Dubai Regulator Hits OPNX With $2.7M Penalty

Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Forms $50M Animoca Brands PartnershipHong Kong’s Animoca brands, a gaming and metaverse venture capital firm, is embarking on a partnership with Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Investment Fund, focusing on pioneering Web3 initiatives.Animoca announced the initiative via a statement published to its website on Monday. NEOM is an ambitious project aiming to create a futuristic urban oasis in northwest Saudi Arabia, serving as a nexus for technology, commerce, entertainment, and tourism. It is planning to invest $50 million in Animoca.Photo by Hala AlGhanim on UnsplashDeveloping Web3 service capabilitiesThis collaboration will see Animoca harness its expertise to develop Web3 service capabilities with broad global applications in tandem with NEOM, aligning with NEOM’s vision of becoming a cutting-edge tech hub of the future.Animoca Brands has been a prominent player in the Web3 investment arena for several years. In July 2022, the company’s valuation soared to $6 billion, with backing from notable entities such as Singapore’s state investment fund, Temasek. Despite its ambitious goal to secure $2 billion for its metaverse fund in November of the same year, those expectations were significantly tempered following the FTX collapse. Consequently, in March, Animoca revised its target to a more modest $800 million.In-house market makingA report by The Block on Friday revealed that Animoca has been making efforts to pitch an in-house market making service to fledgling Web3 businesses within its portfolio. That service has been presented by the company to more than 400 startup projects in which it has been an investor over recent months.The key market makers in the crypto space include Wintermute, Keyrock, and GSR. This move by Animoca potentially puts Animoca in direct competition with these primary crypto-sector market makers. An in-house digital asset team has been tasked with offering the service. An Animoca spokesperson stated:“Its primary role, much like the treasury teams in many large corporations, is to optimize the utilization of the company’s balance sheet. The team does conduct market-making to ensure there is enough buy/sell liquidity for certain tokens, which is similar to the function that third-party market makers conduct, except that we choose to perform this in-house for scale and efficiency.”Saudi diversificationAs part of its Vision 2030 initiative, Saudi Arabia has been looking to diversify away from its predominantly oil-based economy. In an interview last month, Animoca Brands Founder Yat Siu outlined that the Middle Eastern country is embracing new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, encompassing blockchain-based gaming and Web3.In July it emerged that the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) were looking to extend the level of collaboration between the two territories relative to international payments and tokenization.This renewed interest from state-backed funds in Animoca suggests a potential shift in the Web3 venture capital landscape, coinciding with broader indications of a thaw in the crypto winter. The collaboration with NEOM and the injection of $50 million underscore the growing recognition of Web3’s potential, cementing Animoca Brands’ position as a key player in the ever-developing Web3 space.

