Busan BDX Consortium named preferred bidder for Digital Asset Exchange

CoinFLEX’s Creditors Sue CEO and OPNX in Legal DisputeCreditors of Seychelles-incorporated crypto platform CoinFLEX have taken legal action against its CEO, Mark Lamb, alleging that his involvement in launching the claims trading platform OPNX violated his fiduciary duties to CoinFLEX.Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on UnsplashDissatisfied CoinFLEX creditorsAccording to the civil action, which was filed in a Hong Kong court earlier this month, they view OPNX as a competing business to CoinFLEX. The lawsuit also implicates CoinFLEX investor Roger Ver.Lamb joined forces with Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, the founders of the now-defunct Singaporean crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), to introduce a platform for trading bankruptcy claims, initially named GTX (later rebranded as OPNX). CoinFLEX co-founder Sudhu Arumugam also backed the project, with Leslie Lamb, Mark Lamb’s wife, installed as CEO.Lamb and CoinFLEX defended the project, claiming it would enhance transparency in financial markets and benefit CoinFLEX creditors. However, creditors argue that Lamb’s actions indicate a strategic move to distance himself and his associates from CoinFLEX. With that, they’re seeking to prevent him from representing CoinFLEX in the future.Complaint detailsThe creditors of CoinFLEX assert that OPNX was not authorized by CoinFLEX’s board or creditors and that Mark Lamb independently appropriated CoinFLEX’s intellectual property, technology, customer base, and employees to create the claims exchange.They accuse Lamb of entering into a harmful licensing and purchase agreement with OPNX’s parent companies, Open Technologies Holding LTD and Open Technology Markets LTD. Through their lawsuit, the creditors are aiming to nullify these agreements and place OPNX’s assets and profits into a trust.OPNX’s strugglesOPNX has faced difficulties from the point at which it was launched. While Zhu and Davies were once leading figures in the digital assets space, their reputations have been severely tarnished due to the manner of the 3AC collapse and its profound impact on the broader crypto market.In April the platform confirmed backing from various venture capital (VC) entities only for many of the VCs to turn around and deny any such involvement with the project. Having issued an investor and marketplace alert in relation to the firm in April, a short time later the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai issued a formal reprimand to the business' founders.VARA followed up in August, applying a $2.7 million fine. OPNX had entered a bid for troubled Singaporean crypto lender Hodlnaut as part of that business restructuring process. The offer was turned down on the basis that the deal involved OPNX’s native OX token, which was deemed to be far too illiquid. A short time later, the OX unit price plummeted.Zhu was arrested in Singapore last month in connection with non-compliance related to 3AC’s bankruptcy, while Davies’ whereabouts remain undisclosed.CoinFLEX’s creditors also accuse Lamb of reaching a settlement agreement with Roger Ver, known as “Bitcoin Jesus.” Ver was one of CoinFLEX’s initial investors but later became entangled in a dispute over an $84 million debt he allegedly incurred on the platform due to market volatility. The lawsuit seeks to recover any benefits Ver received from the settlement.On X, a user called @CoinFLEXReal suggested that it has uncovered evidence that Lamb, Zhu, and Davies “used creditor assets as their personal piggy bank.”

