Taiko Labs Raises Funding to Build Ethereum-Equivalent zkEVM

WEMIX PLAY Adds Four More Games to Its LineupSouth Korean gaming publisher Wemade has taken a stride by signing contracts with four distinct gaming developers to integrate their games onto WEMIX PLAY, Wemade’s blockchain gaming platform. This news arrives merely a week after the onboarding of the preceding three games.Photo by Sean Do on UnsplashTank battle gameAmong the additions is “Tank Battle Heroes: World War,” developed by T-Bull S.A., a mobile game developer based in Poland. Its forthcoming contribution stands out as a 3D multiplayer tank battle game, featuring realistic snowy and desert environments. Gamers will enjoy Tank Battle Heroes by defending their territory and conquering rival territories.Action RPGJoining the roster is “Wind of Chaos,” an action role-playing game designed by Altwolf Software, a company hailing from Belarus. In “Wind of Chaos,” players immerse themselves as pirates, opting for individual or group endeavors in their quest to destroy enemy ships and engage in adrenaline-inducing battles.3D artillery gameHong Kong’s tech enterprise, HK Pharos Tech, is set to introduce “TNT Bomb Commando,” a 3D artillery game. The game’s appeal lies in the extensive customization options for characters, enabling gamers to personalize in-game avatars with over 100 costumes.Strategy puzzle RPGAnother notable addition is The First Hunter, a strategy puzzle RPG that is currently under development by Korean gaming company Captains. Rooted in the narrative of an online novel of the same name, The First Hunter offers gamers a unique universe to explore. Engaging in battles to collect a wide range of characters and nurture their growth is a central facet of the gameplay experience.

Singaporean VC Pledges Funding for Web3 AcceleratorSingaporean crypto investment venture capital firm, Foresight Ventures, has committed to doubling down on funding a Web3 Accelerator.Back in November, the firm launched Foresight X, a Web3-focused incubator program. At the time, it committed to allocating $10 million to be divided between three categories of Web3-centric projects and collaborations. Fast forward six months and the firm is now committing to stump up an additional $10 million in funding for the project.Categories include ecosystem projects, research grants, and an eight-week incubator program which was initially offered to thirty early-stage projects. In that initial funding round, start-ups were being supported with funding of $50,000, up to a maximum of $200,000.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashSecond phaseThe project is now entering its second phase, accepting applications once again from a new round of start-up applicants. In this instance, the focus will move towards Web3 projects with an emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), zero-knowledge cryptography, bitcoin, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), machine learning, and liquid staking derivative products.With second-round funding, each selected project will be funded to the tune of $200,000 rather than the funding range of $50,000 to $200,000 employed on the first phase. Additionally, up to three mentors will be assigned to each successful applicant project. On top of that, one fund partner from Foresight Ventures will be assigned to each start-up in order to provide them with a steer towards growth and development. The program will culminate with a Demo Day, facilitating each project to showcase their service or product offering.Bitget partnershipFounded in 2020, Foresight Ventures has progressed in a short space of time, from having $80 million assets under management (AUM) to an AUM of $400 million today. The venture capital outfit is led by seasoned venture professionals with backgrounds in companies like Google, Bitmain and Sequoia Capital.Among its leading investments is SEI, the layer one blockchain project that is optimized for transaction speed and throughput. In April, the company committed $50 million towards SEIs $120 million ecosystem fund. In January, it invested $15 million in Singapore-based digital asset infrastructure and market making firm, CyberX.Last month the firm partnered with crypto derivatives trading platform Bitget in contributing towards its Asia-focused Web3 fund. Focused on funding outstanding Web3 projects in the region, Bitget has put together a $100 million fund. Foresight Ventures joined Dragonfly Capital, SevenX Ventures, DAO Maker and ABCDE Capital in expressing interest in investing in the fund, ultimately investing and partnering with Biget on the initiative.The firm has come a long way in a short space of time, signaling its intent in March 2022 when it committed to investing up to $200 million in Web3 start-ups and blockchain projects over the course of three years. Other key Foresight Ventures portfolio companies include Singapore-based digital assets financial services firm, Matrixport, and metaverse developer Everyrealm. Aside from its headquarters in Singapore, the firm also maintains a presence in Shanghai, allowing it the reach to cover crypto-related projects throughout the Asian region.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is moving to tighten penalties and enforcement against unregistered cryptocurrency operators, Nada News reported, citing the Nikkei newspaper.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashTo bolster investor protection amid a rise in issues related to highly speculative memecoins, the FSA plans to submit legislative amendments to an upcoming extraordinary Diet session. The revisions will transfer crypto asset regulations from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.  Under the new framework, criminal penalties for operating an unregistered crypto exchange or soliciting over-the-counter derivatives will increase dramatically. Offenders will face up to 10 years in prison or fines of up to 10 million yen ($63,000), or both, marking a sharp increase from the current maximum penalties of three years’ imprisonment or 3 million yen in fines. Regulatory oversight will also expand. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission will gain the authority to pursue criminal investigations—allowing for on-site inspections and evidence seizures—replacing the current reliance on warning letters and civil injunctions. Additionally, the official legal designation for compliant businesses will change from “cryptoasset exchange service providers” to “cryptoasset trading service providers.” Binance to launch Japan equities USDT perpWhile Japanese regulators focus on ring-fencing domestic investors from unregulated digital assets, global crypto platforms are expanding their offerings tied to the country's traditional financial markets. Illustrating this trend, Binance announced it will launch a USDⓈ-M perpetual contract for EWJUSDT, which tracks the iShares MSCI Japan ETF, on March 19 at 13:30 UTC. The BlackRock-managed ETF provides exposure to large- and mid-cap Japanese equities. This blurring of the lines between traditional Japanese equities and crypto derivatives underscores a wider transformation within the digital asset ecosystem. Beyond trading, blockchain-based assets are increasingly serving as core financial infrastructure, a trend reflected in the growth of the stablecoin sector. Stablecoin market hits $300BAccording to an XWIN Research Japan post on CryptoQuant, on-chain data shows active addresses using ERC-20 stablecoins are surging. Backed by a roughly $300 billion market capitalization dominated by USDT and USDC, stablecoins are gaining ground as a foundational layer of the global economy. XWIN Research Japan outlined how these assets are tailored to distinct regional needs: functioning as digital dollars in high-inflation economies like Nigeria, facilitating remittances in India and the Philippines, and providing institutional liquidity in the U.S.  Supported by its own shifting regulatory landscape, Japan is also gaining traction in this stablecoin space. Yen-pegged stablecoins like JPYC are emerging as practical payment tools designed to bridge traditional Japanese finance with global blockchain networks. JPYC Inc., the issuer of the JPYC stablecoin, recently raised 1.78 billion yen ($11.9 million) in Series B funding led by Asteria and partnered with LINE NEXT to integrate its stablecoin into a wallet based on the LINE Messenger platform.