OmniBOLT to Support BRC-20 Tokens on Lightning

Korean Crypto Exchange Alliance Reveals Standardized Regulation GuidelinesThe Digital Asset eXchagne Alliance (DAXA), consisting of five leading cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, today revealed standardized regulation guidelines, according to a report by news media The Asia Business Daily.Photo by Nick Fewings on UnsplashStandardized guidelinesTwo important documents — the standardized internal control framework and the code of conduct and ethics — were released by DAXA today. These documents were developed based on data provided by financial investment firms and member exchanges. Reviewed by DAXA members and advisors, this documentation represents a significant milestone as it is the first of its kind to address the unique characteristics of the crypto industry. The establishment of unified rules and regulations through the collaborative efforts of the member exchanges stands as a commendable achievement.Internal control frameworkThe internal control framework consists of five parts, encompassing a total of 68 articles. These parts cover general provisions; governance of virtual asset service providers (VASPs); organization and standards for internal control; compliance officers and internal control system management; and compliance details.Code of ethicsThe code of conduct and ethics comprises five chapters with 24 articles. These chapters focus on general provisions, customer ethics, employee ethics, corporate management ethics, and societal ethics.DAXA Vice Chairman Kim Jae-jin expressed optimism that these guidelines will serve as a valuable reference for all VASPs, fostering the development of a fair, trustworthy, and globally competitive crypto market.DAXA’s websiteLast month marked the launch of DAXA’s official website, and their YouTube channel has been active since January. The alliance is made up of five member exchanges: Gopax, Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit, and Coinone. At the helm of the alliance is Chairman Lee Sirgoo, who concurrently serves as CEO of Dunamu — the company operating Upbit, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the nation.

Dispute Embroils Bitget in Legal Battle With Crypto InfluencerBitget, the crypto exchange registered in Seychelles, finds itself entangled in a legal dispute with prominent crypto influencer Evan Luthra.Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on UnsplashAccount freezing allegationsThe conflict stems from Luthra’s allegations of account freezing and loss of funds after a token listing incident in March. Luthra has filed a lawsuit against Bitget, accusing the exchange of withholding $200,000 in Tether (USDT) without adequate explanation, while also freezing his account.The legal drama follows Luthra’s involvement with the Reel Star project, where he served as an advisor for the platform which is aimed at creators. As compensation for his collaboration with the project, Luthra received Reel Token (REELT), the project’s utility token.Bitget alleged market manipulationUpon the listing of REELT tokens, Luthra reportedly sold 1.3 million tokens on Bitget. In response, Bitget claims it faced a manipulative attack orchestrated by a group of traders attempting to profit from market manipulation immediately after the token’s listing. This allegedly caused a significant drop in the token’s price, prompting Bitget’s decision to freeze Luthra’s account.Bitget states that it contacted Luthra seeking an explanation for the suspicious trading behavior. Luthra acknowledged the token sale but failed to provide satisfactory reasons for his actions, according to Bitget’s version of events. The exchange maintains that user protection is its foremost priority and that it takes swift action against illegal or fraudulent behaviors.$16 million damages claimLuthra refutes the allegations, asserting his innocence and citing alleged approval from Reel Star’s Co-Founder Navdeep Sharma for his token sale plans. He seeks a substantial $16 million in damages, in addition to the frozen funds. Luthra claims that Bitget unjustly deprived him of his tokens, asserting his status as a fully KYCed user entitled to access his holdings.In the aftermath of the incident, Bitget conducted an investigation and offered a compensation plan for affected clients. Gracy Chen, Bitget’s Managing Director, emphasized the exchange’s commitment to user protection and its actions against illicit activities on its platform. Addressing the matter on Twitter, Chen didn’t hold back in her commentary on Luthra, stating that he “has a history of fraudulent activities,” which she says were exposed by crypto journalist CoffeeZilla.The legal dispute has ignited debates within the crypto community. Supporters of Luthra contend that his case underscores broader issues faced by users of centralized exchanges, shedding light on the need for improved user rights and protection. On the other hand, some argue that Bitget acted appropriately to safeguard its users and the market integrity.CZ brought into the disputeThe legal battle has attracted attention from influential figures in the crypto industry. Against a backdrop of a very public airing of the dispute on Twitter, in a recent tweet Luthra invited Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance, to respond to Luthra’s claim that Bitget spreads rumors about other exchanges. CZ was having none of it, writing: “You should talk to them, right? We are not a regulator for other exchanges.”The case highlights the intricate challenges surrounding market manipulation and token listings within the crypto space. As it unfolds, the outcome could potentially set a precedent for similar situations involving token listings, market manipulation, and user protection.

Crypto Exchange Korbit Raises Daily KRW Deposit Limits From 300K to 5MKorbit, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, raised the daily deposit limit for its customers as of 16:00 KST on September 25. This move aligns with the early implementation of the operation guidelines of real-name bank accounts for cryptocurrencies, which is scheduled to be introduced in January next year. Korbit collaborates with Shinhan Bank, utilizing its real-name accounts to facilitate Korean won transactions.Photo by manseok Kim on PixabayUser protection and AMLThe operation guidelines have been established to fortify the protection of virtual asset users and to bolster efforts against money laundering. Financial authorities, the Korea Federation of Banks, and cryptocurrency exchanges have collaborated to initiate these measures at every local exchange starting next January. Meanwhile, exchanges are obliged to maintain reserves in their banks beginning this month, ensuring they are poised to provide compensation for involuntary losses in the event of hacking incidents or system failures.Investor inconvenience and market confusionSince the introduction of the real-name bank account system in 2018, banks and crypto exchanges have had different terms of use and user protection measures, leading to varied deposit and withdrawal limits as well as reserve levels across different exchanges. These inconsistencies have resulted in inconvenience to customers and have sown confusion in the market. In response, the entities in question have agreed to implement a shared set of guidelines for real-name bank accounts from January next year.Daily limit of KRW 300K to KRW 5MWith the implementation of these guidelines, Korbit has elevated the current daily deposit limits from KRW 300,000 (approximately $222) and KRW 1.5 million to KRW 5 million. Moreover, once the bank authenticates the user’s transaction purpose — for instance, purchases of KRW 5 million or more in virtual assets in a month following the initial KRW deposit — and verifies the source of the funds, the constrained account can transition to a standard account. This adjustment allows the daily deposit and withdrawal limit of up to KRW 500 million.The limitations associated with constrained and standard accounts apply solely to fund transfers between the crypto exchange and the bank. When holders of Shinhan accounts initiate fund transfers to accounts in other banks, the limitations imposed by Shinhan continue to apply.Oh Sejin, CEO of Korbit, expressed enthusiasm that the higher deposit limit enabled by the new guidelines would improve investor convenience and draw in new customers. He added that the crypto exchange is committed to collaboration with Shinhan Bank, aiming to enhance user protection and anti-money laundering (AML) measures.