Uzbekistan’s New Private Bank Joins National Crypto Card InitiativeIn a step towards enhancing its cryptocurrency ecosystem, the Republic of Uzbekistan has given the green light to include another private bank in its ongoing national crypto card project. The development was announced through an official press release earlier this week by the National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP), the country’s regulatory authority for digital assets.Photo by engin akyurt on UnsplashBuilding upon a crypto frameworkUnder the provisions outlined by the Uzbekistan Ministry of Justice on December 30 of last year, the Special Regulatory Sandbox Regime was established. This unique framework empowers specific entities within Uzbekistan’s crypto sphere to provide specialized services. JSV Ravnaq Bank has now been registered as a member of this regime, enabling its active participation in the pilot phase of the nation’s crypto card project.Virtual bank cardThis initiative is poised to introduce a virtual bank card named “CRYPTO CARD — UzNEX.” The card’s standout feature is its ability to facilitate automatic fund addition to users’ primary accounts. This is achieved by swiftly converting crypto assets from a digital wallet on a partner crypto exchange platform.A vital aspect of the crypto card’s development lies in its compatibility testing with various financial systems, including the widely used Mastercard payment platform. According to NAPP’s statement, the participant bank within the special regulatory regime will be rigorously testing the integration of the automated banking system, crypto-exchange information system, bank processing center, and the MasterCard international payment system.December launchNotably, the addition of Ravnaq Bank marks the second entrant into the project, with Kapital Bank being the first participant approved in May. While Kapital Bank’s testing phase commenced at the end of June 2023, Ravnaq Bank is set to initiate its test launch by the end of October 2023. Both banks are expected to launch the full project by late December, in accordance with NAPP’s timeline.Beyond these private banks, the Special Regulatory Sandbox Regime also includes UZINFOCOM, a company authorized to develop NFT certificates based on distributed data registry technology.

Jump Trades to Top of NFT MarketplaceJump.trade, which is considered to be the largest NFT marketplace in Asia, has now emerged as the leading NFT marketplace on the Polygon Network, as per a recent report published by DappRadar. This new ranking has placed Jump.trade ahead of other popular NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, Decentraland, and OKX NFT marketplace, among others.©Unsplash/Andrey MetelevJump №1 on PolygonThe firm acknowledged the achievement on social media last week, thanking its community for making the accomplishment a reality. Kameshwaran Elangovan, Co-Founder and COO of Jump.trade, expressed his delight with the recent ranking and called it “an astounding statement of our team’s hard work and the enthusiasm of our community who keep our marketplace always buzzing.”While clearly an “unlocked achievement” as the company itself put it, it’s important to note that NFT marketplace development on the Polygon network has been much more recent. The bulk of NFT marketplace trading volume still occurs on blockchains such as Ethereum with NFT marketplaces OpenSea and upstart Blur dominating and accounting for 90% of NFT trade.First P2E cricket gameIt is worth noting that Jump.trade had introduced the world’s first P2E cricket game NFT collection last year, which consisted of 55,000 NFTs from the Meta Cricket League. Interestingly, this collection had sold out within a mere nine minutes, underlining the immense popularity and demand for NFTs. Jump.trade has also formed partnerships with various renowned brands such as Pepsi and Cadbury to make NFTs more accessible and develop a metaverse ecosystem where both brands and individuals can collaborate.Global ambitionsThe company has set its sights on becoming a major global player in the gaming NFTs market and is expected to benefit from the projected growth in the NFT market. This market is estimated to be worth $231 billion by 2030, with the gaming and sports industries anticipated to be the key drivers of NFT-related products.Jump.trade is a collaboration between Indian firm Appstars Applications and Singapore’s Guardian Blockchain Labs. As an emerging tech superpower, India has a robust technical infrastructure that can enable the NFT industry to penetrate even the remote areas of the country. However, a well-structured regulatory framework will be critical for faster adoption of NFTs and digital collectibles, and ownership will play a crucial role in taking India closer to achieving its goal of an $800 billion digital economy by 2030.Flipkart Labs partnershipJump.trade is also the platform for the upcoming RADDX Racing Metaverse NFTs, and it provides opportunities for brands to leverage Web3/gaming for branding. On Wednesday, Jump.trade announced its partnership with Flipkart Labs, the blockchain and NFT offshoot of Indian e-tailer Flipkart. Both companies are collaborating on the RADDX Web3 advertising innovation.Jump.trade CEO and Co-Founder Ramkumar Subramaniam said that “brands like Flipkart getting into metaverse advertising and Web3 marketing will serve as an encouragement and a beacon for a lot of brands to follow suit.” As part of the deal, Flipkart Labs bought Digital Lands, a digital land parcel within the RADDX Racing Metaverse.