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

In a recent report, Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, emphasized the growing adaptability of the Asian population towards digital currencies. This trend indicates a substantial potential for increased stablecoin usage in the Asia Pacific region. On Monday, the firm published "The State of the USDC Economy 2024 Report," providing a trove of relevant and timely data. Since its launch in 2018, the USDC stablecoin has facilitated over $12 trillion in blockchain transactions. The focus of the report is on the surge in remittances flowing into Asia, highlighting its growing presence. Remittances of $130 billion into AsiaAccording to a World Bank press release, remittances to Asia reached $130 billion in 2022, with the average cost of transferring $200 standing at 5.7% in the last quarter of the year. Meanwhile, the region accounted for 29% of all global digital asset value received, surpassing North America's 19% and Western Europe's 22%. Against this backdrop, the report sheds light on Circle's strategic partnership with Coins.ph, a crypto exchange in the Philippines, which aims to tap into the country's personal remittance demand, estimated at around $36 billion annually.  In another blog post, the company also dispels the notion that stablecoins are primarily used for speculative trading, citing a 90% decline in such activities over the past five years. This shift in usage patterns highlights the growing acceptance and adoption of stablecoins for practical applications like remittances and trade finance.Photo by Marjan Blan on UnsplashIncreasingly important role in trade financeImportantly, Circle asserts that USDC can play a role in closing the region's $510 billion trade finance gap. This gap represents the lack of liquidity available to companies for cross-border remittances and credit, particularly affecting emerging markets with capital outflow restrictions. The report underlines how businesses in these markets often struggle to secure funding for international trade, and USDC is emerging as a solution. One notable case study is Taipei-based XREX, which utilizes USDC to build financial pipelines between countries, leveraging the deep dollar liquidity in Taiwan to address the dollar scarcity in other Southeast Asian economies. This exemplifies how stablecoins like USDC are contributing to bridging financial gaps and facilitating international trade in regions with limited access to traditional banking services. Stablecoin-specific regulationThe regulatory landscape in the Asia-Pacific region is also evolving to accommodate stablecoins. Countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan have implemented or proposed frameworks for stablecoin regulation, aligning with the growing importance of digital assets in the financial ecosystem. Circle has become increasingly active within the APAC region. In November, the firm joined forces with Japanese financial services conglomerate SBI Holdings to increase the circulation of USDC within Japan. Having been awarded a Major Payments Institution (MPI) license in Singapore in June, Circle followed that up later in the year by launching a zero-fee USDC minting facility within the city-state. Considering these developments, the Asia-Pacific region, with its large unbanked population and significant digital wallet usage, is predicted to witness quick adoption of stablecoins for cross-border payments.

Blockchain Experts Gather at KBW 2023 Side Event to Discuss Future Prospects of South KoreaBlockchain experts from various corners of the industry converged to exchange insights on industrial and technological trends during “Unveiling Prospects in South Korea,” a side event affiliated with Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) 2023. This noteworthy gathering, co-hosted by Sui, Google Cloud, CoinNess, and Bitmain, took place on September 5 at Banyan Tree Club and Spa Seoul.Blockchain compatibility and Web3 adoptionAmong the distinguished speakers at the event, Derik Han, Head of APAC Partnerships at Mysten Labs, the team behind the layer-1 blockchain project SUI, discussed how the SUI project plans to enhance blockchain compatibility through a zero-knowledge (ZK) login feature, similar to single sign-on (SSO). SSO enables users to use a single set of login credentials to gain access to various applications.Han underscored the significance of reducing technical barriers for the widespread adoption of Web3 in our daily lives, and he pointed out that SUI’s ZK login feature would contribute to this goal. Additionally, Han shed light on SUI’s intention to add on-chain features highly favored among Korean gamers.Security tokens and RWAsJo Dong-hyeon, the CEO of Undefined Labs, a developer specializing in on-chain risk rating solutions, emphasized that the Korean decentralized finance (DeFi) market is poised for growth, driven by security tokens and real-world assets (RWAs). He highlighted the significant attention received by the Financial Services Commission’s announcement regarding guidelines for security token offerings (STOs) in February.Jo observed that tokens backed by real-world assets (RWAs) would serve as a bridge between the DeFi space and traditional financial markets, facilitating the development of the former. He also noted that this development would follow the pattern seen in the Korean cryptocurrency market whose liquidity has been supported by young investors.NFT ecosystemsMeanwhile, Kim Min-gu, Head of Web3 Business Development Lab at LG Uplus, a telecom company, expressed their commitment to expanding the Moono NFT ecosystem. This venture, anchored around their octopus character, intends to advance through collaborations with similar NFT projects like Lotte Homeshopping’s pink bear character, Bellygom. Kim highlighted that the company’s primary goal for this year is to make NFTs accessible even to customers who are unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies.Kim further explained that LG Uplus aims to delve into the differences between Web3 NFT communities and their Web2 counterparts. The company’s focus lies in improving the overall usability of its services, without narrowing down its target audience. They are particularly intrigued by the potential of wallets and decentralized applications (dApps) in this pursuit.Banks’ entry into the virtual asset landscapeFollowing this, Leem Min-ho, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities, predicted a strategic expansion by Korean banks, with an emphasis on offering digital asset custody services. This endeavor has been catalyzed by recent developments, including the introduction of security token guidelines in February and the passage of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act in June. These regulatory milestones are gradually shaping a more defined legal framework for virtual assets within South Korea. Leem went on to say that banks, known to favor engaging in business activities within established regulatory boundaries, are poised to concentrate their forthcoming initiatives on approved security tokens, ensuring compliance and adherence to regulatory standards.

