New Bitcoin 'MemesTrategy' company per 9GAG, $ 3.5 million bonus of imprisoned CEO: Asia Express

The 9GAG Mogul Meme becomes bitcoin

The creator of Meme Culture Pioneer 9gag is immersing head in bitcoin and Blockchain, acquiring a Hong Kong company that quotes in the stock market with plans to turn it into a cryptographic company and IA.

Ray Chan, 9gag co -founder, has acquired A control participation in Howkingtech International Holdings Limited and plans to turn the company into a web3 attire.

Chan has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/9gag-founder-completes-acquisition-of-controlling-stake-in-howking-tech-2440hk-proposing-rename-to-memestrategy-set-to-become-asias-first-publicly-listed-virtual-asset-ecosystem-venture-302416945.html” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>proposed Renouncing the company to Memestrategy, a nod to Microstrategy (now strategy), which popularized the corporate bitcoin accumulation play book. It will serve as president and CEO, pending approval of the shareholders, and several members of the 9gag team have joined the Board.

Memastrategy aims to incorporate bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in their balance while investing in new web3 and IA promising companies. Its strategy takes advantage of the global influence of the 9GAG online community to boost growth.

Founded in 2008, 9gag is one of the most recognizable memes and viral content platforms. With more than 200 million followers on instagram, Tiktok, x and other social media channels, it gives MemesTrategy a global audience incorporated for marketing and user participation.

The company also described initiatives under a call “creative economy 4.0”, with the aim of helping creators monetize their IP through web3 tools. It also plans to develop Depin services (decentralized physical infrastructure network) by merging your IoT business inherited with decentralized infrastructure models.

MeMastrategy is not Chan3's first raid on web3. He and the 9GAG team previously launched Memeland, a risk study behind several nft projects, including Captainz and Potatoz.

Bonus of $ 3.5 million bags in Bithumb

A former Bithumb Executive who currently meets time after bars for accepting bribes linked to a list of tokens has received a multimillionaire bonus from the company as part of a broader increase in cryptographic exchange payments after a lucrative 2024.

Lee Sang-Jun, former Bithumb Holdings CEO, received almost 4.7 billion Korean winners (around $ 3.5 million) last year, according to Bithumb's. annual reportas reported by the media supported by the State Yonhap. That includes a bonus of 2 billion profits ($ 1.4 million), 2.2 billion profits ($ 1.5 million) in retirement payment and about 470 million wones ($ 320,000) in base salary, although Lee was sentenced and sentenced in December 2024.

Lee should not be confused with Lee Jung-Hoon, the former president of Bithumb, acquitted of fraud charges, a decision recently confirmed by the Supreme Court. The exchange also paid a bonus of 1 billion Won ($ 740,000) to Lee Jung-Hoon.

Lee Sang-Jun was convicted in December 2024 and was convicted of accepting luxury gifts and favors in exchange for tokens listings. While prosecutors alleged that he took 30 billion Wones (around $ 20 million) in cash, the court clarified it from that position, but confirmed a guilt verdict for other forms of bribery. It was sentenced to two years in prison and fined around 50 million wones ($ 37,000).

The local media cited a Bithumb spokesman who defended the payment, saying that Lee had played a key role in the professionalization of the company's operations, such as establishing the institutional foundations of Bithumb and improving the protection of customer assets.

Bithumb was not the only cryptographic exchange in South Korea delivering mass controls following the recovery of 2024. GentleThe UPBIT operator paid its president Chi-Hyung about ₩ 110 billion ($ 82 million) last year, Yonhap reported.

The employees of the main exchanges of cryptography from South Korea obtained wages comparable to the main banks. Upbit staff won an average of almost 200 million Wones ($ 147,000) in 2024, 71% more than the previous year. Bithumb employees saw their average salary increase to 116 million Wones ($ 85,000) of 99 million wones ($ 68,000).

