K-Pop NFT Platform MetaBeat’s Token Listed on UniSwap v3

Binance’s venture capital arm, Binance Labs, has made an investment in South Korean blockchain games developer, GOMBLE. Binance Labs is a division of the global crypto exchange entity that identifies, invests, and empowers viable blockchain entrepreneurs, startups and communities. In a blog post published by the company late last month, Binance Labs outlined that it has participated in funding GOMBLE at a seed funding round stage. GOMBLE  is an affiliate of South Korea-based 111Percent, a casual mobile game publisher. Sustainable blockchain gamingFor its part, GOMBLE’s objective is to enable the global casual gamer community to experience blockchain games through reward mechanisms that are sustainable. An additional focus for the project is advancing NFT interoperability, through the development of mobile-based blockchain.The start-up plans to use the funding in order to develop and release its first mobile game, RumbyStars. Furthermore, it will continue to pursue a games-as-a-service (GaaS) model, with funding also being used to expand that GaaS-based platform.While blockchain-based gaming had something of an initial breakthrough through the emergence of Axie Infinity, that success was secured with a focus on blockchain rather than gaming, attracting participation via a play-to-earn approach from those already focused primarily on blockchain. Subsequently, many have questioned the sustainability of this approach from the perspectives of gameplay and the tokenomics that support it. A $25 billion market opportunityGOMBLE is focusing on addressing these two factors through its approach. Casual games in the Web2 sphere have seen an uptick in popularity. The casual games sector has the potential to reach a $25 billion market volume within four years. Bringing that Web3 focus on enjoyable game play to Web3 gaming extends that opportunity to blockchain-based gaming.Additionally, GOMBLE is working towards mistakes made with blockchain based gaming tokenomics in the past. It will focus on more balanced tokenomics using its $CRT token for governance. $CRT can be earned by players through a tournament prize system. From the other perspective, it can be spent on NFT purchases, tournament passes and in buying in-game items.This is how Yi He, Head of Binance Labs interprets GOMBLE’s approach: “Blockchain gaming needs to move away from the concept of ‘earning’ to what truly captures the hearts of billions of gamers: entertaining gameplay. GOMBLE’s experienced team and focus on building engaging, social, and sustainable blockchain games with flexible governance offers a pathway for delivering the value of Web3 to existing casual gamers, thus welcoming new users to the BNB Chain ecosystem.” RumbyStarsThe blockchain gaming start-up is planning for a soft release of its first game, RumbyStars within SouthEast Asia in Q2, 2023. Following that limited regional launch, the project will then broaden the offering to North America, South America, East Asia and Europe.Gomble’s CEO Jihoon Byun said that “Unlike existing blockchain games that focus on core games, GOMBLE aims to target the global market with easy and fun casual games that even non-gamers can enjoy. Starting with RumbyStars, GOMBLE is focused on building to provide users around the world with a pleasant experience and a greater diversity of games in the future.”In order to execute on the roadmap the project has set out for itself, it will recruit more development and design manpower. Furthermore, investment will be made in infrastructure in order to enable real-time service.

Korea to Ban Virtual Asset Deposit Services from Next JulyDuring a recent criminal law seminar held at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, Park Min-woo, Director of the Capital Markets Bureau at the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC), underscored that starting next year, virtual asset service providers (VASPs) will no longer be permitted to offer deposit and management services for virtual assets. That’s according to a report by local crypto news outlet Digital Asset.This is seen as a response to the suspension of virtual asset deposits and withdrawals carried out by virtual asset yield platforms Haru Invest and Delio a few months ago.Photo by Mathew Schwartz on UnsplashLegal backgroundDirector Park referred to Article 7, Paragraph 2 of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, clarifying that the intention behind this provision is to ensure that VASPs have the ability to fulfill asset withdrawal requests, even in the scenario where all their customers make such requests. This Act is scheduled to go into effect in July of next year, and Article 7 prohibits VASPs from entrusting customer assets to third parties.Deposit service providers receive cryptocurrency deposits and then distribute the resulting yields to their customers. In a bull market, these entities can manage yields on their own. However, in a flat or bear market, these asset managers may face challenges in paying yields unless they can generate profits by handing over customer assets to external custodians.Signs of giving upIn fact, centralized finance (CeFi) company HeyBit made an announcement last month, stating that it will discontinue its virtual asset deposit service starting from October 2. They cited this specific provision as the reason for their decision.Fraud chargesBoth Haru and Delio have been indicted by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on fraud charges.As an unregistered VASP, Haru suspended its deposit and withdrawal services on multiple occasions in June, causing substantial financial losses to numerous investors. This suspension was triggered by significant losses incurred at B&S Holdings, another unregistered entity to which Haru had entrusted virtual assets.Similarly, Delio, although registered, entrusted a considerable amount of virtual assets to Haru and Traum Info Tech but was unable to recover them.

