9GAG Launches ‘MemeStrategy’ Bitcoin Firm Amidst Jailed CEO’s $3.5M Bonus: Asia Express

9GAG’s Meme Grasp Ventures into Bitcoin

The architect behind the meme powerhouse 9GAG is boldly entering into the Bitcoin and blockchain house by buying a publicly listed agency in Hong Kong, aiming to remodel it right into a crypto and AI enterprise.

Ray Chan, the co-founder of 9GAG, has taken management of Howkingtech Worldwide Holdings Restricted with ambitions to pivot the corporate in direction of Web3 improvements.

He plans to rebrand the corporate to MemeStrategy, impressed by MicroStrategy’s strategy to company Bitcoin acquisitions. Pending shareholder approval, Chan will assume the roles of chairman and CEO, with a number of members from the 9GAG crew becoming a member of the board.

MemeStrategy will concentrate on integrating Bitcoin together with different cryptocurrencies into its belongings, whereas additionally investing in promising startups within the realms of Web3 and AI. The initiative seeks to make the most of 9GAG’s intensive on-line group to spice up development.

Established in 2008, 9GAG has change into a distinguished platform for memes and viral content material, boasting over 200 million followers on social media platforms corresponding to Instagram, TikTok, X, and extra, offering MemeStrategy with a ready-made viewers for outreach and engagement.

The corporate can be engaged on initiatives below the “Creator Economic system 4.0” idea, aimed toward helping creators in monetizing their mental property by way of Web3 applied sciences. There are plans to create Decentralized Bodily Infrastructure Networks (DePin) by merging their current IoT operations with decentralized infrastructure strategies.

This isn’t Chan’s first enterprise into the Web3 house; he and the 9GAG crew beforehand launched Memeland, a studio chargeable for a number of NFT tasks corresponding to The Captainz and The Potatoz.

Bithumb’s Imprisoned Ex-CEO Receives $3.5M Bonus

A former govt of Bithumb, at present incarcerated for taking bribes tied to a token itemizing, has been granted a multi-million greenback bonus from the corporate amidst a broader upswing in crypto trade payouts following a worthwhile 2024.

Lee Sang-jun, the ex-CEO of Bithumb Holdings, obtained practically 4.7 billion Korean received (roughly $3.5 million) final 12 months, in accordance with the annual report, as reported by the state-backed information company Yonhap. This features a 2 billion received ($1.4 million) bonus, 2.2 billion received ($1.5 million) for retirement pay, and near 470 million received ($320,000) in base wage, regardless of his conviction in December 2024.

It’s vital to tell apart him from Lee Jung-hoon, the previous chairman of Bithumb who was acquitted of fraud prices, with the choice not too long ago upheld by the Supreme Courtroom. The trade additionally awarded a 1 billion received ($740,000) bonus to Lee Jung-hoon.

Lee Sang-jun was discovered responsible in December 2024 for receiving luxurious presents and favors in trade for token listings. Whereas the prosecution claimed he accepted 30 billion received (about $20 million) in money, the courtroom dismissed that allegation however upheld his conviction for different bribery prices. He obtained a two-year jail sentence and was fined 50 million received ($37,000).

A consultant from Bithumb defended the cost, stating that Lee performed a big function in enhancing the corporate’s operations, together with establishing institutional frameworks and bettering asset safety for patrons.

Bithumb is just not alone amongst South Korean crypto exchanges in distributing substantial bonuses following the restoration in 2024. Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, compensated its chairman Track Chi-hyung over ₩110 billion ($82 million) final 12 months, as reported by Yonhap.

Staff of South Korea’s premier crypto exchanges obtained salaries that rival these of main banking establishments. In 2024, Upbit workers earned a median of practically 200 million received ($147,000), marking a 71% improve from the earlier 12 months. In the meantime, Bithumb workers noticed their common salaries rise to 116 million received ($85,000) from 99 million received ($68,000).

