Korea to Tighten Scrutiny of Crypto Exchange Shareholders Amid Rising Concerns

Mohammed AlKaff AlHashmi, co-founder of the HAQQ Network, has expressed the view that Indonesia has considerable potential to establish itself as Asia’s largest crypto hub. AlHashmi made the comments in a discussion with Crypto.news. HAQQ Network claims to be a scalable proof-of-stake-based blockchain, capable of high throughput. The network is fully compatible and interoperable with Ethereum. The project also focuses on the development of a Sharia-compliant Web3.  While the project is headquartered in Niqa Al Dheeb in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia is also a significant market for the company, given that it has just received regulatory approval for the HAQQ Network’s native token from the Indonesia Financial Services Authority (OJK). Islamic Coin (ISLM) is the network’s native token. It is being offered as a Sharia compliant digital currency, with Sharia law being the Islamic legal system that governs the lives of millions of Muslims throughout the world.Photo by Nick Agus Arya on UnsplashGateway marketOffering his thoughts on the Indonesian crypto market, AlHashmi stated: “When we look at Indonesia as a market, I would say it is incomparable. It can be number one to be honest. Because I have seen statistics of growth happening in a very big volume. The volume of trade, transactions and users, I think Indonesia can be very soon one of the top 3 countries in the world.” Indonesia takes on added importance for the HAQQ Network project. The project’s co-founder sees the Southeast Asian nation as a gateway into a broader market given that it has the largest Muslim population in the world. He said that if his project is successful in Indonesia, then there will be no barrier to enter markets in other predominately Muslim nations. The entrepreneur believes that Indonesia is on the cusp of realizing its potential within the crypto sector. He said that Indonesia has a “competitive edge” when compared with other nations. Population size and rapid economic growth feed into that potential, with AlHashmi claiming that Indonesia is primed to become the largest crypto hub in Asia. Smooth regulatory processFrom a regulatory perspective, he also feels that Indonesia is outperforming other jurisdictions. The HAQQ Network project team experienced a smooth process in acquiring regulatory approval for ISLM recently. He believes that although the process was detailed, it was completed quicker than he would expect in other countries.  AlHashmi added that “regulations are flexible enough to enable project owners to do good business to protect the community as well.” Local regulator, the OJK, has expressed an interest in exploring the development of Sharia-compliant crypto assets. Earlier this month, Hasan Fawzi, OJK's executive head overseeing crypto assets supervision, told local media that the regulator is open to advancing Sharia-based cryptocurrencies.  Hasan stated: “Globally and regionally, this is a common practice. It is not unusual to create crypto assets that adhere to Sharia principles.” The OJK executive is particularly interested in tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). He believes that if this proves to be successful, it could lead to further Sharia-complaint crypto products being launched. The OJK is currently testing tokenized RWAs within a sandbox environment.

3AC Founder Secures Restraining Order in SingaporeSu Zhu, the Co-Founder of the defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) has successfully obtained a restraining order against BitMEX Co-Founder and former CEO, Arthur Hayes, in a Singaporean court.Photo by Monstera on PexelsNo communication “by any means”Crypto publication CoinDesk stated on Wednesday that it had seen a copy of the court order, which was originally issued on May 5. According to the details of the order, Hayes is prohibited from “making any threatening, abusive or insulting communication that would cause the Applicant harassment, alarm or distress.”Additionally, the former CEO of crypto trading platform BitMEX is forbidden from using “threatening, abusive or insulting words” in relation to Su Zhu. The order, which was issued by Judge Sandra Looi Ai Lin, clarifies that the BitMEX Co-Founder is not permitted to publish “any identity information” relative to Zhu or to communicate with him “by any means.”$6 million owedIt’s an understatement to say that Zhu, alongside fellow 3AC founder Kyle Davies, are not on Hayes’ list of favorite people in recent times. Following the 3AC collapse, Hayes has maintained that he is owed $6 million by the duo. Since the collapse of the hedge fund, Hayes has been tweeting out at the pair, calling them out relative to his claim that the duo have a debt obligation to him to the tune of $6 million.While both Hayes and Zhu have blemishes on their records, Hayes is much better regarded within the crypto community than Zhu. The BitMEX Co-Founder narrowly avoided a prison sentence in 2022 with the much lesser sanction of six months home detention being applied. That arose due to federal charges brought against him on the basis that he didn’t implement anti money laundering (AML) compliance procedures and checks at BitMEX while he was CEO of the firm.Despite this failure, Hayes remains popular within the crypto space, with his insightful commentary being lauded given that since he left BitMEX he has taken to writing blog articles relative to crypto and the broader economic situation. However, blog site Medium has taken to disabling access to his most recent blog article. The blog page states that the post “is under investigation or was found in violation of the Medium Rules.”Lacking a welcomeIn contrast with Hayes, commentary relative to the 3AC duo of Zhu and Davies has lacked warmth. Neither of the duo had jumped on social media for a number of months following the collapse of 3AC. More recently they have both tried to rehabilitate themselves, with many commentators within the space seeing it as a cynical move.In February the duo launched Open Exchange, more commonly known as OPNX, a trading platform for crypto-related bankruptcy claims. At that time, Hayes tweeted out that he interpreted the news as the return of the crypto bull market.Earlier this month, OPNX claimed that it had the backing of several credible entities in the crypto space. However, immediately afterwards, a number of those firms clarified that they had nothing to do with the startup.Meanwhile, crypto-focused venture capital investor Michael Arrington tweeted out his disdain in relation to the 3AC founder’s successful fund raise:“Three f***ing arrows dip****s successfully raising a new fund is the saddest bulls**t I’ve heard in a long time.”The regulator in Dubai has also failed to roll out the red carpet for the duo’s new venture. In April, it issued an investor alert in relation to OPNX. Subsequently, it has followed up with a formal written reprimand issued to Zhu and Davies, given that the business is not registered with the regulator although operating out of Dubai.