Japan mulls unrealized crypto gains tax exemptionJapanese lawmakers are currently in discussions about a proposal that could exempt companies from paying taxes on unrealized cryptocurrency gains.Photo by Joshua Tan on UnsplashReforming aggressive crypto tax policyThe plan is anticipated to be incorporated into the fiscal 2024 tax reform agenda, according to a report published by Nikkei Asia on Wednesday.Up until now, Japan has had some of the most aggressive tax rates where cryptocurrencies are concerned when compared internationally. At the moment, corporations have to pay a 30% tax on crypto holdings regardless of whether they’ve sold those digital assets or not. The policy has been criticized broadly by crypto sector participants in Japan. It is seen as inequitable, considering that Japan taxes profits from stocks at a flat 20%.Corporate tax exemptionThe proposal, currently under deliberation by Japan’s ruling coalition, specifically targets Japanese companies holding digital assets for purposes other than short-term trading. If approved, these firms may be granted an exemption from corporate tax, contingent on mark-to-market valuations at the close of the fiscal year.Mark-to-market valuations involve assessing the fair values of assets with periodic fluctuations, such as cryptocurrencies. This exemption is expected to benefit various entities, including venture capital (VC) firms, non-fungible token (NFT) businesses and other blockchain companies holding cryptocurrencies for payment purposes. Additionally, crypto issuers, who are also crypto holders, would not be subjected to these taxes.Policymakers from the Liberal Democratic Party and the ruling coalition partner Komeito engaged in discussions on Tuesday regarding these potential tax exemptions.Bringing clarity to crypto taxationThis move is part of Japan’s ongoing efforts to bring clarity to crypto taxation. In June, the National Tax Agency clarified that crypto issuers in the country would not be liable to pay capital gains taxes on unrealized gains, fostering a more conducive environment for crypto-related businesses.Japan has been actively reviewing its crypto tax policies since last year, aiming to incentivize companies to stay in the country. This initiative follows the departure of several startups due to heavy tax burdens.Industry reactionWith news of this potential Japanese crypto tax reform breaking, crypto community members haven’t wasted any time in providing their thoughts. Taking to the X social media platform, Sota Watanabe, the founder of the Astar Network multichain dApp hub, wrote:”Good move. This is what I requested multiple times to the government over years. Once this issue is solved this year, all companies, especially big enterprises, can hodl crypto like ASTR much easier. Japan weighs ending tax on some corporate crypto holdings.”Former Goldman Sachs Portfolio Manager and Web3 investor, Steve Lee, said that this is “another big move in Japan that would help enterprises push their crypto business.”The Financial Services Agency (FSA), Japan’s top financial regulator, recently submitted legislation-change requests to the government, seeking alterations to the taxation of domestic crypto firms. Critics argue that the existing rule has impeded innovation in the crypto-asset and blockchain sectors, placing an undue burden on companies.On Oct. 16, major businesses in Japan, through the Japan Association of New Economy (JANE), urged the government to implement crypto tax reforms in 2024. Their appeal emphasizes the potential for reduced tax rates to stimulate growth and increase tax revenue.