8860,"date":"2021-09-02T21:02:23","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T01:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=8860"},"modified":"2021-09-02T21:02:23","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T01:02:23","slug":"shanghai-man-billionaires-buying-crypto-punks-arbitrum-finding-traction-and-blockchain-powered-stock-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/09\/02\/shanghai-man-billionaires-buying-crypto-punks-arbitrum-finding-traction-and-blockchain-powered-stock-markets","title":{"rendered":"Shanghai Man: Billionaire buys CryptoPunks, Arbitrum finds traction, markets ignore warnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry\u2019s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

There are a lot of narratives to keep an eye on as China enjoyed a relatively quiet week on the regulatory front and markets rebounded. Layer-two networks continued to make headlines with their large war chests of funds to invest. Avalanche and Arbitrum are two networks that have growing awareness in China. Both were in the news this week with Avalanche\u2019s $180 million fund being announced and Arbitrum\u2019s launch on <\/span>September 1<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MCDex, one of the more active DeFi applications in China, took an early first step by launching its mainnet on Arbitrum\u2019s layer-two. MCDex launched on-chain BTC\/USDC and ETH\/USDC perpetual swaps, one of the first projects to take advantage of Arbitrum\u2019s speed and scalability. MCDex and a few other Chinese DeFi projects have been betting big on Arbitrum\u2019s development, having deployed on the Arbitrum testnet earlier this spring. <\/span><\/p>\n

Traders who wish to use the current phase one deployment on Arbitrum can apply to have their address whitelisted. Many of the trading firms in Asia will probably be studying the liquidity mining rewards carefully, especially after the popularity of token-incentivized trading on dYdX.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Punks in Asia<\/span><\/h4>\n

A physical NFT art gallery in Hong Kong will be the new home for <\/span>two CryptoPunks<\/span><\/a>, purchased last week for a total of 218 ETH, or around $700,000 dollars. The art gallery is slated to open on September 5 and will now feature Crypto Punk #8236 and #1970. It\u2019s rumored that the purchaser of CryptoPunk #8236 is Mike Cai, billionaire founder of popular selfie app Meitu.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cai\u2019s Meitu is well known in the Asian cryptocurrency community after it announced earlier this year that it purchased<\/span><\/a> around $40 million worth of BTC and ETH. With Meitu, Cai successfully recognized the strength of the trend for young adults to use beauty filters with animated animal ears. This is an encouraging sign for people who hope that Cai sees a similar mainstream future for CryptoPunks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"
Punk #1970 is now owned and displayed in the Start-Art NFT Gallery in Hong Kong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

A third Punk was also reportedly purchased by the Chinese meme community behind Losercoin, or LOWB. According to reports, the community purchased CryptoPunk #7326 for 79 ETH.<\/p>\n

BSN breaking new turf<\/span><\/h4>\n

Korean blockchain firm MetaverseSociety <\/span>was announced<\/span><\/a> as a new portal operator for the Blockchain Service Network. This looks to be a third portal following the establishment of the domestic Chinese portal and the global version. The domestic portal is able to work closely with state owned companies and organizations, while the global portal works with more blockchain projects in a looser regulatory framework. <\/span><\/p>\n

This new Korean portal could introduce Chinese companies to the growing community of Korean developers and users. The Blockchain Service Network is a joint initiative between Red Date Technology, the National Information Center, China Mobile, and China UnionPay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Thrilled to introduce MetaverseSociety @MarX_Metaverse<\/a>, the exclusive BSN portal operator in Korea. The portal will launch in Korea in November 2021 and will empower Korean developers to build and operate blockchain applications quickly and effectively. Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com\/NcebpSDUEV<\/a><\/p>\n

— BSN (@bsnbase) September 1, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n