India’s RBI Collaborates Internationally on Digital Rupee Payments

U.S. crypto fund targets Asian investors for new $800M growth equity fundDan Tapiero, the New York-based founder of 1RoundTable Partners and 10T Holdings, is on a mission to raise between $700 million and $800 million for his upcoming fourth fund, with a recent focus on Asian investment interest.A recent report by Deal Street Asia pointed out that Tapiero has turned his attention to the potential of inward Asian investment, not least through his recent one-week business trip to the region in early December.Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashInvestment vehicles1RoundTable Partners was Tapiero’s original investment vehicle, positioning itself as a growth equity fund building a portfolio focused exclusively on growth-stage blockchain and crypto projects. 10T Holdings was established more recently, targeting mid to late stage digital asset ecosystem (DAE) firms as part of its equity fund. Earlier this year, 10T was reported by Bloomberg to have $1.2 billion under management while seeking another $200 million in new funding.10T Holdings has fully deployed its three previous funds, forming a portfolio of 24 active DAE companies, including Gemini, Animoca Brands, Yuga Labs and Deribit. Tapiero’s cautious approach to valuations has been rewarded. He turned down opportunities in FTX and Celsius Network at their peaks prior to both entities failing spectacularly in 2022.Crypto equity fund resilienceThe crypto industry faced challenges, including the collapse of FTX, leading to tighter regulations and reputational damage. Venture investments in the sector saw a decline, with statistics from Galaxy Digital Holdings indicating that Q3 2023’s venture investments were below $2 billion, the lowest since Q4 2020.Tapiero is undeterred and is actively raising his fourth growth equity fund, focusing on “digital asset ecosystem (DAE) companies.” This fund, managed under 1RoundTable Partners, will primarily invest in mature DAE companies with $40–50 million in annual revenue and a market valuation exceeding $400 million. Tapiero’s strategy of targeting lower-risk, growth-stage opportunities aligns with his hedge fund legacy.Asian investor focusTapiero is actively seeking new investors in Asia for Fund IV, targeting a first close in Q1 2024. His efforts are focused on addressing the lack of growth-stage capital, particularly in Asia, where confidence in digital assets has strengthened due to crypto-friendly regulations.The veteran macro investor, who founded Gold Bullion International in 2009 prior to turning his attention to the digital assets space, sees a window of opportunity in the secondary market. Having already invested about $660 million through 10T Holdings, he notes that investors may have only a “six-month window” to capture discounted opportunities.In an interview with Bloomberg earlier this month, Tapiero outlined his view that Q4, 2023 will be the crypto sector’s “best quarter since the bull market.” He added:“We think that the bear market finished in Q4 2022. We had a sideways move for a while and then in July [2023] things sparked off with Larry Fink’s [BlackRock CEO] comments.”As Tapiero navigates the crypto landscape with a strategic focus on growth and risk management, his approach appeals to traditional investors, including major pension funds. Fund IV represents a step toward contributing to the ongoing evolution of the digital asset ecosystem. It’s on that basis that the investment industry veteran is targeting Asian limited partnerships (LPs).

