MAS also warned an initial coin offering issuer to stop the offering of its digital tokens in Singapore

MAS warns 8 cryptocurrency exchanges, bars ICO issuer [The Straits Times]

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) warned eight digital token exchanges in Singapore not to allow trading in digital tokens that are securities or futures contracts without MAS’s authorisation, it said on Thursday.

It also warned an initial coin offering (ICO) issuer to stop the offering of its digital tokens in Singapore.

MAS said that if the digital tokens constitute securities or futures contracts, the exchanges must “immediately” cease the trading of such digital tokens until they have been authorised as an approved exchange or recognised market operator by MAS.

Facebook launches free community space in Jakarta [The Jakarta Post]

Social media giant Facebook on Wednesday launched its Ruang Komunal Indonesia community hub at One Pacific Place in South Jakarta.

Facebook policy programs director Clair Deevy said at a media conference that the space was the first of its kind in the world, and was available to any community group, not just Facebook groups.

Deevy said that in the past two years, the tech company had worked with many community groups and non-profit organizations in Indonesia that were struggling to bring people face-to-face, and that Ruang Komunal Indonesia was created in response to the situation.

Bicycle-sharing company Mobike launches in Pune in India [press release]

Chinese bicycle sharing giant Mobike today announced the launch of its service in Pune, India.

The launch in collaboration with Pune Municipal Corporation and other local administration agencies marks the company’s first foray into India. Mobike has signed an MoU with Pune Municipal Corporation, in support of the municipality’s ambitious Pune Cycle Plan.

In 2016, the Pune city administration launched the Pune Cycle Plan to introduce environment-friendly means of transportation. The focus is on the development of a sustainable urban transportation system and smart city solution to reduce traffic congestion. Mobike’s launch is aligned with this initiative and will offer residents a convenient and eco-friendly way to travel around the city. Mobike’s SMART Bicycle sharing plan incorporates one of the salient features of the Pune Cycle plan with respect to bridging demand/supply gap using internet/IoT technologies which makes it a very unique proposition for users and the city.

Educational DIY toys startup Smartivity secures US$2M funding [press release]

Smartivity Labs, India’s pioneering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, (Arts), and Math) toys design startup has raised US$2 million from Ashish Kacholia, a stock market investor in India and Director (Research) at Mumbai-based Lucky Securities.

This round was also participated in by existing Smartivity investors – S Chand Group, AdvantEdge Founders and Ant Space.

Smartivity is an educational DIY toys and technology-enabled activities that bridge the physical and digital worlds for children between 3 to 14 years of age all over the globe. Its portfolio of in-house designed and patented products spans physical toys, Augmented Reality tech-enabled activities, Virtual Reality experiences, Robotics, Blended Learning activities and Tangible Play innovations.

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