Hana TI Partners with BitGo for Web3 Digital Asset Custody Solutions

HTX resumes Bitcoin and Ether services post $30 million hackDigital asset exchange HTX has successfully reinstated deposit and withdrawal services for major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), following a recent security breach that saw the platform drained of $30 million.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashMoving towards normal exchange operationsIn an official announcement published to its website on Sunday, HTX reported the restoration of services for specific virtual assets through the ERC20 blockchain, signaling a positive step toward normalcy. The exchange assured users that additional services would resume shortly.The statement listed more than 60 individual digital assets that have now been restored from the perspective of user withdrawals.Amidst the controversy sparked by the hack, HTX emphasized its commitment to covering all losses from its reserves. The exchange pledged ongoing investigations and the reinforcement of security measures to prevent a recurrence of such events in the future. The announcement stated:“Since its founding, HTX has remained committed to a policy of 100% reserves, ensuring our capacity to meet the withdrawal needs of all users.”Airdrop event plannedThe Seychelles-incorporated exchange also outlined details on an upcoming airdrop designed to incentivize community participation in the aftermath of the significant hack. The airdrop aims at users holding Rockets, with the value set at one USDT, and those possessing leading assets like HT, BTC and ETH will witness multiplied ticket values.The platform experienced a significant security breach alongside a similar incident on the HECO bridge, resulting in total losses exceeding $85 million. Justin Sun, an advisor to the exchange, pledged full compensation for all losses and temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals until identified risks were addressed.Justin Sun controversySun provided additional insights through a series of posts on the X platform. He confirmed the full functionality of major cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, TRX and USDT, and expressed expectations for the restoration of all others by the upcoming week. Sun wrote:“The majority of the work has been accomplished, and we aim to restore the remaining currencies gradually in the next few days, with all work expected to be completed by next week.”Justin Sun, known for his involvement in platforms that recently faced security breaches, reassured users of the ongoing efforts to enhance safety measures. This incident marked the fourth unfortunate event linked to Justin Sun-related platforms within a short span. HTX, formerly known as Huobi, suffered a $30 million hack, following HECO bridge, Poloniex and a prior HTX security breach.The controversial founder of the TRON blockchain network has come in for criticism of late. Travis Kling, Founder and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of crypto fund Ikagai Asset Management, was scathing of Sun in comments made on the X platform on Monday. Kling wrote:“[Justin Sun] has been hacked four times in the last two months” . . . “He’s a criminal and terrible for crypto and the sooner we get him out, the better.”Earlier this month, the Poloniex crypto exchange fell victim to a $100 million hack, causing a stir within the wider crypto community. The exchange, like HTX, assured users of full compensation and even initiated a white hat bounty of $10 million for the safe return of assets, having identified the responsible party and indicating the initiation of criminal proceedings.

Australian venture capitalist and founder of MHC Digital Group, Mark Carnegie, is optimistic about bitcoin's potential for a bullish trend, while believing that Asia will be the real force driving the market beyond the exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval hype in the United States.Photo by Hans Eiskonen on Unsplash$50,000 bitcoin retestIn a recent interview with CNBC, Carnegie expressed his belief that bitcoin is "clearly primed for a bit of a run and a retest to $50,000." The bitcoin unit price stood at around $43,600 at the time of the interview. At the time of writing, it’s weighing in at $46,773. While there’s likely to be considerable resistance in the leading cryptocurrency getting past the psychologically important $50,000 level, the digital asset is certainly heading in the direction that Carnegie had predicted. Looking ahead, Carnegie shared his short-to-medium-term outlook, stating:"So my feeling is short term, long, medium term, which is, you know, 30 to 90 days, probably a retrace." This suggests that Carnegie anticipates a positive trajectory for bitcoin in the coming months, likely as an initial response to a spot bitcoin ETF approval in the U.S. Last week a report from Singapore-based digital asset financial services firm Matrixport speculated that spot bitcoin ETF applications would be rejected as they have been over the past few years. Market risk factorsHowever, he also voiced concerns about the current state of the U.S. equity markets and potential recession indicators. Reflecting on the recent miss on payrolls, Carnegie commented:"I feel like that miss on payrolls last week makes me feel like there's a big flip. And everyone's going to start panicking about a recession." Despite the uncertainty in traditional markets, Carnegie remains optimistic about bitcoin's performance. When asked about the specific impact on cryptocurrencies, he admitted, "How's that going to affect crypto? I don't really know." In a blog post published last Friday, Arthur Hayes, the CIO of Hong Kong-based family office Maelstrom, similarly points to market turbulence in the short to medium term while remaining bullish on bitcoin over the longer term. An Asia-powered bull runCarnegie highlighted the influence of spot bitcoin ETFs and suggested inflows, noting that there are more net flows from Asia than the U.S. He stated:“You could easily see $50 - $100 billion in net new flow out of Asia this year, and if that happens..!” He mentioned the anticipation of approximately $5 billion waiting to come into the U.S., characterizing it as substantial but perhaps not as impactful as expected in the short term. "It's an Asian story this time round,” Carnegie claimed. Carnegie also expressed a preference for bitcoin over Ethereum in the current financial landscape. He stated:"Bitcoin feels more solid to me at the moment. So on a relative basis, I can talk like I can talk to you. I feel like for the next little while, Bitcoin feels better to me than Ethereum." Mark Carnegie's positive outlook on bitcoin's potential rally to $50,000 aligns with his preference for bitcoin over Ethereum in the current market conditions, despite concerns about the broader economic landscape.  

