Korea’s Changwon City Boosts Local Art Scene with NFTs

Busan’s Digital Asset Exchange to Transform the City into a Global Financial HubBusan, the southern port city in South Korea, has unveiled an extensive plan for the creation of the Busan Digital Asset Exchange. The primary aim of this initiative is to establish a blockchain-based exchange that facilitates the trading of a wide range of valuable assets, including raw materials, precious metals, intellectual property rights, and carbon emission rights, all through tokenization.Photo by Joseph Pradipta on UnsplashDecentralized governance modelThis planned exchange will operate under a decentralized governance model, where separate entities will handle depository and settlement, listing assessment, and market monitoring. Such a governance framework is designed to ensure checks and balances and enhance investor protection. Busan is committed to providing both administrative and financial support for the establishment of these entities.The roadmap for this plan was presented yesterday at Busan City Hall by Mayor Park Heong-joon and the Busan Digital Asset Exchange Establishment Promotion Committee.The committee was introduced by the city in December of last year, and since then, it has been crafting specific plans. This committee is led by former lawmaker Kim Sang-min, who is recognized as an expert in blockchain policy.Operator selection processThe legal operator for the exchange is slated to be launched within this year. Starting from the middle of the upcoming month, the city of Busan will initiate an application-based process to find an exchange operator and intends to finalize the selection by November.The operator will be entirely funded through private contributions. Companies possessing blockchain technology and the capability to construct an exchange system will form a consortium to partake in the project and operate the exchange. The city of Busan will support the founding and operation of the exchange in accordance with the ordinance.Diverse asset tokenizationShould everything proceed as planned, the exchange is set to commence operations next year. It will tokenize and support the trading of items that pass through the Port of Busan, including gold, silver, copper, crude oil, and ammonia. Additionally, a marketplace will be developed to trade intellectual property (IP) rights, such as films, and carbon emission rights. Particularly, there are plans to broaden the spectrum of tradable items to include virtual assets and security tokens.In contrast to traditional stock exchanges that utilize home trading systems (HTS), the upcoming digital asset exchange will run on blockchain, which is immune to hacking and forgery. Users can trade their assets directly without intermediaries and benefit from reduced transaction costs.Highlighting blockchain as a pivotal technology in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Kim Sang-min, the chair of the committee, expressed that Busan will develop its digital asset exchange to set a global standard in the field.Mayor Park resonated with this perspective, emphasizing that in this age of digital transformation, Busan will leverage this opportunity to position itself as a global financial hub.

BitGo CEO Emphasizes Separation of Trading and Custody to Prevent Crypto BankruptciesMike Belshe, Founder and CEO of digital asset trust company BitGo, emphasized the importance of separating cryptocurrency trading and custody to prevent incidents similar to those involving Mt. Gox and FTX in his keynote speech at Impact, the main conference of Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) 2023.Established in 2013, BitGo is currently the world’s largest provider of virtual asset custody services, serving more than 1,500 institutions in over 50 countries, including the US, Switzerland, and Germany. Major exchanges like Bitstamp, Korbit, Bullish, Gate.io, and Crypto.com entrust BitGo with safeguarding their virtual assets.Clear divisionDuring his speech, Belshe repeatedly stressed the need for custody services for the sustainability of the virtual asset ecosystem, asserting that separating trading and custody can enhance trust in the industry and attract traditional financial institutions.Unlike stock markets, where payment institutions and custodians are separate entities, this kind of separation does not exist in the virtual asset market. To steer traditional financial institutions toward the virtual asset ecosystem, this issue needs to be addressed, Belshe said.He went on to cite the Mt. Gox hack in 2014 and the FTX collapse last year as examples that underscored the importance of virtual asset custody. Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, reportedly lost some 650,000 to 850,000 Bitcoins — worth more than $450 million at the time — due to a hacking incident, leading to its bankruptcy. FTX also faced insolvency after it was revealed that it inflated its assets using its native token FTT and that its management was misusing customer investment funds.Photo by Melinda Gimpel on UnsplashBelshe suggested that when Mt. Gox employees discovered the Bitcoin theft during the hack, it was already too late. If custody had been treated separately, the theft could have been detected much faster. Regarding the FTX debacle, he argued that even with just a few auditors, the problems in that situation could have been apprehended. FTX’s ability to provide custody of customer assets themselves led to unauthorized activities, including cross trading and insider trading, ultimately resulting in the misuse of customer funds.Korea’s favorable conditionsBelshe also assessed that South Korea is well-positioned for the establishment of virtual asset custody systems due to its high trading volume and a solid commitment to drafting crypto-related legislation. Seven such bills are currently underway, reflecting the authorities’ determination to address problems in the ecosystem. Korea thus has the potential to establish itself as a hub in Asia, he said.Indeed, BitGo’s partnership with Hana Bank to establish a joint venture for digital asset custody services in Korea is driven by these factors. Through its entry into Korea, BitGo aims to share its extensive knowledge and experience in digital asset business institutionalization and investor protection. It will also apply the expertise and strategies it has accumulated through close communication with regulatory authorities and supervisory agencies in various countries, including the US, to support the integration of virtual assets into the regulated framework in Korea.Belshe commented that through this partnership, BitGo will seek to enhance its understanding of Korea and utilize its technology and expertise to boost confidence in the Korean cryptocurrency market.

