Hana Securities chooses Itcen and INF Consulting as security token platform developers

Bybit Extends Service Offering to Include LendingDubai-headquartered crypto spot and derivatives trading platform Bybit announced on Tuesday that it has expanded the range of services it offers to now also encompass crypto lending.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashHourly interestIn the announcement which has been published to the platform’s website, the company set out the nature of the Bybit Lending product. “With Bybit Lending, users can deposit their unused cryptocurrencies into Asset Pools, which will be lent out to borrowers,” the service update outlines.Expanding on the features that the new service offering brings with it, the crypto platform outlines that customers will have the ability to accrue interest on an hourly basis. That interest will be calculated at a variable rate, with a variance in the rate depending upon the level of borrowing activity. “In extreme cases where there are no borrowers at all, the interest rate could drop to 0%,” the company clarified.Low risk claimsBybit points out that “loaned assets are kept safe by Bybit’s strict risk management system, enabling you to earn returns with peace of mind.” While this is comforting to hear, it remains to be seen to what extent crypto market participants will take this statement at face value.2022 proved itself to be a graveyard for most of the leading crypto lending firms, and with that, such failures also proved to be a graveyard for the hard earned funds of retail market participants in their hundreds of thousands. Many are dubious about the integrity and sustainability of the crypto lending model, at least at a retail level.Withdrawal restrictionsBybit added that the product facilitates flexible redemptions. However, in an accompanying note, it added that the withdrawal of funds is dependent upon “ the funds in the Asset Pool [not being] fully lent out and you have not exceeded your Daily Withdrawal Limit.”It’s important to note that as many of the failed crypto lenders were getting further and further into difficulty in 2022, they added more arduous withdrawal limits and withdrawal conditions as a mechanism to stem the bleeding that was the outward flow of deposits against a backdrop of a deficit in customer funds held by these platforms.In further marketing of the product on Twitter, the company is claiming that customers can benefit from interest rates of up to 16.46%. While one could take the view that limited promotion of exceptionally high interest rates is harmless, the lesson learned from recent crypto lender failures is that such platforms were offering excessive and unsustainable interest rates as a mechanism to reel in retail deposits, only to later proceed to mismanage those funds.Competing offeringsBybit is not alone in offering this service. While a plethora of lending services exited the market via bankruptcy, exchanges such as OKX and KuCoin have their own variations on lending. OKX extends a loan facility to platform users proportionate to digital assets the user has deposited on the platform. Seychelles-based KuCoin offers a lending service across a broad spectrum of crypto assets.The intent of US based platforms Coinbase and Kraken in this regard has been retarded due to the actions of US regulators. Kraken fell foul of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relative to its staking service and paid a $30 million fine as a consequence. Meanwhile, Coinbase shelved plans to launch lending-based services in September 2021 having been warded off the idea by the SEC.

Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX), the city-state’s primary asset exchange, is in the process of establishing Bitcoin perpetual futures trading on the platform.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashInstitutional product offeringAccording to a report published by Bloomberg earlier this week, the exchange platform intends to launch Bitcoin futures sometime during H2 2025. The product launch will be subject to regulatory approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). A spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg that the product offering will be geared exclusively towards institutional investors and traders in an effort to “significantly expand institutional market access.” Retail access to the product will be prohibited. Once launched, these Bitcoin perpetual futures contracts, being offered through a traditional finance (TradFi) outfit like SGX, will help to blur the lines between TradFi and the emerging crypto sector. Perpetual futures have no expiry date. They offer a means for traders to bet on price changes in an underlying asset while doing away with the need to take ownership of the asset itself. Cautious approachSGX has been cautious in listing crypto assets and derivative products. Last year the firm’s CEO, Loh Boon Chye, said that the time was not yet right for such listings.  His concern back then was that any such product launches would need “sustainable ecosystem support,” adding that “that means demand, that means governance, that means structure.” While spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) had been approved in the United States at that point, there has been much further development in the crypto-sphere since then, following the election of a pro-crypto administration in the U.S. That event has had knock-on effects globally. Singapore’s SGX isn’t the only traditional exchange platform to respond. Japanese futures exchange, the Osaka Dojima Exchange (ODEX), is gearing up to file an application with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) to list a Bitcoin futures product later this month. Closer to home, an American digital asset marketplace that focuses on institutional trading, EDX Markets, has plans to introduce Bitcoin perpetual futures products to the Singaporean market, according to a report which emerged in January. In May 2024, EDX launched EDXM Global, a settlement platform, in Singapore. This product launch by SGX serves the purposes of decision-makers in Singapore, who have been trying to position the city-state as a digital asset industry hub. Additionally, the move will bring greater acceptance of the digital assets sector from traditional market participants. Crypto perpetual futures contracts were first pioneered by crypto derivatives exchanges like BitMEX back in 2016. Since then, other crypto-native platforms like Binance and OKX have offered these products. In the case of unregulated offshore exchanges, the products have proven to be controversial, as at times, they have been used in a manner that has exposed market participants to counterparty risk. Failed crypto exchange FTX, together with its sister company Alameda Research, relied on the products in their trading activities. SGX, as a seasoned, regulated TradFi operator, which holds an Aa2 rating from Moody’s, is likely to prove to be a more palatable option for institutional players.

Korean Conference Captures Interest of NFT and Blockchain Game EnthusiastsNews of the upcoming NFT and Blockchain Game Conference is sure to excite gaming enthusiasts with a keen interest in these technologies. Organized by ZDNet Korea, a tech news outlet, the conference is scheduled to take place on June 27 in the Pangyo Techno Valley, located on the outskirts of Seoul, Korea.Photo by Mateo on UnsplashPolicy and future strategiesThe event will delve into various aspects of the gaming industry, including policy and future strategies, with a specific focus on innovative technologies such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cloud computing, and cryptocurrency wallets. Attendees can expect valuable insights and engaging discussions on how these advancements are shaping the future of gaming.Prominent firms to share insightsHosted by the Korea Game Media Association (KGMA), the conference will kick off with a keynote speech by Jae Park, the Korea Country Manager of the global crypto exchange XT.COM. Park will share his expertise on the NFT gaming industry and discuss success strategies. Following Park’s speech, representatives from prominent companies at home and abroad, including Nexon, Marblex, NPIXEL, Polygon Labs, and Alibaba Cloud, will take the stage.Hwang Sun-young, Production Director at Korean game publisher Nexon, will explain Nexon’s implementation of blockchain technology in their projects. Hwang previously attended the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2023 in San Francisco, where Nexon unveiled the blockchain gaming ecosystem “MapleStory Universe” in partnership with Polygon, a layer 2 scaling solution on Ethereum. MapleStory is Nexon’s blockbuster side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).Jake Moon, COO of Marblex, will discuss the endeavors of the Marblex Web3 game ecosystem. Park Sung-mo, Head of Business Development at Polygon Labs, will shed light on the role of the mainnet in the blockchain industry.Ko Jeong-hwan, Head of Web3 at NPIXEL, will provide insights into how Web3 enhances the gaming experience. Lim Jong-jin, Tech Team Lead in Korea at Alibaba Cloud, will introduce the Alibaba Cloud ecosystem and platform that supports Web3.Kim Oh-joong, CEO of Find The Gap, will review incidents related to NFT and game hacking, along with potential solutions. James Kwak, Director of the Business Development Department at BPMG, will deliver a talk on Web3 and wallets.KGMA President Lee Taek-su told ZDNet Korea that NFTs and the blockchain have emerged as important concepts in the global gaming industry. He highlighted that the conference would provide an opportunity to review the efforts undertaken by Korean game companies in the blockchain sphere and raise awareness of the need to embrace the changing paradigm in the sector.