Grab Turns to Web3 With Crypto Wallet Integration

In a recent report, Singaporean digital asset financial services firm Matrixport has made a bold forecast regarding the future of bitcoin prices and the potential rejection of spot bitcoin ETFs by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States.Photo by André François McKenzie on UnsplashMinority viewWhile most ETF and crypto industry analysts in recent weeks have been suggesting a greater than 90% chance of the imminent approval of a spot bitcoin ETF coming from the SEC, Matrixport has had its say, speculating that the regulator will once again reject all such applications. In a note published to its website on Wednesday, the firm stated:”The current five-person voting Commissioners leadership critical for the ETF approval of the SEC is dominated by Democrats. SEC Chair Gensler is not embracing crypto in the U.S., and it might even be a very long shot to expect that he would vote to approve bitcoin spot ETFs.” The report emphasizes the dominant influence of Democratic leadership within the SEC, particularly Chairman Gary Gensler's cautious approach to crypto regulation. The Democrat-led administration in the United States has been decidedly anti-crypto in its policies throughout the ongoing term of U.S. President Joe Biden. Matrixport also suggests a potential delay in ETF approvals until Q2 2024, dampening hopes of an imminent market boost. Potential bitcoin price slumpShould the company be right in that speculation, it extrapolates that this turn of events will potentially lead to a substantial decline in bitcoin's value, with the bitcoin unit price possibly dropping to as low as $36,000. This revelation has sent shock waves through the market, prompting Matrixport to advise investors to take protective measures. The recommended strategies include purchasing put options or engaging in direct shorting of bitcoin to mitigate potential losses. With an ominous Jan. 5, 2024 deadline looming, traders could decide to hedge their long exposure by purchasing $40,000 strike put options expiring at the end of January or opting for outright short positions through options. Matrixport's report challenges the previously optimistic expectations surrounding bitcoin's future, highlighting the SEC's likely rejection of spot ETFs as a significant factor. Despite the platform's earlier bullish stance, it now expresses skepticism about the SEC's willingness to embrace cryptocurrencies. The firm contends that the current influx of funds into crypto, driven by expectations of ETF approval, could result in significant liquidations if the SEC denies the proposals. The report estimates that about $10 billion of the $14 billion additional investments might be linked to optimistic ETF prospects. Notably, Matrixport foresees a rapid 20% decline in bitcoin's price, reverting to a range of around $36,000 to $38,000 should the SEC reject the ETFs. Positive long-term outlookDespite the potential setback with the SEC, Matrixport maintains a positive long-term outlook for bitcoin, expecting the BTC price to end 2024 above the $42,000 mark, where it started the year. The analysis also considers historical trends in U.S. election years and bitcoin mining cycles for the potential rally. At the time of writing, the bitcoin unit price is down 4.75% over the course of the past 24 hours, now standing at $42,838. Investors are closely monitoring the upcoming SEC decision and may well be heeding Matrixport's advice to navigate potential market volatility.  

