Animoca Brands Expands Focus to Non-US Markets

Coins.ph partners with Paxos to further PYUSD adoptionCoins.ph, the Philippines’ leading cryptocurrency exchange, has forged a strategic alliance with Paxos Trust Company, a New York-based institution specializing in blockchain, aiming to propel the adoption of PayPal USD (PYUSD) for seamless cross-border remittances.Photo by C Bueza on UnsplashTargeting fourth largest remittance marketThe Southeast Asian firm outlined details of the partnership via a blog post published to its website on Tuesday. The integration of PYUSD into Coins.ph marks a significant milestone, providing Filipinos with a secure and convenient avenue for transferring funds across borders to their loved ones. Wei Zhou, CEO of Coins.ph, emphasized the foresight in prioritizing the growth of USD stablecoins, particularly PYUSD, acknowledging the Philippines as the fourth largest remittance-receiving country globally, with over 40% of these remittances originating from the United States. Zhou stated:“With PayPal behind it and its availability on platforms such as Venmo and Xoom, PYUSD is set to become one of the most widely used stablecoins in the world.”PYUSD is a U.S. dollar stablecoin promoted by American multinational payment system PayPal and issued by Paxos.Nick Robnett, Senior Director of Customer Success at Paxos, echoed Zhou’s sentiment, stating that PYUSD stands as the safest dollar-backed stablecoin accessible to global institutions and consumers. This regulated digital asset enables Coins.ph users to send U.S. dollars swiftly and affordably, challenging conventional remittance networks and providing enhanced access and economic freedom.Asian expansionThis latest collaboration in the Philippines comes hot on the heels of similar in-roads made elsewhere in Southeast Asia. In Singapore, Paxos has partnered with Crypto.com, an entity that is headquartered in the city-state. The local regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), had outlined a new regulatory framework for stablecoins in August, making conditions right for Paxos to further develop its PYUSD offering from that location.It got a further boost last week when MAS awarded its local subsidiary, Paxos Digital Singapore Pte. Ltd., in-principle approval to trade within Singapore. The relatively new stablecoin has already been listed on international crypto exchanges such as Bitstamp, Coinbase and Kraken.Philippine potentialThe Philippines is shaping up to have a lot of potential for Paxos and its PYUSD stablecoin. The country has been working on the publication of a regulatory framework for crypto. Coins.ph Head of Legal Compliance, Robert De Guzman, stated in April that the Southeast Asian country was shaping a progressive crypto regulatory framework. Earlier this year, Donald Lim, the Founder of the Blockchain Council of the Philippines (BCP), said that the country was poised for crypto adoption.For users keen on employing PYUSD for remittances, the process is streamlined. Senders transmit PYUSD to the designated Coins.ph wallet address of recipients, from where easy conversion to the Philippine peso (PHP) on the app and subsequent cash-out becomes possible. This can be facilitated through InstaPay or PESONet fund transfers to banks and other e-wallets or through various supported over-the-counter remittance centers endorsed by Coins.ph.

