Korean Financial Watchdog: Investor Protection Boosts Crypto Market

DWF Labs Enters Into Strategic Partnership with TRONDWF Labs, a Singapore-headquartered global digital asset market maker and Web3 investment firm, has announced a strategic partnership with TRON, the leading blockchain network focused on decentralizing the Internet through decentralized applications (dApps).Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on PexelsProviding liquidityThe partnership was announced via a press release published on Tuesday. As part of this collaboration, DWF Labs has become a liquidity provider for TRON, aiming to strengthen the ecosystem support of the blockchain.Andrei Grachev, the Managing Partner of DWF Labs, expressed confidence in the TRON ecosystem, highlighting its impressive adoption in the Web3 space. Grachev stated: “TRON stands as one of the fastest-growing dApps ecosystems in the space at the moment, and the consistent rollout of innovative tools and services proves that TRON has a leading role in paving the trail in blockchain.” He further emphasized DWF Labs’ commitment to supporting the ecosystem through additional investments in the near future.DWF Labs, known for its active support and investments in Web3 protocols, had previously allocated $15 million to the Web3 Industry Recovery Initiative, led by Binance Labs, to aid struggling protocols in the industry’s recovery. The company has also formed strategic partnerships with other prominent players in the crypto industry.Global market makerDWF Labs, as a global digital asset market maker and multi-stage Web3 investment firm, supports portfolio companies throughout various stages, from token listing to market making to OTC trading solutions. With offices in multiple locations worldwide, including Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong, South Korea, and the British Virgin Islands (BVI), DWF operates as an affiliate of Digital Wave Finance (DWF), known for its proprietary technology in high-frequency trading and consistently ranking among the top 5 trading entities by volume in the cryptocurrency world.The firm has been on a spending spree in recent months. In April, it invested $10 million into Singapore-based payments provider Alchemy Pay. In the same month, it led a Series A funding round into Crypto GPT, an AI-powered blockchain platform. A $60 million investment in layer one blockchain EOS followed.A spokesperson for TRON expressed delight in partnering with DWF Labs, acknowledging their expertise and excellence in further strengthening the TRON ecosystem. Together, the aim is to advance TRON’s vision of a decentralized future, empowering decentralized commerce and community for every individual worldwide.By joining TRON as a liquidity provider, DWF Labs intends to contribute to the growth and development of the TRON ecosystem. This partnership aims to enhance the accessibility of the blockchain network for all TRON users and community members.TRON, founded in September 2017 by Justin Sun, has achieved significant milestones since the launch of its Mainnet in May 2018. Notably, the integration of BitTorrent, a decentralized Web3 services pioneer with over 100 million monthly active users, into the TRON ecosystem in July 2018. TRON has gained significant traction, with over 166.5 million total user accounts, more than 5.85 billion total transactions, and over $11.52 billion in total value locked (TVL) as of June 2023, according to TRONSCAN.

