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BitMEX Chalks Up Two New Perp Contract ListingsSeychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange and derivative trading platform BitMEX announced recently that it has added perpetual contracts relative to two additional digital assets.A perpetual contract is a crypto futures contract without an expiry date. Just like with a more conventional futures contract, a perpetual contract is a derivative product, deriving its value from the underlying crypto asset.$SUI tokenTaking to Twitter, the company outlined that it has added perpetual contracts for the $SUI token. The contracts will be available in $SUI/USD and SUI/USDT pairings. Leverage relative to the contracts is being made available up to a maximum of 50x.$SUI is the native token of the Sui blockchain platform. Sui is a layer one blockchain which launched earlier this week. It’s a smart contract platform maintained via a network of permissionless validators. The blockchain network claims to offer a scalable network with ultra low latency. Such low latency can enable diverse use cases such as retail point of sale payment systems and gaming.The contract allows users to post bitcoin as collateral, earning or losing in bitcoin as the SUI/USD rate changes. Maximum risk limit is set at 50 bitcoin. Meanwhile maker and taker fees have been set for the product at 0.02% and 0.075% respectively. A base initial margin of 2% applies while base maintenance margin of 1% applies.$PEPE tokenOn Wednesday, BitMEX also launched perpetual contract products relative to the $PEPE token at 04:00 UTC. There are two listings, PEPE/USD and PEPE/USDT. Pepe coin is a meme token project, inspired by the Pepe the Frog meme. The origins of the cartoon character stem from the Boy’s Club comic in 2005. It later became an internet meme, and later still it was adopted as a meme within the crypto space.The token itself was launched in April, sky rocketing to a $502 million market capitalization since then, representing a 2,100% rise in the token’s unit price since its launch.As in the case of the $SUI token, $PEPE is also available to trade on BitMEX with leverage as high as 50x. In an interview with one crypto news publication, a representative of BitMEX commented on the launch as follows:“PEPE needs a Perp! Perpetual Contracts are the most traded product in crypto and offer all investors taking a long or short position on tokens with better liquidity and fewer network risks. At BitMEX, we offer Tether-margined and Bitcoin-margined perpetual contracts. We are proud to be the inventor of the Perpetual Swap and have long been a leading trading venue for crypto derivatives, offering uncompromised security, a reliable platform, and deep liquidity — as professional traders deserve.”Many commentators in the crypto space have repeatedly pointed to the high risks involved with leverage. In this instance 50x leverage is incredibly high risk, making the product suitable only for those traders that fully and thoroughly understand the risk that comes with such leveraged trading.Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash

The Stacks Asia DLT Foundation, an organization associated with the Stacks Bitcoin layer-2 network, has become the first Bitcoin-based foundation to establish itself within, and be recognized by, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). ADGM is a free zone and international financial centre located on Al Maryah Island within the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a press release published on April 28, the foundation set out that it has established itself within the ADGM in an effort to further grow the adoption of the Bitcoin layer-2 network within Asia and the Middle East, while leveraging the positive regulatory environment that has been established by the ADGM with regard to distributed ledger technology (DLT).Photo by Joshua Woroniecki on UnsplashAttracting DLT foundationsThe ADGM has played a significant role in positioning the UAE as a go-to location for crypto startups and projects. The Berlin-based IOTA Foundation, developer of the IOTA DLT project, was among the first to establish a foundation within the ADGM to promote use of its network in the Middle East region back in November 2023.Since then, others have followed. In 2024 DLT foundations were established related to blockchain projects such as Kaia, Aptos and Beam. Last month DeFi protocol project NEOPIN announced that it had established a DLT foundation within the ADGM.  The free zone has proven popular not just among DLT foundations, but among crypto startups too. Projects such as Polygon Labs, Chainlink Labs and TON have established a presence there. Regulatory frameworkThe ADGM has its own regulator, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), and it established a framework for blockchain foundations in 2023. In establishing the Stacks Asia Foundation within the ADGM, the project would have had to register as a DLT Foundation, while meeting all local legal and regulatory requirements.Kyle Ellicott, interim Executive Director of the Stacks Asia DLT Foundation, commented on the development, providing an insight into why the ADGM was chosen:”We chose to establish our presence in ADGM because of its unparalleled commitment to fostering innovation in the blockchain space. Their forward-thinking approach to policy-making aligns perfectly with the Stacks ecosystem’s history of creating pathways for Bitcoin builders.”  Bitcoin programmabilityThe foundation asserts that it will play a “pivotal role” in forging the future of Bitcoin programmability and its adoption in that respect within Asia and the Middle East.  Referring to Bitcoin while speaking at the Abu Dhabi Digital Assets Forum, Ellicott said that “the once sleepy asset, seen only as a store of value, is now yielding with Layer 2s," through Stacks Bitcoin (sBTC), a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset hosted on the Stacks blockchain network. Stacks believes that the next wave of growth for Bitcoin will come through Bitcoin layer-2s. The project claims that unlike wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), sBTC doesn’t rely on centralized intermediaries. The asset has been designed to extend Bitcoin’s utility, enabling Bitcoin-adjacent DeFi applications and smart contracts. While the project highlights the importance of Bitcoin layer-2 going forward, back in February, Stacks co-founder Muneeb Ali forecast that a shakeout of Bitcoin layer-2 projects will occur, with only a handful of such projects surviving over the course of the next three years.

Tether fueling Cambodia’s dark economy despite banDespite being officially prohibited for trade in Cambodia, Tether (USDT), the leading USD stablecoin, has been found to be integrated into the Southeast Asian nation’s shadow economy.That’s according to a report published by the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Sunday. The publication cites security experts, who it claims have highlighted the pivotal role of USDT, emphasizing its low fees and unrestricted capability to expedite the movement, concealment and laundering of money.Photo by DrawKit Illustrations on UnsplashPig butcheringThe U.S. Department of Justice’s November seizure of nearly $9 million traced to over 70 victims of online scams underscored Tether’s involvement. Collaborating with Tether Holdings and the crypto trading platform OKX, the investigation identified assets linked to “pig butchering” cyber scams in Southeast Asia, freezing an additional $225 million. While specific details regarding the origin of these assets remained undisclosed, Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, has emerged as a hub for money laundering related to online gaming and cyber scams.Cybersecurity expert Ngo Minh Hieu from the Vietnamese government’s National Cyber Security Centre warned of the susceptibility of cryptocurrencies to scams and Ponzi schemes, particularly targeting less informed investors. This heightened risk has spurred a surge in money laundering and online scams, leading to a spike in arrests.Official line versus realityIn many jurisdictions, the official line taken on cryptocurrency and digital assets doesn’t necessarily reflect the reality. China clamped down on crypto trading and mining a number of years ago. Despite that, a Wall Street Journal investigation earlier this year found that global crypto exchange Binance had a thriving China-centric business.The same seems to be true in Cambodia with respect to its official ban on crypto. Owners of both physical and online crypto exchanges in Phnom Penh openly admit to providing a parallel financial service in the developing economy. The prevalence of neon signs advertising exchange rates in Chinese yuan for USDT underscores the widespread usage of Tether in the region, particularly within Cambodia’s dark economy.Critics chime inNews of the illicit use of Tether in Cambodia has prompted a response from long-standing critics of the company. Tether’s harshest critic has been a pseudo-anonymous persona on the X platform with the username “Bitfinex’ed.” That account wrote:”Tether. The choice for organized crime & criminals. Giancarlo Devasini once said, ‘We’re going to have to learn to bank like criminals.’”Despite its role in facilitating illicit activities, the extent of Tether’s penetration into Cambodia’s economy remains challenging to ascertain. Globally, approximately 84 billion USDT is in circulation, with banks, exchanges and platforms flourishing, leveraging social media and encrypted channels to advertise seamless and reliable digital solutions for money flow challenges.One such platform, Huione Pay, operates in a bank-like setting, engaging customers in discussions about USDT exchange options. A closer look at Huione’s publicly available USDT exchange activities reveals insights into Tether’s role in enabling transactions within Cambodia.Some conversations in Chinese seek “pure white assets,” indicating funds from legitimate sources, while others do not request such provenance. These exchanges also advertise products and services crucial to scam operators, such as the sale of SIM cards from different countries.