Incheon Joins Hands with The Sandbox to Promote City in the Metaverse

Bitget Targets MENA Business ExpansionBitget, the Seychelles-based cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, is setting its sights on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as the region emerges as a fast-growing crypto hub.The firm announced its expansion plans via a press release which was published on Thursday. With countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain embracing crypto, more exchanges are taking notice and entering the market. Bitget has now joined the ranks of a series of crypto companies seeking to establish a foothold in the region.Photo by Kyle Glenn on UnsplashIncreasing crypto adoption and interestCiting the region’s impressive crypto adoption rate, which accounted for 9.2% of global transactions between 2021 and 2022, Bitget is capitalizing on the growing interest in digital assets. The UAE alone experienced a remarkable 400% increase in registered crypto businesses over two years, driving a surge in global digital asset trading by 10%. Moreover, blockchain-related educational programs have tripled in the region, which contributes to 8% of the overall mining hash rate. All of these are creating a favorable environment for Bitget’s expansion.Dubai officeTo support its entry into the Middle East, Bitget has opened an office in the heart of Dubai and has already hired 60 new employees for various mid and back-office positions. The company aims to scale its Middle East team further, with plans to hire 30 to 60 more professionals over the next two years.Bitget is not alone in recognizing the potential of the Middle Eastern market. Bybit, another major cryptocurrency exchange, recently obtained local licenses to operate in the digital assets space in the UAE, having moved its global headquarters to Dubai in April.OKX, one of the largest exchanges by volume, also received a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) Preparatory License from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Binance is also eyeing the Middle East, with Binance Dubai poised to become the primary focus for the company’s development efforts, given regulatory challenges in Europe and the US.Global expansion strategyBitget’s expansion into the Middle East is part of its broader global scaling strategy. The company has already registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Poland and Lithuania, and it launched a localized Turkish website earlier this year.Founded in 2018, Bitget boasts a user base of over 8 million users across more than 100 countries, offering copy trading services. The company’s move to the Middle East showcases its determination to tap into new markets and solidify its position as a global player in the cryptocurrency exchange landscape.There’s been a lot going on at Bitget in recent months, in addition to these regional expansion plans. In May the company announced a corporate social responsibility project named “Blockchain4Youth,” cleverly identifying the importance of connecting with the younger demographic which is far more likely to drive crypto and blockchain adoption.Earlier this month it launched a crypto loans product offering while last week it provided transparency via its proof of reserves initiative, demonstrating a 223% level of reserves and outlining that the company is debt free.

Wemade Partners with Etherscan to Enhance Transparency in WEMIX 3.0 EcosystemWemade, a leading company in the South Korean blockchain gaming industry, announced on Monday a partnership with Etherscan, a renowned block explorer and analytics platform. The objective of this collaboration is to enhance transparency within the WEMIX 3.0 ecosystem.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashNew block explorerAs part of this partnership, both companies will work together to develop a dedicated block explorer for the WEMIX 3.0 mainnet and Kroma, an Ethereum Layer 2 project developed by Lightscale, a subsidiary of Wemade. The new block explorer will provide advanced functionality, enabling users to access a more transparent transaction history. The explorer is expected to be launched in the first half of this year.InteroperabilityKroma is Lightscale’s Ethereum Layer 2 project whose goal is to establish a layer 2 blockchain based on zero-knowledge rollups. Thanks to Kroma’s interoperability, the WEMIX ecosystem is anticipated to extend beyond the WEMIX blockchain, linking to external blockchains.Etherscan, one of major block explorers for Ethereum, is an established platform offering extensive analytics capabilities. It has previously developed and operated various block explorers, including BscScan for Binance Blockchain, PolygonScan for Polygon Blockchain, and Arbiscan for Arbitrum Blockchain.Through this partnership, Wemade continues its commitment to decentralizing the WEMIX 3.0 mainnet and driving innovative advancements of a transparent mega-ecosystem.

PDAX gears up for trading surge amidst Binance market exitThe Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), an order book exchange, is planning to take full advantage of Binance’s regulatory issues in the Philippines, with the expectation of an uptick in trading volume as a direct consequence.Photo by iSawRed on UnsplashMarket opportunityAccording to a Filipino English-language broadsheet publication, The Daily Tribune, PDAX CEO Nichel Gaba sees the exit of Binance, flagged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an unauthorized exchange in the Philippines, as a pivotal moment for local virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to expand their market presence. Gaba envisions that the anticipated migration of traders from Binance could propel the country’s cryptocurrency trading volume to an estimated $6 billion by 2024.Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) demonstrates that there are currently 17 VASPs in the Philippines, with 10 operational and seven inactive. As one of the operational ones, PDAX is preparing for the expected growth in the local sector.The SEC in the Philippines has been actively working towards imposing a ban on Binance, citing various issues both locally and internationally. Gaba predicts that this development will prompt a substantial number of Filipino cryptocurrency traders to seek alternative, legitimate trading platforms. Gaba stated:“Now that Binance is being banned, there are a lot of users wondering where they can go and the best option for them is to go to a licensed exchange like PDAX. Our strategy as a company is to focus on being the best alternative.”Binance ban countdownAccording to local news outlet BitPinas, the head of the Philippines SEC, Kelvin Lee, clarified that Binance and any other unregistered exchange issued with an advisory have three months before they are banned from the country.Addressing the confusion surrounding the ban during a panel discussion on Wednesday, Lee stated that the ban would be in effect three months from the issuance date of Nov. 29. In that way, time has been allowed for feedback and potential extensions.While the original recommendation was for a shorter transition period, Lee extended it, considering the upcoming Christmas holiday, stating, “Not to make it hard for Filipino investors during that time.”Two additional exchanges bannedIn addition to Binance, Lee mentioned that OctaFX and MiTrade, along with other exchanges that have received advisories for unregistered operations, will also face bans after three months. The local SEC disclosed having a sizable list of unregistered exchanges that will gradually emerge.Responding to criticisms of the ban, given that some users find Binance to be “cheaper” than other registered exchanges, Lee emphasized the importance of compliance costs and consumer protection. He urged local investors to “invest in registered entities” among the 17 VASPs registered in the country that offer fiat-to-crypto services.The BSP-regulated VASPs are expected to process crypto assets worth approximately $3 billion by the end of the year. However, this estimate does not take into account unregulated transactions occurring outside of VASP channels.