Ripple Receives In-Principle Approval From Singaporean Regulator

Incheon Partners with Daehong to Implement Web3-Driven Urban Marketing StrategyIncheon Metropolitan City, renowned for its international airport in South Korea, has partnered with Daehong Communications, a marketing solutions subsidiary of the country’s retail giant Lotte Group, to leverage Web3 technology for the purpose of promoting the city.Daehong has established an extensive global network within the blockchain industry. Among its notable partners are layer 1 blockchain Aptos, Metaverse company Animoca Brands, and decentralized social protocol CyberConnect. One of Daehong’s primary initiatives is the NFT project associated with Bellygom, a pink bear character of Lotte Homeshopping, a media commerce affiliate of Lotte Group.Photo by Daesun Kim on UnsplashHarnessing blockchain for city promotionThrough this collaborative effort, Incheon aims to harness blockchain technology to explore innovative ways of promoting the city and building stronger connections with its residents.Incheon has recently been very dedicated to Web3 initiatives in promoting the city. Last month, it worked with The Sandbox, the virtual gaming platform of Animoca Brands, to create a metaverse representation of the Incheon Landing Operation to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement. More recently, the city unveiled its NFT membership program named “Incheon Heroes,” demonstrating its commitment to pioneering its unique path in the era of Web3.Daehong’s role in Web3 adoptionIn the private sector, Daehong has been working towards the widespread adoption of Web3. The marketing firm introduced business models that integrate NFTs into areas that have significant public engagement, such as ticketing, memberships, and brand characters. Daehong has been actively working to facilitate many brands’ entry into the Web3 space.Lee Se-woong, Brand Manager of Incheon City, anticipates that the collaboration with Daehong will serve as a fresh catalyst for Incheon, expressing excitement about the potential synergies between Incheon’s public infrastructure and Daehong’s industrial expertise.Incheon is set to initiate a range of projects by leveraging the Incheon Heroes NFT membership program and the Incheon Universe, a virtual space that allows visitors to immerse themselves in various facets of the city. Furthermore, the city is in the process of establishing collaborations with enterprises, brands, and artists who share a common interest in promoting the sustainability of both the planet Earth and the city itself.

Atomic Wallet Hacker Uses Lazarus Crypto MixerThe stolen cryptocurrency from the recent $35 million hack of Atomic Wallet is already being moved to a crypto mixer favored by North Korea’s notorious cyber-hacking group.Photo by Micha Brändli on UnsplashSinbad.ioAccording to UK-based crypto compliance analysis firm Elliptic, the funds have made their way to a crypto mixer used by Lazarus Group, a notorious hacker group that focuses on crypto heists which is believed to have direct ties with the North Korean government.On June 5, Elliptic’s Investigations Team revealed that it had traced the funds from the Atomic Wallet hack to the crypto mixer Sinbad.io. Lazarus had previously used the mixer to launder over $100 million in stolen crypto assets.While the exact amount sent to the mixer was not specified, Elliptic noted that the stolen funds were being exchanged for Bitcoin before undergoing obfuscation through the mixer. Additionally, Elliptic reported that Sinbad.io is likely a rebranded version of Blender.io, another mixer extensively used to launder funds by the Lazarus Group. Blender.io has been sanctioned by the US Treasury.Atomic Wallet hackThe hack of several user accounts on Atomic Wallet occurred on June 3, resulting in losses of up to $35 million. News of the issue broke with the following tweet from the project team (which has subsequently been deleted): “We have received reports of wallets being compromised. We are doing all we can to investigate and analyze the situation. As we have more information, we will share it accordingly.”In a follow-up tweet the next day, the team confirmed that it was investigating the matter with the assistance of a number of “leading security companies.”However, Atomic Wallet later downplayed the incident, stating that less than 1% of its monthly active users were affected. The project team was castigated by users for trying to present the hack as a minor incident. One user took to Twitter to call out the Atomic Wallet team for “having the nerve to come to the networks and say that only 1% of wallets were affected.”The Atomic Wallet project is based out of Tallinn, Estonia, having been founded in 2017. It claims to provide a non-custodial decentralized multi-currency crypto wallet. The product supports over fifty coins and two hundred tokens. It also offers atomic swaps between digital assets, while also supporting integrations with instant exchanges such as Changelly, ShapeShift, and others.Roland Säde, the Chief Marketing Officer of Atomic Wallet, assured users that the team is working tirelessly to recover the stolen funds. He emphasized the need to complete the investigation to develop a concrete plan.Despite the ongoing efforts, Säde urged victims to track the illicit transfers and report them to popular crypto exchanges. By doing so, it was thought that may hinder the scammers from exchanging the funds.Crypto hacking menaceLazarus Group hackers have been the bane of the crypto space in recent years. Elliptic released a report last month that identified Japan as having been the country most adversely affected by the North Korean hackers. It’s understood that the estimated $721 million in stolen crypto from Japan-based entities amounts to nearly nine times the value of North Korea’s exports based on 2021 data.While Atomic Wallet is directly reporting the incidents, Säde believes that having more individuals monitoring the hackers’ activities will make it more challenging for them to move the funds undetected. Unfortunately, Elliptic’s recent findings suggest that for many victims, it may already be too late to prevent further misuse of their stolen cryptocurrency.

