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Hashed CEO Emphasizes South Korea’s Potential to Lead Mass Adoption of Web3 in AsiaSimon Kim, CEO of Asian blockchain investment firm Hashed, highlighted South Korea’s potential to pioneer the mass adoption of Web3 during his keynote speech on Tuesday at Impact, the main conference of Korea Blockchain Week 2023 held at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.“Korea possesses the strength to lead despite its small size,” he said. “The country will serve as the turning point for Web3.”Photo by Daniel Bernard on UnsplashTech trailblazerKim elaborated on the unique characteristics of Korea’s Web3 ecosystem, citing the so-called “kimchi premium” phenomenon, where cryptocurrencies in Korea are valued higher than other global exchanges, as well as the country’s role in leading altcoin price fluctuations and bull markets.Furthermore, Korea also has one of the world’s fastest and most widespread high-speed Internet networks, with nearly 100% coverage and a smartphone penetration rate exceeding 97%.According to Kim, digital natives are the driving force behind many inventions that have marked the country as a longstanding hub of innovation and digitization. Among these inventions is the world’s first online game, The Kingdom of the Winds, and the world’s first avatar-based social platform Freechal, as well as the pioneering e-sports league StarCraft League and game item trading platform itemBay.In particular, Freechal can be deemed as a forerunner to the current trend of using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as profile pictures on social media. itemBay also serves as the precursor to both virtual asset and NFT exchanges. These types of early ventures are inextricably linked to the rise of cryptocurrency exchanges.Kim went on to underscore Korea’s prowess in the gaming industry, mentioning popular games like Dungeon Fighter Online, MapleStory, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). He noted that many local game developers have already established Web3 studios and are actively preparing to transition to the world of Web3 gaming. The K-pop industry has also been incorporating Web3 technology in various projects.Merging hemispheresHashed has been actively investing in projects since 2016, with over 150 projects in its extensive portfolio. Of these projects, approximately 71% of those based in Western countries are related to infrastructure, while 67% of those based in Eastern countries are related to digital content and apps. The company ultimately aims to serve as a bridge connecting the East and West by acting as a network builder to facilitate this exchange, Kim said.

Lillius and Crypto.com Team Up for NFT Collaboration and Global MarketingLillius, a Korean artificial intelligence (AI) sports challenge app, has signed a business deal with global crypto trading platform Crypto.com to collaborate on a non-fungible token (NFT) project and global marketing strategies. The two companies will work together to promote Lillius’ platform mainly by issuing and distributing NFT rewards within the app.Elevating fitness with AILillius, set to launch its open beta service this month, is a mobile app where users can participate in exercise challenges that use AI motion detection technology to analyze their form while doing the movements. After they complete a given challenge, they can receive rewards based on the score they earn. Some of these challenges feature lessons from Korean Olympic medalists like taekwondo athlete Lee Dae-hoon, fencer Nam Hyun-hee, and wrestler Jung Ji-hyun.Photo by Huckster on UnsplashTo grow its platform, Lillius has also minted NFT figurines for iconic athletes such as table tennis player Ryu Seung-min, swimmer Park Tae-hwan, and archer Joo Hyun-jung, among others.Unlocking global Web3 sports experiencesUnder the new partnership, Crypto.com will be responsible for leveraging its global infrastructure to support Lillius’ broader global expansion and various marketing endeavors.“Our partnership with Crypto.com will expand access to Web3-based sports experiences for users around the world and serve as an important milestone in advancing our Web3 sports ecosystem,” said Julia Kim, CEO of Lillius. “We plan to enhance Lillius’ global competitiveness and lead the Web3 sports industry.”Crypto.com has consistently been participating in sports-related marketing projects and investing in such businesses as well. In 2021, it signed a naming rights agreement to change the name of the world-renowned sports and entertainment arena, the Staples Center, to Crypto.com Arena. It also became the first virtual asset platform to sponsor the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup. Furthermore, the platform has worked with some of the world’s biggest sports associations such as the UFC and Paris Saint-Germain F.C., playing a key role in bridging the gap between blockchain and sports. Its latest business agreement with Lillius comes as part of more concentrated efforts to enter the Korean market.“Through this partnership, we will cultivate the merging of sports and blockchain technology by providing Crypto.com’s 80 million users with a unique sports-related consumer experience,” said Patrick Yoon, CEO of Crypto.com Korea.

Chinese Fentanyl Producers Taking Payment in CryptoA report produced by blockchain analytics and crypto compliance solutions firm Elliptic has found that most Chinese suppliers of fentanyl precursors are accepting payments for the illicit material in cryptocurrency.In a blog post published on its website on Tuesday, Elliptic claimed that 90 percent of the 90 China-based firms, from which its researchers received offers of fentanyl precursors, accepted cryptocurrency as a form of payment. The majority of fentanyl which is trafficked into the United States is manufactured using imported fentanyl precursors like the material that the Elliptic researchers were offered.Seventeen of the suppliers even offered to provide fentanyl itself. Others still offered to supply synthetic opioids, equally or more potent than fentanyl, which are currently legal to both produce and supply within China.Photo by Hal Gatewood on UnsplashTracking blockchain transactionsIn tracing back transactions relative to these illicit suppliers, the Elliptic researchers’ analysis demonstrated that the digital asset wallets used by the rogue suppliers have received thousands of payments. The research team has estimated the net worth of those transactions to total $27 million.It appears that a move towards crypto payments is trending with this group of suppliers as there has been a 450% increase year-on-year when it comes to payments for fentanyl precursor using crypto.The study highlighted activity related to Dutch national Alex Peijnenburg. An alleged fentanyl supplier, Peijnenburg, made an $85,000 payment in crypto to one of the ninety fentanyl precursor suppliers identified by Elliptic researchers. In November of last year, the Dutchman was sanctioned by US authorities relative to his activities.Global trade and distributionThe report stated: “During our correspondence, the suppliers showed no concerns about how the chemical would be used, with some explaining that it was their best-selling product and could be used to produce fentanyl.”It went on to state that “others pointedly mentioned that they had sold it to customers in Mexico.” Mexico is a significant location in the global drugs trade, given the activity of drug cartels within the country. One supplier offered an insight to researchers as to the preferences of their nefarious Mexican clients, stating: “They always use USDT or Bitcoin to pay. It is no problem.”While it looks like these nefarious Chinese companies are able to trade into and out of crypto assets, that should be a difficulty for them as China banned the offering of crypto trading services going back a number of years already. Furthermore, foreign digital asset exchanges are prohibited from servicing the needs of Chinese clients where crypto is concerned.Elliptic’s research team uncovered that the majority of the illicit drugs trade suppliers have been using workarounds in order to gain access to overseas digital asset exchanges. The suppliers have used intermediaries in order to convert crypto into Chinese yuan.The report concludes that this part of the international fentanyl trade can be dealt with and “disrupted by the services that act as gateways into and out of crypto assets.” On arriving at that conclusion, Elliptic has acted by notifying the digital asset exchanges that these suppliers are using. “[We] have flagged hundreds of crypto addresses in our tools as being linked to this activity,” the report states.Crypto had infamously been associated with illicit activity on the dark web in its earliest years. It has moved well beyond that although due to its decentralized nature, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to control who utilizes decentralized digital currency.