Flybit’s Bug Bounty Program to Strengthen Its Crypto Exchange Security

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the leading U.S. dollar stablecoins USDT and USDC, expanding its list of approved cryptocurrencies within the Southeast Asian country.Photo by Tarun Ottur on UnsplashListing on regulated exchanges The approval was announced in a statement published on the SEC website on March 6. It means that Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC can now be listed on regulated exchanges in Thailand. The regulator had arrived at its decision to add the two stablecoins following a public consultation process regarding regulatory changes. Those changes were finalized last month and will now proceed to go into effect on March 16. The two stablecoins join five cryptocurrencies that had previously been approved. These include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM). Certain cryptocurrencies are also being used for the testing of payment settlement through the Bank of Thailand’s Programmable Payment Sandbox.   A regulatory sandbox is a controlled environment testing ground for products and services developed within the private sector. Back in June of last year, the Southeast Asian country’s central bank launched an enhanced regulatory sandbox focused on programmable payments.  USDT issuer Tether responded to the addition of its stablecoin within the approved cryptocurrency list, stating: “This approval enables USD₮ to be traded within the country, facilitating its listing on regulated exchanges and paving the way for USD₮ to be accepted for payments, which advances the region’s leadership in digital asset innovation.” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that the company sees value in the Thai market and with that, it intends to continue to explore ways to broaden its service offering within Thailand. He added:  “We are committed to supporting the long-term success and adoption of stablecoins in Thailand and look forward to contributing to the growth of the country’s digital asset ecosystem by fostering a strong and sustainable stablecoin infrastructure.” Stablecoin market growth According to DeFi data aggregation platform DefiLlama, the stablecoin market now stands at $227 billion in terms of market capitalization. This represents a 68% increase by comparison with the size of the market in 2023. It indicates that stablecoin adoption is on an upward growth trajectory. Digital assets are being used in many instances to facilitate international payments and remittances, particularly in emerging markets. In Europe, American investment bank JPMorgan recently forecasted that the introduction of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation will drive euro-pegged stablecoin growth.  Meanwhile, in the United States, S&P Global Ratings recently identified that a current lack of stablecoin regulation is acting as a barrier to broader institutional use. The company anticipates adoption growth once regulatory clarity has been achieved. Vlad Tenev, CEO of commission-free investing platform Robinhood, stated last month on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast that stablecoin legislation will be passed in the U.S. in 2025. Tenev believes that applying a 4% interest rate to stablecoins would lead to a greater rate of adoption.

Korean Gov’t Encourages Discussions on Tax Imposition within the MetaverseThe South Korean government is planning to hold an open forum in August, encouraging citizens to discuss the possibility of imposing taxes within the metaverse, according to News1.New social frameworkOn Tuesday, Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced the government’s plan to develop a new social framework in the digital age. To achieve this, the government will set up an open digital forum and draft a digital bill of rights.Topics to be covered in the forum include generative artificial intelligence, the metaverse, and self-driving cars.Regulation-free metaversesThe idea of imposing taxes within the metaverse has piqued the interest of cryptocurrency users. The government has reportedly decided to exempt community-based metaverses from regulations to encourage growth. This policy will enable metaverse users to provide gaming content and engage in economic activities such as trading items and distributing giveaways. However, the potential surge in economic activities in the metaverse has brought up the issue of whether tax implementation is necessary in this virtual world.Though community-based metaverses are still premature, the government acknowledges the importance of discussing potential tax imposition.While the current agenda is focused on metaverses, it remains unclear whether discussions will extend to loosening regulations for blockchain-based games.Strict gaming restrictionsCurrently, Korean law prohibits trading game items for cash to deter gambling behavior, prompting Korean game developers to publish their titles overseas first. In fact, Netmarble launched blockchain-based mobile board game Meta World: My City in regions other than Korea last month. This has led to concerns that Korea is falling behind in the global gaming industry due to strict regulations.Digital bill of rightsFollowing the open forum in August, MSIT will collaborate with other relevant government agencies, including the Culture Ministry and the Land Ministry, to draft a digital bill of rights in September.MSIT Minister Lee Jong-ho said that the government will conduct regular surveys to identify areas for improvement, assess the societal impact of technological advancements, monitor each ministry’s measures, and review public opinions.© Pexels/Nataliya Vaitkevich

Illiquid Token Sinks OPNX’s $30 Million Hodlnaut BidThe interim judicial managers overseeing the restructuring process of troubled Singaporean crypto lender Hodlnaut have firmly opposed the takeover offer presented by OPNX, the Dubai-based crypto bankruptcy claims trading platform associated with the founders of the now-defunct hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital.Photo by Image Hunter on PexelsSpeculative token valueIn a report published on Tuesday, Bloomberg referred to a recent court filing in which the administrators of Hodlnaut had characterized OPNX’s $30 million bid in FLEX digital tokens as “illiquid” and bearing “speculative value.” Additionally, a significant portion of Hodlnaut Group’s creditors, representing 60% of the total debt, had also voiced their dissent towards the proposed OPNX deal.Hodlnaut, headquartered in Singapore with operations in Hong Kong, found itself among the casualties of the $1.5 trillion crypto market downturn last year. OPNX had expressed its interest in taking control of Hodlnaut last month.Among the concerns raised by managers were the absence of a cash injection or assets with readily available liquidity, such as Bitcoin or Ether. Furthermore, there was no clear timeline provided for the repayment of creditors’ debts, and the proposal lacked detailed information regarding payments, which are limited to just 30% of liabilities, according to the court-appointed supervisors of Hodlnaut’s restructuring.FLEX token offeringThe FLEX token, associated with the CoinFLEX exchange, whose founders Mark Lamb and Sudhu Arumugam launched OPNX earlier this year, is at the center of the proposal. Currently, it holds a market value of approximately $54.4 million. However, its trading volume remains low. Moreover, its unit value stands at $0.55, marking a substantial 95% decrease from a month ago when the offer was first submitted to the Singapore court, as per data from CoinGecko.The deal would have meant OPNX taking a 75% stake in the business. Previously, Hodlnaut’s founders Simon Lee and Zhu Juntao had put forward a proposal of a business sale rather than liquidating the company as the preferred option.Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, co-founders of Singapore’s Three Arrows Capital, played instrumental roles in the inception of OPNX, joining with the CoinFLEX founders in establishing the bankruptcy claims trading platform. Despite their initial contributions, it’s worth noting that Zhu has previously clarified that neither he nor Davies are involved in the day-to-day management of the exchange.Regulatory sanctionsIn recent developments, Zhu and Davies were sanctioned with a nine-year ban by the Monetary Authority of Singapore due to violations connected to their collapsed hedge fund firm, which operated out of Singapore. Furthermore, in August, authorities in Dubai levied fines against Zhu, Davies, Mark Lamb, OPNX CEO Leslie Lamb, and Arumugam for operating and promoting OPNX without the required local license.The rejection of OPNX’s bid by Hodlnaut’s bankruptcy administrators underscores the challenges implicated by illiquid tokens. The fate of Hodlnaut remains uncertain, pending further developments in the ongoing legal proceedings, and will depend upon its management’s efforts in finding a new buyer for the business.