Shinhan Bank to Issue NFTs at 2023 Global Blockchain Incheon Conference

Hitachi collaborates with Concordium on biometric crypto walletJapan’s Hitachi Solutions, a subsidiary company of the Hitachi multinational conglomerate, has joined forces with the Concordium Foundation, unveiling a collaboration that centers on a state-of-the-art biometric crypto wallet.Photo by Nuno Antunes on UnsplashAlternative approach to securing cryptoAnnounced on Tuesday by the Concordium Foundation, a Swiss-based development team behind the Concordium layer one blockchain, this “proof of technology” initiative has the potential to fundamentally change how users access and secure their cryptocurrency accounts.Breaking away from traditional methods, the proposed biometric crypto wallet leverages users’ fingerprints or facial scans to generate a set of seed words, eliminating the need for users to store or remember them. This novel approach simplifies the restoration process, allowing users to recover their accounts with a mere biometric scan.Improving UXIf crypto and Web3 are to be adopted by ordinary people en-masse, user experience has long been identified within the sector as an area that still requires development. Making users responsible for the storage of a private key is fraught with difficulty, given the likelihood of private keys being lost or compromised.Various approaches are being taken to solve this issue. Tangem Wallet is one such alternative that utilizes near-field communication (NFC) in combination with an app and a card with an inbuilt chip, negating the need for the user to memorize a private key.This biometric-centered approach from Hitachi and Concordium represents another user-friendly approach to the problem of user authentication, harnessing the power of Hitachi’s Public Biometric Infrastructure (PBI) and Concordium’s self-sovereign identity framework. The result is an account creation process based entirely on biometric data, enhancing both security and user convenience.Complementary technologyConcordium’s network, with its stringent ID process for account creation to combat malicious activities, stands to gain substantial benefits from this technology. The biometric wallet will fortify users’ access to their IDs, a critical aspect of network security. Moreover, the technology’s applicability extends beyond Concordium, offering potential integration with any blockchain network.Users of the biometric wallet will have the flexibility to unlock their accounts either by regenerating seed words through a biometric scan or by decrypting a copy of the seed words. This dual-layered approach ensures that access is granted solely through the user’s unique biometric data, enhancing security and mitigating the risk of loss or theft.Developing this cutting-edge technology poses challenges, particularly in handling the inherent “fuzziness” of biometric data, where no two scans produce identical results, even from the same individual. Hitachi’s team addressed this by employing fuzzy key generation and specialized error correction technology, effectively distinguishing between scans.Unlike traditional crypto wallets that necessitate secure storage of seed words, the biometric wallet by Hitachi and Concordium, alongside solutions like multiparty-computation wallets and magic links, aims to overcome this hurdle. The goal is to resolve the issue of lost backup, a significant barrier to wider crypto adoption.This is not Hitachi’s first foray into the crypto/blockchain space. In mid-November the company announced a collaboration with the Japan Exchange Group (JPX), banking giant Nomura and Nomura portfolio company BOOSTRY to launch a $69 million digital green bond on the blockchain. In October Hitachi joined a consortium of Japanese companies with a view towards developing decentralized identity technology.

Do Kwon Loses Fight to Conceal Singapore RecordsDo Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs has failed in his attempt to deny the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from accessing company records in Singapore.©Pexels/George BeckerIn February, the SEC filed a complaint against Terraform Labs and its founder in a US court. The move followed an investigation that the agency had carried out into the collapse of a number of digital assets established by the company. The lawsuit claims that both the company and Do Kwon had engaged in fraud, together with the sale of unregistered securities to US citizens.Jurisdictional challengeLawyers for Do Kwon had claimed that in trying to access documents related to the Singapore-domiciled company, the SEC was acting far beyond its jurisdiction. According to court filings, his defense team argued that Do Kwon is a Singapore resident while Terraform Labs is a Singapore-based company that operates on a global basis and not specifically in the United States.The filing pointed to the fact that the Terraform Labs CEO had “limited contact with the US.” “Most of the company’s business is essentially global, and it’s not specifically aimed at the United States,” it stated.His lawyers had filed a request for the SEC to withdraw its documentation request. In a recent hearing, US District Judge Jed Rokoff turned down Terraform’s request. The documents are understood to be held by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) although the specific nature of the documentation sought remains unclear.The SEC claims that in founding the Terra US dollar stablecoin (TUSD) and associated cryptocurrency LUNA, Terraform Labs and Do Kwon were responsible for wiping out more than $40 billion dollars in value following their collapse. The Luna Foundation Guard (LFG), which was established to provide funds to keep the TUSD stablecoin at a $1 value, is another entity that the SEC intends to access documents from with the court’s permission. Singaporean police had stated last month that they had launched an investigation into the collapse of the TUSD stablecoin.Meanwhile, both the South Korean and US authorities are seeking the extradition of Do Kwon to face related charges. He was arrested last month in the southeastern European country of Montenegro where he was charged with having used forged documentation to enter the country. Although he had denied it on social media, in effect Do Kwon had been on the run from the reach of South Korean authorities over the course of a number of months, spending a portion of that time in Montenegro.Asset huntAn investigation by authorities in South Korea in recent weeks revealed that they were unable to find any assets held in the country owned by the Terraform Labs founder. The trail in chasing down any such assets has led to the United States. It is understood that Do Kwon bought real estate in the United States under his mother’s name. This is a common tactic for those who attempt to evade future confiscation of assets.Earlier this week, South Korean prosecutors confirmed that they are investigating a transfer of funds by Do Kwon to a leading law firm based in Seoul.

Glohow to promote UtopiaGames’ blockchain-based casino games on global stageUtopiaGames, a game developer based in Seoul, has entered into a partnership with Glohow, a global co-publishing service provider and subsidiary of Kakao Games. As per a report by local news website Etoday, this collaboration is aimed at launching comprehensive marketing efforts for UtopiaGames’ blockchain-based social casino gaming platform, “Vegastopia.”Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on UnsplashGlobal metaverse casino cityThe game company anticipates that Vegastopia will introduce innovative elements to the game development industry, as it is conceptualized as a global metaverse casino city. This 3D online gaming platform is developed to mimic a real-life casino setting, offering players an immersive experience. In Vegastopia, virtual gamers can participate in psychological battles, utilizing tactics like bluffing, just as they would in a physical casino environment.150 countries by H1 2024Vegastopia offers a feature where players can create and manage their own casinos or cardrooms. In these personalized spaces, operators have the autonomy to manage their own point systems. The platform has recently concluded its closed beta testing phase and is now gearing up for a soft launch in select countries, including France, Mexico and Southeast Asian nations. Looking ahead, UtopiaGames plans to launch the service in some 150 countries by the first half of next year.Resolving trust issues with blockchainAn official from UtopiaGames highlighted Glohow’s track record in successfully promoting global game projects from notable gaming firms such as Kakao Games, Sky People, Hidea, Gravity, Wemade, Webzen and Neowiz. With Glohow at the helm of Vegastopia’s marketing, management, customer service and localization efforts, the game’s global presence has notably increased, the person added. The official further pointed out that Vegastopia has garnered significant attention for addressing the issue of trust in online casino games by using blockchain, a key factor in its growing popularity and appeal.UtopiaGames’ latest advancement comes on the heels of equity investments from SU Holdings and BU Technology. These investments totaled KRW 21 billion, equivalent to approximately $16.2 million.