Further JPEX Controversy Due to DAO Plan

A couple of days have passed since the 22nd general election took place in South Korea, whose results have disappointed President Yoon Seok-yeol and the country's ruling People Power Party (PPP). The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) won the election in a landslide, securing a total of 175 seats out of 300 in the National Assembly.   Now, with the DPK set to continue exerting control over the National Assembly, financial industry insiders are focusing on whether the liberal party will stick to its campaign pledges to ease regulations on cryptocurrencies and related products – most notably, approving investment and trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) within the country, according to media outlet Yonhap Infomax. Ever since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January, interest surrounding such products has intensified among Korean investors. Photo by Alesia Kozik on PexelHowever, the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) has been reluctant to approve such spot ETFs, citing the potential risk of such approval violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act. Various pledges to ease crypto regulations The DPK, in response, has introduced several campaign pledges aimed at easing crypto regulations, both to win votes from younger Koreans – especially those in their 20s and 30s who make up a significant portion of crypto investors in the country – and to bolster the local crypto market. Among these pledges was to include virtual asset ETFs in Individual Savings Account (ISA), which would enhance tax breaks for crypto gains. Another notable pledge was to deduct taxes on crypto gains worth up to KRW 50 million (approximately $36,560). Under the current law, only crypto gains within the limit of KRW 2.5 million qualify for the tax deduction. One local crypto insider commented on the outcome of the general election, saying that the industry will need to keep an eye on how the situation surrounding crypto regulations develops, as easing such regulations was one of the key promises the DPK made during the election campaign period.   Still, long way ahead for Korea to approve spot Bitcoin ETFsMeanwhile, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju left a comment yesterday on the X (formerly Twitter) post written by crypto analyst MartyParty, which reads, "South Korea has approved spot Bitcoin ETFs."  Ju pointed out that South Korea still has "a long way to go" when it comes to approving spot Bitcoin ETFs, noting that just because "the Bitcoin-friendly Democratic Party," or the DPK, won the general election doesn't mean that financial regulators have approved such products.  

Binance Thriving in China Despite Crypto BanWhen China cracked down on cryptocurrency trading in 2021, it seemed like Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, would have to leave the country behind. However, nearly two years later, an investigative report carried out by the Wall Street Journal finds that business is thriving for Binance in China.Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash$90 billion in monthly tradingThe report, which was published on Wednesday, reveals that users managed to trade a staggering $90 billion worth of cryptocurrency-related assets in China within just one month.Internal data, shared with The Wall Street Journal and corroborated by current and former employees, unveils this underground activity. Remarkably, these transactions propelled China to become Binance’s largest market, accounting for a massive 20% of global trading volume, excluding trades by a subset of major traders.Almost one million active Chinese usersDespite the supposed ban, Binance’s internal discussions highlight the pivotal role China still plays for the exchange. Current and former employees indicate that Binance’s investigations team collaborates closely with Chinese law enforcement. This partnership aims to identify potential criminal activities among the 900,000+ active users in China, underscoring Binance’s efforts to maintain oversight.However, Binance now faces regulatory challenges tied to its secretive global operations. In June, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Binance and its Founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), alleging illegal operations and misuse of customer funds.Meanwhile, the Justice Department is conducting its own investigation. A report by Semafor on Wednesday suggests that authorities are considering fraud charges but they’re concerned that such an eventuality may lead to a run on the exchange. This regulatory onslaught has seen Binance’s market share among US users plummet, leading to a reduction of over 1,000 jobs out of its 8,000-strong workforce.Circumventing regulationThe clandestine existence of Binance’s footprint in China offers insights into the exchange’s ability to function surreptitiously in unwelcoming environments. To circumvent restrictions, Binance directed Chinese users to visit local websites with domain names before rerouting them to the global exchange. This tactic allowed Binance to keep a foothold in China, even after the government blocked direct access to its website in 2017.China’s central bank, responsible for imposing the crypto ban, remained silent when questioned about these developments. Binance’s official stance is that its website is blocked in China and inaccessible to users there.Holding on to its China-based users is crucial for Binance as it navigates a treacherous regulatory landscape that threatens its future. The company’s history with China is intricate. CZ established the firm in Shanghai in 2017, only for the government to initiate a series of regulatory attacks on crypto exchanges soon after. This led to concerns about money being illicitly moved out of the country, and Zhao eventually relocated Binance’s operations to Japan.Despite this move, Binance retained a significant workforce in China, a decision that raised concerns among its US arm regarding data control. Binance’s Chinese heritage also attracted attention, with Zhao addressing the company’s challenge of being labeled both a “criminal entity” in China and a “Chinese company” in the West.Binance’s relationship with China remains complex. As the exchange navigates these murky waters, its ability to operate under the radar and maintain its foothold in markets like China will undoubtedly play a significant role in determining its future trajectory.

Crypto.com Gets AI UpgradeSingapore-headquartered Crypto.com has launched an updated service offering which pioneers further innovation through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).Adding an AI companionAnnouncing the addition on its website on Tuesday, the company outlined that it is “furthering its innovation pipeline by introducing its first-ever Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered-initiative, Amy.”An AI companion which is based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Amy has been added to help users learn about crypto and the crypto industry, with the ability to provide close to real time information relative to specific crypto projects and tokens. The objective of the company in adding the tool is to provide greater help and support to the average Crypto.com user.Beta phase roll-outWhile the innovation is grounded and driven by ChatGPT, it will be customized and further trained to provide more accurate and more relevant results based on the likely needs and queries of a typical Crypto.com service user.The feature has been launched as part of a beta phase offering. For the moment, customers will be restricted to its use relative to Crypto.com/Price , and that feature availability is being restricted to a group of select users for the time being.The company plans to broaden the AI-based offering over time, with the feature being rolled out on a scaled basis to additional Crypto.com users over a number of weeks. Crypto.com’s Executive Vice President of Product, Abhi Bisarya, said that “as with other businesses and sectors, we see incredible potential and opportunity in the convergence of AI with the crypto industry and our platform specifically.”Bisarya went on to add: “We are excited to be testing this emerging technology through our Amy pilot project. We are bullish on the innovation of AI in crypto, and we look forward to continuing to enhance the utility of Amy and deploy additional AI-powered capabilities.”AI surgeAI has captured the imagination of the broader public in recent months. Central to the surge in interest in the technology has been the roll-out of ChatGPT. The AI tool achieved an active user-base of 100 million in the space of just two months. To put that in perspective, it took Instagram two and a half years to achieve that metric. More recently, TikTok got there in nine months.Crypto.com is not alone in harnessing the power of AI to develop a higher quality product and service offering. At the beginning of March Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of Binance, announced the launch of Bicasso, an AI-driven non-fungible token (NFT) platform.The tool allows users to harness AI to produce NFT-based digital art. By providing the AI innovation with descriptive prompts, the tool then generates an AI-infused artwork for the user.Additionally, last month the global crypto exchange launched Binance Sensei, an AI-driven learning tool that the company has integrated with its crypto and blockchain education platform, Binance Academy. The tool leverages AI to assist users in accessing the Binance Academy knowledge base.Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash