Bitget Launches Blockchain4Youth Project

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), an independent statutory body that regulates Hong Kong’s securities and futures markets, has alerted investors to 33 suspicious websites which appear to be masquerading as HashKey, one of the Chinese autonomous territory’s first licensed virtual asset exchanges.Photo by Dan Freeman on UnsplashAlert listThe regulator flagged the websites by publishing their domain names to its alert list. Hong Kong’s SFC first published its alert list relative to suspicious crypto-related entities in November 2021. In terms of both suspicious trading platforms and suspicious crypto-related web links, the regulator has found 91 instances to date. Remarks added to the listing confirm that a HashKey company, Hash Blockchain Limited, had reported the websites to the regulator as fraudulent websites. The web domain links have been slightly modified when compared to official links to the HashKey website, in an effort to mislead HashKey customers. A little less than two weeks ago, HashKey published a statement to its website, making service users aware of the fraudulent links and websites. It stated: “Fraudulent websites will appear under different domain names or with slight modifications or variations of the official HashKey Exchange website address www.hashkey.com by adding a combination of letters, numbers or symbols.” The company added that it has no connection with these websites, that no affiliation exists with HashKey Exchange, and consequently the company doesn’t accept any liability for any matters relating to these fraudulent websites and links. As well as the regulator, HashKey has also reported the matter to the Hong Kong Police Force. Tackling crypto-related fraudBoth law enforcement and regulators in Hong Kong have been more proactive in tackling any signs of crypto-related fraud or potential scams following an episode of fraud involving an unlicensed Dubai-headquartered crypto exchange, JPEX, in 2023. At that time, the authorities within the Chinese autonomous territory received in excess of 2,369 complaints from Hong Kong residents who had been duped by the unregulated exchange. Overall, victims were out of pocket to the tune of $166 million. Some commentators had likened the JPEX scandal as being an “FTX moment” for Hong Kong, referring to the high profile collapse of Bahamas-headquartered crypto exchange FTX in November 2022. However, Hong Kong investors also suffered as a result of the FTX collapse.  In fact, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the SFC were listed as FTX creditors in 2023. The statutory bodies appeared on the FTX creditor list alongside 50 Hong Kong institutions. Towards the end of 2023, the agency issued a public warning regarding HongKongDAO and BitCuped, entities that were accused of misinformation. In February 2024, the SFC issued a reminder to investors within the Chinese autonomous territory to ensure that they’re only engaging with licensed cryptocurrency platforms. To date, the regulator has awarded crypto trading licenses to seven virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs). Earlier this month, the regulator extended use of its swift licensing process to all new applicants in an effort to fast-track the approval of more licensed platforms.

KCS Says Illegal Forex Transactions for Crypto Purchases Amount to $7.7BOver the past five years, the total value of illegal foreign exchange transactions associated with virtual asset purchases has amounted to approximately KRW 10.4 trillion ($7.7 billion), according to the Korea Customs Service’s report received on Thursday by Go Yong-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea on the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee.Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash“Illegal transactions on foreign exchanges for the purchase of virtual assets are occurring due to the higher prices of virtual assets in Korea compared to prices abroad,” Go explained.Crimes incited by crypto waveThe data showed that the number of violations subject to fines was 6,066, involving forex transactions of KRW 2.3 trillion. In particular, violations made in 2020 and 2022 accounted for the majority, making up 78.7% with 4,775 cases and a value of KRW 1.9 trillion, or 83.7% of the cumulative total. This indicates a substantial increase in illegal activities during the periods when the crypto investment frenzy in Korea was at its peak.Uncovering key patternsWhile foreign exchange transactions were primarily intended for acquiring virtual assets, they were often disguised as trade payments. There were also cases where individuals withdrew foreign currency from overseas ATMs to buy cryptocurrencies. These two scenarios were the most prevalent cases for which fines were imposed. More specifically, among the 6,066 violations, there were 4,518 instances of the former and 1,486 cases of the latter. The transferred funds amounted to KRW 1.9 trillion and KRW 407 billion, respectively.During the five-year period, individuals involved in 93 cases of these forex activities — collectively valued at KRW 8.1 trillion — were penalized following the referral of their cases to prosecutors. In particular, the violations in 2022 accounted for 70.3% (KRW 5.7 trillion). This could be accredited to the breakout of suspicious large-scale forex transactions last year, which prompted local authorities such as the Korea Customs Service and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) to initiate planned investigations.The most common type of illegal foreign exchange transaction cases referred to prosecutors was similar to those that incurred fines: overseas remittances disguised as trade payments, constituting 49.9% (KRW 4 trillion) of all cases. Transferring foreign currency via unregistered entities was the second most common violation, making up 47.2% (KRW 3.8 trillion). These transfers breach the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and are always reported to prosecutors.Go thereby called on authorities to intensify crackdowns on illegal forex transactions aimed at trading virtual assets and to revise foreign exchange regulations accordingly.

Blockchain Mainnet FNCY to Collaborate with Web3 Community Platform GALXENetmarble F&C, a subsidiary of South Korean game developer Netmarble, announced on Tuesday that FNCY, the blockchain mainnet of its subsidiary Metaverse World, has established a strategic partnership with Web3 digital credential network GALXE.Photo by Shubham’s Web3 on UnsplashEmpowering the Web3 communityGALXE is a platform with over 11 million users dedicated to building the Web3 community. In collaboration with some 2,900 partners — including networks like Optimism, Polygon, and Arbitrum, among others — it offers rewards like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and on-chain achievement tokens (OATs) to users when they contribute to their favorite Web3 community.Strengthening the FNCY chainThrough the new partnership, FNCY and GALXE plan to hold various events and campaigns to bolster the FNCY Chain. In addition, various decentralized applications (dApps) onboarding the FNCY Chain will be able to open channels and hold events themselves.“This partnership will play a significant role in adopting blockchain technology on a global scale and providing users with new experiences,” said Charles Wayn, CEO of GALXE.Seo Woo-won, CEO of Netmarble F&C, also described GALXE as the most suitable partner for forming and expanding the Web3 community and FNCY’s blockchain ecosystem.FNCY, previously called CUBE, is a Web3 entertainment platform where users can enjoy various content, including games, webtoons, and web novels. Users can also view transactions, blocks, wallet addresses, and other on-chain data.