Strategic Shift Sees Wintermute Expand Singapore Base

In a recent announcement, Russia-linked cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato revealed a temporary suspension of certain withdrawal requests, with the suspension taking effect as of Dec. 27. Asset seizureThe decision comes in the wake of French authorities seizing Bitzlato's assets in January last year, a move that also involved international law enforcement, including U.S. authorities. In a message shared on Telegram, Bitzlato explained the suspension: "… We are faced with the need to suspend special balance withdrawals and technical support. This is a temporary measure to prepare for and go through the upcoming court hearings regarding the seizure of user assets in France."Photo by Chris Karidis on UnsplashSpecial balance withdrawalsThe specifics of transactions categorized as "special balance withdrawals" were not disclosed by Bitzlato, and it remains unclear whether the withdrawal freeze is applicable exclusively to users in France. Despite the asset seizure and subsequent closure of Bitzlato's website, the company asserted in its latest statement that it managed to "close 70% of the balance" held at the time of the service shutdown. However, no details were provided on how the company intends to fulfill its obligations with its assets frozen. Bitzlato has been under scrutiny from the U.S. Treasury, which identified the exchange as a money laundering concern linked to illicit Russian financing. Transactions with Bitzlato have been prohibited by the U.S. government. Hydra Market counterpartyThe Department of Justice (DOJ) separately accused Bitzlato of facilitating money laundering and other crimes, alleging involvement in laundering $700 million connected to the now-defunct Russian darknet market, Hydra Market. The DOJ's United States Attorney Breon Peace characterized Bitzlato as an "open turnstile by criminals," while the exchange was deemed a "crucial financial resource" for Hydra Market, enabling the laundering of funds, including those from ransomware attacks. Registered in Hong Kong, Bitzlato served as the largest counterparty in cryptocurrency transactions for Hydra Market, a darknet marketplace for narcotics and illicit drugs. In April 2022, U.S. and German authorities jointly shut down the illicit marketplace. The legal troubles extend to company executives, with Bitzlato founder Anatoly Legkodymov pleading guilty to charges related to the illicit transfer of funds in the U.S. on Dec. 6. Legkodymov agreed to forfeit $23 million to prosecutors and faces a potential prison sentence of up to five years. He is currently imprisoned at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York. European authorities also arrested senior management linked to Bitzlato in January 2023. The exchange's precarious situation highlights the challenges faced by cryptocurrency platforms amidst regulatory scrutiny and legal actions. The MDC facility also currently holds John Karony, the CEO of crypto company Safemoon and convicted fraudster and former FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. The Department of Justice found itself the subject of major criticism on Friday, when it emerged that it had informed the court that it would not be pursuing a second trial against Bankman-Fried. A second trial would have centered upon campaign financing offenses. It would have likely implicated Bankman-Fried’s parents. According to federal prosecutors, the disgraced FTX CEO donated customer funds to the tune of $100 million to U.S. politicians. It’s unclear which of these politicians, if any, has returned the money, with critics alleging corruption.  

Samsung Plans to Expand Its Business Through NFTsSamsung Research, the research arm of Samsung Electronics, set up a new task force earlier this year to launch new projects to combat slowing demand for home appliances.Photo by Markus Winkler on PexelsSamsung’s endeavors in NFTsOne of its projects will involve non-fungible tokens (NFTs), in which Samsung has been showing its continued interest. Last February, Samsung Electronics displayed NFT artworks on their high-end televisions, and more recently, the high-tech company signed a memorandum of understanding with Hana Financial Group to develop NFT-related products.TVs to offer NFT art trading functionalityIt is predicted that in the first half of this year, Samsung will release a premium television with an application that allows TV viewers to trade NFT artworks. It is analyzed that the leading hardware manufacturer now attempts to expand its business models through NFTs and other content services while maintaining its dominance in the TV market.

Korbit relists blockchain gaming token WEMIXKorbit, a major fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, is relisting WEMIX, a cryptocurrency issued by blockchain gaming company Wemade. Korbit’s decision follows in the footsteps of its local competitors, Coinone and Gopax, who have also recently reinstated WEMIX. The WEMIX token is used to pay transaction fees, stake and vote on governance proposals.Starting at 1:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 7, Korbit users gained the ability to create a WEMIX wallet and deposit the token on the exchange. Trading and withdrawals of WEMIX will be enabled at 3:00 p.m. UTC on the same day.The Korbit exchange only accepts WEMIX deposits originating from the Wemix network. Deposits of WEMIX sent from other blockchain networks, including BNB Beacon Chain, Ethereum and Klaytn, may be processed improperly and carry the risk of becoming irretrievable.Photo by Asa E-K on UnsplashDecision reversal and underlying rationalesOver a year ago, the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), a coalition of the five Korean fiat-to-crypto exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — collectively decided to delist WEMIX from all their platforms. This decision was based on several concerns, including unreliable disclosure of the token’s circulating supply, provision of inadequate and misleading information to investors and inconsistencies in the data provided during the explanation period. These issues collectively eroded trust in the company.However, Korbit has determined that the previously identified issues with WEMIX have been addressed. The exchange observed that the circulating supply of WEMIX has been reduced to a level that aligns with the schedule initially submitted to DAXA. The launch of the WEMIX mainnet rectified the discrepancy where the circulating supply displayed on crypto data platforms like CoinMarketCap was twice the actual figure. Additionally, the collateral that Wemade had deposited in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Kokoa Finance has been recovered.The crypto trading platform also believes that Wemade has resolved the problem of providing misleading information to investors by making corrections to its third-quarter earnings report.Regarding data fallacies, Korbit holds the view that the game publisher has taken steps to address the inaccuracies in the data previously provided to the alliance. These efforts to reduce uncertainty and fulfill disclosure responsibilities include several measures: Wemade now live-updates the circulating supply of WEMIX and other pertinent details on its official blog. The gaming company has also entrusted the management of its non-circulating WEMIX supply to Ceffu, the sole institutional custodian for Binance, a global crypto exchange. Furthermore, Wemade now makes announcements about token movements whenever they occur.Restrictions imposed on GopaxMeanwhile, Korbit stated its commitment to complying with voluntary regulations and common listing guidelines established between DAXA members. This statement is particularly noteworthy in light of the recent developments with Gopax. Gopax faced the three-month suspension of its voting rights from DAXA, following the relisting of WEMIX.