Korean Supreme Court acquits Dunamu Chairman Song Chi-hyung

Korean regulator monitors non-listed token amidst peer-to-peer trading surgeThe South Korean financial regulator is closely monitoring BTCMobick, a non-listed token issued by crypto influencer Oh Tae-min, who is known for authoring books like “The Great Bitcoin” and “Bitcoin and the Geopolitics of the Dollar.” The Financial Services Commission (FSC) is cautioning local crypto exchanges regarding the potential for price manipulation should the token be listed.Photo by Daniel Bernard on UnsplashBTCMobick TokenThe BTCMobick token is reportedly being traded peer-to-peer at around KRW 300,000, which is approximately equivalent to $230, in chat rooms of messaging apps like KakaoTalk outside of cryptocurrency exchanges. The token has gained enough traction to spur the emergence of dedicated apps that facilitate these peer-to-peer trades, charging fees for their services. Based on the size of the chat rooms and apps involved, it is estimated that approximately 3,000 participants are trading the token, according to a report by local news website Etoday.As per another coverage by the same outlet, the Virtual Asset Inspection Division of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which operates under the FSC, has inquired with local crypto exchanges on two occasions — once in September and again this week — about whether they have listed or are planning to list the BTCMobick token. It’s rare for the financial authority to specifically target a particular token when making inquiries with crypto trading platforms.Potential price manipulationAn FIU official explained the rationale behind the agency’s inquiry into crypto exchanges. The official stated that the probe aimed to caution the exchanges about potential price manipulation of the BTCMobick token. The concern is that many crypto users might suffer losses if such a token, which has been experiencing a continual rise in price outside of trading platforms, were to be listed. Currently, legal penalties for cryptocurrency price manipulation fall under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which will not be enforced until July 2024. This indicates a regulatory gap in the immediate term.Hwang Suk-jin, a professor at Dongguk University’s Graduate School of International Affairs and Information Security, pointed out that while giving out privately generated tokens to friends or acquaintances doesn’t raise any legal issues, the situation changes once these tokens are listed for trading on exchanges and distributed more broadly in the market. In such scenarios, these tokens can become a source of legal disputes, he explained.Amidst these developments, there are circulating rumors suggesting that BTCMobick is on the verge of being listed on exchanges. An industry insider has mentioned that there are brokers actively spreading these rumors, indicating that the token might soon become publicly tradable.Oh Tae-min’s denial of rumorsMeanwhile, Oh Tae-min, the creator of BTCMobick who has been distributing his token for free, states that the token is part of an experiment intended to mimic the early stages of Bitcoin. However, critics are concerned that the personally issued token has no practical utility. Addressing the circulating rumors about the token’s potential listing on exchanges, Oh asserts that these rumors are baseless and false. He further warns that any brokers spreading such rumors are likely engaging in fraudulent activities.

