Hong Kong Launches Web3 Institute

In a move that will likely further bolster the digital asset landscape in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the wider Middle East region, a collaborative venture between Bridgetower Capital and Deus X Capital is launching a digital asset platform in Abu Dhabi. With an initial investment of $250 million, Bridgetower Middle East, as reported by weekly regional business magazine Arabian Business, is poised to play a pivotal role in fostering institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure within the UAE and the broader Middle East and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Cory Pugh, Chairman and CEO of Bridgetower, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership, stating:“Staying true to our roadmap of global expansion and partnering with top companies, it’s a rare privilege to see Deus X and Bridgetower partner to create Bridgetower ME as one jointly owned, Abu Dhabi entity.”Photo by Kevin JD on UnsplashHeadquartered in ADGMHeadquartered in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), Bridgetower Middle East aims to serve as the nerve center for digital asset activities, with a footprint extending to Dubai. The company's core mission is to inaugurate and manage an institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure platform, facilitating the rapid evolution of the digital asset business across the UAE and the region. Backed by significant self-funding, Bridgetower ME brings forth a wealth of expertise, with over $250 million of delegated assets earmarked for turnkey staking, coupled with extensive experience in digital asset management and capital deployment, courtesy of Bridgetower and Deus X. “We have tremendous respect for the UAE business culture and regulatory approach to digital asset infrastructure and look forward to investing resources to both incubate and bring new opportunities to the UAE,” remarked Pugh. Through its suite of services, Bridgetower Middle East aims to provide institutional clients with a secure platform for engaging in staking activities, facilitating transactions across major blockchain networks. In 2022 it partnered with Securitize to offer a Staked Digital Asset Security (SDAS) product on the Avalanche blockchain. Last year, it integrated the Lido liquid staking ecosystem within its own platform. Harnessing AI and blockchain capabilitiesFurthermore, Bridgetower ME is poised to elevate the capabilities of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) through its advanced AI GPU services tailored for blockchain networks. By leveraging its specialized data center infrastructure, Bridgetower ME seeks to augment computing capabilities for blockchain and AI applications, thus driving innovation within the digital asset ecosystem. In line with its commitment to nurturing the blockchain ecosystem, Bridgetower ME plans to spearhead private equity investments and support the incubation of startups in the UAE. Additionally, the company envisions the launch of a Web3 commerce platform, aimed at seamlessly integrating traditional businesses with digital assets. Through strategic collaborations with global consumer brands, art markets and sports organizations, Bridgetower ME aims to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology on a global scale. Tim Grant, representing Deus X Capital, expressed his excitement about the collaboration, stating:“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Abu Dhabi to incorporate a company that is solely focused on making the country the global leader in digital assets and fintech.” 

FTX Japan Moves Towards FTX 2.0 via Hiring DriveFTX Japan, a subsidiary company of the collapsed FTX crypto exchange business, is embarking on a hiring spree to bolster its team and drive the FTX 2.0 initiative forward.News of the new recruitment initiative broke via a tweet from Seth Melamed, FTX Japan’s Chief Operations Officer. Melamed wrote: “FTX Japan is hiring! Our team is exploring the leading edge of technology including AI to develop new crypto tools, non-custodial CEX trading, Proof of Solvency, and leading crypto derivatives products.”On the firm’s careers page on its website, FTX Japan details that it is looking to hire a Flutter Engineer to work on mobile applications, customer service staff and a marketer. Additionally, the company is looking to offer an internship.Photo by Tianshu Liu on UnsplashAdvancing FTX 2.0This latest recruitment initiative comes on the back of news that broke last week that the FTX Debtor led by bankruptcy specialist John J. Ray III, had decided not to follow through with the sale of FTX Japan. Most FTX creditors have been calling for the relaunch of the exchange business, dubbed FTX 2.0. Monthly expense filings have shown that various advisors to the Unsecured Creditors Committee (UCC) and professionals working for FTX itself have been spending quite a lot of time working on that possibility.Such a relaunch has as yet not been officially confirmed. However, it is looking increasingly likely that there’s a strong commitment to advancing the FTX 2.0 initiative, and with that, FTX Japan is actively seeking new talent.A restructuring plan is expected to be filed before the end of the month. This will likely move the notion of FTX 2.0 from a matter of speculation to something more tangible. That said, even if it forms part of that plan filing, due to the cumbersome workings of the US bankruptcy process, it’s unlikely that the overall international business will be relaunched until 2024. FTX Japan is solvent and so, it could be back in operation well before then.FTT token speculationEarlier this week, a beta version of a claims filing system was put online, although not officially launched. News of this development led to speculative interest in FTX’s exchange token, FTT.On Tuesday, the token increased in value by 26% within a matter of hours. Pricing has since cooled, and at the time of publication, the token had a unit price of $1.52. Crypto certainly garners speculative interest as this price action demonstrates. It remains to be seen until further clarification is provided by the FTX Debtor and the bankruptcy court in Delaware in the United States as to whether FTT will even feature in the future plans of a restructured business.FTX was very much the standout black swan event within crypto in 2022. However, it’s clear that its story remains unfinished. In the months ahead, we’re likely to hear more about the future plans for the business, in what could become quite the redemption story.

Korea’s FSS Seeks to Protect Investors from Crypto Exploit LossesLee Bokhyun, Governor of the Korean Financial Supervisory Service, said the agency will seek to protect investors from losses resulting from cryptocurrency exchange exploits, according to Korean newspaper Donga Ilbo.©Pexels/RODNAE ProductionsEfforts to enact legislationWhile delivering a congratulatory speech at a forum co-hosted by Donga Ilbo and its subsidiary broadcasting company Channel A on Wednesday, Lee underlined that the agency will be committed to enacting legislation that obligates crypto exchanges to be held accountable for customer asset losses caused by hacks.He explained that amidst a continued crypto winter triggered by multiple failures, such as the collapse of the stablecoin Terra last year, cases of security vulnerabilities are subsequently occurring.Cold wallet requirementsIn response to this situation, financial authorities and the National Assembly are collaborating on legislation that would require crypto exchanges to store a portion of their custody assets in cold wallets, which are disconnected from the Internet, or face liability for damages resulting from hacks.A February report from blockchain data platform Chainalysis showed that losses to crypto hacks last year amounted to $3.8 billion. Earlier this month, Korean crypto exchange GDAC suffered an exploit of 20 billion KRW (~$15 million).Lee said the agency will work with the financial industry to bolster the fraud detection system and build an immediate response system that prevents uncanny transactions when abnormalities are detected. These efforts are to curb the rise in financial crimes, which followed the growing popularity of remote banking services.Experts’ inputsAt the event held to discuss the protection of consumer information in the digital age, senior researcher Kim Gap-rae at Korea Capital Market Institute said that a law should be introduced to penalize unfair practices, such as market manipulation and use of undisclosed information, in the virtual asset market.Lee Joo-hwan, head of the information security management division at Hana Bank, suggested the approach used in the US, which is recovering ill-gotten gains from financial crimes to compensate victims.Kang Byung-hoon, a professor who teaches cyber security at KAIST, anticipated that the financial industry would accelerate the adoption of confidential computing, a highly secure system, to which even administrators have limited access.