34 imprisoned for more than $ 63.5 million Scam

A Chinese court has sentenced 34 people to prison for orchestrating a large -scale cryptocurrency investment scam that defrauded almost 30,000 victims of 460 million yuan (approximately $ 63.5 million). The ruling was issued by the Intermediate Popular Court of Ezhou in the province of Hubei and shared through its Official Wechat account.

According to the court, the scam ring built a fraudulent negotiation platform called Ouutbit (Ouutbit), which claimed to be an exchange registered with Singapore with financial licenses from the United States and the United Kingdom. The platform promoted characteristics such as “Slippage Zero”, “Innovative tools of Stop-Loss”, and showed false trade graphics that imitated the real data of the bitcoin market. He listed nine fictitious cryptocurrencies to create the illusion of a legitimate and professional commercial environment.

To attract investors, the group members passed through “teachers” of investment in Wechat groups, where they published fake screenshots and encouraged users to test the platform. The victims were attracted to the use of high leverage products and, in many cases, discovered that their balances were eliminated due to manipulated trade conditions.

The platform was, in fact, a closed system where users without knowing it bet on the platform itself without connection with external markets. The data were manipulated to activate margin calls and false volatility. For the few users who obtained significant profits, the platform would freeze the withdrawals or push them to reinvest until all the funds were lost.

Behind the operation there was a structured organization with departments for businesses, products and technical operations. The top -level agents were recruited with promises of high commissions and were provided with demonstration accounts to attract sub -Current ones and victims. The scam worked with a clear division of labor, and the agents used false pre -written and credential releases to maintain the illusion of legitimacy.

The Court ruled that the defendants, led by a man with Cheng's last name, participated in fraud by manufacturing facts and hiding the nature of the platform to obtain funds illegally. The case was divided into multiple trials due to their complexity and number of defendants. All prayers have entered into force, with prison mandates that go from three to twelve, along with fines.

More Japanese companies are buying bitcoin

The Japanese mobile games developer Enish Inc. has become the last company that quotes in the stock market in Japan to adopt bitcoin, announcing plans to buy ¥ 100 million (approximately $ 660,000) in the cryptocurrency between April 1 and April 4 through a national cryptographic exchange.

Enish, known for his web game of: Lite Last Memories, said the acquisition is part of its broader impulse on web3. The company framed the movement as a way of deepening its technical understanding of blockchain technology and supporting the development of future games through practical exhibition.

The measure follows a growing trend among Japanese companies. Metaplenet, a former hotel operator turned into web3 Venture, has become the most aggressive corporate buyers on the continent. Since adopting a bitcoin -centered treasure strategy, Metaplenet has accumulated more than 4,200 btc, which makes it the largest head of bitcoin in the public list in Asia and the largest ninth worldwide.

bitcoin's corporate adoption wave occurs when Japanese regulators weigh possible updates for cryptographic supervision. March 30, Nikkei reported that the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) was preparing a bill to reclassify cryptocurrencies as financial instruments under the Law of Financial Instruments and Exchange, potentially subjecting crypto to the same internal negotiation laws that govern the stock markets.

However, the FSA has delayed the report. In a statement to Cointegraph on April 1, an agency spokesman said that a decision has not been made regarding the reviews of the law or the reclassification of cryptographic assets as financial instruments.

Despite uncertainty, Japan has recently adopted a remarkably Pro-crypto position. The regulators issued the country's first license to handle stablcoins to SBI VC Trade, which allows you to support the USDC of Circle. The Government is also advancing with tax reforms that would reduce the capital gains tax in cryptography from 55% to 20%, and the FSA is reviewing its prohibition of funds quoted in the stock market based on cryptography.

Yohan Yun

Yohan Yun is a multimedia journalist who covers Blockchain since 2017. He has contributed to media crypto as an editor and has covered Asian technology stories as an assistant reporter of Bloomberg Bna and Forbes. He spends his free time cooking and experimenting with new recipes.