BIS Collaborates with Singapore’s MAS, Bringing CBDC Pilot to a CloseThe Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has recently signified the culmination of Project Mariana, a pilot initiative centered on exploring the cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).Photo by Pixabay on PexelsUpdating financial market infrastructureThe bank of central banks published the findings of the project on Thursday. Conceived in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) alongside the central banks of France and Switzerland, the endeavor could have profound implications for the future landscape of financial market infrastructure.Project Mariana, conducted under the patronage of the BIS, harnessed principles gathered from the emerging world of DeFi to probe the viability of employing automated market makers (AMMs) for CBDC trading and settlement.The project involved three key facets:DeFi Ingenuity: Project Mariana took inspiration and cues from the DeFi universe, particularly AAMs, to streamline foreign exchange trading and settlement. This approach was designed to bolster market efficiency while curtailing settlement risks.Cross-Border CBDC Transactions: Hypothetical wholesale versions of the Swiss franc, euro, and Singapore dollar in CBDC form were tested for cross-border trading and settlement. The central banks of France, Singapore, and Switzerland orchestrated simulated transactions via AAMs to gauge feasibility.Interoperability and Token Standards: The project showcased the practical application of a standardized technical token format offered by a public blockchain, enabling seamless interoperability across various currencies. This interoperability element played a pivotal role in facilitating cross-border CBDC transactions.While the project represents a significant move forward for the BIS in its consideration of decentralized technology, the organization is still mindful that these decentralized tools are in their infancy and in need of further scrutiny and experimentation.With that, the BIS Innovation Hub has outlined its intent to further explore the prospective advantages and obstacles associated with DeFi-infused solutions within pertinent use cases going forward.Proof of conceptWhile the BIS and participating central banks were happy with the outcome of the project, the exercise was still a proof of concept and doesn’t mean there will be any immediate adoption of CBDCs by the participating nations.Rather, it spotlights the potentials of CBDCs and DeFi in streamlining financial transactions and enhancing efficiency. Central banks can oversee wholesale CBDCs without necessarily exerting control over the underlying infrastructure, thereby furnishing commercial banks with a potent tool for instantaneous FX trading and settlement while simultaneously mitigating credit and settlement risks.The project also shone a spotlight on certain challenges, including the logistical intricacies arising from the 24/7 availability of wholesale CBDCs. Nevertheless, the manifold advantages of instant foreign exchange trading and settlement appear to outweigh these hurdles.Central bankers are likely to want a different outcome from the use of this technology by comparison with those who are currently knee-deep in building out DeFi. One commentator on X had a cynical take on the project, stating: “Intermediaries attempting to justify their existence in an age with bitcoin.”Notwithstanding that, FX is the largest financial market in the world, where $7.5 trillion in value is traded every day. To utilize DeFi technology in that context would likely be profound, regardless of the nature of the application of the technology.

Asia has taken the lead, surpassing North America, in terms of being a crypto developer hub according to a recent report. Electric Capital, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley in the United States, recently compiled a report centered upon global crypto developer data. Its analysis of the data has led to some interesting findings. Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashNorth America loses its leadElectric Capital General Partner Maria Shen took to the X social media platform on Oct. 30 to provide further details on some key takeaways. In the first instance, Shen points out that North America has lost its lead in terms of crypto developer share, with Asia emerging as the leading region in this respect. Shen stated that “for the first time, Asia is the #1 continent for crypto talent.” Underpinning that claim, she provided data that identifies a drop in North America’s share of crypto developers from 44% in 2015 to 24% in 2024. Within the same timeframe, Asia’s share of crypto developer talent has increased from 13% to 32%. Teasing the data out further, the United States still remains the number one country for crypto devs on a country-by-country basis. It leads this particular metric with 18.8% of the developer talent pool, followed by India with 11.8% and the United Kingdom with 4.2%. A consequence of U.S. regulatory uncertaintyRegulatory uncertainty in the United States has been identified as a contributing factor by some crypto community commentators. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S. has engaged in regulation by enforcement rather than establishing a bespoke regulatory framework for crypto.  This approach has led to SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda calling crypto regulation in the U.S. “a disaster” earlier this month. Others, like Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, have gone further, describing the approach of the Biden Administration to crypto as “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” suggesting that there is an active plan being implemented to suppress the industry. This negative approach has led many U.S.-headquartered crypto firms to pursue growth opportunities overseas, particularly within centers in Asia and the Middle East such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Singapore. All of these centers have taken the opposite approach, deliberately working towards putting purpose-made regulatory frameworks in place over the course of the past two years, in order to get crypto innovation started on the right footing. Shen underscored the issue from a U.S. perspective, by pointing out that 81% of crypto devs, who are actively playing their part in shaping the future of digital money, live outside the U.S. She highlighted the significance of this, stating: “This is a national security issue & innovation drain for the US.” In a subsequent post, she questioned whether this had come about due to a negative regulatory environment, adding that “the US needs clear crypto policy to maintain its country lead.”