XPLA Forms Strategic Partnership with Nefta for Gaming Infrastructure Development

South Korea's financial regulator is seeking to allow institutional participation in the cryptocurrency market this year, calling the move a prerequisite for the next phase of digital asset legislation aimed at reshaping a market now dominated by retail traders. Speaking at a judicial training program at the Seoul Southern District Court, Shim Won-tae, an official in the Virtual Asset Division of the Financial Services Commission's (FSC) Digital Finance Policy Bureau, said corporate participation in the crypto market was among the agency's priorities for the year, according to Herald Business. A market limited to retail investors would be at odds with the planned second phase of crypto legislation, he said, describing broader institutional access as a necessary first step.Photo by Mohammad Dadkhah on UnsplashStock token tax rules under reviewThe comments come as policymakers weigh the tax treatment of security tokens. A Ministry of Economy and Finance official said that the government currently regards stock tokens as securities, which could allow them to be taxed under the existing Capital Markets Act if the FSC adopts the same view, Bloomingbit reported. The outlet said taxation could begin later this year if the FSC clarifies the status of stock tokens in a planned July update to security token guidelines and implementing rules. Market conditions have added urgency to the debate. At a National Assembly forum on June 11 marking the first anniversary of the Lee Jae-myung government, Hong Sung-kook, who chairs the ruling Democratic Party's National Economic Advisory Council, flagged two urgent risks: the recent sharp sell-off in the crypto market, which counts an estimated 10 million Korean investors, and a weaker won, according to Digital Asset. He also warned of inflation risks from a prolonged Iran war and a semiconductor boom. South Korea should work to stabilize equities, real estate and digital assets, and prepare for policy shifts by the Trump administration after the war, he said. LG turns to Arbitrum for adsIn a sign of corporate blockchain adoption, LG Electronics is developing an Arbitrum-based network to automate the buying and selling of advertising, Fortune reported. The platform records ad inventory and user-response data on-chain and lets software settle transactions on its own. LG ran a pilot with a Japanese advertising agency and plans to weigh commercialization of the ad platform in the second half of this year. Arbitrum co-founder Steven Goldfeder described it as software running the advertising market. Investor sentiment, meanwhile, stayed bearish. In CoinNess and Kratos's weekly survey of South Korean investors, conducted June 9–12, 65.7% expected Bitcoin to fall in the week ahead, up from 58.8% in the prior poll, while 13.7% looked for gains, down from 17.7%, and 20.6% expected sideways trading, down from 23.5%. Bearish expectations held the majority, and both the bullish and sideways camps thinned from a week earlier. Asked whether Bitcoin had bottomed after it briefly slipped below $60,000 on June 6, the largest share (38.8%) said it had not and expected further declines. Another 28.6% allowed for a short-term rebound but not a trend reversal, 20.1% judged the bottom was in and called it a buy-the-dip opportunity, and 12.5% were unsure. According to CoinMarketCap data at publication time, Bitcoin was trading at $63,456.42, down 0.23% over the past week. 

Exhibition in Goyang City presents blockchain’s use in digital mediaDigital Media Tech Show 2023 (DMTS 2023) is underway from today, Nov. 2, through Nov. 4 in Hall 4 at the Korea International Exhibition Center, commonly known as KINTEX, in Goyang City. The event gives audiences a chance to explore the present and future of digital content and cutting-edge technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.Photo by Julius Drost on UnsplashFrom smart tech to NFTsThe exhibition explores cutting-edge realms, including smart technology, media and content innovations, extended reality and the metaverse as well as the ever-evolving world of NFTs and blockchain. These technologies not only enhance content creation and distribution but also amplify its value and reach.DMTS is hosted by Gyeonggi Province and Goyang City. It’s organized by KINTEX, the Goyang Industry Promotion Agency and the Korean Commission for Corporate Partnership, with sponsorship from the Ministry of Science and ICT.Last year, the show saw 153 companies display 419 booths and welcomed buyers from 24 countries. The event generated KRW 20.7 billion ($15.4 million) from consultations and KRW 12.1 billion from contracts.Two more simultaneous exhibitionsConcurrently, two other major exhibitions at KINTEX captivate visitors. The Digital Future Show in Hall 5 presents glimpses of future lifestyles, highlighting virtual reality and the metaverse. Meanwhile, Contents Korea in Hall 3 focuses on a wide range of content assets, including movies, games, and music. It also explores their ties to intellectual property, the technologies behind their creation, and marketing strategies. Hosting these shows simultaneously at KINTEX is anticipated to produce a synergistic impact, drawing domestic and international buyers.Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang City, underlined the city’s strategic focus on nurturing emerging sectors like video production, content, and drones. He also conveyed his hope that the exhibition would enhance collaboration among top-tier companies and spotlight Goyang as a central gathering place for high-tech businesses.

Poly Network Exploit Results in Billions of Nonexistent TokensPoly Network, the China-based interoperability platform, was targeted by hackers over the weekend in a major attack that resulted in the creation of billions of tokens out of thin air. It’s the second time in as many years that the cross-chain bridge has been exploited by hackers.The attacker exploited a vulnerability in Poly Network’s cross-chain bridge tool, allowing them to generate a substantial number of tokens that previously did not exist, as reported by Arhat, the Founder of 3z3 Labs, on Twitter.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashNetwork suspensionThe Shanghai-based project team behind Poly Network promptly informed its users on Sunday that its services were temporarily suspended due to the attack. The platform assured its users that it was diligently assessing the extent of the breach and the impact on assets. They emphasized their commitment to safeguarding users’ assets and urged everyone to remain calm.The hacker, at one point, held nearly $43 billion worth of cryptocurrency in their digital wallet, according to DeBank, a decentralized finance portfolio tracker. This staggering figure was corroborated by PeckShield, a blockchain data and security firm.Bridge vulnerabilitiesBridges play a crucial role in the Web3 ecosystem, enabling users to transfer assets across different networks. However, they have often been attractive targets for hackers. In this attack on Poly Network, the hackers issued themselves nearly 100 million BNB and $10 billion worth of BUSD, the Binance-branded stablecoin, on the layer-2 network Metis, revealed Colin Wu, a Chinese crypto journalist.Similarly, on the Heco network, approximately 100 trillion units of the dog-themed meme coin, Shiba Inu, were created. Additionally, a significant number of altcoins were generated on Polygon and Avalanche networks.Illiquid Metis tokensMetis clarified that the BNB and BUSD tokens issued on its network by the hackers are effectively worthless since there is no available sell liquidity. Poly Network also locked these tokens, ensuring they cannot be utilized. Arhat of 3z3 Labs acknowledged that the impact of the Poly Network attack was somewhat mitigated by the lack of liquidity, which prevented the hackers from realizing substantial gains on Metis.However, on other networks like Ethereum, the stolen tokens were exchanged on decentralized exchanges. Arhat estimated that the attacker managed to convert only a small portion of the tokens, amounting to approximately $400,000 worth of crypto, while the remaining tokens lacked liquidity and were essentially worthless.SlowMist, a blockchain security firm, suggested that the hacker’s total gains were higher. They reported that over $4 million worth of digital assets from the attack had been cashed in, including 1,500 Ethereum worth $3 million and 93 billion SHIB worth $700,000.Poly Network had previously made headlines in 2021 when it experienced a historic attack, considered the largest exploit in decentralized finance at the time. The project suffered a loss of $600 million as funds were siphoned away from Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon. However, the hacker eventually returned $342 million worth of stolen crypto, and Poly Network took steps to repay affected users.