Wemade CEO Encourages Japanese Game Developers to Embrace Blockchain

Hong Kong-based digital asset financial services firm HashKey Group has announced its intention to list its platform token, HSK, in Q3 2024. HSK tokenomicsThe company set out details of the HSK listing via a series of posts on the X social media platform. The HSK token is based on the Ethereum ERC-20 token standard. Total token supply will be capped at one billion, 65% of which will be allocated towards ecosystem growth. The team will be incentivized by the allocation of 30% of the supply while 5% will be held back in a reserve fund.  Regarding the token’s burning mechanism, HashKey revealed it retains the discretion to repurchase up to 20% of net profits from specified businesses and subsequently burn the acquired tokens from the total supply.Photo by Zoltan Tasi on UnsplashAirdrop imminentIn a statement shared with The Block, HashKey Group detailed that HSK will be integrated across its various products and applications. The community airdrop, launching in late June, aims to encourage user participation. The company stated:“HSK is scheduled to launch a community airdrop through HashKey's core businesses in late June, encouraging users to contribute to community building.” The company believes that HSK will incentivize ecosystem contributors when it comes to development of its layer-2 ecosystem chain, the HashKey Chain. That incentive structure, the company maintains, will result in contributors “providing robust support,” while acting as a “driving force for on-chain users and assets.”  Integration with external ecosystemsThe firm outlined that the HSK token is designed to integrate with external crypto ecosystems so as to best facilitate synergy between internal and external collaborations. HashKey Group boasts a comprehensive Web3 ecosystem, inclusive of infrastructure, middleware, AI, DeFi, GameFi and the Metaverse. HashKey Group’s core businesses include HashKey Capital, HashKey Tokenisation and HashKey NFT. It also operates HashKey Exchange, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange in Hong Kong, with the exchange business having reached a $500 million assets-under-management (AUM) milestone earlier this month.  HashKey Cloud, a Web3 infrastructure provider, formed a strategic partnership with the Aptos Foundation last month with a view towards progressing projects relative to decentralized identity (DID) and security token offerings (STOs). HashKey Global, a global exchange launched in April, has risen to ninth spot in terms of overall crypto exchange trading volume. In January, HashKey Group announced that it raised nearly $100 million in its Series A financing round, achieving a pre-money valuation above $1.2 billion. In September, the investment arm of the company, HashKey Capital, launched a $100 million fund focused on altcoins.

Hong Kong has launched a pilot program for the digital yuan, marking the People’s Bank of China's (PBoC) central bank digital currency’s (CBDC) first major deployment outside mainland China.  This initiative, facilitated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), represents another step forward in the integration of the digital yuan into Hong Kong's financial ecosystem.Photo by bady abbas on UnsplashCross-border transactions rather than P2PAccording to a press release, the HKMA and PBoC are working together to enable Hong Kong users to set up personal e-CNY wallets using just their Hong Kong mobile phone numbers. The faster payment system (FPS) will support these e-CNY wallets, allowing users to top up their wallets through 17 retail banks in the Chinese autonomous territory. However, the e-CNY wallets are primarily designed for cross-border payments between Hong Kong and the mainland, and currently do not support person-to-person transfers within Hong Kong. This pilot aims to facilitate transactions for Hong Kong residents using their digital yuan wallets, marking the first integration of a CBDC through a major central bank. The Digital Currency Institute (DCI) is managing the interoperability infrastructure between the FPS and the digital yuan, with a focus on enhancing cross-border payments, a key objective on the G20 countries' roadmap. More functionality promisedLike blockchain protocols, the digital yuan pilot offers 24/7 payment capabilities. Eddie Yue, the chief executive of the HKMA, stated that the e-CNY application and wallet would gradually gain more functionality as the HKMA and PBoC work to encourage more retail merchants to adopt the system. Yue stated: “By expanding the e-CNY pilot in Hong Kong and leveraging the 24x7 operating hours and real-time transfer advantages of the FPS, users may now top up their e-CNY wallets anytime, anywhere without having to open a Mainland bank account, thereby facilitating merchant payments in the Mainland by Hong Kong residents.” The HKMA and DCI are planning upgrades to the e-CNY wallets through real-name verification, aiming to enable corporate use cases for cross-border trade settlements in the future. Adoption strugglesWith at least 140 countries exploring CBDC pilots, China's digital yuan is among the most advanced. China has been actively promoting its CBDC, even paying monthly salaries in e-CNY to government workers and employees of state-owned enterprises. However, as reported by the South China Morning Post, many recipients are hesitant to use the digital yuan due to privacy concerns and other limitations. China's central bank aims to increase the use of the yuan in Hong Kong, especially in tourist areas. Last June, digital yuan ATMs were installed in the resort city of Sanya in an attempt to target use of the currency by tourists. Although the city of Jinan embarked upon an initiative last year to enable digital yuan payments on its bus system, the currency is not yet widely accepted for public transportation across China.  Meanwhile, Hong Kong is in the second phase of its own CBDC pilot, the e-HKD, and has launched a regulatory sandbox for stablecoins to foster communication between regulators and issuers of fiat-pegged stablecoins in the region. 

Bitkub Addresses Market Conditions Thru Job CutsBitkub Capital Group, the parent company of Thailand’s largest digital asset exchange Bitkub Online, has made adjustments to its workforce and employee benefits in an effort to manage costs during challenging economic conditions.Photo by Braden Jarvis on Unsplash5.5% staff reductionAccording to a statement released on Wednesday, approximately 5.5% of personnel within the Bitkub Capital Group have been let go, while around 2% of staff at Bitkub Online were also affected.Contrary to reports in local media suggesting that half of the company’s employees were terminated in late June, Bitkub Capital Group clarified that the reduction in workforce was relatively small compared to the overall number of employees in the group.Change in employee benefitsThe company did not provide specific details about the changes in employee benefits, only stating that one perk had been removed. The decision to implement these measures stems from the current economic downturn and the need to manage costs effectively, Bitkub explained.Bitkub Capital recorded a net profit of 1.3 billion baht ($37.49 million) in 2022, marking the second consecutive year of profitability for the company. However, net profit declined by 39% compared to the previous year, falling from 2.1 billion baht in 2021. Expenses also surged from 117 million baht in 2021 to 394 million baht in 2022.Bitkub Capital Group encompasses various entities in addition to the crypto exchange, including Bitkub Ventures (the venture capital arm), Bitkub Labs (also known as Bitkub Academy, the education arm), Bitkub Blockchain Technology (a consulting company focused on blockchain), and Bitkub Infinity (a portfolio management service provider).Bitkub Online, the crypto exchange unit, reported a profit of 341 million baht for the financial year ending on December 31, 2022, representing an 86% decline compared to the previous year. Total revenues for 2022 amounted to 2.8 billion baht, which marked a significant decrease of 48% compared to its peak performance in 2021 when it generated 5.5 billion baht in revenue.In a separate development, Asphere International, a game publisher listed on the Bangkok Stock Exchange, recently acquired a 9.22% stake in Bitkub Online for 600 million baht, valuing the startup at 6.5 billion baht.Broader regional trendThe downsizing at Bitkub reflects a broader trend among technology companies in the region. In June, aCommerce, a local e-commerce enabler, laid off at least 20 employees citing similar economic challenges. The same month, Grab, the Singapore-based ride-hailing and food delivery giant, announced a significant round of layoffs, with 1,000 employees, including the Thailand team, being let go.Bitkub’s decision to adjust its workforce and streamline employee benefits is a response to the economic headwinds it faces. It’s not the company’s first setback. Last year, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) penalized the firm’s CTO, Samret Wajanasathain, on the basis of insider trading.The cyclical nature of the digital asset exchange business means that Bitkub can seek to weather this storm and benefit from the upside once market conditions inevitably become more favorable in the not too distant future.