Ministry of Science and ICT to hold conference to explore future of Web3

The South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) made an official announcement on Friday (KST) stating that "domestic securities firms brokering spot bitcoin ETFs that are listed on overseas markets may be considered a violation of the government's stance on virtual assets and the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act." This stance refers to a press release published on Dec. 13, 2017 that outlined the government’s conclusion that virtual assets must be dealt with carefully.Photo by Lauren Seo on UnsplashFuture possibilityHowever, this statement is not to be interpreted as a complete dismissal of the possibility that South Korea could adopt the ETF. The agency added that it would look into the issue thanks to a more stable regulatory landscape sweeping the country following the implementation of regulations on virtual assets like the Virtual Asset User Protection Act. Authorities are also taking into consideration the fact that other countries like the U.S. are adopting a more open stance. Market downturnFollowing the announcement, stocks related to the ETF in the South Korean market – which had surged on the news of a spot bitcoin ETF listing on the U.S. stock market a day ago – saw share prices drop within a day. As of 10:04 a.m. on Friday, Woori Technology Investment was trading at KRW 7,650 ($5.82), down 4.61 percent from the day before, and Hanwha Investment & Securities was down 9.09 percent to KRW 4,000. Both of these firms hold stakes in Dunamu, the operator of South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit.

South Korea and Canada have agreed to strengthen cooperation against cyber threats, including North Korea’s theft of virtual assets, following their inaugural cyber policy consultations.Photo by Hermes Rivera on UnsplashAccording to News1, South Korea’s foreign ministry announced that the talks took place at its Seoul headquarters. Both sides agreed on the need for closer coordination to effectively counter cybercrimes—such as North Korea-linked crypto theft and online scams—as well as emerging cyber threats driven by artificial intelligence. They also committed to exploring concrete avenues for bilateral cooperation. The delegations exchanged views on response mechanisms for the recent surge in cyber intrusions, sharing case studies on how such incidents have been handled. They also agreed to strengthen prevention efforts by improving information sharing and speeding up communication across multiple channels when incidents occur. The foreign ministry noted that the meeting marks a significant step toward enhanced cybersecurity cooperation, as the two nations share policy approaches and explore practical collaboration under their comprehensive strategic partnership. Bithumb staff form labor unionMeanwhile, employees in the crypto sector are beginning to organize to safeguard their rights. An exclusive report by NewsWhoPlus revealed that a labor union has been established at Bithumb, one of South Korea’s major crypto exchanges. The union has affiliated with the Federation of Korean Public Trade Unions, which operates under the umbrella of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions. The union stated it will serve as a forum to discuss and improve employee welfare and working conditions. In response, Bithumb said it is reviewing reports of the union’s formation to gather more details. The company emphasized its respect for employees’ rights and affirmed it will respond in accordance with relevant laws and procedures. Industry readies for stablecoin oversightElsewhere in the industry, companies are proactively positioning themselves for regulatory shifts. As South Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act—the second phase of the country’s crypto legislation, which is expected to address assets like stablecoins—begins to take shape, businesses are moving early to prepare for the anticipated changes. Edaily reported that Lambda256, an affiliate of Upbit operator Dunamu, is forming a strategic consultative group focused on stablecoins. To this end, the company has signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the law firm Yulchon and SAS Korea. Under the agreement, the partners will combine their expertise in blockchain technology, legal services, and data analytics. They aim to establish a joint framework to navigate key legal and regulatory issues surrounding stablecoins and other digital assets. This cooperation will encompass anti-money laundering (AML) protocols, financial crime prevention, internal controls, risk management, and the legal structuring of related product offerings. On the financial and regulatory front, the partners plan to refine practical AML compliance and internal control measures for financial institutions. By continuously analyzing shifts in digital asset regulations and broader market trends, they intend to develop practical compliance frameworks that financial firms and other businesses can readily adopt. 

Scroll’s zkEVM Launches on Ethereum MainnetScroll, the Seychelles-headquartered project behind the Ethereum layer-2 network of the same name, has officially made its debut on the Ethereum mainnet.Photo by Zoltan Tasi on UnsplashAttempting to solve for scalabilityThe project team announced the development via a press release which was published on Tuesday. The network launch signifies the latest in a series of attempts by various layer-2 projects, including Polygon and StarkWare, to address the persistent challenges of high transaction fees and network congestion that have hindered Ethereum’s usability in recent times. Speaking to layer-2 development, co-founder Sandy Peng stated:“We see a future where the vast majority of value transfer takes place on Layer 2s on Ethereum. What will drive that adoption is improved user and developer experience.”After testing and refinement on its testnet, Scroll believes that it is in a good position to play an active role within the Ethereum ecosystem by providing a general-purpose, zero-knowledge Ethereum virtual machine (zkEVM) roll-up.The project has 900,000 wallet addresses in active use on its testnet, having executed seven million transactions since August. The testnet has seen over 55 million transactions during its year-long operation.At its core, Scroll’s mission is to combine Ethereum’s network security with reduced fees and lower latency, making it an attractive proposition for existing Ethereum projects. According to Peng, Ethereum developers can seamlessly deploy their projects on Scroll and harness the groundbreaking zkEVM technology.Incorporating bytecodePeng emphasized the significance of zkEVM’s ability to batch proofs efficiently, resulting in faster transaction speeds and cost reductions, thanks to its bytecode-level compatibility.Bytecode, in the realm of computer programming, simplifies intricate machine cryptography, making code more accessible for computer hardware. Scroll allows deployed smart contracts to store the bytecode of their transactions, which is then sent to a centralized zkEVM node. This node verifies the transaction’s accuracy without revealing its content. Once verified, the transaction’s status is updated on the Ethereum network, eliminating the need for re-execution. Peng pointed out:“Thanks to this feature, Ethereum devs can leverage all the same tools they are familiar with, ensuring that everything operates seamlessly right from the start.”Scroll’s mainnet code was subject to audits conducted by four major auditing firms, namely Zellic, Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, and KALOS, in an effort to ensure robust security and reliability.Efforts towards greater decentralizationWhile Scroll’s current implementation offers compelling features, the team is actively researching ways to further enhance the network’s decentralization. Currently, if the sequencer goes offline, the protocol halts, creating a potential vulnerability. To address this, the Scroll team is working on a protocol upgrade that will enable “forced batches.” This update will allow permissionless publication of batches through the base layer, even in the event of a sequencer halt.Peng elaborated on the team’s vision, stating: “Mid-term, the goal is to minimize the probability of a sequencer halt through decentralization.” This approach aims to bolster the network’s resilience and ensure a smoother user experience.While headquartered in the Seychelles, the project has its origins in China through its Chinese founders, Ye Zhang and Haichen Shen, alongside Peng, with many of its 60-strong project team based in mainland China and Hong Kong.