AsiaNext Secures Market Operator License from Singapore’s MAS

Terraform Labs Co-Founder Daniel Shin Denies Wrongdoing in LUNA CollapseShin Hyun-seong, popularly known as Daniel Shin, has refuted accusations against him related to the $40 billion collapse of the stablecoin TerraUSD and its companion token, LUNA, according to a report by local news outlet Newspim. He presented this defense during his initial trial at the Seoul Southern District Court on October 30 (local time).Shin co-founded Terraform Labs, the company responsible for issuing TerraUSD and LUNA. His co-founder, Do Kwon, is currently serving a four-month prison sentence in Montenegro for passport forgery.Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on UnsplashProsecution’s allegationsKorean prosecutors allege that since 2018, Shin and his colleagues have concealed the fabricated nature of the “Terra project.” By manipulating trades and releasing misleading information, they purportedly misled investors into thinking the project was successful. It’s believed they sold off their tokens before the LUNA crash in May 2022, earning KRW 462.9 billion ($343.3 million) from these activities. They are suspected of personally taking KRW 376.9 billion from this amount.Prosecutors are focusing on Shin as the potential orchestrator of the LUNA crash. They speculate he began selling LUNA tokens around when Terraform Labs launched the Anchor Protocol in March 2021. This DeFi protocol increased the popularity and value of LUNA tokens. Before the crash, Shin is alleged to have gained at least KRW 154.1 billion.Defense argumentHowever, Shin’s legal team countered by asserting that Shin had cut ties with Kwon in 2020. They argued the decline of TerraUSD and LUNA was due to Kwon’s mishandling of the Anchor Protocol and an external attack, neither associated with Shin. Regarding the exploit, Terraform Labs has pursued legal action in the United States Southern District of Florida, claiming that American market maker Citadel Securities played a part in undermining TerraUSD in May 2022.Defending Shin, his lawyers emphasized that at the inception of the Terra project, there were no legal guidelines specifically for cryptocurrency transactions. Additionally, unlike Do Kwon who kept fleeing abroad, Shin willingly came back to Korea and has been cooperating with the investigation. They also noted he received only 32% of the 70 million LUNA tokens initially promised. Regarding classification, they stated LUNA isn’t legally recognized as a security.Shin’s lawyers further argued the prosecution hasn’t clearly identified victims or adequately outlined the components of fraud in this case. They said the prosecution’s case hinges on viewing LUNA as a security. However, Shin’s legal representatives maintained that under the Korean Capital Markets Act, LUNA isn’t a security, making its trades non-fraudulent.To counter a US court ruling the prosecution presented — that a token is a security — Shin’s defense highlighted that the verdict is from a lower court and remains contested. Earlier, prosecutors had cited a ruling from the United States Southern District Court of New York, which classified the XRP tokens sold to institutional investors as securities.

CarrieVerse token CVTX listed on BitgetWeb3 metaverse and NFT platform CarrieVerse’s governance token CVTX will be listed on global cryptocurrency exchange Bitget on Dec. 13, according to an article published by South Korean news outlet Money Today. This is the eighth exchange listing for the altcoin, following Gate.io, GOPAX, BingX and more. This comes as part of the platform’s efforts to expand its Web3 ecosystem.Photo by Maxim Hopman on UnsplashCVTX’s versatilityBuilt on Polygon, CVTX is integrated into the tokenomics ecosystem of CarrieVerse and its card strategy role-playing game (RPG) SuperKola Tactics. It is also the governance token for the CarrieVerse blockchain gaming platform Cling. CVTX can be traded for USDT on all of the exchanges it is listed on except for GOPAX, which offers a CVTX/KRW pair. KRW stands for Korean won.Global expansionLast month, CarrieVerse also joined the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), the UAE’s largest free-trade zone for blockchain and crypto companies, as a metaverse service provider. The platform has received approval to set up a local subsidiary there, which will serve as a base to expand its ecosystem, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.“The market value of CarrieVerse and CVTX is expected to significantly increase once the platform is released in target regions. This will serve as a foundation for more listings on major domestic and international exchanges,” the company said, adding that its number of daily active users has exceeded 5,000.Bitget’s substantial presenceBitget is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange registered in Seychelles, with global offices in Japan, South Korea, Canada and more. As one of the top ten derivatives exchanges in the world according to CoinMarketCap, Bitget handles over five million users and more than 500 cryptocurrencies. It is also registered on South Korea’s two largest exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, as a market that facilitates deposits and withdrawals after the implementation of the crypto Travel Rule. The Travel Rule, enforced by the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force, states that VASPs must share personal information about customers when facilitating crypto transactions that exceed a certain amount as a means of preventing related crimes.

Bitpowr, a digital asset custody and blockchain wallet provider that concentrates on the African market, is looking to expand in Asia having achieved a recent crypto transaction milestone. $200 million in total transactionsThe company has exceeded $200 million in total transactions processed since its launch in January 2022. The milestone demonstrates the firm’s efforts in furthering its mission to democratize finance with accessibility for all through crypto. The achievement was outlined recently in a report by TechCabal, a pan-African publication that covers innovation and tech developments across Africa. Bitpowr provides a modular ecosystem of Web3 and blockchain infrastructure to aid enterprises in building out blockchain-powered solutions.Photo by Kyle Glenn on UnsplashAsian clientele on the ascendancyIn a recent interview, Toby Oyetoke, the co-founder of Bitpowr, disclosed a noteworthy shift in customer demographics, with Asian clientele now surpassing their African counterparts in contributing to the company's $200 million transaction milestone. The Bitpowr co-founder believes that this signals a growing demand in the Asian market for accessible blockchain tools and infrastructure which are necessary for financial institutions seeking to launch and scale their products and services, relative to Web3. Oyetoke shared insights into Bitpowr's financial performance, stating:“Currently, we do up to $20 million per month in terms of traction volume processed, and that is from April 2022 till now. We now generate more revenue than we spend. We are cash flow positive.” There have been signs that inter-regional trade between the African and Asian regions is growing where crypto-related payment gateways and solutions are concerned. At the end of last month, Klasha, an Africa-based cross-border payments company, partnered with Singapore-headquartered digital payments firm FOMO Pay with a view towards better enabling Asian merchants to trade with African businesses over crypto-enabled payment rails. A recent Chainalysis report revealed Asia as the largest cryptocurrency market globally. Its crypto adoption index prominently featured Asian nations such as India, Thailand and Vietnam among the top grouping of nations where adoption of the digital asset innovation is concerned. Bitpowr co-founder Amarachi Amaechi is equally enthused about Asian market growth opportunities. She stated: “There is a good demand from Asia right now. We are seeing increasing representation in transaction volume which also translates to an increase in revenue for us.”   Amaechi outlined that the firm intends to hire people from Asian countries in order to market the company’s service offering in those markets. Focus on Southeast AsiaLooking ahead, Bitpowr is setting its sights on expanding further into the Asian market, particularly in Southeast Asia, while maintaining its operations in Africa. The company aims to establish its ledger and wallet infrastructure during this strategic expansion. Bitpowr has also announced that it has achieved SOC 2 compliance, meaning that it follows strict information security policies and procedures. It has also initiated the implementation of the ISO 27001 audit process through its partnership with New York-headquartered compliance specialist Thoropass. The company's expansion into the Asian market is anticipated to not only accelerate its own growth but also offer customers in the region access to innovative digital asset solutions, supporting them in achieving their financial goals.