South Korea’s FIU Faces Staffing Cuts Amid Crypto ChallengesThe Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), a department operating under the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC), is downsizing its Virtual Asset Inspection Division, reducing its members from nine to seven, as reported by the local news outlet Etoday. The FIU has faced chronic understaffing for several years, and with the cryptocurrency market expanding and issues accumulating, there is growing concern within the industry about the possibility of a regulatory and supervisory gap.Photo by JEONGUK — on UnsplashTemporary division’s tenure extensionMeanwhile, the FIU seeks to extend the tenure of the temporary virtual asset inspection division, currently scheduled to operate from September 16, 2023, until June 30, 2024. Presently, this division comprises one rank 4 officer, four rank 5 officers, three rank 6 officers, and one rank 7 officer. However, the upcoming organizational changes will involve the removal of one rank 5 officer and one rank 6 officer. Moreover, the two temporary employees (one rank 5 and one rank 6), assigned specifically to examine and analyze financial transactions related to virtual assets, will be reduced to a single rank 5 officer.Understaffing and budget issuesAfter several years of grappling with staffing shortages, it appears that a decision has been made to actually reduce the overall number of FIU personnel. Last year, when the NPC of the National Assembly reviewed the budget of the FSC, it pointed out the shortage of FIU personnel. According to the NPC’s report on the FSC, as of 2022, the FIU’s capacity was 83 staff members. However, the current number stands at only 68, which includes 34 individuals who have been seconded from other agencies. Additionally, there are an additional 13 personnel whose positions are not represented in the organizational chart.The FIU’s spending on labor costs has consistently been lower than that of the FSC’s headquarters each year. Between 2017 and July 2022, the FIU used, on average, 83.71% of its allocated budget for labor costs. In contrast, the FSC had a higher average utilization rate at 89.2%. The NPC pointed out that this discrepancy is largely due to staffing imbalances between the two organizations, suggesting that a reevaluation of staffing levels may be necessary.The FIU has long been considered a less popular unit within the FSC. In recent years, the situation has become particularly challenging for the Virtual Asset Inspection Division, which has been swamped with various problems. This has led to a general reluctance among FSC staff to join this particular division.A person familiar with the matter told Etoday that departments within the FSC focusing on financial policy areas like insurance, banking, and capital markets have traditionally been the go-to choices for those aiming for promotions. However, the source added that there’s been a recent shift: more officers are now showing interest in joining the FIU, often with an eye toward transitioning into related industries after retirement.MOIS hesitant on permanent staffingMeanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) has been reluctant to make the FSC’s Financial Innovation Bureau and the FIU’s Virtual Asset Inspection Division permanent fixtures. While the FSC argues that solidifying these divisions would necessitate a larger staff and budget, the MOIS is holding back. According to another source, the staffing issue isn’t exclusive to the FIU; the FSC as a whole is understaffed. Despite the FSC’s desire to expand its workforce, the MOIS remains unwilling to approve the additional resources.Crypto professionals are worried that financial regulators are cutting back on staff even as challenges within the sector continue to mount. An official from a virtual asset exchange voiced frustration, pointing to the contrasting approach in neighboring Japan. The official noted that Japan is actively pushing to advance its Web3 sector by not only establishing a dedicated virtual asset department within its Financial Services Agency, but also by forming specialized task forces to address specific challenges. The official finds it baffling that Korea, on the other hand, is downsizing departments that tackle these important issues.