Former FTX COO Finds New Role at Sino GlobalConstance Wang, previously known for her executive roles at FTX, has recently joined crypto venture capital firm Sino Global Capital.That’s according to sources Bloomberg cited in a recent report as being familiar with the matter. Wang held the role of Chief Operating Officer at FTX and was also the Co-Chief Executive Officer of FTX Digital Markets, the affiliate of the now-defunct crypto exchange, which was based in the Bahamas. Her responsibilities at FTX included overseeing global business expansion, token listings, and public relations and marketing.Following the collapse of FTX and its sister trading firm Alameda Research, Wang has reportedly spent a significant amount of time in China, according to an undisclosed source.Sino Global Capital, founded in 2015 by Beijing-based American investor Matthew Graham, had revealed its early investment in FTX after the exchange’s collapse. The management team stems from a background in consulting, Wall Street, private equity, government, and corporate spheres. A year prior, the venture capital firm launched a $200 million fund with FTX as a key investor. Sam Bankman-Fried, the Founder of FTX, expressed gratitude for Sino Global’s support, stating that they believed in the FTX vision from the beginning and assisted in making it a reality.Photo by Henry Kobutra on UnsplashLawsuitGraham was quite public in his support of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried. He appeared frequently on podcasts, always explaining that the FTX founder was a genius. On investing in FTX and in projects in general, Graham stated repeatedly that Sino Global maintained a high level of due diligence. Most of the leading venture capital investors in FTX (including Sino Global) have been subject to class action lawsuits filed by creditors. It’s claimed that many of these investors didn’t simply invest capital but also got involved in actively marketing what turned out to be a fraud.In January, the court-appointed management team overseeing the FTX bankruptcy proceedings sought permission to subpoena Wang and other former executives of the company. Court filings indicate that Wang has not been accused of any wrongdoing in relation to the collapse of FTX or Alameda.Prior to her tenure at FTX, Wang briefly worked at the crypto exchange Huobi in Singapore as a Business Development Manager. She also spent two years as an analyst at Credit Suisse.New rolesIn recent months, other former FTX employees have also reappeared in new roles. Amy Wu, who left Lightspeed Venture Partners to lead FTX Ventures, announced her joining Menlo Ventures, one of the oldest venture firms in Silicon Valley. Brett Harrison, former President of FTX US until his sudden resignation in September 2022, has founded a startup with plans to provide a “GPT-4-powered trading algorithm code generator.”The transition of Constance Wang and her fellow FTX alumni into new positions at face value seems like a logical progression. However, all of the FTX c-suite executives remain under ongoing scrutiny. Having brought charges against Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, and Nishad Singh some months ago, Southern District of New York (SDNY) Attorney Damian Williams stated clearly that more arrests would follow.

The launch of Hong Kong's inaugural spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is expected to occur by mid-2024, according to one of Hong Kong’s leading crypto executives. Gary Tiu, the executive director and head of regulatory affairs at OSL, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange based in Hong Kong, made that assertion in discussion with The Hong Kong Economic Journal. Tiu provided the publication with insights into the accelerating pace of negotiations between cryptocurrency exchanges and fund companies in the region.Photo by Stella P on UnsplashUp to ten firms contemplating ETF launchOSL is actively engaged in discussions with multiple fund companies, with five to ten firms contemplating the introduction of spot crypto ETFs. Tiu revealed that certain firms have made notable progress, raising the possibility of the debut of these ETFs in Hong Kong by the middle of the year. Additionally, the OSL executive emphasized the significance of maintaining reasonable fees in collaborations between OSL and fund companies, given the limited presence of licensed crypto exchanges in the city – a total of two at present. This suggestion from Tiu aligns with similar recent soundings emanating from HashKey, another licensed crypto exchange in Hong Kong, which recently disclosed its ongoing discussions with asset managers exploring the potential launch of spot crypto ETFs. Livio Weng, the CEO of HashKey, indicated that approximately ten fund companies are considering the introduction of such ETFs in the city. VSFG’s ETF plansAligned with Tiu’s thoughts on the matter, according to a Bloomberg report last week, Venture Smart Financial Holdings Ltd (VSFG), a Hong Kong-based financial services firm, expressed plans to potentially launch a spot bitcoin ETF within the first quarter of this year. Bloomberg reported the company's goal of growing the ETF's assets under management to $500 million by the end of 2024. The regulatory landscape in Hong Kong is actively adapting to accommodate spot crypto ETFs, with the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announcing in December that they have reviewed their existing policies. Two circulars were published, outlining the requirements for spot crypto ETFs, with the SFC stressing that transactions should be conducted through SFC-licensed crypto platforms or authorized financial institutions. Currently, Hong Kong has listed several futures-based crypto ETFs, including the Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF, CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF and CSOP Ether Futures ETF. Hong Kong venue for Bitcoin conferenceIn a related development, local lawmaker Johnny Ng revealed on social media on Monday that Hong Kong will host The Bitcoin Conference this year. Earlier this month Ng urged the local administration in Hong Kong to swiftly follow the United States' approval of spot bitcoin ETFs and position the city as a leading hub in the cryptocurrency space. With Hong Kong and Singapore vying for hub status in the Asian region relative to the digital assets space, the launch of ETF products would give the Chinese autonomous territory a competitive head start given that Singapore doesn’t appear to be close to accommodating crypto ETFs for the time being.