Monthly Active Users of Binance in South Korea Surpasses 230,000The monthly active user (MAU) count for the virtual asset exchange app Binance has surpassed 230,000 in South Korea, according to a recent analysis reported by local news outlet Etoday. This places Binance as the fourth-largest exchange in terms of user base, following more prominent local won-denominated exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone.Photo by Vadim Artyukhin on UnsplashSoaring numbersAccording to data from the insights platform Mobile Index, the MAU for the Binance app in Korea averaged 230,965 users from February to July this year. Starting from 238,487 users in February, the number peaked at 240,000 in April, followed by a slight decrease to 219,010 in June and 215,743 in July. These figures significantly outpace the 131,799 average for Korbit and 36,123 for Gopax, recorded over the past six months.The abundance of users is also reflected in the app’s high trading volume in Korea. In May this year, Binance reportedly accounted for around $58.3 billion in trading volume from Korean users, representing approximately 13% of the total trading volume, according to the Wall Street Journal. This makes Korea the app’s second-largest market after China in terms of trading volume.These statistics are notable considering the fact that Binance does not support won-denominated trading nor has a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license for Korean operations. They can thus be attributed to the availability of futures trading, which is not offered by local exchanges. According to the Journal, futures trading accounts for 98% of the transactions conducted by Korean users.Regulatory validationMoreover, Binance is registered on the travel rule whitelists of three of the country’s largest exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone. This travel rule regulation was put into effect last year, requiring financial institutions to share data on cryptocurrency transactions.Being whitelisted means that users of the aforementioned exchanges can easily make trades on Binance after completing Know Your Customer (KYC) identification procedures.Each exchange follows its own criteria to add virtual asset service providers to its whitelist, allowing only whitelisted entities to send and receive transactions.Industry experts claim that this is yet another depiction of just how lucrative Korea’s crypto market is, as is the case with the significant trading volumes recorded by domestic exchanges. This is likely driving the active efforts of foreign exchanges, including Binance, to penetrate the market.Binance’s ongoing regulatory challengesEarlier this year, Binance acquired a majority stake in Streami, the operator of Korea’s KRW-to-crypto exchange Gopax, aiming to solidify its presence in the Korean market. Following this acquisition, Streami underwent leadership transitions that saw Lee Joon-haeng step down, making way for Binance’s APAC head Leon Sing Foong. Subsequently, the leadership baton was passed to Lee Joong-hoon, the former Vice President of Gopax.For these shifts in leadership, Streami submitted reports to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) to inform the regulatory body about changes in company representatives. However, despite these notifications, the financial regulator has not yet granted its approval, likely influenced by the ongoing legal challenges Binance is facing in multiple jurisdictions, including that of the United States.In a seeming effort to address this regulatory impasse, Streami has recently decided to undergo yet another change in its CEO position. This marks the third leadership alteration within a span of six months. Meanwhile, the identity of the incoming CEO is yet to be disclosed.Oscillating trends of growth and declineIn related news, Mobile Index also reported that Upbit had the highest MAU among virtual asset exchange apps in Korea. From February to July, Upbit averaged an MAU count of 3,280,746, surpassing the 1,005,432 average for Bithumb, marking a threefold difference. Coinone’s average MAU during this period was calculated at 316,277.However, over the same six-month period, all won-denominated exchanges except for Korbit experienced a decline in MAU. Gopax witnessed a 22.3% drop from 42,556 users in February to 33,059 users in July. This was followed by 20%, 14.8%, and 6.8% declines for Coinone, Bithumb, and Upbit, respectively. Binance also experienced a 9.5% dip.In contrast, Korbit saw a 16.5% increase, rising from 118,816 MAU in February to 131,799 in July.

Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings has successfully established "SBI XDC Network APAC" in Japan, following through on an intended joint venture with TradeFinex, the driving force behind the XDC Network.Photo by William Warby on UnsplashJV company formationAt the end of September, the two companies outlined the starting point of an intended collaboration. Only three months later, SBI has come back with an update, a press release published on Dec. 27, to detail the progress that has been made thus far. According to that document, the companies established joint venture corporate entity SBI XDC Network APAC Co. Ltd. on Dec. 18. Among the directors of the new company is the President of BITPoint Japan, a wholly owned subsidiary crypto exchange business of SBI. Majority stakeholderSBI will be the majority stakeholder in the venture, holding 60% of the company’s shares while Dubai-based TradeFinex will be the minor partner, with a 40% shareholding. The press release outlines that the stakeholders will “work to expand the use case using the blockchain technology of the XDC Network in global economic activities centered on trade finance and cross-border payments, not just the handling of tokens.” With that, this enterprise-focused blockchain initiative aims to elevate the efficiency of trade finance. Going forward, it endeavors to broaden the applications of XDC Network's blockchain technology in global economic activities, with the emphasis remaining on trade finance and cross-border payments. The XDC Network, inaugurated in 2017, is a community-driven platform tailored explicitly for trade finance and payments. It introduces a smart contract system that streamlines global trade operations by tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs) such as bonds, trade assets and trade documents. Operating on a high-speed, secure and cost-effective blockchain, XDC Network aspires to transform the landscape of trade finance. SBI Group has been actively involved in various services related to the XDC Network, including being the first exchange in Japan to handle XDC tokens. This was made possible through a partnership with SBI VC Trade, a company within the SBI Group specializing in crypto asset exchange services. Corda platform proof of conceptLogo design has been completed for the new entity, while a website has also been launched. Not wasting any time, the new company has already initiated a proof-of-concept (PoC) experiment. The experiment involves connecting the XDC Network with the Corda platform from SBI R3 Japan and the Corda Bridge from IMPEL GLOBAL. The PoC experiment revolves around conducting fiat payments generated by business-to-business transactions in XDC via Corda and the Corda Bridge. Leveraging a hybrid blockchain with both private and public characteristics, the objective is to attempt to offer a seamless one-stop service that settles both private and public aspects simultaneously. The company claims that this approach achieves an efficient and smooth payment method for cross-border transactions, including international trade, outshining conventional fiat currency transactions.