Bank of Korea Explores Jeju, Busan, and Incheon for Citizen-Centric CBDC Pilot Test

Untangled Finance Launches Tokenized RWA PlatformUntangled Finance has officially launched its tokenized real-world asset (RWA) marketplace on the Celo network, according to a report by CoinDesk.Photo by Blake Wheeler on UnsplashVietnamese rootsThe platform’s inauguration follows a successful $13.5 million venture capital funding round, with Fasanara Capital, a London-based asset management firm, serving as the lead investor. Untangled is also London-headquartered, with most of its employees from Vietnam.Private tokenized credit poolsIn addition to its investment, Fasanara Capital has initiated two private tokenized credit pools on the Untangled platform, focusing on off-chain operations and underwriting loans.Untangled’s expansion plans are ambitious, aiming to extend its reach to the Ethereum (ETH) network and the layer 2 scaling solution Polygon (MATIC) via Chainlink’s Cross Chain Interoperability Protocol. This strategic move transforms Untangled into a multi-chain and interoperable RWA credit protocol, catering to a broader spectrum of users and assets.Untangled Finance’s specific focus lies in the private credit market, a sector valued at over $1 trillion. The platform aims to bridge the gap between traditional private credit and blockchain technology by tokenizing these assets. Currently, decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms account for only $550 million of private credit assets, according to data from rwa.xyz.To achieve this, Untangled is concentrating on fintech lending, including services like invoice financing and consumer loans based on salary advances. The platform also targets “green assets,” such as working capital or development loans for eco-friendly infrastructure projects like battery swapping stations.Untangled serves as the infrastructure to host blockchain-based credit pools. Investors, including certified investors, firms, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), can deposit funds into these pools to lend and earn a yield. In return, depositors receive an ERC-20 token representing their positions in the pool.Asset tokenization potentialAsset tokenization, the process of representing traditional financial assets on a blockchain, has emerged as a key growth opportunity in the digital asset space. This trend comes as the industry grapples with the aftermath of a challenging bear market and the fallout from high-profile implosions witnessed in recent years.Tokenization has the potential to transform various real-world assets, such as credit, real estate, or bonds, into blockchain-compatible tokens.Untangled Finance is attempting to set itself apart from other RWA lending protocols through innovative product features, including a built-in liquidation engine designed to auction off collateral assets if the pool’s health falls below a certain threshold. The platform also employs a credit assessment model to monitor borrowers’ future default risks and offers an auction-based withdrawal mechanism for investors seeking an early exit from the pools.Francesco Filia, CEO and CIO of Fasanara Capital, commented on the significance of this development, stating:“We see an upcoming merging of worlds. “On one side, fintech lending which fills the gap in underserved SME and consumer markets and, on the other, the way values are being transferred within the new world of digital assets.”

South Korean crypto exchanges list USDTBithumb and Coinone, two of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, have recently listed Tether (USDT) — the USD-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether Limited — according to an article by local news outlet Kyunghyang Games on Thursday (local time). Both exchanges support Tether trading on the TRON network.Photo by DrawKit Illustrations on UnsplashTether gains momentum in South KoreaBithumb listed the currency today at KRW 1,316 in response to high investor demand. Meanwhile, Coinone, which listed Tether on Nov. 30 to become the first fiat-to-crypto exchange in the country to facilitate USDT/KRW trading, cited reasons such as Tether’s reliability and transparency, demonstrated by regular updates on its audits and reserves. The listing price was KRW 1,289.Industry sources anticipate that USDT/KRW trading in South Korea will eventually lead to reduced transaction fees and a simplified transaction process for domestic traders. Previously, in order to access most overseas markets where USDT is used as the default currency, users have had to sell their assets overseas first and then repurchase USDT to participate in trading.Simplified transactions are also expected to contribute to balancing pricing across different markets and reducing the Kimchi premium — a term used to describe the difference between trading prices of cryptocurrencies in Korea and in other foreign exchanges.Promotional eventsTo mark the occasion, Bithumb is offering a promotional event where 0.02% of the price of maker orders placed by Dec. 11 will be distributed to users in Bitcoin on Dec. 14. Maker orders are those that are placed at an asking price that differs from the current price, which means it is added to the order book instead of being matched or executed immediately. These orders add liquidity to an order book.Bithumb users can also make USDT withdrawals free of extra fees until Dec. 11. Coinone, on the other hand, requires a withdrawal fee of 1 USDT.According to CoinMarketCap, Tether has the third-largest market capitalization at approximately $90.1 billion as of this writing. The token’s trading volume in the last 24 hours was $49.3 billion.

Upbit Singapore Gains In-Principle Approval for Major Payment Institution LicenseCryptocurrency exchange Upbit Singapore announced in a press release via PR Newswire that it has secured an in-principle approval (IPA) for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The IPA enables Upbit Singapore to continue providing regulated Digital Payment Token services in compliance with the Payment Services Act 2019 as it progresses on the path toward obtaining a full license.Photo by Paul MARSAN on UnsplashUpbit’s presence in AsiaIt’s worth noting that Upbit Singapore is part of Upbit APAC, a larger entity that operates exchanges bearing the same name in Thailand and Indonesia. Both Upbit Thailand and Upbit Indonesia are also regulated by their respective local authorities: Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand and Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (BAPPEBTI).Upbit APAC holds a technological partnership with Dunamu, the operator behind South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit.Crypto firms flocking to SingaporeThis development places Upbit Singapore among the ranks of other cryptocurrency exchanges in the city-state. Earlier this month, GSR Markets, the Singaporean arm of global crypto trading firm GSR, also achieved IPA status in its journey towards obtaining a full license. Other notable names in the industry, such as crypto exchange Coinbase and crypto payment firm Ripple, have already attained full licenses. The transition from an IPA to a full license took approximately a year for Coinbase and about four months for Ripple.Meanwhile, the Upbit enterprise has been making various efforts to solidify its presence in the crypto industry. One of its key initiatives is focused on enhancing user protection. For instance, as the leading cryptocurrency trading platform in South Korea, Upbit recently launched a campaign aimed at assisting crypto investors in recovering mistakenly transferred assets.However, there have been concerns regarding Upbit’s relationship with Kbank, the internet-only bank that provides real-name bank accounts to the Korean exchange. In Korea, cryptocurrency exchanges that facilitate the trading of Korean won are legally obligated to secure such bank accounts as part of anti-money laundering measures. Referring to a document provided by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Lawmaker Kim Hee-gon highlighted that Upbit customers make up 18% of the bank’s total customer deposits. This percentage is significantly higher than what other banks that offer accounts to exchanges typically experience. Lawmaker Kim has criticized the bank’s relatively extensive exposure to the cryptocurrency exchange, underscoring the importance of elevating the level of Upbit’s reserve funds held at Kbank to prepare for unforeseen losses.