Tokyo Government Launches Initiative to Support Security Token Businesses

KOMSCO and KEPCO Cooperate on Blockchain TechnologyKorea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) have recently agreed to cooperate on blockchain technology, as well as other information and communication technology, according to a press release by KOMSCO.©Pexels/Savvas StavrinosConnect and develop modelLast Thursday, KOMSCO held a seminar on tech cooperation with KEPCO in Daejeon, home to many Korean government agencies. At the seminar, both sides decided to embrace a connect and develop model, which is more advantageous than closed research and development models in terms of agility and cost-effectiveness.Digital transformationThe two agencies possess a wealth of advanced technologies: KOMSCO excels in NFT authentication and blockchain-based payments systems, while KEPCO holds a competitive edge in blockchain platforms. Both parties will explore various ways to collaborate in these areas to promote Korea’s digital transformation.More stable electricity gridFurthermore, KOMSCO is continuously expanding infrastructure for information technology, and deploying its security solutions to KEPCO is expected to bolster the stability of the country’s electricity grid.

A Chinese creditor of failed crypto exchange FTX has filed an objection on his own behalf and that of 300 others, with a U.S. bankruptcy court against a motion lodged with a view towards excluding payouts to creditors resident in China, Russia and 47 other foreign jurisdictions.Photo by Mariia Shalabaieva on UnsplashPotential distribution forfeitureThe FTX Recovery Trust, an entity formed in January to oversee the FTX bankruptcy estate following the adoption of a plan of reorganization, filed a motion last week seeking the approval of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court in the United States to adhere to new parameters related to the claims of creditors residing in restricted overseas jurisdictions. Besides China and Russia, the list of restricted jurisdictions also includes many within the Asian region, including  Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Macau, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Qatar, Bangladesh and Cambodia. The FTX estate claims that these jurisdictions have regulations and laws restricting cryptocurrency transactions. In such cases, the FTX Recovery Trust claims that it cannot break local laws.  The difficulty for creditors resident in these countries is that if it's deemed illegal to reimburse them, they won’t qualify for the next scheduled distribution from the estate. In that instance, distribution forfeiture will be triggered. Taking to X on July 7, FTXcreditor.com, an entity that has been buying up bankruptcy claims from FTX creditors over the course of the FTX bankruptcy process, highlighted the peril that creditors residing in these restricted countries may face. It stated: “Distribution forfeiture is triggered at every distribution record date. The first record date already passed, if your claim is still tied to a local KYC when the stamp drops, that tranche is potentially gone.” Short timeframe for objectionsMr. Purple, a pseudonymous distressed assets bankruptcy professional who has been advocating for FTX creditors since the collapse of the business in November 2022, concurred with this view in a subsequent post on X. He pointed out that an extremely short timeframe has been given to affected creditors to respond. The motion was filed on July 2 and objections are due by July 15. $500 million in claims are at stake which accounts for 5% of all creditor claims. Of this, 82% of these claims belong to Chinese creditors. In a series of follow-up posts, the bankruptcy professional describes several procedural issues that he believes will result in it being incredibly difficult for affected creditors to have their funds reimbursed.Mr. Purple concludes:”The incentives are designed to be extremely risk averse in finding [a legal opinion] that paying creditors is legal! [The estate’s lawyers will] take the fees and say its not legal.” In his court filing, the Chinese creditor, who is resident in Singapore, stated: “My family holds four KYC-verified accounts with aggregate claims exceeding $15 million USD.” . . . “We have fully complied with every procedural requirement under the Plan. The proposed motion now jeopardizes our right to distribution in an arbitrary and inequitable manner.” On X, he asserted that the FTX Recovery Trust’s motion “constitutes an impermissible and material modification of the Plan.” Aside from legal action, the only other potential solution for creditors residing in restricted countries is to sell their claims. However, claims buyers are pricing in greater risk with lower rates and less favorable terms.

WazirX Founder’s Blockchain Startup Raises $5.4MShardeum, a highly-scalable layer-1 blockchain utilizing dynamic state sharding, has successfully closed a strategic raise of $5.4 million.The project was co-founded by Nischal Shetty, who also founded leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashWorking towards mainnet launchThe funding round saw participation from prominent investors including Galxe, J17 Capital, JSquare, and TRGC, among others. Singapore’s Amber Group, a digital assets trading, products, and infrastructure firm, also participated. The additional capital will be used to facilitate the expansion of Shardeum’s ecosystem, leading up to the highly anticipated mainnet launch later this year. As part of that launch, it will also introduce $SHM, its native token. 5% of $SHM tokens are being allocated to ecosystem development and to community airdrops.What is Shardeum?Shardeum is a highly-scalable EVM-based layer-1 blockchain that utilizes dynamic state sharding. By employing dynamic state sharding, Shardeum ensures low gas fees and high transactions per second as the network expands. The platform achieves consensus at the transaction level, reducing the computational power required for validator nodes. This composition means that it’s engineered for linear scalability.This consensus mechanism enables broad accessibility and increased decentralization by allowing anyone to run a node. Through the power of dynamic state sharding, Shardeum offers a scalable and secure solution that addresses the blockchain trilemma while ensuring decentralization for all participants.Dynamic state shardingSince its establishment in 2022, Shardeum has been focused on delivering a highly-scalable EVM-based layer-1 blockchain with dynamic state sharding capabilities. As of Friday, the Shardeum testnet has already witnessed over 7.4 million transactions, with over 820,000 accounts and more than 230,000 contracts deployed.Kelsey McGuire, the Chief Growth Officer at Shardeum, expressed enthusiasm about the completion of the strategic raise, emphasizing the company’s commitment to cultivating a global and diverse community. McGuire highlighted Shardeum’s consensus design and the accessibility of validator participation, regardless of users’ computing resources. The additional funding will further support Shardeum’s dedication to decentralization by fostering worldwide community growth through educational initiatives and other key programs.Initial $18.2M seed roundIn addition to the aforementioned investors, the strategic raise attracted notable participants such as Bware Labs, Tané Labs, Hyperithm Group, and Luganodes, among others. This round follows Shardeum’s successful seed round in October 2022, which raised $18.2 million and involved backers such as Jane Street, Big Brain Holdings, Struck Crypto, The Spartan Group, Ghaf Capital, DFG, CoinGecko Ventures, and Foresight Ventures. Funding from that initial seed round went towards hiring more employees, expanding the Shardeum network, and growing its community.A Shardeum project team member told The Block that the raise now places a valuation on the overall company of around $248 million. Shetty recently told Forbes that he believes Shardeum can be a direct competitor to Ethereum. The WazirX Founder outlined that the blockchain was envisioned on the basis of low fees and scalability regardless of the extent of the network growth that transpires.