Baidu, a Chinese internet giant with over 65% of the search engine market share in the country, has launched its own cryptocurrency, called Xuperchain. It’s said to be fully compliant with China’s policies while using a network of masternodes for efficiency. Its whitepaper claims it can process up to 10,000 transactions per second and support blockchain-based applications.

Telegram has announced it’s TON Wallet, the application that will be used to store its Gram tokens, will not be integrated into the privacy-centric messaging app at launch. The firm added that it has made no promises regarding the development of applications for the TON blockchain, leaving it up to the community to develop these.

A government committee has advised South Korea’s leaders to allow institutions to launch cryptocurrency-related products and to list bitcoin directly on the country’s sole securities exchange operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX).

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Chinese Internet Giant Baidu Launches Its Own Cryptocurrency, Xuperchain
• Telegram’s TON Wallet Won’t Integrate Its Messaging App at Launch, Firm Says
• South Korea Should Let Institutions Launch Crypto-Related Products, Says Government Committee

At the time of writing, bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $7,881.44 (4.44%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $2.51 billion. As for ether (ETH), it is trading at $143.04 (1.68%) with a daily Top Tier volume of $474.57 mn. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 10 Index is currently tracking at 2,522.68 (2.06%).

Chinese Internet Giant Baidu Launches Its Own Cryptocurrency, Xuperchain

Chinese internet giant Baidu has released its own cryptocurrency, Xuperchain. The cryptocurrency is compliant within China and uses a series of masternodes to run its network, built on top of Baidu’s own technology.

According to local news outlets, the blockchain-based network is capable of supporting over 10,000 transactions per second and is designed to support blockchain applications, much like the Ethereum network.

Xuperchain’s underlying code was open-sourced back in May 2019, and can be easily accessed on GitHub. It also has an open block explorer anyone can visit. The cryptocurrency’s whitepaper makes it clear its role is to help modernize China’s governance capacity, helping it become a leader in distributed ledger technology.

It’s unclear how centralized or decentralized Xuperchain is. Its use of masternodes, according to some analysts, implies the need for centralization.

Telegram’s TON Wallet Won’t Integrate Its Messaging App at Launch, Firm Says

Telegram has published a notice informing its users that the TON cryptocurrency network will launch with an official wallet app that won’t initially be integrated into the popular privacy-centric messaging app.

The TON Wallet is the application that’ll allow users to store TRON’s native Gram tokens. Telegram’s notice reads:

“In this regard, the TON Wallet is expected to compete with any other wallet applications designed and offered by third parties. Telegram may integrate the TON Wallet application with the Telegram Messenger service in the future to the extent permitted under applicable laws and governmental authorities.”

TheBlock points out that in a Terms of Services dated October 2019, Telegram said its Grams wallet would either be an independent application or would be incorporated into the Telegram application.

Telegram further stressed it hasn’t made any commitment to develop an application for the TON blockchain, and may not do so after the network goes live. Per its notice, it’s the responsibility of third parties and the community to implement such applications and smart contracts.

The firm’s statement comes as it battles the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its allegedly illegal initial coin offering, in which it’s said to have raised $1.7 billion.

South Korea Should Let Institutions Launch Crypto-Related Products, Says Government Committee

The Presidential Committee on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a group set up by the South Korean government, has suggested the South Korean government should allow financial institutions to launch cryptocurrency-related products, including bitcoin derivatives.

The committee also recommended bitcoin should be listed directly on the country’s sole securities exchange operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX). The committee said:

"The Korean government has to gradually allow institutional investors to deal in crypto assets and promote over the counter (OTC) desks dedicated to institutional investors’ trade."

It also advised the government to consider introducing business licenses or guidelines for cryptocurrency exchanges, as it believes it is “no longer possible to stop crypto-asset trade.”  To avoid relying on foreign custodians, it also advised to government to introduce a custody solution.

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