Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange platform ANX International has announced a new service that will let customers generate customized digital assets, digital wallets, and branded exchange platform.
ANX Blockchain Services (ABS), set to launch in the next few hours, will allow users to create blockchain applications with their own digital tokens. Possible applications include loyalty applications, payments applications, token systems, voucher systems, coupon applications and registry systems.
Ken Lo, ANX’s CEO, said that the technology for issuing blockchain-based assets has been used in development for the past three years. The technology has been used by some of ANX’s biggest clients, including an e-commerce company that wanted to run a loyalty program.
“I can tell you now the demand for people wanting to get blockchain services is very high — that’s why we’ve decided to systematize it,” Lo said, as quoted by Bloomberg. “We’re helping the general public get access to blockchain by lowering the barriers to using the technology.”
Alongside ABS, ANX Digital Wallets will offer an all-inclusive web-based wallet to send and receive digital assets. The ANX Exchange Platform on the other hand will allow customers to exchange assets with all major fiat currencies.
Founded in 2013, ANX started out as a cryptocurrency exchange platform. Today, the company’s main source of revenue comes from helping businesses make customized digital assets and blockchains.
ANX’s new service comes at a time when Hong Kong is showing support for blockchain technology development. More specifically, Hong Kong is exploring its potential benefits and how the technology could be used to improve its financial sectors.
In the 2016-2017 budget speech, the Financial Secretary for the Hong Kong Government encouraged the industry and relevant organizations to explore the applications of blockchain technology, specifically towards reducing suspicious transactions and bringing down transaction costs.
A few weeks before being hacked, Gatecoin claimed it intended to become a leader in smart contracts and decentralized applications (dapps) fundraising. Gatecoin is a Hong Kong-incorporated trading platform for cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
In an interview with CoinJournal in April, Aurélien Menant, co-founder and CEO of Gatecoin, said that Asia could well become a key market for digital assets trading, noting that ether, Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, had been gaining popularity in the region.
Last week, Gatecoin said it experienced a cyberattack that resulted in a loss of US$2 million in bitcoins and ethers.
“In total, the hot wallet breach resulted in the loss of ETH 185,000 and BTC 250, which is equivalent to USD 2 million,” Menant said in an official statement. “This represents 15% of total crypto-asset deposits held by Gatecoin.”
Gatecoin said it will build a portal for clients to withdrawal their remaining funds in DAO, DGD, REP, USD, EUR and HKD
The breach, which took place between May 09 and May 12, occurred while The DAO, a decentralized fund management using ether to vote on and fund development proposals, was running its crowdsale. To date, The DAO has successfully raised the equivalent of US$135 million, and represents the highest funded crowdfunding projects.