Advertisement

Today’s top tech news, Sept. 20: Japan hit by US$60M cryptocurrency heist

(Infographic) The story behind the 25 most prominent cryptocurrencies in the world

In yet another development, Meituan Dianping Founder Wang Xing has seen his net worth surge to US$5.3B after the IPO of the food delivery giant

Japan hit by another cryptocurrency heist, US$60 million stolen [Reuters]

Japanese cryptocurrency firm Tech Bureau Corp said about US$60 million in digital currencies were stolen from its exchange, highlighting the industry’s vulnerability despite recent efforts by authorities to make it more secure.

Tech Bureau, which had already been slapped with two business improvement orders by regulators this year, said its Zaif exchange was hacked over a two-hour period on Sept. 14. It detected server problems on Sept. 17, confirmed the hack the following day, and notified authorities, the exchange said on Thursday.

Following the hack, Tech Bureau said it had agreed with JASDAQ-listed Fisco Ltd to receive a 5 billion yen (US$44.59 million) investment in exchange for majority ownership. The proceeds from the investment would be used to replace the digital currencies stolen from client accounts.

39-year-old founder’s fortune jumps to US$5.3B after IPO [Bloomberg]

Wang Xing, founder of Meituan Dianping, has seen his net worth surge to US$5.3 billion after the initial public offering of the food delivery giant.

Meituan shares closed at HK$72.35 on Thursday, 5.3 percent above the HK$69 price of the IPO. After Hong Kong’s second-biggest technology listing of the year, the unprofitable company has a market value of US$50.9 billion, making it worth more than General Motors Co.

Jack Ma says he won’t ever come back to lead Alibaba after he leaves next year [CNBC]

Jack Ma, the iconic co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, said on Thursday that he will not return to run the company after his planned departure next year.

That’ll still hold even if his successor is facing difficulties leading the tech behemoth, Ma said, adding that he expected to remain in frequent communication with the company.

“I won’t come back, because I don’t feel like I have left,” Ma said in Mandarin at a World Economic Forum conference in Tianjin, China.

SGX leads US$53M in NY-based electronic trading startup Trumid [DealStreetAsia]

Singapore Exchange (SGX) has anchored a US$53-million funding round in Trumid, a venture capital-backed electronic trading platform for corporate bonds based in New York.

The startup, backed by venture capitalist Peter Thiel and hedge fund pioneer George Soros, said it is further scaling up its US corporate bond business with the latest fundraising. The fresh funds will also support the expansion of protocols, products, and geographies. The round was joined by Deutsche Borse Group, the German stock exchange operator.

Malaysian startup Wangi Lai wins grant at international pitching competition [press release]

IoT startup, Wangi Lai, has won a cash prize of RM 50,000 (US$12,000) at the Selangor International Pitch.

Held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), the Selangor International Pitch was part of the Selangor Smart City & Digital Economy Convention 2018, which was co-organised by the Selangor Information Technology & E-Commerce Council (SITEC), Menteri Besar Incorporated Selangor (MBI), Smart Selangor Delivery Unit (SSDU), and Invest Selangor Berhad.

Coming in at second place between two Taiwan-based startups, Wangi Lai competed by pitching to a panel of judges against a highly competitive lineup of 28 other top startups from the Asia Pacific region, such as Taiwan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore as well as Malaysia.

The company has developed BAWA Cane, a clip-on IoT device for white canes to help and empower the visually-impaired to better perceive their environment. It helps users with mobility and navigation by using an IoT sensor to improve obstacle detection and avoidance, giving foresight of the surrounding environment through Big Data Analytics. This information is then transmitted to a cloud server, and then to the user via audio, allowing them to navigate safely around.

The post Today’s top tech news, Sept. 20: Japan hit by US$60M cryptocurrency heist appeared first on e27.