AhnLab Blockchain Company to integrate digital wallet into Sogang University’s education metaverse

Singapore’s DBS Bank has announced the launch of the distribution of crypto-linked structured notes. The development will see structured notes tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain, with the product being made available to eligible non-DBS clients across three digital investment platforms and exchanges. In a press release published to its website on Aug. 21, DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia, disclosed that its tokenized structured notes would be made available to the investing public via ADDX, DigiFT and HydraX. These platforms have signed agreements with DBS to distribute its tokenized structured notes, which are debt securities that combine various types of financial products into one offering.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashFirst token distributionThe development marks a milestone for DBS insofar as it makes for the bank’s first-ever token distribution. The bank explained that the nature of the note means that investors are provided with a cash payout when cryptocurrency prices rise. In this way, the investor can build exposure to the asset class without having to directly manage any digital assets.While this is DBS Bank’s first token distribution, the bank had launched crypto-linked structured notes for its own eligible clients back in September 2024. DBS asserted that demand for the product has been strong, given that it enables investors to run advanced investment strategies related to their digital asset portfolios. ‘The next frontier of financial markets infrastructure’Commenting on the development, DBS Bank’s Head of Foreign Exchange and Digital Assets, Li Zhen, said that “asset tokenization is the next frontier of financial markets infrastructure.” He added that the tokenized product offering addresses a growing institutional appetite for digital assets. Singapore-based Ryan De Souza, APAC partnership lead at blockchain development firm Offchain Labs, described the product offering as an example of the fractionalization prophecy starting to play out. Access to this type of product would typically be available with a minimum investment size of $100,000. With the tokenization of the product, accessibility is increased given that minimum investment has been reduced to $1,000. Each tokenized note represents a fungible $1,000 share of the conventional structure note product. The development is also significant from the perspective of Ethereum. It demonstrates yet another instance of institutional adoption, which increases both liquidity and demand relative to ETH. Tokenized product offerings are likely to gain further momentum given that they bring greater transparency and efficiency by comparison with conventional offerings. DBS outlined that its clients executed in excess of $1 billion in trades involving tokenized structured notes and crypto options within the first half of 2025. Additionally, trade volumes related to these products grew by almost 60% from Q1 2025 to Q2 2025.Singapore-headquartered product distribution partner DigiFT recently partnered with crypto market maker GSR with the launch of its secondary over-the-counter (OTC) trading service for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). Back in March, DigiFT announced plans to launch an on-chain index fund, backed by a tokenized stock portfolio. ADDX, another Singapore-based platform, had joined forces with OCBC Bank back in 2023 with a view towards facilitating the launch of a tokenized equity-linked structured note.

