Korean Conference Captures Interest of NFT and Blockchain Game Enthusiasts

BitMEX, the Seychelles-headquartered cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, has officially launched a new options trading platform in collaboration with PowerTrade, a specialized crypto options platform.  The exchange announced details of the new product offering via a blog post published to its website. The firm intends to provide traders with a comprehensive suite of options for major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Binance Coin (BNB), Solana (SOL) and Dogecoin (DOGE).  Crypto options are being offered in an effort to cater to the needs of institutional traders. Mario Gomez Lozada, CEO of PowerTrade, highlighted the synergy between BitMEX's deep market liquidity and PowerTrade's trader-centric technology. This strategic alliance aims to furnish traders with a seamless and high-performance trading experience, with the objective of meeting the demands of serious traders seeking effective and efficient trading tools. Taking to X, PowerTrade described the partnership as “a new era for options.” The firm outlined that although options only account for 3% of the crypto market, its expanding rapidly year-on-year. Not to be outdone, BitMEX also took to X, posting that “BitMEX invented the perp - now we’re reinventing options.”Photo by Viktor Forgacs™️ on UnsplashTaking on DeribitBitMEX made a name for itself in the industry by offering 100x leveraged perpetual swaps. It recently upped the ante to 250x for its Bitcoin perpetual swap prior to the halving. The company is now attempting to etch out a significant market share in the crypto options niche. To do so, it will have to compete with market leader Deribit. Deribit has been at the helm, accounting for 70% ($35.7 billion) of the $51.1 billion trading volume for Bitcoin options in April and maintaining its dominance since 2020. Despite challenges from large crypto exchanges like OKX and Binance, Deribit has held its ground. In discussion with The Block, BitMEX CEO Stephan Lutz said that the firm was targeting at least $500 million in trading volume within three months,  Zero trading feesIn a bid to attract traders to its new platform, BitMEX has devised a promotional campaign featuring zero trading fees on all options transactions throughout May. Moreover, the first 1,000 new traders joining the platform will receive a $20 bonus, further incentivizing participation. The platform also offers rewards based on trading volume, referred trading volumes and monthly trading competitions, injecting an element of competition and potential profit for active users. Upon conclusion of the promotional period, BitMEX's fee structure for options trading will align with its existing spot trading framework. This strategic move ensures a seamless integration of the options platform into BitMEX's ecosystem, providing users with a consistent and predictable cost model when trading across different digital assets.

Seongnam City Hosts Seminar on Industry 4.0 AdvancementSeongnam City of Gyeonggi Province announced that it held a seminar on Tuesday under the theme “Seongnam: 50 Years Today, 50 Years Tomorrow” at the city hall to discuss the vision and prospects of the city’s identity as a technological hub for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0. Some 100 individuals were in attendance, including the city’s mayor, Shin Sang-jin, and the Director of the Seongnam Research Institute, Im Jong-soon, along with other experts, citizens, and city officials.Photo by Sandro Katalina on UnsplashPath to the Fourth Industrial RevolutionFor Seongnam to develop further, Shin emphasized the need for a specific vision for the city’s future growth. “Gathering individual talent and corporations to drive innovation is the key to leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.Shin presented seven major tasks required to achieve this goal, including the establishment of a next-generation semiconductor cluster, a bio cluster, an Industry 4.0 cluster, a special zone dedicated to blockchain and the metaverse, a metaverse platform, and a smart city, as well as a Digital Twin City project. Director Im Jong-soon pledged that the Seongnam Research Institute would support the city’s development through extensive research.During the seminar, multiple experts also gave presentations on various topics, such as the growth process of Seongnam’s industry, digital transformation, and the city’s tasks in becoming an Industry 4.0 hub.Following the presentations, a panel discussion was led by Jang Yoon-jong, a research fellow at the Korea Development Institute. The discussion included participation from Lee Kwang-yong, Head of Policy Strategy at Naver; Kim Seo-gyun, Secretary-General of the Korea Fabless Industry Association; and Kwon Soon-bum, a research fellow at the Seongnam Research Institute. The panelists engaged in a lively debate on the prospects of Seongnam’s development.Innovation and research for a vibrant futureThe Seongnam Research Institute was established on July 3, becoming the first of its kind among cities with a population of over 500,000 to provide policy alternatives and improve the quality of life for citizens through systematic research on current issues.

Terraform Labs seeks summary judgment to dismiss SEC allegationsLawyers representing bankrupt Singaporean crypto firm Terraform Labs and its co-founder, Do Kwon, have requested a summary judgment from a New York judge in their legal battle against the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).If granted, such a dismissal could potentially spare them from a full-blown trial. In their motion, the legal team argued vehemently that they are innocent of the SEC’s allegations, maintaining that the regulator has failed to provide any compelling evidence of wrongdoing.Photo by Bermix Studio on UnsplashDefining a securityThe motion, which was filed last Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, asserts that the implicated cryptocurrencies of Terra Classic (LUNC), TerraClassicUSD (USTC) and Mirror Protocol (MIR), together with its Mirrored assets (mAssets), are not securities as claimed by the SEC in its complaint.The heart of the matter revolves around the SEC’s assertion that Terraform Labs offered or sold securities, a claim vehemently denied by the defendants. The SEC initially brought the case in February, referencing algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD, which famously collapsed in May 2022.Lawyers claim case is unsubstantiatedBoth Kwon and Terraform Labs’ attorneys argued that despite over two years of investigation, more than 20 depositions, and the exchange of a staggering two million pages of documents, the SEC’s case remains unsubstantiated.The SEC’s original complaint in February accused Kwon and Terraform of raising substantial sums from investors by offering and selling an inter-connected suite of crypto asset securities, many of which were unregistered transactions. SEC Chair Gary Gensler added that Terraform and Kwon had failed to provide investors with full disclosures, notably concerning LUNA and TerraUSD.A key element of the dispute centers on the SEC’s allegation that Kwon and Terraform moved millions of dollars into Swiss bank accounts for personal gain. According to the agency’s complaint, the company and Kwon transferred 10,000 bitcoins to a financial institution based in Switzerland. The legal team representing Kwon and Terraform vehemently denies this allegation, characterizing it as baseless and unfounded.Flawed stablecoin designAlgorithmic stablecoins, such as TerraUSD, operate using market incentives via algorithms to maintain a stable price. Terra was tied to Luna, a governance token, in an attempt to stabilize prices. Unfortunately, the collapse of TerraUSD in 2022 destroyed in excess of $40 billion in value held by investors. It also had a domino effect, leading to a series of other crypto platform collapses later in 2022.Judge Jed Rakoff, presiding over the case in the Southern District of New York, had previously denied an attempt by Terraform Labs and Kwon to have the case dismissed. This new motion for summary judgment represents their latest effort to put an end to the legal proceedings.In a separate but related action, lawyers representing Terraform Labs Co-Founder Daniel Shin asserted that Shin played no role in the collapse of TerraUSD. In a Seoul district court, they emphasized that Shin had nothing to do with the collapse despite being indicted in South Korea in April on various charges, including fraud.