Korean Crypto Exchange Giants Lead Market Expansion With Increased ListingsSouth Korea’s top three cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone have all increased the number of cryptocurrencies they listed for trading this year compared to last year, making them responsible for leading the market’s activity and expansion.Photo by Maxim Hopman on UnsplashDynamic shifts in listing and delisting trendsA recent analysis by local news outlet News1 on the number of cryptocurrencies listed and delisted this year on the country’s major fiat-to-crypto exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — listed in order of market share size — revealed that Upbit and Coinone have increased their number of listings and delistings compared to last year.The remaining three exchanges, on the other hand, showed differing results. Bithumb increased its number of listings by 47 compared to the number listed last year, while delistings decreased by three, and Gopax listed eight fewer tokens and delisted one more token. Meanwhile, Korbit’s listings decreased by 37 tokens, while delistings decreased by only one.Among the five exchanges, Bithumb listed the highest number of new cryptocurrencies this year, with 80 new currencies in total added as of Monday (local time). This represents a more than double increase compared to the 33 currencies added last year. It is also 18 more than Coinone’s 62 new currencies and 50 more than Upbit’s 30.Differing approaches based on situational factorsGopax and Korbit have taken a more conservative approach compared to Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone, which have been more aggressive in their listing strategies. In particular, as of Oct. 4, Bithumb has also been offering free transaction fees in an effort to regain its market share. This aggressive approach can be interpreted as an effort to weather the recent crypto winter, although it hasn’t been very successful.Conversely, the exchange that delisted the most cryptocurrencies this year was Coinone, with 38 taken down as of Monday, marking a significant increase compared to last year when it delisted 26. This can be accredited to the platform’s efforts to improve its reputation and operating system following an incident earlier this year where two former employees were booked for taking bribes in exchange for listing certain cryptocurrencies. Coinone CEO Cha Myung-hun subsequently issued an apology and pledged to take proper measures to prevent such an event from recurring. Since then, the exchange has been actively looking into carrying out delistings tied to issues like the amount of currency in circulation or market price manipulation.Bithumb and Upbit came in second and third for most delistings this year, with 22 and 18, respectively.However, Korbit showed the least fluctuation in the number of listings and delistings this year — nine and three, respectively — among the five exchanges. This is a sharp contrast owing to its conservative listing policy. Speculation suggests that the platform might adopt a more aggressive stance if market conditions improve in the second half of the year.On the other hand, Gopax listed 10 tokens and delisted eight tokens. The exchange has notoriously been dealing with operational difficulties due to regulatory roadblocks despite optimistic outlooks after its acquisition by Binance, one of the world’s most prominent exchanges. Along with the recent appointment of Cho Young-joong as the new CEO of CityLabs, the company that acquired an 8.55% stake in Gopax, the exchange has been working on resolving regulatory issues and improving the state of operations.