Korea to Ban Virtual Asset Deposit Services from Next July

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based Web3 company focused on blockchain gaming and NFTs, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with DayDayCook (DDC) Enterprise Limited in a deal that will see Animoca allocate up to $100 million in Bitcoin with that capital to be exposed to yield enhancement strategies operated by DDC.Photo by Erika Fletcher on UnsplashBitcoin treasury strategyIn a press release published to its website, Animoca Brands claimed that the deal accelerates the Bitcoin accumulation strategy pursued by DDC. Back in May, DDC Enterprise, a Chinese company listed on the Nasdaq in the U.S. while headquartered in Hong Kong, became one of many Nasdaq-listed companies recently to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet.  At that time, it made a symbolic initial 21 BTC purchase, bearing in mind the leading digital asset has a supply cap of 21 million BTC. The company has set out an ambitious plan to build up a Bitcoin treasury of 5,000 BTC over the course of three years. DDC Founder Norma Chu described the development as a “pivotal moment.” ‘Pristine monetary asset’On this occasion, Chu described the partnership with Animoca as a “transformative step,” reflecting the companies’ “shared vision to accelerate Bitcoin’s role as a pristine monetary asset.” As part of the partnership, Animoca Brands Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Yat Siu, will join DDC’s Bitcoin Visionary Council (BVC). The company established the BVC recently in order to put strategic leadership and guidance in place so that DDC’s Bitcoin-related treasury operations are conducted in accordance with industry standards so as to maximize value creation in the long term. Siu said that the arrangement enables Animoca Brands “to enhance the value of [its] blockchain technologies and maximize the value of [its] Bitcoin holdings.” Commenting further on the partnership, he added: “We will focus on developing strategies to enhance Bitcoin’s value proposition, leveraging DDC’s commitment to advancing corporate Bitcoin treasury solutions." Siu told Cointelegraph that Animoca Brands' belief in the abilities of the DDC founder played a large part in the company establishing the partnership. He said that her background and experience enable her to “bridge the East and West to successfully navigate markets on both sides of the planet,” adding that “she has good appeal and connections to the Chinese market, one of the largest for crypto adoption, while also running a NASDAQ-listed company.” On BitcoinTreasuries.net, a Bitcoin treasury data hub, DDC is listed as 47th in terms of corporations globally that have adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy, ranked by the amount of Bitcoin that they have accumulated. The website suggests that DDC currently holds 368 BTC, valued at approximately $43.2 million. Following its initial purchase of 21 BTC in May, the company followed up with the acquisition of 38 BTC in June. On July 1, it announced that it had raised $528 million to expand its Bitcoin holdings, with confirmation of a further purchase of 230 BTC by July 7.

Singapore-based Marketnode has successfully completed its Series A investment round, receiving backing from global banking leader HSBC and its existing shareholder, Temasek. While the precise funding amount remains undisclosed, the firm plans to utilize the capital to expand its financial market infrastructure. Marketnode aims to develop neutral infrastructure for digital fixed-income and structured products, initially focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to create a comprehensive multi-asset ecosystem.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashStrategic collaborations and future projectsRehan Ahmed, President of Marketnode, highlighted the strategic alliance with HSBC as a pivotal move towards establishing the next generation of trusted and neutral market infrastructure. The investment will also accelerate the launch of Fundnode, a new investment fund infrastructure powered by distributed ledger technology. Additionally, the collaboration will support future offerings of tokenized assets. Marketnode has been engaging with HSBC since 2020, including participation in Singapore's Project Guardian and various digital bond initiatives led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Regulatory landscape in SingaporeSimultaneously, Singapore continues to tighten regulations within its crypto sector. Following its stringent licensing framework, the Singaporean authorities recently announced an expansion in the scope of companies regulated under its payment services rules. This measure aims to enhance supervision of digital asset firms, focusing on anti-money laundering efforts and user protection. 

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), an independent state agency responsible for the supervision of capital markets including the digital assets sector within the Southeast Asian nation, has moved to block five cryptocurrency exchange platforms. In a statement published by the agency to its website on Thursday, May 29, the SEC outlined that it deems the five exchanges, namely OKX, Bybit, CoinEx, XT.com and 1000X.Live, to be unauthorized crypto trading platforms.Photo by REY MELVIN CARAAN on UnsplashCountering money laundering activityIt is acting against these platforms “to protect investors” and to prevent their use for money laundering purposes. In offering services to Thai users on an unauthorized basis, the exchanges were found to be in breach of Thailand’s Digital Asset Business Act B.E. 2561 (2018). The agency has asked the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) to take measures to block local access to these online platforms. That block will be put in place on June 28. On that basis, the SEC has advised Thai users of such platforms to proceed to remove their assets from them before that June 28 deadline.  An updated version of the Royal Decree on Measures to Prevent and Suppress Technology-related Crime, (No. 2) B.E. 2568 (2025), was introduced by the Thai government in April. It facilitated the establishment of the Committee for the Prevention and Suppression of Technological Crime.  Following practices overseasThe committee met with the MDES in April, with the parties setting out the process through which unauthorized digital asset platforms would be restricted and blocked. On that occasion, similar practices carried out in other jurisdictions within the Asian region were referred to.  In December 2023 India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) moved to block nine offshore crypto exchanges, having issued them with compliance show-cause notices.  In April 2024 the Philippines SEC requested that Google and Apple remove apps associated with global exchange Binance from the local versions of their application stores. Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) similarly ordered both companies to remove apps belonging to unregistered crypto exchanges in February of this year. Back in March, the Thai SEC filed a lawsuit against Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd., an OKX affiliate company. The complaint alleged that OKX had been running an unlicensed exchange in Thailand, and was filed with the Economic Crime Suppression Division of the Thai police force. The SEC outlined on March 21 that a similar criminal complaint had been filed against XT.com. It’s understood that Bybit, CoinEx and 1000X.Live have also been recipients of complaints on the same basis. Earlier this year, the Economic Crime Suppression Division considered taking action against Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market, on the basis that the platform violated Thailand’s gambling laws, and in doing so, posing a risk to economic and social stability in Thailand. In April 2024, the SEC issued a warning to crypto exchange platforms against the use of misleading advertising, drawing their attention to the fact that advertising of that nature would potentially place those platforms in breach of regulatory guidelines.