Bitget Introduces Innovative MPC Wallet for Enhanced SecurityBitget, the Seychelles-registered crypto derivatives platform, has unveiled a cutting-edge security and key management feature that could potentially be a game changer in terms of the way users safeguard their assets.Photo by Shubham’s Web3 on UnsplashIntroducing Multi-Party Computation (MPC)As confirmed via a press release on Tuesday, the Bitget team has introduced the Multi-Party Computation (MPC) wallet service to its Bitget Wallet, a relatively new solution in the realm of cryptocurrency security. This development comes on the heels of the launch of the account abstraction wallet service powered by the Ethereum scaling protocol Starknet in July.The introduction of the MPC wallet could well be a paradigm shift relative to crypto security as it leverages a distributed key generation mechanism, distributing multiple key shares to various locations under the control of different parties. This approach introduces a robust process, demanding that the owners of these distributed private key shares collectively sign and authorize transactions.Notably, the MPC wallet shatters the conventional industry practice of relying on users to store or memorize mnemonic phrases and private keys. In a departure from the current norm, this wallet streamlines the user experience by eliminating the need for mnemonics and instead implementing a password-based authentication method provided by Bitget, effectively eliminating the reliance on a single-point private key.Unlocking MPC technologyBitget’s vision with the MPC wallet is to deliver a user experience reminiscent of traditional Web2 products and services. From a technical standpoint, the MPC wallet is rooted in a threshold signature scheme, employing secure large prime numbers to underpin its security architecture.This consumer-oriented development mandates a minimum number for signature authorization, requiring two-thirds of the total key shares to complete the signature necessary for authorizing a transaction. Notably, the final key share finds secure refuge on a backup cloud server, contributing to a highly decentralized and secure ecosystem.Moreover, the MPC wallet offers a robust sharing mechanism that automatically invalidates key shares on older devices when new devices are integrated. This innovative feature substantially mitigates the risk of key shares being compromised on outdated or forgotten devices, reinforcing user confidence and security.Trending towards crypto self-custodyBitget’s introduction of the MPC wallet underscores the growing significance of self-custody in the cryptocurrency space. In the wake of high-profile failures and security breaches on centralized exchanges, such as FTX, self-custody has emerged as a paramount consideration for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and investors.As a testament to this trend, in March 2023, Ledger, a prominent hardware wallet manufacturer, secured $109 million in funding to bolster hardware production and develop novel products, underlining the increasing demand for secure and user-centric solutions in the crypto world.Bitget Wallet is a rebrand of the wallet produced by BitKeep, a Singapore-based project which Bitget acquired earlier this year. The crypto platform has been working on various initiatives that go some way towards reassuring customers. It had previously introduced proof of reserves reporting. While this system doesn’t provide the whole picture, proof of reserves does go some way in reassuring customers that their funds are still held by the platform and not loaned out or otherwise removed from the platform.

SK Telecom and Polygon Labs Team Up for Web3 Ecosystem DevelopmentSouth Korean telecommunications giant SK Telecom (SKT) and global blockchain firm Polygon Labs have joined hands to foster the growth of the Web3 ecosystem.Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on UnsplashThe two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Thursday at SK-T Tower located in Euljiro, Seoul. SKT’s Web3 Chief Officer, Oh Se-hyeon, and Polygon Labs’ CEO, Marc Boiron, were in attendance.Polygon Labs is the operator of the Polygon blockchain network, which is critically acclaimed for its superior blockchain performance, scalability, Ethereum compatibility, and more. The firm is also well-known for its engagement with various global enterprises and Web3 projects.“Polygon Labs has developed optimal blockchain technology for the popularization of Web3, and we expect our collaboration with SKT to serve as a key opportunity to offer Web3 experiences and services to a wider audience,” said Polygon CEO Boiron.Empowering NFT trade and connectivityAccording to the agreement, SKT’s NFT marketplace “TopPort” and the company’s upcoming Web3 wallet will operate on Polygon’s blockchain network. On the other hand, Polygon Labs will aid in integrating SKT’s Web3 services into its global ecosystem.This will enable NFT creators who use TopPort to trade their NFTs on the Polygon network. In addition, NFTs issued on TopPort will now be tradable on other NFT marketplaces within the Polygon network, enhancing global compatibility and scalability.SKT and Polygon also plan to allow SKT’s Web3 wallet to be used across various decentralized applications (dApps) within the Polygon ecosystem. Furthermore, they are exploring the possibility of facilitating NFT trading on TopPort using Polygon’s native token, MATIC.Promoting the advancement of Web3This partnership aims to drive sustained growth within the Web3 ecosystem, particularly by finding and incubating promising Web3 enterprises. To do so, Polygon Labs is considering investments in Web3 startups endorsed by SKT through its investment arm Polygon Ventures.SKT’s Web3 Chief Officer Oh expressed high hopes for the synergy between SKT’s blockchain service technology and expertise and Polygon Labs’ infrastructure technology and ecosystem, saying, “This collaboration could become a cornerstone for the future popularization of Web3.”All of these efforts are geared towards paving the way for Web3’s mainstream adoption, as these two industry giants combine their strengths to spearhead the evolution of the Web3 ecosystem.