While many people assumed that Bitcoin hashrate had moved overseas once China implemented a Bitcoin mining ban in 2021, miners within mainland China still dominate the activity. 55% of hashrateThat’s according to a report on X by Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of crypto data analytics firm CryptoQuant. Taking to the social media platform on September 23, the CryptoQuant CEO claimed that Chinese mining pools account for 55% of all Bitcoin mining activity.  Since the 2021 ban, an increasing proportion of hashrate has been accounted for elsewhere, including the United States. Ju clarifies that U.S.-based mining pools now account for 40% of Bitcoin hashrate. He added:”U.S. pools primarily cater to institutional miners in America, while Chinese pools support relatively smaller miners in Asia.”Photo by Joshua Sortino on UnsplashShift towards U.S.-based miningWhile the majority of Bitcoin mining is accounted for within China’s borders, Ju acknowledges a growing shift towards U.S.-based mining. Some commentators have speculated that while officially a ban was put in place, in reality the ban presented an opportunity to jettison inefficient mining equipment, selling it on overseas, while maintaining only the most efficient miners within China. Others such as Daniel Batten, an advisor to Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital, went further in suggesting that the reporting of a blanket ban on Bitcoin mining within China was misleading. Instead, he believes that mining was suspended for a time and then rebooted. Taking to X in June, Batten wrote: “Stop referring to it as a ban. It wasn't and it plays into [mainstream media] narratives of Bitcoin mining being unwelcome by nation states.” At the time, rather than Ju’s 55%, Batten estimated that 15% of overall hashrate was accounted for by Chinese miners. Profitability challengesIn the months following the halving of the Bitcoin mining reward, miners have been struggling to maintain profitability. Bitbo data indicates that miner revenue weighed in at $827.56 million in August, representing a 10.5% drop when compared with $927.35 million in July. The situation has raised questions about the ongoing sustainability of securing the Bitcoin network via the current mining model.  Yet despite these adverse conditions, miners have been maintaining the high hashrate level. JPMorgan analysts recently indicated that the Bitcoin hashrate has recovered to pre-halving levels. A report by Decrypt earlier this month claimed that some miners are aggressively purchasing new mining equipment while maintaining significant holdings of Bitcoin rather than selling it off. Alongside what was perceived to be a ban on Bitcoin mining in 2021, China prohibited the trading of cryptocurrencies. Notwithstanding that, it’s thought that many Chinese residents have access to crypto via bank accounts in Hong Kong, connected with global crypto exchanges. Hong Kong is perceived to be China’s sandbox for crypto with many speculating that the current pro-crypto stance taken within the Chinese autonomous territory had been approved by the authorities in mainland China. Whether China will lift its ban on crypto trading remains the subject of ongoing speculation. 

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Kasikornbank (KBank), Thailand’s second-largest bank, has entered into a partnership with Bangkok-based firm Orbix Technology and Singapore’s StraitsX to roll out a cross-border payments solution based on the use of stablecoins. StraitsX provides payments infrastructure for digital assets in Southeast Asia. It also issues XSGD, XUSD and XIDR, stablecoins that are pegged to the Singapore dollar, the U.S. dollar and the Indonesian Rupiah. Orbix Technology contributes towards the collaboration by providing blockchain infrastructure, in this case, its Quarix blockchain, which was developed to support transactions in both foreign currencies and baht, convert real-world assets into digital tokens and enable real-world identity confirmation of the blockchain user.Photo by Mathew Schwartz on UnsplashProject Carina The groundwork for this latest collaboration was accomplished through a partnership between KBank and American investment bank JPMorgan’s JPM Coin (now known as Kinexys Digital Payments) in April. Known as Project Carina, the collaboration explored wholesale cross-border payments using Q-money, KBank’s digital Thai baht, which runs on Orbix Technology’s Quarix blockchain and forms part of Thailand’s regulatory sandbox. The objective of Project Carina was to effect the transfer of Thai baht, using Q-money, to a U.S. dollar-denominated bank account, via Kinexys Digital Payments. Using that process, a cross-border multi-currency transfer could be effected efficiently in real time. Spending Thai baht in Singapore In part, building upon that earlier project, this latest collaboration, which commenced at the end of November, brings StraitsX into the fold alongside KBank and Orbix. The service targets Thai tourists visiting Singapore, enabling them to spend their Thai baht-based Q-money at retail outlets in Singapore. Thai visitors account for 2.4% of arrivals to the city-state each year. Many retail stores in Singapore now enable the use of payment systems like PayNow, a real-time payment service offered by a group of Singaporean banks; GrabPay, a payments wallet that features as part of the Grab super-app; and Alipay+, another cross-border mobile payments system. StraitsX has collaborated with these payment systems, opening up access to this latest offering led by KBank. In November, StraitsX added access to the GrabPay and Alipay+ systems. Users of the Q-money app can scan the codes generated via these payment systems, enabling the user to pay in Thai baht for the item they are purchasing priced in Singaporean dollars. Effectively, the system enables and exchange and conversion of digital baht for the StraitsX XSGD Singaporean dollar stablecoin. The three companies showcased their blockchain-based cross-border payment innovation at the Singapore FinTech Festival last month. At the time, Orbix Technology Managing Director Yarnvith Raksri stated:”Quarix has played a significant role in driving the Q-money by KBank app and integrating it with the StraitsX system to allow seamless cross-border payments via blockchain, making them as convenient as domestic transactions.” KBank competitor Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thailand’s oldest bank, announced in October that it was partnering with fintech firm Lightnet to launch a stablecoin-based remittance service.