India’s Jio Financial Services to Delve Into Blockchain

OKX Entering Indian Market With a Focus on Web3Cryptocurrency exchange OKX is gearing up to make its presence felt in the Indian market.Local recruitmentThat’s according to a discussion between a company executive and CoinDesk, as explained by the publication in a report published on Friday. The firm plans on recruiting local employees in its endeavor to conquer the market within the world’s most populous nation.OKX intends to rely on local employees who will spearhead its initiatives in the country. Haider Rafique, Chief Marketing Officer at OKX explained:“We’re trying to identify who’s who in the zoo and what is their contribution. There’s a large developer community. How do we help them? Build a relationship with them.”He believes that adopting a community-centric approach will pave the way for a successful entry into the local market. Rafique emphasized:“We’re going to learn about the community. We’re going to work with local folks — figure out where we can add value.”Photo by Naveed Ahmed on UnsplashFocusing on Web3 applicationsThe company also intends to take on the challenge by placing emphasis on the use of Web3 applications. Rafique revealed the company’s ambitious plans to scale up its wallet services “exponentially” by engaging with India’s developer community. Currently, there are approximately 200,000 OKX Wallet users in India, accounting for just 5% of the country’s Web3 user base.In a recent collaboration, OKX partnered with the blockchain platform Neo for an APAC Hackathon held in Bengaluru, a city in southern India. Rafique described this move as a strategic test to validate assumptions, understand the local culture, and support the burgeoning Web3 ecosystem.The global exchange already has a physical presence in world centers such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and the Bahamas.Indian crypto environmentTrading cryptocurrencies is currently legal in India, albeit with no established regulatory framework by a central authority. Ironically India has been very active in working towards the establishment of global regulatory standards relative to crypto while coming in for criticism from its Supreme Court recently for the government’s failure to provide regulatory clarity at home.Cryptocurrencies are used and traded at the investor’s risk in India and do not hold legal tender status for banking purposes. Additionally, a 30% tax is imposed on cryptocurrency transactions in the country.Rafique believes that Indian regulators are gradually distinguishing Web3 from centralized finance (CeFi). He remarked: “They’re more concerned about venues that have fiat on-ramps, which we do but don’t offer it in India.” He expressed a readiness for the company to become a front-runner once India establishes a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.It’s interesting to note that while OKX embarks on expanding its footprint within the Indian market, Indian crypto market incumbents have been looking to downsize. Indian cryptocurrency exchanges like CoinSwitch and CoinDCX have faced layoffs amid the current market downturn.Notwithstanding current market conditions, it’s likely that OKX is taking a long-term view and positioning itself for future success in what should be a very important crypto asset marketplace in the future.Ryan Selkis, CEO and Founder of crypto market intelligence firm Messari expressed this view, stating: “I love to see companies like OKX expanding in India. The largest democracy in the world should be a haven for crypto innovation in the years to come.”

Bithumb Burrito Wallet teams up with Yooldo to expand blockchain gaming networkRotonda, the operator of the digital asset wallet platform Bithumb Burrito Wallet, and blockchain gaming platform Yooldo said Wednesday (local time) that they have jointly signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expand their respective blockchain ecosystems and secure a global user base.Photo by Christian Wiediger on UnsplashService integrationUnder the new deal, Rotonda plans to integrate Burrito Wallet into Yooldo’s key decentralized applications (dApps), such as its first in-house developed game Trouble Punk, to build support for the expansion of its web game ecosystem. Users will also be able to use Yooldo’s governance token, YOOL, within Burrito Wallet, thus boosting its utility.Furthermore, they plan to actively collaborate on marketing endeavors such as events and campaigns to attract users.Rotonda mentioned its expectations for a successful collaboration with Yooldo as they share a common goal to make their respective services user-friendly. While Rotonda allows wallet holders to conveniently transfer assets and manage numerous cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in one platform, Yooldo is dedicated to building a sustainable Web3 gaming ecosystem that leverages blockchain technology to offer content, rewards and user-friendly UI and UX designs, making the transition from Web2 to Web3 a seamless process for gamers.Burrito Wallet’s commitment to growing the communityMeanwhile, Burrito Wallet has been at the forefront of expanding the digital ecosystem by promoting the widespread adoption of blockchain and supporting promising startups. The platform recently hosted a hackathon at this year’s Global Blockchain Incheon Conference (GBIC 2023) and is a contributor to Bithumb’s tenth-anniversary project — an entrepreneurship support program that aims to foster young entrepreneurs and startups with groundbreaking ideas.

Crypto Trading Surges in South Korea While Global Trends DeclineDespite a global decrease in cryptocurrency trading on centralized exchanges, South Korea has witnessed a significant increase in trading activities. Upbit, the nation’s largest crypto exchange, climbed to the second spot in global spot trading volume for July.Photo by Viktor Forgacs on UnsplashPlunges in global trading volumesAccording to an Exchange Review for July 2023 by CCData, a virtual asset data provider, the total global spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges dropped to $515 billion in July, a 10.5% decrease compared to the previous month, marking the second lowest level since 2019. Additionally, derivative trading volumes fell by 12.7% to $1.85 trillion, the second-lowest since December 2020.Experts attribute these declines to increased regulations on cryptocurrencies worldwide, such as legal crackdowns on exchanges like Binance and Coinbase by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, recorded a trading volume of $208 billion with a market share of 40.4% in July, marking a five-month consecutive decline, although it still maintained its title as the largest platform worldwide for crypto spot trading.Coinbase — the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US — and global exchange OKX also saw a decline in trading volume of 11.6% and 5.75% to $28.6 billion and $29 billion, respectively.Crypto exchanges flourish in KoreaContrarily, the majority of major crypto exchanges in Korea experienced significant growth in trading volume. Upbit’s trading volume skyrocketed by 42.3% to $29.8 billion in July, surpassing Coinbase and OKX for the first time to claim the second spot in global cryptocurrency exchanges behind Binance.Other Korean exchanges also saw remarkable increases in trading volume. Bithumb recorded $6.09 billion, a surge of 27.9%, while Coinone’s volume rose by 4.72% to $1.39 billion.These spikes in trading volume can be accredited to an increased interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology among citizens throughout the country, despite global regulatory challenges impacting the market. As the cryptocurrency industry continues to evolve, Korean exchanges are showing resilience and maintaining their competitive positions on the global stage.