Thailand Pushes Back Against Facebook-Enabled Crypto Scams

SBINFT and JPNFT Collaborate to Establish A Secure NFT Market in JapanSBINFT, a Japanese company specializing in NFT consulting and marketplace services, has joined forces with JPNFT, a Japanese platform dedicated to establishing a secure NFT market by combating unauthorized NFTs, according to a press release. Together, these entities are working towards the development of a marketplace that ensures users have access to secure and authorized NFTs, with the overarching aim of promoting the distribution of legitimate digital assets.Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on UnsplashRise of NFTsThe advent of blockchain technology has revolutionized the way digital assets are valued and their ownership is determined. This transformative technology has enabled the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which now serve as digital representations of various creations and are actively traded on dedicated marketplaces.Unauthorized NFTsSince 2021, numerous new players have entered the global NFT landscape. As of March 2023, OpenSea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, boasts a monthly trading volume of $430 million. While this growth signals promising market development, it also brings forth challenges stemming from the proliferation of pirated and unauthorized NFTs. Considering Japan’s esteemed international reputation in the realms of art and content, the country possesses the potential to emerge as a significant player in the NFT market. However, to realize this potential, appropriate measures must be swiftly implemented to guarantee security and authenticity within the industry.License check & certification markIn order to tackle this challenge, SBINFT and JPNFT have joined forces to establish a safe and sound NFT market that ensures the availability of genuine NFTs for users. As part of this collaboration, content NFTs registered on the NFT disclosure information platform called “jpnft” will undergo a verification process for authenticity when traded on the “SBINFT Market.” This verification process will involve an official license check as well as the inclusion of a JPNFT certification mark.The launch of jpnft content on the SBINFT Market is planned for the summer of 2023. The jpnft platform plays a crucial role in distinguishing between licensed NFTs and unauthorized ones by publishing official information related to NFTs based on Japanese intellectual properties. Licensed NFTs will be either issued directly by rights holders or authorized by them. It’s worth noting that the jpnft platform was developed as a project supported by the subsidy for “Japan content localization and distribution (J-LOD)” in the 2021 Supplementary Budget of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.Previously known as nanakusa, the SBINFT Market is built on two public chains (Ethereum and Polygon) and is committed to becoming a global open marketplace and. With a focus on providing a secure trading environment, the SBINFT Market meticulously reviews NFTs to safeguard users from potential risks such as fraud and hacking.Both SBINFT and JPNFT share a common philosophy that emphasizes the security of NFTs and the healthy development of the industry. With this shared vision, the SBINFT Market aims to enhance its content offerings and position itself as an authorized NFT marketplace that handles NFTs on jpnft.Government initiativeLast month, the Working Group for Digital Society Promotion under Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) presented a proposal to Prime Minister Kishida Fumio regarding the Web3 industry. This proposal recommended the implementation of measures to safeguard Japanese content and data from unauthorized monetization by foreign entities. This initiative highlights the government’s endeavor to protect and promote the integrity of Japan’s digital assets.

Dubai-headquartered crypto derivatives trading platform Bybit has moved to enable stock trading on its platform.  The offering, initially featuring 78 stocks, is being provided via Bybit’s MT5 platform, which includes access to various financial instruments including forex, commodities, contracts for difference (CFDs) and crypto, according to an announcement made by the company last week.Photo by Ishant Mishra on UnsplashStock derivatives via CFDsIndividual stocks are being offered in a pairing with U.S. dollar stablecoin USDT. Bybit’s MT5 is a trading platform originally developed by software company MetaQuotes, facilitating the integration of various asset classes within one platform. Enabled through the use of CFDs, holders of such stock-derived CFDs can receive dividend adjustments based upon the ex-dividend events of the underlying stocks. A trading fee of 0.04 USDT has been set, with a minimum charge of 5 USDT per order. Access to leading global equitiesBybit users will now be able to gain exposure to leading U.S. equities such as Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA). By adding this product to its multi-asset trading platform, Bybit has reduced a degree of friction for market participants. In pairing these stocks with USDT, it means that there is no fiat onboarding required and transferring funds in fiat from outside the crypto ecosystem is not required. In a press release, the firm asserted that the development was a “landmark move bridging traditional and decentralized finance.” Bybit further asserted that with this product launch, it has become “the first and only major crypto exchange to unify crypto, stocks, and traditional assets under one roof.” Previous offeringsA few years ago, global crypto exchange platform Binance had offered tokenized stocks through a partnership with German global financial services firm CM-Equity AG. However, it withdrew that product offering in 2021 when faced with growing regulatory pressure.  Failed crypto exchange FTX also offered its users exposure to tokenized stocks, which was also facilitated by CM-Equity AG. That product offering came to an abrupt halt in November 2022 when the platform collapsed. With a more positive regulatory position having been adopted in the United States following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, tokenized stock offerings are emerging once again. In March Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas said that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could facilitate such offerings going forward. The U.S. crypto exchange platform has revived plans to tokenize its own COIN stock, alongside other securities.Bernstein analysts recently predicted that the crypto sector is moving towards integrated platforms that offer both traditional financial products alongside digital assets. Further evidence of this approach emerged on May 22 with the news that global crypto exchange platform Kraken plans to add access soon to a range of tokenized stocks for its global user base.  The company’s U.S. clients can already access in excess of 11,000 stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Blurring the lines further between TradFi and the digital assets space, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon indicated last week that the investment bank will facilitate Bitcoin trading for clients from now on.

Korbit Passes Post-Audit for ISMS-P and ISO CertificationsSouth Korean crypto exchange Korbit announced on Wednesday that it has successfully passed a post-audit to maintain its Personal Information and Information Security Management System (ISMS-P) certification and four different International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications — ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, and ISO27701.“By maintaining our ISMS-P and ISO certifications this year, we were able to reaffirm the stability and trustworthiness of Korbit’s personal information protection capabilities and security management system,” said Oh Se-jin, CEO of Korbit.Photo by FLY:D on UnsplashRigorous criteriaThe ISMS-P is a security management system jointly operated by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Personal Information Protection Commission, representing the highest level of security management in Korea. It combines 80 requirements for Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification and 22 requirements for Personal Information Management System (PIMS) certification, totaling 102 requirements that must be met. Once obtained, certification is valid for three years, and annual post-audits are required to maintain its validity.Korbit first obtained ISMS-P certification in September of 2021 and has once again passed this year’s post-audit that was conducted last Wednesday.Meeting international standardsIn addition, the exchange had previously passed post-audits for four ISO certifications related to information protection and personal information management systems earlier in June. This includes ISO 27001 for information security management systems, ISO 27017 for information security controls on cloud services, ISO 27018 for protection of personally identifiable information (PII) in public clouds, and ISO 27701 for privacy information management systems.This achievement demonstrates Korbit’s commitment to reliability and security when operating and managing exchange services.“As a crypto exchange, we will continually focus on strict security management to ensure the protection of customer information and assets,” said CEO Oh.