Buysell Standards and AGST collaborate to expand security token projects in Southeast Asia

Remixpoint, a publicly listed Japanese company that develops and sells energy management systems, is adding 500 million yen, around $3.2 million, in Bitcoin to its corporate treasury.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashBitcoin buying motivationsThe firm outlined details of the planned purchase in a statement published on Nov. 25, following a meeting of the firm’s board of directors. Remixpoint justified its decision to purchase Bitcoin in light of widespread uptake by institutional investors of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which were launched in the United States in January. It suggested that there had been an uptick in holdings of the leading digital asset by corporations. Remixpoint cited the increase in the Bitcoin unit price since the Bitcoin halving event earlier this year, together with a positive outlook for the asset following a presidential election victory by Donald Trump in the U.S., as motives for the company to come to the decision to purchase Bitcoin. However, this is not its first crypto purchase. The company first started to buy Bitcoin, as well as five other cryptocurrencies, in September, suggesting at the time that digital assets provided the company with a mechanism to diversify its holdings at a time when the value and buying power of the Japanese yen had been weakening.  Including its latest announcement, Remixpoint has worked up total crypto investments to the value of 3.5 billion yen. According to Japanese crypto media publication Coinpost, on Nov. 20 the company held 215.76 Bitcoin (BTC), 9,674 Solana (SOL) and 228 Ether (ETH), with the remainder of its crypto portfolio consisting of Avalanche (AVAX), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Ripple (XRP). Unrealized gainsThe company is understood to be sitting on unrealized gains of approximately 810 million yen, given that Bitcoin has appreciated in value by around 68% since the beginning of September, with all other cryptocurrencies within Remixpoint’s portfolio having experienced unit price increases during that period also.  In its latest statement, the company advised that while gains and losses related to its crypto portfolio had not been included within its latest consolidated earnings forecast, it will disclose any significant crypto gain or loss in the future if its deemed to have had a significant impact upon consolidated results. Bitcoin corporate treasury adoptionThe Japanese energy management firm has taken its place in a growing list of corporations that have put Bitcoin on their balance sheets in recent weeks. Earlier this week, it emerged that North American video streaming and cloud platform Rumble had made plans to allocate $20 million in excess cash reserves to the acquisition of Bitcoin. The following day, Jiva Technologies, a Canadian Securities Exchange (CSX)-listed online wellness community builder, approved a $1 million Bitcoin purchase for its treasury. Last week U.S. e-commerce platform LQR House approved the purchase of $1 million in Bitcoin as part of its treasury management strategy. Furthermore, the company committed to retaining up to $10 million in Bitcoin from crypto payments received via its CWSpirits.com platform. In the same week, AI-powered education company Genius Group established a Bitcoin treasury, acquiring 110 Bitcoin. In the same week, Cosmos Health, a Nasdaq-listed pharmaceutical company, announced that it was adding Bitcoin and Ethereum to its balance sheet as hedges against inflation and as a diversification mechanism.

Civic Group Files Embezzlement Complaint Against Former Kakao Chairman Over KLAY TokensA South Korean civic group, known as Economic Democracy 21, filed on Wednesday a prosecution complaint against Kim Beom-soo, the former chairman of the internet giant Kakao, and several executives from Kakao’s affiliated companies. The allegations at hand pertain to embezzlement, specifically revolving around the virtual asset known as KLAY.Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on UnsplashKlaytn’s native tokenKLAY represents the native token of the Klaytn blockchain, which was developed by GroundX, a blockchain subsidiary of Kakao.Legal breach claimsThe complaint, formally submitted to the joint crypto-crime investigation division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, asserts that Kakao executives have breached the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and the Capital Markets Act.Clandestine pre-salesWithin the detailed complaint, Economic Democracy 21 alleges that following the issuance of KLAY, Kakao’s executives conducted private pre-sales of KLAY tokens before their official listing. These pre-sales activities reportedly raised between KRW 150 billion and 300 billion ($113 million and $226 million). The accusation is that these funds were not channeled into business endeavors, but rather diverted for personal use.The complaint also contends that Kim and other executives withdrew KLAY tokens from the company under the guise of investments, compensation, and service fees related to “overseas investment business” since 2022. The civic group further asserted that these corporate leaders employed a program to manipulate transaction records, presumably with the intent of preventing third parties from discovering the nature of these transactions.

Asian Market Surge for XRP Amid Broader Market ImplicationsXRP, the cryptocurrency and native token used by real time gross settlement system, Ripple, has seen renewed activity in recent weeks in terms of trading volume. That trading volume appears to be more pronounced in Asian markets such as South Korea.©Pexels/RODNAE ProductionsThe XRP token has traded up 22% over the course of the past seven days, with a current unit price of $0.54. Trading volume has surged on South Korean exchanges such as Bithumb UpBit and Korbit where volume spiked 18%, 37% and 50% respectively over the past 24 hours. This trading activity is irregular as ordinarily the trading volume of Bitcoin and ether would account for the vast bulk of trading on the three leading Korean exchanges.Speculative interestXRP has under-performed in recent years and at the heart of its difficulties has been a multi-year legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States. In its complaint, the SEC has claimed that XRP is an unregistered security. Speculation in recent weeks suggests that this highly litigated battle may be drawing to a conclusion. Many commentators have suggested that either a deal will be struck or the court could soon decide to rule on the matter.During the 2017 bull market, the token reached the heady heights of a $3.40 unit price. That’s a target that the cryptocurrency has never been able to reach ever since. During the last bull market, it rose to around $1.76 for a short time in April 2021. There’s little doubt but the regulatory cloud hanging over it has suppressed the price. Much depends on the outcome of this lawsuit, not just for XRP but for crypto as a whole.Another notion driving speculative interest is the idea that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may classify XRP as a commodity. That line of thought is more recent and follows the CFTC classifying a number of cryptocurrencies as commodities in its lawsuit against global crypto exchange Binance. In follow up comments earlier this week, CFTC Chair Roistin Behnam reiterated the claim.The very fact that the CFTC has made this claim is significant in terms of the case being pursued by the SEC, potentially weakening the SECs case. Lawyers for Ripple have made the court aware of the CFTCs claims.Crypto moving forwardCrypto traders in South Korea have been notorious in the past for pursuing speculative trends within the industry with the Kimchi Premium on Bitcoin back in the day as a stand out example. Whether speculative or not, the outcome for XRP, Ripple and the broader cryptocurrency space relative to the cryptocurrency’s regulatory status will be significant.A positive result will not just be a fillip for XRP, Ripple and Asian and other crypto traders who have speculated on such an outcome. It will also serve to provide a level of regulatory protection for all other crypto projects within the United States. A negative outcome to the lawsuit will not be ideal for XRP, Ripple and US-based crypto projects. However, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has said in the past that if innovation is driven overseas, Ripple will focus on developing its product overseas.In an interview this week Ripple President Monica Long suggested that over and above the lawsuit, crypto innovation is generally being pushed outside of the United States. Long cites Asia as taking the lead on “thoughtful crypto policy”. On that basis, it’s likely that one way or another crypto moves forward and maybe South Korean speculators will be proven right regardless of the outcome of the XRP..