Hong Kong Web3 Companies Invest Millions in VASP Licenses

Upbit Seeks Recruits for Program to Foster Digital Asset Investment CultureUpbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced Monday that it is recruiting participants for its second Up!To program, aimed at cultivating a robust digital asset investment culture and leading the era of Web3.Empowering students in the Web3 eraTouting the slogan “Build Your Own Block,” the program will involve various activities, including creating content related to digital assets and investor protection, producing and uploading promotional materials, generating ideas for Upbit’s services, and attending Upbit’s offline events.Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash“Through Up!To, university students will gain a comprehensive understanding of digital assets and blockchain,” said Lee Hae-bung, head of the Upbit Investor Protection Center.Program detailsThe program will kick off with the inauguration ceremony on September 18, to be followed by three months of participation and activities. Along with a welcome kit and a designated stipend, participants will also get the chance to be educated and trained in the field of digital assets.Teams that show the most outstanding performance will be awarded a prize of 5 million KRW (approximately $3,800), and runner-up participants will receive a prize of 3 million KRW. A select few will also get the opportunity to intern at Upbit. The total quota for the program has been expanded to 30 — an increase from 20 participants last year.Any university students — excluding those set to graduate in February next year — who are interested in digital assets are eligible to apply. Applications can be submitted from August 7 to August 25 on the Upbit Investor Protection Center website. Final acceptance notifications will be sent via email on September 11.

Com2uS Holdings subsidiary Com2uS Platform has acquired a certificate of Personal Information and Information Security Management System (ISMS-P), an official certificate distributed by the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA), for its blockchain-based game development platform Hive.Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashStreamlining game developmentHive allows developers to focus on content development by providing functions for game launch and operation in a single software development kit (SDK). It covers all systems needed to run a game, including billing, gameplay across multiple platforms, global login and verification, compliance, support, analytics, promotions, push notifications, community management and blockchain middleware. It is utilized in over 150 games and 41 corporate clients with some 100 million annual users. Robust security measuresTo receive the ISMS-P certification, companies are evaluated based on 101 different criteria, including organizational structure, management of employees and facilities, security of information processing systems and more areas related to handling personal information. "Com2uS Platform and Hive have established and promoted world-class security policies," said Choi Seok-won, CEO of Com2uS Platform. "We will continue to do our best to create an environment where users and customers worldwide can safely enjoy our content." Com2uS Platform also revealed that it runs an office dedicated to information protection, which manages data from Com2uS games and external clients. The company also strives to improve its technological capabilities for enhancing security and conducts annual company-wide training for all employees to raise security awareness. Since 2017, Com2uS Platform has retained its ISMS certification – similar to the ISMS-P but without personal information security standards – to safeguard the information of its users and customers.  

Crypto.com, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has indefinitely delayed its service launch in South Korea after the country's financial regulators conducted an on-site inspection on the exchange. The inspection came after the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission detected data that appeared to violate anti-money laundering (AML) compliance requirements from the documents submitted by Crypto.com, according to local media Segye Ilbo. This decision came just six days ahead of its planned launch, originally scheduled for April 29.  The exchange has secured a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license by acquiring the local trading platform called OkBit in June 2022. A VASP license allows a digital asset exchange to operate in Korea.  Photo by Leeloo The First on PexelMitigating ‘Kimchi Premium’ effect Crypto.com initially planned to launch a mobile app featuring cryptocurrency trading on April 29, targeting South Korean retail investors. The platform aimed to differentiate itself from other local competitors by offering crypto assets at reasonable prices, mitigating the so-called Kimchi Premium effect, as announced in a press conference on April 2. The Kimchi premium refers to relatively high crypto prices in the Korean market compared to other foreign markets, which is prevalent in Korea’s major licensed crypto exchanges. The effect often results in Korean investors buying crypto assets at higher prices than those on other global crypto exchanges such as Binance. This is likely where the concerns for AML violation come up, financial experts assume, as the platform’s strategy could facilitate arbitrage during operation.  Crypto.com remains committed to Korea launch In a statement sent to CoinDesk, a spokesperson of Crypto.com said, “Crypto.com maintains the highest Anti-money Laundering standards in the industry. We will postpone our launch and take this opportunity to make sure Korean regulators understand our thorough policies, procedures, systems and controls, which have been reviewed and approved by major jurisdictions around the world.”  The person also mentioned that South Korea is a difficult market for global crypto exchanges to enter, but still emphasized the company’s commitment to cooperating with local regulators.  “OkBit maintained approximately 900 customers at the point of acquisition by Crypto.com, and OkBit has never been cited for any AML infractions. Since the acquisition, existing OkBit customer access has been limited to withdrawals,” the spokesperson said.