China Unveils Blockchain-Powered Data Exchange

UAE Emirate Launches Digital Asset Oasis Free ZoneRas Al Khaimah (RAK), one of the seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has launched the RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO), a free zone tailored exclusively for digital and virtual asset enterprises.Photo by Mostafa Ashraf Mostafa on UnsplashFrom conception to launchThe Emirate has been working on the RAK DAO project for some time, having enacted a law to establish the free zone in March of this year. In July it emerged that RAK Digital Assets Oasis had partnered with the HBAR Foundation, the project team behind the Hedera public ledger, with HBAR extending funding and resources to fuel the growth of free zone members.Having put in the hard yards to establish the free zone, RAK DAO, under the patronage of RAK Emirate ruler His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, had its launch event on Thursday. The event included a range of industry speakers including Ledger Chairman and CEO Pascal Gauthier, Animoca Brands Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Yat Siu, DFINITY Founder Dominic Williams, and TON Foundation President Steve Yun, among others.During the event, DAO creation and governance platform DeXe DAO Studio announced its partnership with RAK DAO.With an eye towards keeping the RAK Emirate ahead of the technological curve, RAK DAO aims for the digital assets oasis to become the world’s first free zone dedicated solely to digital and virtual asset companies. While RAK DAO is initially expected to focus on non-financial activities, it holds the potential to introduce financial activities at a later stage.Nurturing Web3 innovationThe mandate of RAK DAO is to provide robust support to companies engaged in cutting-edge technologies. This includes but is not limited to ventures in the metaverse, blockchain, utility tokens, virtual asset wallets, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), decentralized applications (DApps), and various other Web3-related businesses.Entrepreneurs who establish their presence within the confines of this free zone will be granted the privilege of retaining 100% ownership of their enterprises. Moreover, they will benefit from innovative tax schemes and a regulatory framework that is tailored to the unique demands of the digital asset industry.Progressive approach to Web3The UAE, as a nation, has actively pursued and courted crypto and blockchain firms by cultivating a progressive regulatory environment. Dubai led the charge by introducing a virtual assets law and establishing the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority.RAK is not the first Emirate to establish a free zone that caters to crypto and Web3 business within the UAE. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has established the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) while the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) established its own financial regulator in Dubai, paving the way for attractive free zones for digital asset businesses. The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) even took its commitment a step further by inaugurating its headquarters in The Sandbox in May 2022.Dubai has issued operational licenses to several crypto firms, including prominent names like Binance, Crypto.com, and Nomura’s Laser Digital and digital asset custodian Komainu. These licenses have further solidified the UAE’s position as a preferred destination for crypto, blockchain, and Web3 enterprises.

EMERGE Group, a leading Southeast Asian marketing technology firm specializing in intellectual property (IP) and gaming partnerships, has forged a strategic alliance with TZ APAC in an effort to drive Web3 gaming relative to the Tezos layer one blockchain. Singapore-based TZ APAC is a Web3 ecosystem builder dedicated to advancing the Web3 ecosystem on the Tezos blockchain by empowering founders, creators and developers. It’s also the Asian adoption entity supported by the Tezos Foundation with a mandate to garner adoption of the Tezos blockchain within the region. EMERGE is also a Singapore-based entity that established itself during the pandemic.Photo by Rodion Kutsaiev on UnsplashPositioning Tezos as preferred gaming blockchainNews of the partnership was publicized recently within "The Baking Sheet," a bulletin published by an independent not-for-profit entity, Tezos Commons. The primary focus of this partnership is to offer marketing solutions and publishing partnership support. EMERGE Group, known for its expertise and influential network, including partnerships with Moonton, Singtel and Shopback, aims to position Tezos as the preferred blockchain platform for the gaming community. Leveraging advertising inventories and critical IPs, EMERGE Group intends to facilitate the seamless onboarding of game studios onto the Tezos blockchain. Tezos, renowned for its open-source blockchain emphasizing upgradability, participation and smart contract safety, joins forces with EMERGE Group, which has previously established strategic alliances with industry leaders like Nvir World and Infinite Loop Media. This partnership is seeking to make an impact within the gaming industry, harnessing the potential of blockchain technology. Jason Lim, responsible for business development (gaming) at TZ APAC, commented on the partnership:“With this collaboration, TZ APAC can now rely on a partner that shares the same goal — to empower the gaming community with the relevant tools, resources, and network to succeed. Builders, gamers, and ecosystem partners can stand to benefit from the marriage of full-suite support provided by TZ APAC and the marketing prowess of EMERGE Group.”  EMERGE Group co-founder and CEO Roy Kek was similarly enthused, stating that the partnership reflected the firm’s expertise in the Web3 gaming space. Bridging Web2 to Web3The collaborative effort is designed to create a bridge between Web2 and Web3 technologies, enhancing the overall gaming experience. By fostering a supportive environment for game developers and capitalizing on Tezos' blockchain capabilities, the partnership aims to deliver a frictionless onboarding experience.  The collaboration between EMERGE Group and TZ APAC signifies a proactive move towards the integration of gaming into the Web3 ecosystem on Tezos. In the past, gaming giant Ubisoft has leaned on Tezos in providing in-game items for some of its gaming titles. The project has partnered with Google Cloud in an effort to enable Google Cloud customers to build Web3 applications on the blockchain. It’s still early days for Web3 gaming and with that, this partnership is seeking to advance gaming development on Tezos.   

