Singapore’s FOMO Pay Forges Collaboration With Notabene

Korean Game Developers to Benefit from Higher NFT Trading VolumeKorean game companies preparing to launch web 3.0 games are expected to benefit from the higher non-fungible token (NFT) trading volume, according to Korean news outlet Financial News.©Pexels/Tony LitvyakA report from decentralized app analytics platform DappRadar states that the NFT trading volume reached $4.7 billion in the first quarter this year, up 137.04% from the previous quarter. This volume is the highest since the second quarter of 2022.This year’s strong NFT market so far is good news for Korean game developers, which were negatively affected by a slowdown in the crypto industry last year due to various factors, including the Terra USD collapse and the bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX.In fact, many game and content companies are expanding their ecosystems by tokenizing their game items and intellectual property (IP) rights.NexonOne such example is Nexon, the developer of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game MapleStory. Based on its IP rights, Nexon is creating the MapleStory Universe, an NFT-based blockchain ecosystem. The MapleStory Universe will enable trading of NFTs, which users can obtain while hunting or accomplishing quests. Its first major project, a personal computer game named “MapleStory N,” will be launched to attract gamers worldwide.NetmarbleNetmarble, another Korean game company, will launch Modoo Marble 2: Metaworld on Wednesday for global gamers. The popular mobile board game will be rolled out on the MBX ecosystem operated by Netmarble’s blockchain subsidiary Marblex. Participation in the board game and involvement in the Metaworld would allow users to earn Meta Cash as rewards, which can then be swapped for different virtual assets. The trade of buildings and land within the game would likely be facilitated through the use of NFTs.Com2uS HoldingsCultural content company Com2uS Holdings is also making its own efforts to expand its blockchain ecosystem. Its subsidiary Com2uS Platform recently forged a partnership with animation firm Daewon Media to strengthen its NFT business based on Daewon’s popular IP rights.A game industry official said NFT trading can address issues that caused concerns for gamers who doubted the legitimacy and price of items they traded. The official further elaborated that incorporating elements like NFTs and the metaverse would enhance the gaming experience and excitement for gaming enthusiasts.

Asia has taken the lead, surpassing North America, in terms of being a crypto developer hub according to a recent report. Electric Capital, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley in the United States, recently compiled a report centered upon global crypto developer data. Its analysis of the data has led to some interesting findings. Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashNorth America loses its leadElectric Capital General Partner Maria Shen took to the X social media platform on Oct. 30 to provide further details on some key takeaways. In the first instance, Shen points out that North America has lost its lead in terms of crypto developer share, with Asia emerging as the leading region in this respect. Shen stated that “for the first time, Asia is the #1 continent for crypto talent.” Underpinning that claim, she provided data that identifies a drop in North America’s share of crypto developers from 44% in 2015 to 24% in 2024. Within the same timeframe, Asia’s share of crypto developer talent has increased from 13% to 32%. Teasing the data out further, the United States still remains the number one country for crypto devs on a country-by-country basis. It leads this particular metric with 18.8% of the developer talent pool, followed by India with 11.8% and the United Kingdom with 4.2%. A consequence of U.S. regulatory uncertaintyRegulatory uncertainty in the United States has been identified as a contributing factor by some crypto community commentators. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S. has engaged in regulation by enforcement rather than establishing a bespoke regulatory framework for crypto.  This approach has led to SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda calling crypto regulation in the U.S. “a disaster” earlier this month. Others, like Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, have gone further, describing the approach of the Biden Administration to crypto as “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” suggesting that there is an active plan being implemented to suppress the industry. This negative approach has led many U.S.-headquartered crypto firms to pursue growth opportunities overseas, particularly within centers in Asia and the Middle East such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Singapore. All of these centers have taken the opposite approach, deliberately working towards putting purpose-made regulatory frameworks in place over the course of the past two years, in order to get crypto innovation started on the right footing. Shen underscored the issue from a U.S. perspective, by pointing out that 81% of crypto devs, who are actively playing their part in shaping the future of digital money, live outside the U.S. She highlighted the significance of this, stating: “This is a national security issue & innovation drain for the US.” In a subsequent post, she questioned whether this had come about due to a negative regulatory environment, adding that “the US needs clear crypto policy to maintain its country lead.” 

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), an independent statutory body that regulates Hong Kong’s securities and futures markets, has alerted investors to 33 suspicious websites which appear to be masquerading as HashKey, one of the Chinese autonomous territory’s first licensed virtual asset exchanges.Photo by Dan Freeman on UnsplashAlert listThe regulator flagged the websites by publishing their domain names to its alert list. Hong Kong’s SFC first published its alert list relative to suspicious crypto-related entities in November 2021. In terms of both suspicious trading platforms and suspicious crypto-related web links, the regulator has found 91 instances to date. Remarks added to the listing confirm that a HashKey company, Hash Blockchain Limited, had reported the websites to the regulator as fraudulent websites. The web domain links have been slightly modified when compared to official links to the HashKey website, in an effort to mislead HashKey customers. A little less than two weeks ago, HashKey published a statement to its website, making service users aware of the fraudulent links and websites. It stated: “Fraudulent websites will appear under different domain names or with slight modifications or variations of the official HashKey Exchange website address www.hashkey.com by adding a combination of letters, numbers or symbols.” The company added that it has no connection with these websites, that no affiliation exists with HashKey Exchange, and consequently the company doesn’t accept any liability for any matters relating to these fraudulent websites and links. As well as the regulator, HashKey has also reported the matter to the Hong Kong Police Force. Tackling crypto-related fraudBoth law enforcement and regulators in Hong Kong have been more proactive in tackling any signs of crypto-related fraud or potential scams following an episode of fraud involving an unlicensed Dubai-headquartered crypto exchange, JPEX, in 2023. At that time, the authorities within the Chinese autonomous territory received in excess of 2,369 complaints from Hong Kong residents who had been duped by the unregulated exchange. Overall, victims were out of pocket to the tune of $166 million. Some commentators had likened the JPEX scandal as being an “FTX moment” for Hong Kong, referring to the high profile collapse of Bahamas-headquartered crypto exchange FTX in November 2022. However, Hong Kong investors also suffered as a result of the FTX collapse.  In fact, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the SFC were listed as FTX creditors in 2023. The statutory bodies appeared on the FTX creditor list alongside 50 Hong Kong institutions. Towards the end of 2023, the agency issued a public warning regarding HongKongDAO and BitCuped, entities that were accused of misinformation. In February 2024, the SFC issued a reminder to investors within the Chinese autonomous territory to ensure that they’re only engaging with licensed cryptocurrency platforms. To date, the regulator has awarded crypto trading licenses to seven virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs). Earlier this month, the regulator extended use of its swift licensing process to all new applicants in an effort to fast-track the approval of more licensed platforms.