Founders Exit Following Overhaul of NFT Startup RarioPolygon-based NFT platform Rario, specializing in cricket-related non-fungible tokens (NFTs), is experiencing a major transformation, with its founders, CEO Ankit Wadhwa and CTO Sunny Bhanot, departing the company after a two-year tenure.Investors in the startup are taking on a more prominent role in steering the direction of the Indian startup, according to a report from TechCrunch on Friday.Photo by Alessandro Bogliari on UnsplashDream11Dream11, a prominent Mumbai-based fantasy sports platform and one of Rario’s primary backers, alongside other investors, is said to be exerting pressure to gain greater control, resulting in the ousting of the firm’s founders. The development comes amid other significant shifts in Dream11’s leadership.Additionally, Rario is undergoing a broader restructuring effort that includes the elimination of various roles, according to sources who were cited by TechCrunch as being familiar with the matter.This recent upheaval coincides with reports of Dream11’s parent company, Dream Sports, taking measures to reduce operational costs. TechCrunch noted that Dream Sports is actively renegotiating several licensing agreements previously inked by Rario as part of cost-cutting measures.High profile investorsRario boasts a roster of high-profile investors, including global investment company Alpha Wave Global and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar. In April 2022, the cricket NFT platform made waves by securing $120 million in a Series A funding round, asserting its dominance in the cricket NFT rights arena with over 900 cricketers on board at that time. It’s not clear what valuation the firm had at the time of the Series A funding round but in a prior round, Rario had been valued at $250 million.Founded in 2021, Rario set out with a mission to create digital cricket collectibles and foster an online community for passionate fans. By April 2021, the company had successfully sold 50,000 NFTs to sports enthusiasts spanning 20 countries.Cricket world partnershipsCricket is the second largest sport in the world with in excess of 1.5 billion fans worldwide. That leaves a lot of scope for Rario to harness NFTs to bring about new forms of engagement.Among Rario’s notable partnerships are agreements with cricket leagues such as Cricket Australia, the Australian Cricketers’ Association, the Caribbean Premier League, the Lanka Premier League, and the Abu Dhabi T10 League Legends League Cricket.Polygon changesPolygon Labs, the developer of the Ethereum-centric layer two scaling network upon which the Rario platform runs, also features India in its origin story. It too has seen upheaval at a managerial level recently. In July, the firm announced a number of senior positional changes. Its former Chief Legal Officer (CLO) was elevated to the position of CEO. Those changes saw Polygon Labs’ Indian Co-Founder Sandeep Naiwal transition to the role of Executive Chairman.Rario’s ongoing evolution reflects the dynamic nature of the NFT space, where startups must adapt to changing investor interests and market conditions. With its investors taking the reins, Rario faces a pivotal juncture in its journey to redefine how cricket fans engage with the sport through the exciting world of NFTs.