Zodia Custody to Commence Yield Offering on Stablecoins

Upbit Investor Protection Center Launches Second Cohort of Up!To ProgramThe Upbit Investor Protection Center of Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, recently announced that it conducted an inauguration ceremony in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, for the second cohort of its Up!To program. This initiative encourages university students to engage in the promotion of the virtual asset industry through the creation of innovative content. Notably, this new cohort consists of 30 members, almost double the size of the initial group.The event kicked off with a warm congratulatory speech from Dunamu CEO Lee Sirgoo. Following that, appointment letters and welcome kits were presented to the attendees. Then, each participating team took the stage to deliver their presentations.Photo by Annie Spratt on UnsplashThree months of engagementUnder the slogan “Build Your Own Block,” the second Up!To cohort will engage in a range of activities for about three months. These activities will involve creating content focused on digital assets and investor protection, brainstorming ideas to enhance Upbit’s services, and attending events hosted by Upbit. The group will also take part in various environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities to contribute to society.Financial support and incentivesThe Upbit Investor Protection Center will offer financial support to participants to help fund their activities. In addition, the top-performing team will be awarded a cash prize of KRW 5 million (approximately $3,700), while standout individual participants will receive KRW 3 million. Those who excel in the overall evaluation will also have the chance to earn a three-month internship at Upbit.At the ceremony, Lee Hae-boong, the head of the Upbit Investor Protection Center, expressed his hope that the Up!To participants would seize this opportunity to build meaningful “blocks” in their own lives. He also encouraged them to bring forward innovative ideas that would contribute to fostering a healthy culture around digital asset investment.Meanwhile, updates on the activities of the second Up!To cohort will be available on the official YouTube channel and website of the Upbit Investor Protection Center.

Paxos gets green light from Singapore regulator for USD stablecoinPaxos, a regulated crypto infrastructure company, has announced that it has received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for its new subsidiary, Paxos Digital Singapore Pte. Ltd.The company outlined in a press release that it published on Thursday that the new entity will be able to offer digital payment token services and issue a USD-backed stablecoin in compliance with Singapore’s upcoming stablecoin laws. Stablecoins are digital tokens that are pegged to the value of fiat currencies or other assets and are designed to minimize price volatility.Photo by Carlos Alberto Gómez Iñiguez on UnsplashRegulatory framework for stablecoinsThe MAS moved to finalize its regulation of stablecoins within the city-state in August. That regulation insists on stablecoin issuers holding reserve backing for a stablecoin in low risk, highly liquid assets. The regulator also puts an onus on the issuer to provide appropriate disclosures including audit results and to process redemption requests within five business days.According to Paxos, there is a strong global demand for the U.S. dollar, but it remains challenging for consumers outside the U.S. to access dollars securely, reliably and under regulatory protections. The in-principle approval from the MAS will enable Paxos to bring its regulated platform to more users around the world.The recently finalized stablecoin regulatory framework will apply to non-bank issued tokens that are linked to the Singapore dollar or G10 currencies, such as the euro, British pound and U.S. dollar. Additionally, it applies to stablecoins whose circulation exceeds five million Singapore dollars ($3.7 million). The framework aims to ensure that stablecoins are subject to appropriate governance, risk management, disclosure and consumer protection standards.Partnering with enterprise clientsPaxos said that once it receives full approval from the MAS, it will be able to partner with enterprise clients to issue the USD stablecoin in Singapore. Paxos already has experience in issuing stablecoins, such as the Paxos Standard (PAX) and the PayPal USD Coin (PYUSD), which are both backed by the U.S. dollar and cash equivalents. Paxos also issues monthly attestations and reserve reports to verify its compliance and transparency.Responding to this latest development, Paxos Head of Strategy, Walter Hessert, stated:“Global demand for the US dollar has never been stronger, yet it remains difficult for consumers outside the US to get dollars safely, reliably and under regulatory protections. This in-principle approval from the MAS will allow Paxos to bring its regulated platform to more users around the world. Because Paxos upholds the highest standards of compliance and oversight, global enterprises partner with us to power stablecoin solutions that drive their businesses and respond to their customers’ needs.”Paxos previously issued the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin, but was ordered by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to stop issuing the token after the agency declared the stablecoin an unregistered security.The partnership between Paxos and the MAS is a significant step in bridging the gap between traditional finance and the emerging crypto industry. As more institutional clients seek exposure to digital assets, it becomes essential to provide them with secure and reliable solutions that meet their specific requirements.

Axie Infinity Moves Further Mainstream with App Store ReleaseThe developer of Axie Infinity, one of Asia’s most iconic Web3 projects to date, has released a version of its latest game on Apple’s App Store.Photo by James Yarema on UnsplashGame adoption strategyAxie Infinity’s Origins game is a card-based strategy game that allows players to collect, own and use a limitless variety of creatures to take into combat. Sky Mavis, the Singapore-headquartered developer behind Axie Infinity, has taken an interesting approach to bring about adoption for what will ultimately be a Web3 game.Initially, the game was launched on iOS with zero Web3 aspects to it. NFTs will not feature. Players will be given free non-NFT “starter characters.” That’s an entirely different approach to the one employed on the original Axie Infinity game. In that instance, players had to acquire NFT-based characters, by either renting or buying them, in order to participate in the game from the outset.While those starter characters will remain non-NFT in nature, the plan is to facilitate players in purchasing NFT-based characters at a later stage, as they progress within the game. Axie Infinity Co-Founder and COO Aleksander Leonard Larsen explained the strategy in an interview with Decrypt:“Starter Axies will remain as non-NFTs, but eventually as people buy other Axies in app we will want [to] turn them into NFTs.”App Store listingIt appears that the firm has been working on an Apple App Store listing for quite some time already. Larsen explained: “We have been in touch with Apple for about two years now, after a lot of trial and error, the current version is a lite version of Axie Origins with more to follow.”In a social media post, the project confirmed the significance of the listing: “We believe this is the first time that Apple has agreed to make an externally-purchased NFT usable on the App Store.” The initial step to getting listed on the large application platforms started out with a feature-limited Origins listing on the Malaysian version of the Google PlayStore in December 2022, before getting listed on that platform on a broader basis.The project outlined that it was following a similar strategy with Apple. This release will see the Axie Infinity Origin game listed on the Apple App Store relative to the following markets: Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The expectation is that the game will be listed in more territories as matters progress.Token price increaseAs the game runs on Sky Mavis’s Ronin network, an Ethereum sidechain, players who own Axie NFTs will still be able to utilize them in gameplay via the iOS version. The significance of the listing wasn’t lost on Axie Infinity community members. The unit price of the Axie Infinity Shards ($AXS) token, a governance token for the Axie Infinity gaming ecosystem, increased by 8% on Wednesday.Axie has proven to be a standout Web3 project for the Asian region. Axie’s developer, Sky Mavis is headquartered in Singapore although the project first emerged via its Vietnam-based development team.The original Axie game, which captured the imagination of crypto-enthusiasts more so than traditional gamers due to its ‘play-to-earn’ model, really came into its own during the pandemic. In particular, the game garnered a lot of adoption in the Philippines due to the opportunity it presented to Filipinos to earn tokens as a result of gameplay.