SK Securities introduces fractional investment service with three partners

Hong Kong Takes Steps to Enhance Crypto Platform OversightIn the wake of the ongoing JPEX scandal, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has pledged to intensify its efforts to combat unregulated cryptocurrency trading platforms operating within the Chinese autonomous territory.Photo by Ruslan Bardash on UnsplashPublic registry plannedAs of Monday, the SFC has announced a comprehensive plan to address these concerns. One key initiative includes the publication of a publicly accessible list encompassing all licensed, deemed licensed, closing down, and application-pending virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs). The purpose of this list is to empower the public with the information needed to identify potentially unregulated VATPs conducting business in Hong Kong.Ongoing JPEX falloutThese new measures arrive in the aftermath of the ongoing JPEX crypto exchange scandal, which local media outlets have characterized as one of the most significant financial fraud cases to ever impact the region. JPEX, a Dubai-headquartered platform, stands accused of offering its services to Hong Kong residents without having applied for a license in the country.The SFC pointed directly to the issues at JPEX in its most recent announcement, stating: “The JPEX incident highlights the risks of dealing with unregulated VATPs and the need for proper regulation to maintain market confidence. It also shows that dissemination of information to the investing public through the Alert List, warnings and investor education can be further enhanced to help members of the investing public better understand the potential risks entailed by suspicious websites or VATPs.”Christopher “Kit” Wilson, the Director of Enforcement at the SFC, discussed these developments at a press briefing held on Monday, alongside addressing the JPEX scandal. Wilson revealed that, due to evasive behavior from stakeholders and unsatisfactory responses to information requests, JPEX was placed on the regulator’s alert list in July 2022.It emerged last week that Hong Kong police had taken social media influencer Joseph Lam into custody related to the scandal. More arrests followed later in the week while authorities indicated that they were looking to tighten up regulation in light of the unfolding JPEX saga. By Friday, access to the web and mobile platforms of JPEX had been blocked with JPEX encouraging users to use VPN to circumvent the measure.Wilson further elaborated that a complex investigation, involving multiple parties across various jurisdictions, was initiated by the SFC, which escalated following the receipt of the organization’s first official investor complaint in April 2023. This coincided with the full implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO) in June 2023, prompting the commencement of a formal fraud investigation.Wilson stated: “As a result of that investigation, we issued a formal warning on Sept. 13 and referred the matter to the police.”As it stands right now, the financial ramifications of the JPEX scandal are estimated to have reached approximately $178 million. Local law enforcement agencies have received over 2,200 complaints from affected exchange users.

Terraform Labs Co-Founder Indicted in South KoreaTen individuals linked to the Terra USD collapse have been indicted in South Korea on charges associated with violations of capital markets law, including the Co-Founder of Terraform Labs, Daniel Shin. That’s according to a report published by Bloomberg on Tuesday.©Pexels/Donald TongTwo of the ten were charged with breach of trust while the remaining eight, including Shin, were charged with illegal trading. Prosecutors confirmed that all of the charged individuals have ties to Terraform Labs, the company responsible for developing the Terra protocol, and the Terra USD (TUSD) stablecoin and Luna cryptocurrency which collapsed in 2022.It’s understood that the ten individuals were also accused of illegal disclosure of clients’ payment information and the embezzlement of corporate funds. The authorities have claimed that the ten individuals are responsible for causing “astronomical damage” to investors. They estimate that all ten of them took 463 billion won, around $347 million, in profit.Business interestsShin co-founded Terraform Labs with Do Kwon in 2018. He left the project in 2020, long before its spectacular failure in 2022. However, he would have profited considerably from the project. Prior to co-founding Terraform Labs, Shin had founded lifestyle commerce company TMON in 2010. Two years later, he founded venture capital and private equity firm, Fast Track Asia while in 2017 he was a founding partner of another venture capital and private equity firm, Bass Investment.He remains involved in all of those other businesses. Furthermore, Shin founded integrated payments firm PortOne Global in January 2020, immediately upon exiting Terraform Labs. He remains CEO of PortOne Global today.$185 million frozenOn Tuesday, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office outlined that it had frozen assets to the value of 246.8 billion won, approximately $185 million, belonging to those that it has brought charges against. South Korean authorities had previously acknowledged a difficulty in seizing assets related to Terraform Labs Co-Founder Do Kwon. It’s understood that a transfer of funds from Do Kwon to a prominent South Korean law firm is being investigated. Otherwise, the search for funds has led them overseas where it’s understood that Do Kwon purchased real estate in his mother’s name in the United States in a bid to evade asset confiscation.Free pending trialShin remains at liberty pending trial. Back in December, a South Korean court turned down a request to arrest him on the basis that he wasn’t likely to destroy evidence and wouldn’t pose a flight risk.That hasn’t proven to be the case where his former colleague Do Kwon is concerned. Do Kwon fled to Montenegro where he was recently charged with having entered the country on false documents. Both South Korea and the United States have formally applied for his extradition. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued both Do Kwon and Terraform Labs. Terraform Labs subsequently submitted a request to the courts in the US to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming the SEC lacks jurisdiction.

In response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on foreign imports into the United States, Singapore-based and Nasdaq-listed Bitdeer has pivoted in an effort to handle this latest challenge. In a discussion with Bloomberg, Jeff LaBerge, the company’s head of capital markets and strategic initiatives, said that rather than concentrating on sales and exporting crypto mining rigs, the company plans to utilize those rigs itself within its own mining operations.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashLaBerge stated: “Our plan going forward is to prioritize our self-mining.” 90-day windowThe company is also planning to take advantage of a 90-day tariff suspension period that the Trump administration put in place earlier this month, to ship mining machines from Southeast Asia to the United States.  In tandem with this short-term push on U.S. exports, it is expected that miners will focus on buying hardware during this time. Jaran Mellerud, CEO of Hashlabs Mining, told Cointelegraph last week that in the short term, there is likely to be a spike in mining rig imports into the U.S. Some reports have suggested that U.S.-based mining firms have chartered flights in an effort to quickly import mining equipment and avoid tariffs of up to 104%. Additional capital overheads for U.S. minersOver the longer term, the crypto mining services company CEO believes that tariffs will hurt U.S.-based miners, increasing their capital costs to a greater extent than in the case of overseas-based mining operations. Earlier this month Kristian Csepcsar, chief marketing officer (CMO) at Bitcoin mining technology firm, Braiins, similarly claimed that Trump administration tariff policy would likely harm domestic mining companies, while benefiting those located in regions such as Russia and Kazakhstan.  In another effort to deal with the challenge of tariffs on its products entering the United States, Bitdeer anticipates that it will begin production of its mining equipment in the U.S. sometime during H2 2025. Much has changed for the Singapore-based firm over the course of a short period of time. A month ago LaBerge told CoinDesk about its efforts to challenge the leading ASIC Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturers, Bitmain and MicroBT. He said that Bitdeer wants to become “the top player in the market,” while believing that it has the technology and know-how to do so. Challenging market conditionsEven before this tariff war bubbled over recently, the environment for Bitcoin miners was already proving to be difficult. Miners had been selling off Bitcoin reserves in recent weeks, taking profits while anticipating lower Bitcoin prices in the near future. American multinational financial services firm JPMorgan estimated recently that the market cap of the 14 U.S.-listed Bitcoin miners had fallen by 25% in March, writing off $6 billion in value in what was the third worst month for miners on record. Last month Bernstein analysts cut their 2025 price targets for a range of publicly-listed Bitcoin miners. Miners have been adapting to their business environment by upgrading equipment, cutting costs and diversifying into AI data hosting.