KuCoin Ups Compliance via Mandatory KYCKuCoin, the Seychelles-headquartered global cryptocurrency exchange, has unveiled plans to strengthen its Know Your Customer (KYC) system by introducing mandatory identity checks.In an official announcement on Wednesday, KuCoin stated that this upgrade aims to ensure compliance with global anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. Effective from July 15, KuCoin will require all new users to undergo KYC authentication as part of the registration process. Those who fail to complete the KYC process will be unable to access KuCoin’s wide range of products and services, according to the exchange.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashExisting and new usersFurthermore, existing users who registered prior to July 15, 2023, will also be required to complete the KYC process to access certain features on KuCoin. Withdrawals will remain unaffected for these users. However, they will no longer be able to deposit new funds, the announcement outlines.Despite the introduction of mandatory KYC, KuCoin’s existing non-KYC users will still be able to utilize services such as spot trading sell orders, futures trading deleveraging, and margin trading deleveraging. Additionally, other available services for existing non-KYC users include redemptions at KuCoin’s staking and lending hub, KuCoin Earn, and exchange-traded funds’ redemption.Johnny Lyu, the CEO of KuCoin, explained the KYC process, stating: “A complete KYC process requires users to provide their name, identification number, and identification photo, and undergo facial recognition.” Lyu emphasized that KuCoin carefully verifies customer identification and collects the necessary data in compliance with the laws and regulations of applicable jurisdictions.He added: “Typically, we require customer identification information including information on the customer’s name and further identifiers such as a physical address, date of birth, and national ID number.”Risk profile data collectionIn accordance with regulatory requirements, KuCoin also collects additional information regarding a customer’s business and risk profile. This includes details about the nature and volume of trading activity and the origin of virtual funds deposited, according to Lyu.Lyu underscored that KYC has always been a principle adhered to by KuCoin and that identity recognition is an established part of its process. He further highlighted that KuCoin’s KYC policy is designed to align with regulations in applicable jurisdictions, as there is no unified global KYC regulation at present.KuCoin has also made it clear that the exchange does not support the United States KYC requirements based on their current or updated KYC rules. This new mandatory KYC update will impact a significant number of cryptocurrency users globally. As of July 2022, KuCoin reported over 20 million registered accounts on its platform.Leading global exchangeKuCoin is also recognized as one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of trading volumes. At the time of writing, KuCoin’s daily trading volumes exceed $540 million, with more than 8 million monthly visits, according to data from CoinGecko. For comparison, major United States-based exchange Kraken receives approximately 5 million visits per month, with a daily trading volume of around $380 million.This move by KuCoin follows a trend of increasing KYC policies among cryptocurrency exchanges. In May, Dubai-based Bybit restricted non-KYC users from withdrawing more than 20,000 Tether (USDT) monthly. It has been reported that cybercriminals have taken advantage of KYC requirements, selling hacked and verified crypto accounts on the darknet for as low as $30 as of April 2023.