Mars Program Sees Huobi Venture into SpaceHuobi, the Seychelles-headquartered global crypto exchange platform, has embarked on an extraordinary journey with the launch of Phase I of the Huobi Mars Program, making it the first cryptocurrency exchange to explore the vastness of space.Photo by Ju Guan on UnsplashIntergalactic interestsThe Huobi Mars Program, outlined by the company in a recent blog article, signifies Huobi’s interest in space exploration and an expansion beyond the confines of Earth. With aspirations to venture far into the universe, Huobi is inviting its users to join them on this unique and unprecedented journey, becoming pioneers in the Web3 field to enter space.The first phase of the Huobi Mars Program, scheduled from June 2023 to June 2024, consists of 12 rounds of themed activities. Each round requires participating users to complete specific tasks and mint space-themed non-fungible tokens (NFTs).Throughout each round, one lucky user will be selected as the monthly reward winner and stand a chance to become a potential candidate for space travel. In the subsequent phase, the 12 candidates will undergo a rigorous evaluation process, including assessments of physical fitness, training, preparation, and community contribution. Ultimately, one candidate will be chosen to embark on a space journey alongside Justin Sun, a member of the Huobi Advisory Board. The space flight is anticipated to take place after July 2024.Mars Program commencedThe first round of the Huobi Mars Program opened for participation from June 14 to July 5, 2023. To earn space NFT rewards, users must complete specific tasks in spot trading, peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, futures trading, and Huobi Earn transactions. Each completed task grants users the opportunity to mint a space NFT, with no upper limits.Space NFTs will be issued on the TRON Network and can be traded on various NFT platforms. Users need to link their TRON addresses on the event page to receive the minted NFTs. It is advised to mint the NFTs promptly as there will be a daily cap on NFT minting, and qualification does not carry over to subsequent rounds.The lucky user selected as the monthly reward winner and shortlisted as a candidate space passenger will have their space flight broadcasted worldwide via a live-stream. Huobi will conduct thorough verifications, including checking the winner’s TRON address, UID, and KYC verification, to ensure the authenticity of the winner. The winning space NFTs are non-transferable, and any attempt to transfer them will result in the forfeiture of the reward.Spot trading fee exemptionIn addition to the opportunity of becoming potential space passengers, the lucky users shortlisted during the first round of the Huobi Mars Program will enjoy the privilege of a 180-day exemption from spot trading fees on Huobi.Huobi isn’t the only crypto market participant with an interest in the intergalactic. It emerged last week that Charles Hoskinson, Founder of layer one blockchain Cardano, is funding The Galileo Project, an expedition to recover an interstellar object from the floor of the Pacific Ocean.Crypto memes boast of the likelihood of digital asset prices “going to the moon,” but Huobi’s Mars Program aligns with the pursuit of exploring the unknown and appears to amount to a noble intergalactic endeavor.

Singaporean Regulator Proposes Framework for Digital Money UseThe Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has released a White Paper that outlines proposed standards for the use of digital assets. The aim is to establish a common protocol and conditions for the utilization of these assets.While the paper identifies the potential digital assets bring in streamlining transactions and promoting financial inclusion, it also outlines challenges that need to be addressed before digital money can be successfully implemented.Photo by Pixabay on PexelsPurpose Bound Money (PBM)MAS’s White Paper, which was published on Wednesday, provides requirements to protect the use of digital assets as a medium of exchange and offers a technical overview of Purpose Bound Money (PBM). PBM allows the sender of digital money to specify certain conditions such as validity periods or how the money can be spent.The covered digital monies include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenized bank deposits, and potentially well-regulated stablecoins, excluding digital assets that it considers volatile such as Bitcoin. These digital monies are generally pegged to real-world currencies, commodities, or financial institutions, making them more stable.MAS highlights that PBMs utilize a common protocol compatible with different ledger technologies and forms of money. This protocol enables money to be directed toward a specific purpose without requiring the money itself to be programmed. It functions as a secure two-layered delivery vehicle, with funds held as collateral in a “wrapper” until specific conditions are met for its release.Standardized formatThe standardized format outlined in the White Paper will allow users to access digital money using their preferred wallet provider. By establishing these standards, the prospects for digital money to become a significant component of the future financial and payments landscape are enhanced. Standardization and regulated use of PBMs can unlock economic value, facilitate efficient and inclusive digital transactions, and provide additional consumer protection.One notable application of PBMs is in protecting online payments, such as e-commerce transactions and prepaid packages. With PBMs, advance payments can be securely held until the service is fulfilled, ensuring that the product or service is delivered before funds are released. This benefits both consumers and merchants, assuring consumers of product delivery and allowing merchants to verify payment before delivering.PBMs can also aid businesses in mitigating risks associated with international trade transactions, ensuring secure and efficient payments while reducing the potential for fraud or non-payment.InteroperabilityTo ensure the safety and usability of digital monies, MAS highlights considerations that will impact PBM implementation. Interoperability across different platforms is crucial to avoid fragmentation and excessive fees. The choice of underlying digital currencies also affects usability and value, with CBDCs, tokenized bank liabilities, and stablecoins offering varying levels of guarantees and regulatory oversight. Additionally, privacy, digital readiness, and the impact on users need to be carefully assessed.MAS acknowledges that the regulatory landscape for digital monies is still evolving globally, which may lead to varying regulatory treatment of PBMs across jurisdictions. It believes that policy considerations should be thought through when designing PBM-based solutions, including decisions regarding issuance, distribution, and conditions for use.