Japanese e-commerce conglomerate DMM.com Ltd. will shut down its crypto mining business, citing deteriorating profitability as the main cause. Local business magazine Toyo Keizai reported the shutdown on Dec. 30. The decision was reportedly taken in September 2018, and initial steps to dismantle mining operations — including selling the company’s mining hardware — will reportedly extend over the first half of 2019. DMM.com, which has over 27 million clients for its e-commerce business, first announced its entry into the crypto mining business in September 2017, with a focus on mining major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin …

Top Stories This Week Nvidia Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Losses After Lower GPU Mining Demand Graphics processing unit (GPU) producer Nvidia is currently facing a class action lawsuit over losses that the company reported when lower crypto prices lowered demand for GPUs by miners. The Schall law firm announced the lawsuit this week, with the complaint alleging that Nvidia made false and misleading statements to the market. Schall noted that since the GPU producer claimed that drop off in demand for GPU on miners would not negatively affect the business, the lawsuit has merit. Altcoin Bitcoin Private Team Confirms …

The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) received 190 cryptocurrency exchange license applications, an unnamed FSA staff member told Cointelegraph Japan on Dec. 28. The FSA has given the local crypto industry self-regulatory status, certifying the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) to oversee the space. The JVCEA is now expected to develop anti-money-laundering (AML) policy and providing guidelines to crypto exchanges. As Cointelegraph recently reported, such a license was recently granted to cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck. Following a hack at the exchange in January, it received two business improvement orders from the FSA. Those improvement orders were mainly focused on setting …

Mark Karpeles — the former CEO of now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox — has affirmed that he is not guilty in the final argument for his trial, Cointelegraph Japan reports Dec. 27. In court in Tokyo on Thursday, Karpeles apologized for not being able to avoid his exchange being hacked, but also reiterated the idea that he is innocent. As Cointelegraph Japan reported, in July, he declared that he treated the subtracted money “as a loan from the company,” and that he was going to settle later. Mark Karpeles has been charged with embezzlement of approximately 340 million yen (about …

Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group plans to introduce a digital currency to be used for remittances and payments in March, English-language Asian media Nikkei reports Dec. 26. According to the article, the fees that the retail shops will be required to pay for accepting the currency will be significantly lower than the fees charged for credit card usage. The transfer of funds back and forth between the digital wallet and the bank account will reportedly be free, as will be sending funds to other users. Furthermore, according to Nikkei, the bank brought “about 60 regional banks on board” to promote cashless …

Crypto exchange BitMEX and a fine French wine retailer are reportedly partnering to acquire a majority stake of licensed — but as yet inactive — Japanese crypto exchange BitOcean. Cointelegraph Japan reported on the potential partnership on Dec. 21. Madison Holdings Group, which is currently listed on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, reportedly plans to acquire a 62.7 percent stake of BitOcean for 1.68 billion yen ($15.12 million) — paid to existing third-party stakeholders — in addition to a further $15 million in extra fees. The deal, as yet incomplete, is reportedly to be …

A Japanese fintech company has unveiled a system that is designed to address the price volatility seen when cryptocurrencies are used for remittances. Atom Solutions says that, at present, the options for foreign workers who need to make overseas remittances are imperfect. While costs can be high when they try to complete transactions through a traditional bank, an entirely different issue altogether comes to the fore when crypto is used. Because of the wild fluctuations seen in the marketplace — from Bitcoin and Ethereum to lesser-known altcoins — the value of a remittance can fall dramatically in a short space …

Japanese internet giant GMO Internet Group is quitting the Bitcoin mining hardware sector, Cointelegraph Japan reported Dec. 25 referencing a public document. Citing “extraordinary loss” in Q4 this year, GMO, which began its foray into Bitcoin mining in 2017, said that it will “no longer develop, manufacture and sell” miners. “After taking into consideration changes in the current business environment, the Company expects that it is difficult to recover the carrying amounts of the in-house-mining-related business assets, and therefore, it has been decided to record an extraordinary loss,” the document reads. GMO will further relocate its mining operation “to a …

Vctrade, a crypto exchange recently launched by Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings, has implemented Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) deposits. The company has revealed this in a press release published Dec. 21. The announcement further notes that the exchange — which was launched in July — is considering adding Bitcoin Cash (BCH) deposits after further evaluation of the cryptocurrency. SBI has also explained that cryptocurrency withdrawals will not be available until late January 2019, and will be limited to a hardware wallet that the company refers to as “designated wallet.” The ability to only use one specific wallet, …

Disclaimer: in the hours since publication, Monex Group has issued a statement in response to media coverage of the alleged decision regarding Coincheck’s license approval. This article has been updated to include this response. Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has purportedly approved a cryptocurrency exchange operating license for hacked crypto exchange Coincheck. English-language Asia-focused news publication Nikkei Asian Review reported the news Dec. 19. According to Nikkei, an announcement from the financial watchog is reportedly due to be released by the end of the year. Notably, in private correspondence with Cointelegraph Japan, Coincheck’s PR emphasized “it is not [the exchange’s] …

The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) is considering placing cryptocurrencies into a new legal category called “crypto-assets,” Cointelegraph Japan reported Dec. 15. By classifying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) this way, the government reportedly “hopes that traders will no longer purchase them believing that they are legal tender recognized by the government.” On Friday, an FSA advisory panel filed a report requesting the term “virtual currency” be changed since, according to the panel, it could confuse people into believing the asset is legal tender in the country. As Cointelegraph reported recently, Japan’s FSA is set to introduce new initial coin offering …

Top Stories This Week CEO of Defunct Mt. Gox Exchanges Faces 10 Year Jail Sentence Over Embezzlement Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of now-defunct Japanese Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, could be facing a 10-year jail sentence over charges of embezzlement. Karpeles, who headed the exchange during the major hack in 2014 that resulted in the loss of 850,000 BTC ($2.87 billion at press time), has denied any wrongdoing. Prosecutors in a Tokyo court this week have claimed that Karpeles had stolen around $3 million worth of funds from the exchange, in a case not connected to the hack. Only Two …