India tightens control with 3,000 police officials trained in crypto investigations

South Korean entertainment production company Blade Entertainment has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cardo, a firm specializing in custodial services for digital assets, to start a tokenized securities business, according to local news outlet Newspim on Wednesday. Blade Entertainment revealed plans to leverage its IP and content distribution rights to issue fractional investment-based tokenized securities based on underlying assets like waste landfills, electroceuticals and digital therapeutics.Photo by Verne Ho on UnsplashForging the future to tokenized securities"We will do our best to become a leader in tokenized securities by securing various underlying assets and building technology to facilitate valuation modeling for those assets," said Choi Young-in, head of the STO (security token offering) department at Blade Entertainment. "Through this agreement, we will cooperate in multiple ways with Cardo, who has expertise in blockchain and an understanding of financial products, to list our tokenized securities on the Korea Exchange’s (KRX) new securities market."  This market refers to an on-exchange market for new securities based on fractional investments that was recently designated by the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) as a service under the financial regulatory sandbox system, according to a press release on Dec. 13.  The regulatory sandbox is a system run by the Korean government that exempts or suspends existing regulations for a designated amount of time for companies releasing new products and services and regulates them post-mortem if there is a problem.  Strategic collaborationBlade Entertainment said that it sought out Cardo – whose investors include one of South Korea’s major banks Nonghyup Bank – as a business partner to carry out this endeavor due to its accumulated knowledge and expertise in the blockchain sector. Cardo has also previously demonstrated its capabilities in the security token business by providing fintech solutions to financial service firm Galaxia Moneytree. "Currently, due to issues with the valuation of token securities, it is not easy for businesses in this area to operate smoothly, but we plan to issue and distribute tokenized securities of various assets soon," said Sohn Kyung-hwan, CEO of Cardo. "Based on the know-how we’ve accumulated from the two contracts we signed this year agreeing to supply security tokens platforms, we will actively help Blade Entertainment with the planning, design and platform construction of their security token venture to help establish a successful service."

Incheon Launches Blockchain Hub Center to Lead Web3 EraIncheon Metropolitan City announced Monday that it has established the Incheon Blockchain Hub Center at the heart of the city in an effort to establish itself as a blockchain hub in Korea and usher in the era of Web3.Photo by Hon Kim on UnsplashThe center, located in the Jemulpo Smart Town building, will house various facilities, including offices for the Incheon Technopark Blockchain Center, blockchain companies, and startups, as well as spaces for technological development and relaxation.Fostering innovation and cooperationThe center aims to undertake systematic and diverse projects that citizens and businesses alike can benefit from. This includes supporting tenants of the hub center, providing an environment for technology development and demonstration, and funding blockchain technology development. It will also serve as a spot for Incheon Technopark’s blockchain acceleration program, business model exploration and design, and events such as blockchain hackathons and conferences.The city is also set to hold an opening ceremony for the center on Wednesday, during which over 20 organizations and firms will gather for the inauguration of a committee dedicated to promoting mutually beneficial relationships between blockchain-based service providers and consumers. Among the consumers are central and municipal governments and state-run agencies. Initiating connections and making business support processes more efficient will constitute the committee’s core tasks, the city said.Incheon’s vision for Web3“The world is evolving to accommodate Web3, the new blockchain-based Internet, amid the global trend of digital transformation,” said Lee Nam-joo, Director of Incheon’s Future Industry Bureau. In accordance with this transformation, he said, the city of Incheon would push on to become a leading blockchain hub with a globally competitive edge by continually implementing various projects and policies through the committee — including joint projects between the public and private sectors — to provide support for business and technological development.In more efforts to build an active blockchain industry, Incheon is also currently operating a blockchain education program and regularly hosts events and hackathons to promote the widespread use of Web3 technology. Notably, a two-day conference dubbed “Global Blockchain Incheon Conference” is scheduled to take place from October 30 to 31 in the city’s southern district Songdo.

Zodia Markets Achieves Crypto Broker-Dealer Approval in UAEZodia Markets, the London-based digital asset marketplace backed by Standard Chartered Ventures, has achieved the milestone of receiving In-Principle Approval (IPA) to operate as a cryptocurrency broker-dealer in Abu Dhabi’s over-the-counter (OTC) market.Photo by Kamil Rogalinski on UnsplashADGM green lightThat’s according to a press release published by Zawya, a business intelligence media outlet that covers the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The regulatory approval comes from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a renowned financial hub in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Salem Mohammed Al Darei, CEO of the ADGM Authority, extended his congratulations to Zodia Markets on this achievement and welcomed them into the ADGM ecosystem. The In-Principle Approval marks the third step in a comprehensive five-stage application process outlined by ADGM. The subsequent stages involve securing final approval and undergoing an “operational launch” test to ensure seamless functionality, with a need to follow ADGM’s guidance meticulously.“The harmony of traditional and new-age finance in Abu Dhabi with an international leading digital asset firm such as Zodia Markets that is backed by the well-established Standard Chartered will contribute to further enhancing the attractiveness of ADGM as a preferred destination for global entities,” Al Darei stated.Expanding global footprintZodia Markets’ strategic decision to enter the UAE market aligns with the growing prominence of the UAE in the digital assets industry. This move compliments Zodia Custody’s decision to launch a crypto custodian service in the UAE emirate of Dubai back in May. While both businesses are independent of each other and fully segregated, they share the very same parent company in Standard Chartered.At the time, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by parent company Standard Chartered alongside the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC).This latest move bolsters the geographical presence of Zodia Markets but also provides institutional investors in the Middle East and Africa with convenient access to the world of digital assets, thereby strengthening the company’s global footprint in the digital asset space.News of the firm’s intentions to enter the UAE market emerged last November. The company’s thinking at the time was that it could exploit an opportunity to expand in the MENA region due to more progressive regulation while the US and Europe were perceived to be developing at a much slower pace from a regulatory point of view, making them unattractive comparatively.ADGM has been at the forefront of shaping the regulatory landscape for companies involved in virtual assets. In April, it put forward a legal framework for decentralized tech. As part of its commitment to fostering innovation, ADGM recently granted permission for the operation of a virtual asset platform named M2 and issued a license to the cryptocurrency exchange Rain in July.Usman Ahmad, CEO of Zodia Markets, articulated the company’s mission, stating:“Our goal is to provide institutions seamless access to trade digital assets without compromising on the standards and controls that exist in traditional financial markets.”Zodia Markets is a joint venture between Standard Chartered and Hong Kong-based digital assets platform OSL, which also expressed its enthusiasm for the In-Principle Approval.