South Korea Embarks on Wholesale CBDC Pilot Program

Bitfinex Forges Strategic Partnership with Zodia CustodyCryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has formed a strategic partnership with digital assets custodian Zodia Custody to fortify the security of its institutional clients’ assets.The deal struck with Zodia Custody, a subsidiary of the UK multinational banking titan Standard Chartered, aligns with a growing trend within the digital assets sector, one that emphasizes separating asset custody from trading activities. Such a division will result in heightened security measures while better meeting regulatory compliance.Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on PexelsSecuring digital assetsThis collaboration provides an opportunity for institutional clients who maintain accounts with both Bitfinex and Zodia Custody. They can now seamlessly replicate their custodial assets on Bitfinex’s cutting-edge trading platform, all while basking in the security offered by Zodia’s off-exchange settlement solution, aptly named Interchange.With this innovation, the need for actual asset transfers becomes obsolete as the settlement process unfolds periodically on the blockchain. This approach not only ensures efficiency but also provides greater security when interacting with the platform.Industry trendBitfinex’s move towards segregating trading and custodial functions aligns with best practices in the crypto industry but also signifies a wider trend observed among cryptocurrency exchanges as they increasingly adopt a more conventional approach akin to traditional financial institutions.Paolo Ardoino, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Bitfinex, shared the exchange’s perspective, stating:“We are committed to shaping the future of digital market infrastructure and enabling institutional customers to thrive in this space. Working with Zodia Custody is a significant part of that strategy, and together we can look to enable even more institutions to enter or further participate in digital assets.”This partnership serves as a testament to Bitfinex’s continuous efforts to collaborate with reputable custodians, building upon past successful alliances with firms like Koine in 2020 and Digivault in 2022.The significance of segregating asset custody from trading operations has taken on greater importance, primarily in the aftermath of the collapse of FTX, where management gambled with customer’s assets.Zodia’s market expansionZodia Custody, with the backing of Standard Chartered Bank, has recently expanded its footprint into Singapore, offering digital asset custody services to financial institutions in the burgeoning Asian market.Not content with that, in May it launched its crypto custodian service in Dubai. The following month the fledgling firm announced a partnership with blockchain infrastructure firm Blockdaemon relative to crypto staking for institutional clients. There’s been no let up in the firm’s roll-out of services as earlier this month it commenced a yield offering on stablecoins in partnership with Singapore-based DeFi platform OpenEden.Bitfinex’s history includes one of the most infamous hacks in the cryptocurrency sphere, with the pilfering of 120,000 BTC, now valued at over $3 billion. Nevertheless, the exchange has undergone a transformative journey and presently boasts an extensive array of cryptocurrencies and trading pairs.As the regulatory landscape continues to evolve, the practice of separating custody from trading is poised to become a standard procedure, further enhancing the legitimacy and security of the cryptocurrency market.

Dunamu’s Luxury Watch Trading Platform Appoints New C-Suite ExecutivesViver, the luxury watch trading platform and subsidiary of Dunamu, the operator of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has recently made c-suite appointments, as reported by local news outlet News1.Photo by Jaelynn Castillo on UnsplashNew appointmentsThe new CEO of Viver, Moon Jae-yeon, brings a wealth of expertise in running online e-commerce platforms. Before joining Viver, Moon held the position of Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Market Kurly, an online platform famous for its early-morning grocery deliveries. Prior to that, he worked at eBay Korea for 17 years.Joining Moon is Seo Hee-sun, who assumes the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Viver. Seo has an impressive background as the Business Group Manager at 11th Street, a major online shopping website in the nation, and has accumulated over two decades of experience in this field.Luxury watchesEstablished just two years ago, Viver aims to leverage Dunamu’s digital asset business know-how to set new standards for trading luxury watches, which serve as both real-world assets and investment vehicles. The appointment of these industry experts is a major step towards achieving this goal.Last year, Viver made noticeable strides in expanding its services. The platform launched its own online application service and also opened a brick-and-mortar store in Apgujeon Rodeo, a bustling hub for fashion enthusiasts in Seoul. Moreover, Viver Labs, the watch trading platform’s repair service, offers expert diagnosis and repair of watches from various high-end brands, including Rolex and Audemars Piguet.Moon has expressed his ambition to elevate Viver’s reputation to the level of renowned timepiece e-commerce platforms like WatchBox in the US and Chrono24 in Germany within the next five years. He emphasized that the company intends to take advantage of Dunamu’s cutting-edge blockchain technology and infrastructure to gain a competitive edge in the market.

LG Goes Further Down the Web3 Rabbit Hole with NFT PatentSouth Korean consumer electronics behemoth LG has delved deeper into the Web3 world, this time with a patent filing that would make NFTs more available to TV viewers.Enabling NFTs for the mass marketAccording to the filing, which was made with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the electronics giant is seeking to acquire intellectual property protection on a capability to have a smart TV connect with an NFT market server.That ability would allow the user to then send, receive and display digital artwork. Furthermore, the consumer could complete purchases using an associated digital wallet, relative to NFT-based artwork that they would have the ability to browse through on their LG smart TV.While crypto and Web3 continue to garner a lot of attention, it can still seem sometimes that it exists in a bubble all of its own. Moves like this one from an organization as professional as LG are encouraging, as they demonstrate that LG believes that NFTs are going to be a part of the future, and most importantly, that they’re going to enable mass market participation and adoption.Blade WalletThis is not LG’s first venture into the world of NFTs. Last year, the corporation launched its very own NFT marketplace. Known as “LG Art Labs”, it enables users of US LG TVs that run the WebOS 5.0 operating system, to trade digital collectibles.Earlier this year, the firm launched the Blade Wallet, a third party audited, self-custody digital wallet which runs on the Hedera public ledger. That development has come out of a partnership that LG has developed with the Hedera Hashgraph platform much earlier in 2020. Just as with the Blade Wallet, the LG Art Labs NFT marketplace also runs on Hedera. To support these early stage products, LG itself has been a node operator on the Hedera network since 2020.This recent patent filing references an NFT marketplace and a digital wallet. As we’ve established, the corporation has already launched both of them already. All of that points to the electronics giant executing on a well thought through plan which will bring NFTs to the mass market.Broader interestLG isn’t going to have it all to itself. Samsung, yet another South Korean consumer electronics giant, has also dipped its toe in the water where NFTs are concerned. In January 2022, the company released an NFT marketplace on three of its TV models. That initiative was enabled due to its partnership with leading curated NFT marketplace, Nifty Gateway.Neither will the South Koreans have the consumer electronics-enabled NFT market all to themselves. Japanese consumer electronics conglomerate Sony filed a patent in March that will allow players of Sony products to access interactive Web3 gameplay. That application will be centered upon the use of NFTs also.Sony’s attempts to delve into the Web3 arena have been more recent. In February of this year, Sony Network Communications, its internet provider division, partnered with the project team behind the Astar blockchain in order to create an incubation program for companies who are working on NFT-based innovation and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash