Dunamu’s Luxury Watch Trading Platform Appoints New C-Suite Executives

South Korea's central bank governor has called for tokenizing government bonds and other assets, telling global peers that moving sovereign debt onto a shared digital ledger could reinforce monetary policy and financial stability. Speaking at the European Central Bank's annual forum in Sintra, Portugal, Bank of Korea Governor Hyun Song Shin said central banks should look beyond tokenizing money and deposits to assets such as government bonds and equities, according to Korea Economic Daily TV. He made the case in a paper titled "A unified ledger in practice: lessons from Project Hangang," based on the BOK's pilot of the same name. Shin described a unified ledger as a blueprint for a future monetary system: central bank money, bank deposits and assets sharing one programmable platform. In an asset trade, payment and settlement sit on that single platform and clear at once, so ownership changes hands the instant payment is made.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashTokenized bonds as a policy toolIn the pilot's first phase, launched in October 2023, the BOK and commercial banks issued a wholesale central bank digital currency and tokenized bank deposits to test the concept, which is drawn from the Bank for International Settlements. Shin said the exercise showed deposit tokens could serve as a new means of payment, and that programmable rules could stop funds being misused the moment a transaction is made. Putting sovereign bonds on such a ledger, he added, would reinforce the bank's key mandates of monetary policy and financial stability. A second phase, due in the second half of this year, will apply those programmable features to government spending, beginning with electric-vehicle charging subsidies and public-sector expenses. Shin also floated linking the system to Project Agora, a cross-border settlement effort backed by seven central banks, to clear foreign-exchange and securities trades in a single step and widen international use of the Korean won. Regulators eye exchange banking rulesBack home, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) moved on two fronts of its own. The regulator has begun canvassing won-based exchanges and their partner banks about the practice of tying each exchange to a single bank for real-name accounts, Financial News reported. At issue is whether the current setup could handle an influx of institutions as authorities prepare to open the market to companies. Currently, crypto exchange Upbit works only with Kbank, and Bithumb only with KB Kookmin. Regulators are now weighing whether to loosen this one-to-one arrangement, letting one exchange use several banks or one bank serve several platforms, and separately whether to route crypto services through securities firms' trading apps. The FSC also referred two manipulation cases to prosecutors, Maeil Business Newspaper reported. In the first, a whale spent tens of billions of won (tens of millions of dollars) to corner about half the global supply of a token listed at home and abroad, pumping its price on an overseas venue over roughly two months before using arbitrage to lure Korean buyers. The trader lost money offshore but booked bigger gains at home, concentrating the damage on local investors. In the second, a trader loaded up on a domestically issued "kimchi coin," then used an API to fire repeated buy and sell orders within a single second and posted inflated bids to push the price up before selling into the demand. The FSC urged investors not to chase coins that spike without clear cause, warned of pump-and-dump schemes, and said it would step up disclosure of activity by large holders and sharpen alerts for trading concentrated in a few accounts. 

KICA partners with PiLab and CODE for Web3 authentication servicesThe Korea Information Certificate Authority (KICA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two new business partners — dApp provider PiLab and CODE, a Travel Rule solutions provider and joint venture co-founded by Korean cryptocurrency exchanges Bithumb, Coinone and Korbit — according to local news outlet Kyunghyang Games. The three companies’ CEOs attended the signing ceremony and vowed to establish a credible authentication system to contribute to a healthy Web3 environment.Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on UnsplashEstablishing secure and compliant solutionsThrough this collaboration, the companies plan to leverage their respective capabilities to develop and distribute Web3 authentication services that comply with virtual asset service providers’ (VASPs) Know Your Customer (KYC) verification procedures as well as international standards such as the crypto Travel Rule. “We aim to create a secure and efficient environment for both providers and users of various Web3 services in line with global regulatory trends,” explained Park Do-hyun, CEO of PiLab.Setting new standardsKim Sang-jun, CEO of the KICA, anticipates that the KICA’s expertise and capabilities in identity verification and security authentication in Web2 would help the collaboration become a new benchmark in the Web3 authentication industry. “Eventually, we will expand our services to include SoulBound tokens (SBTs), enhancing identity verification, license certification and attribute certification, solidifying our position as a leading company in the Web3 industry,” he said.Furthermore, CODE CEO Lee Sung-mi emphasized the importance of complying with international standards like the crypto Travel Rule for a healthy Web3 service environment. She also pledged to ensure that CODE would use its capabilities to establish a solid connection between VASPs and the Web3 service market.This collaboration represents a strategic move towards shaping the future landscape of Web3 authentication and security services, combining the strengths of these companies to meet the evolving needs of the industry.

Bitget Targets MENA Business ExpansionBitget, the Seychelles-based cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, is setting its sights on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as the region emerges as a fast-growing crypto hub.The firm announced its expansion plans via a press release which was published on Thursday. With countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain embracing crypto, more exchanges are taking notice and entering the market. Bitget has now joined the ranks of a series of crypto companies seeking to establish a foothold in the region.Photo by Kyle Glenn on UnsplashIncreasing crypto adoption and interestCiting the region’s impressive crypto adoption rate, which accounted for 9.2% of global transactions between 2021 and 2022, Bitget is capitalizing on the growing interest in digital assets. The UAE alone experienced a remarkable 400% increase in registered crypto businesses over two years, driving a surge in global digital asset trading by 10%. Moreover, blockchain-related educational programs have tripled in the region, which contributes to 8% of the overall mining hash rate. All of these are creating a favorable environment for Bitget’s expansion.Dubai officeTo support its entry into the Middle East, Bitget has opened an office in the heart of Dubai and has already hired 60 new employees for various mid and back-office positions. The company aims to scale its Middle East team further, with plans to hire 30 to 60 more professionals over the next two years.Bitget is not alone in recognizing the potential of the Middle Eastern market. Bybit, another major cryptocurrency exchange, recently obtained local licenses to operate in the digital assets space in the UAE, having moved its global headquarters to Dubai in April.OKX, one of the largest exchanges by volume, also received a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) Preparatory License from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Binance is also eyeing the Middle East, with Binance Dubai poised to become the primary focus for the company’s development efforts, given regulatory challenges in Europe and the US.Global expansion strategyBitget’s expansion into the Middle East is part of its broader global scaling strategy. The company has already registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Poland and Lithuania, and it launched a localized Turkish website earlier this year.Founded in 2018, Bitget boasts a user base of over 8 million users across more than 100 countries, offering copy trading services. The company’s move to the Middle East showcases its determination to tap into new markets and solidify its position as a global player in the cryptocurrency exchange landscape.There’s been a lot going on at Bitget in recent months, in addition to these regional expansion plans. In May the company announced a corporate social responsibility project named “Blockchain4Youth,” cleverly identifying the importance of connecting with the younger demographic which is far more likely to drive crypto and blockchain adoption.Earlier this month it launched a crypto loans product offering while last week it provided transparency via its proof of reserves initiative, demonstrating a 223% level of reserves and outlining that the company is debt free.