Several Japanese companies, including Remixpoint and Metaplanet, have been increasing their Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, underscoring the growing institutional interest in cryptocurrencies in the region.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashRemixpoint, an energy consulting firm listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, recently announced an additional purchase of 32.83 BTC valued at 500 million yen ($3.4 million), according to local news outlet CoinPost. This acquisition took place on May 13 at an average price of 15.23 million yen ($104,270) per BTC, bringing the company's total BTC holdings to 648.82 BTC. Remixpoint's crypto portfolio, including BTC, is now valued at 11.1 billion yen ($76 million) and also comprises Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE). The firm began actively accumulating BTC late last year, motivated by multiple factors, including the positive price trend following the latest Bitcoin halving event, increased market activity after the latest U.S. presidential election and the growth in institutional participation, particularly after the approval of spot crypto ETFs in the U.S. Metaplanet becomes a major BTC holderAnother notable player, Metaplanet, a publicly traded Japanese company specializing in Bitcoin investment, has positioned itself as one of the largest BTC holders globally. As of May 12, Metaplanet’s Bitcoin yield reached 170%, with total holdings of 6,796 BTC. This places it as the 11th largest Bitcoin holder worldwide and the largest in Asia, surpassing El Salvador, which currently holds 6,177 BTC, according to data from Arkham. Metaplanet's ongoing Bitcoin accumulation aligns with CEO Simon Gerovich's advocacy for Bitcoin. In a March podcast, Gerovich said he encourages his friends to allocate "100% of their net worth into Bitcoin." The company’s strategic goal is to amass 10,000 BTC by the end of 2025 and 21,000 BTC by 2026. Reinforcing its influence, Metaplanet appointed Eric Trump, the second son of pro-crypto U.S. President Donald Trump, to its newly formed Strategic Board of Advisors in January. Evolving crypto policies, including national reservesBefore Trump's second term, Gerovich expressed his expectation that other countries would follow the U.S. once it established a national Bitcoin strategic reserve—a move formalized by President Trump through an executive order in March. In a related development, Ukraine is reportedly drafting a bill to create a similar reserve in collaboration with Binance. Meanwhile, in Taiwan, lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has been advocating for adding Bitcoin to the country's national reserves. In a similar trend, another Japanese firm, Value Creation, disclosed plans last month to acquire 100 million yen ($660,000) worth of Bitcoin, further reflecting the growing interest among Japanese companies in crypto investments. Complementing this corporate adoption trend, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) has been shaping its regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. The agency aims to redefine digital assets as financial products under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, a move viewed as an attempt to balance innovation with investor protection. Building on this approach, an FSA discussion paper released on April 10, which remained open for public feedback until May 10, proposed classifying crypto assets into two categories: those used for fundraising and business activities, and those that are not—such as BTC and ETH. This regulatory evolution, alongside increasing corporate investment in BTC, reflects Japan's efforts to adapt to the evolving global crypto landscape.