34 Convicted Over $63.5 Million WeChat Rip-off

A courtroom in China has sentenced 34 individuals to jail for his or her involvement in a large-scale cryptocurrency funding rip-off, which defrauded practically 30,000 victims out of 460 million yuan (roughly $63.5 million). The ruling was handed down by the Ezhou Intermediate Individuals’s Courtroom in Hubei Province and was shared on its official WeChat account.

The rip-off operation constructed a pretend buying and selling platform generally known as OurBit (OURBIT), falsely claiming to be a Singapore-registered trade with licenses from the US and the UK. The platform marketed options like “zero slippage” and “revolutionary stop-loss instruments,” accompanied by fabricated buying and selling charts that mimicked real Bitcoin market knowledge. It listed 9 non-existent cryptocurrencies, creating an phantasm of a reputable buying and selling surroundings.

To draw investments, members of the prison group acted as funding “lecturers” in WeChat teams, the place they shared fraudulent revenue screenshots and inspired potential customers to have interaction with the platform. Victims had been drawn to high-leverage merchandise, usually ending with their balances utterly depleted on account of manipulated buying and selling situations.

The buying and selling platform was basically a closed system the place customers unwittingly wager in opposition to the platform itself with none ties to exterior markets. Knowledge manipulation supposed to set off margin calls and create false volatility. Customers who did notice vital earnings would have their withdrawals frozen or had been coerced into reinvesting till their funds vanished.

The operation was organized with devoted groups for enterprise, product growth, and technical processes. Preliminary brokers had been recruited with guarantees of excessive commissions, provided with demo accounts to lure sub-agents and victims. The rip-off functioned with distinct roles, and brokers had been educated to make use of scripted displays and fabricated credentials to uphold the façade of authenticity.

The courtroom decided that the defendants, led by a person with the surname Cheng, dedicated fraud by misrepresenting details and hiding the character of the platform to illegally acquire funds. As a result of complexity and variety of defendants, the case was divided into a number of trials. All sentences have been enacted, with jail phrases spanning from three to 12 years, accompanied by fines.

Elevated Bitcoin Acquisitions by Japanese Corporations

Enish Inc., a cell recreation developer in Japan, is the most recent publicly traded firm within the nation to embrace Bitcoin, asserting plans to speculate ¥100 million (roughly $660,000) within the cryptocurrency by way of a neighborhood trade between April 1 and April 4.

The acquisition aligns with Enish’s broader push into the Web3 house. The agency said that this transfer goals to boost their technical comprehension of blockchain know-how and assist upcoming recreation growth via hands-on expertise.

This growth continues the rising pattern amongst Japanese companies. Metaplanet, a former lodge operator now turned Web3 firm, has emerged as one of many continent’s most aggressive company Bitcoin acquirers. Since adopting a Bitcoin-centric treasury technique, Metaplanet has collected over 4,200 BTC, making it the biggest publicly listed Bitcoin holder in Asia and ninth globally.

The uptick in company Bitcoin investments comes as regulators in Japan ponder up to date guidelines on cryptocurrency oversight. A report revealed by Nikkei on March 30 indicated that Japan’s Monetary Companies Company (FSA) is drafting laws to categorise cryptocurrencies as monetary devices below the Monetary Devices and Change Act, which may topic them to insider buying and selling rules related to people who apply to inventory markets.

Nevertheless, the FSA has since refuted this report. In an April 1 assertion to Cointelegraph, an company spokesperson clarified that no determination on potential amendments to the regulation or reclassifying crypto belongings as monetary devices has been reached.

However the paradox, Japan’s regulatory stance has not too long ago leaned favorably in direction of crypto. The nation granted its first license for stablecoin dealing with to SBI VC Commerce, permitting it to assist Circle’s USDC. The federal government can be advancing tax reforms that purpose to decrease capital good points tax on cryptocurrencies from 55% to twenty%, whereas the FSA evaluates lifting its ban on crypto-backed exchange-traded funds.

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Yohan Yun

Yohan Yun is a multimedia journalist with a concentrate on blockchain since 2017. He has labored as an editor for crypto outlet Forkast and has reported on Asian know-how tales as a contributing reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Forbes. In his leisure time, he enjoys cooking and experimenting with new dishes.

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