Gnosis Plans Crypto Visa Card Launch for Singapore and Hong KongGnosis, the Ethereum-centric decentralized infrastructure firm, is launching a Visa card in the UK and the EU, with plans for expansion to Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, and Hong Kong.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashBridging the gapThe Visa card allows users to spend funds from their self-custodial wallets at any merchant accepting Visa. These products are important given that crypto doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and there’s a gap to be bridged between traditional payment methods, such as Visa, and the crypto ecosystem.Traditionally, the crypto industry has struggled with limited usability, but Gnosis wants to erase the divide between crypto and the real world. By enabling users to spend their crypto assets in traditional settings, Gnosis Card paves the way for wider adoption and showcases the potential of DeFi for society as a whole.Expanding reach to AsiaWhile initially launching in Europe, Gnosis Card has ambitious plans for expansion. The company aims to introduce its innovative payment solution to markets beyond Europe. Among the target locations are Hong Kong and Singapore, known for their progressive approach to fintech and in particular, to crypto. By entering these dynamic markets, Gnosis seeks to tap into the growing demand for self-custodial crypto spending options in the Asian region and further empower individuals to utilize their digital assets in everyday transactions.Collaborations for seamless integrationGnosis has partnered with Monerium, the provider of the regulated euro-denominated stablecoin EURe, to facilitate the seamless conversion between traditional currencies and cryptocurrencies. Monerium allows users to connect their wallets to an International Bank Account Number (IBAN), ensuring smooth transactions and interoperability.Additionally, Gnosis Pay, a suite of developer tools, will enable other wallets to issue their own customized payment cards. This collaboration with Fractal, a decentralized identity startup, ensures a smooth know-your-customer (KYC) process. By leveraging strategic partnerships, Gnosis is attempting to create an integrated ecosystem that combines the best of both traditional finance and blockchain technology.Simplifying compliance and securityTo address compliance and security concerns, Gnosis Pay utilizes the Safe smart contract wallet infrastructure. Each user has a Safe account on the Layer 1 chain of Gnosis and another on the Layer 2 Ethereum scaling solution, zkEVM, developed by Polygon.This dual-layer architecture ensures compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulations while providing instant payment processing through the Visa network. Gnosis Pay’s partnerships enable effective screening for fraudulent activities and ensure data privacy compliance, empowering users with control over their personal information.With the launch of the Gnosis Card, Gnosis is likely to change the way individuals spend digital assets held within their self-custodial wallets in the real world. Additionally, by expanding to Hong Kong and Singapore, Gnosis Card is set to make a significant impact in vibrant Asian markets.Through strategic collaborations and a user-centric approach, the company is driving the adoption of cryptocurrencies, promoting financial inclusion, and accelerating the integration of blockchain technology with traditional finance.