Bitget Report Finds Gen Z Dominates Crypto Copy TradingA recent report by Bitget, the Seychelles-headquartered crypto exchange, sheds light on the growing trend of copy trading among younger investors, particularly Gen Z.Photo by rc.xyz NFT gallery on Unsplash44% under 25The report, released on Thursday, reveals that an impressive 44% of all copy traders on the platform are under the age of 25, indicating a strong inclination among this generation towards this type of investment and trading strategy.Copy trading, or social trading, involves emulating the trading activities of established investors. Bitget’s findings indicate that the younger demographic is more receptive to this approach, with individuals aged 25 to 35 constituting just under one-third of all copy traders. Comparatively, individuals aged 35 to 55 represented 17% of copy traders, while those over 55 constituted a mere 7%.Reliance on influencersInterestingly, this trend aligns with Generation Z’s penchant for seeking advice from social media influencers. Bitget’s report highlights that Gen Z’s tendency to turn to these influencers for investment decisions could be a driving factor behind their affinity for copy trading.A survey by Forbes Advisor in January found that approximately 80% of both Gen Z and millennials rely on financial advice from social media platforms. Notably, platforms like YouTube, Reddit, and TikTok have gained their trust, with half of the respondents claiming to have profited from advice received.The report also reinforces crypto’s status as the preferred investment choice among Gen Z. A joint study by the CFA Institute and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Foundation in May revealed that crypto was the most popular investment option for Gen Z in the United States, a striking 44% of Gen Z investors initiated their investment journey with cryptocurrencies, surpassing the 35% of millennials who did the same.Geographical differencesThe trend extends beyond the US, with 43% of British and 35% of Canadian Gen Z investors indicating crypto as their inaugural investment.Geographically, Bitget’s report showcases intriguing patterns among its copy-trading user base. While nearly a third of users hail from Western Europe, almost half originate from East or Southeast Asia. This distribution highlights the global reach of the platform and the appeal of copy trading across diverse regions.Of note, despite constituting only 1% of Bitget’s global copy traders, a remarkable 62% of African users expressed interest in copy trading. This proportion stands as the highest among all regions surveyed, reflecting a growing appetite for innovative investment methods on the African continent.Bitget’s report underscores the evolving landscape of investment practices, with Generation Z at the forefront of embracing new approaches like copy trading. It also builds on prior initiatives and research undertaken by the firm. In May Bitget launched a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project titled “Blockchain4Youth.” That initiative revealed that Bitget understands that the younger generation is where the greatest opportunity for mass market adoption lies for crypto and Web3.As the influence of social media on financial decisions continues to rise, the crypto industry may see further shifts in investment patterns and strategies among different demographic groups.

Crypto vulnerability uncovered with $1B in digital asset exposureSecurity vulnerabilities in the validator infrastructure of InfStones, an established infrastructure provider, have been disclosed by Tel Aviv-headquartered cybersecurity firm dWallet Labs.Photo by Brett Jordan on UnsplashBlockchain network validator vulnerabilityIn a detailed Medium blog post published on Tuesday, dWallet Labs shed light on a series of vulnerabilities that, when exploited, could potentially allow attackers to gain full control, execute code and extract private keys from numerous validators on major blockchain networks. Cryptocurrencies such as ETH, BNB, SUI, APT and others were identified as at risk, with potential direct losses estimated to exceed one billion dollars.The vulnerabilities discovered by dWallet Labs opened the door for attackers to compromise the private keys of validators across multiple blockchain networks, putting over one billion dollars of staked assets at risk. In response to the findings, InfStones, a Web3 infrastructure platform, also released a statement on Tuesday acknowledging the potential threat. However, its representative, Darko Radunovic, disputed the figures provided by dWallet Labs in a statement sent to Cointelegraph. Radunovic stated that the vulnerabilities identified in the production environment account for below 0.1% of their active nodes launched to date, emphasizing that the impact would be limited to a small fraction of their operational nodes.According to InfStones, “237 instances were in scope, of which 212 instances were deployed for our development and testing purposes, and 25 freshly deployed instances in the production environment.”Mitigating steps takenThe company detailed the immediate actions taken to mitigate the vulnerabilities, including shutting down the affected ports, as well as rotating all credentials and keys within their platform. An internal review conducted by InfStones revealed no additional adverse effects. Notwithstanding that, the company took the additional step of hiring an external security firm to audit its systems and policies.Meanwhile, dWallet Labs Founder and CEO Omer Sadika shared his thoughts on the X platform as to how he believes such events should be handled. Sadika wrote:”The worst way to handle a cybersecurity vulnerability is not taking responsibility and lying. We were super open and transparent with the goal of eliminating the risk to web3. My take: it’s not about whether you are fully secure or not, because no one is, it’s about how you handle it and maintain the trust with your partners and customers.”The collaboration between dWallet Labs and InfStones sheds light on the ongoing challenges faced by the cryptocurrency industry in maintaining the security and integrity of blockchain networks. While vulnerabilities were identified and addressed, the incident underscores the importance of proactive security measures to safeguard the assets and data within the rapidly evolving landscape of digital assets.