Digital wallet D’CENT and Astar Network team up to bring scalable wallet services to users

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.

Upbit upgrades matching engine to process KRW 1 quadrillion trading volumeSouth Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has enhanced its matching engine — which matches buy and sell orders from users on the exchange — to be able to handle a daily trading volume of KRW 1 quadrillion (approximately $757.3 billion), according to local news outlet Kyunghyang Games.Photo by Maxim Hopman on UnsplashBecause the crypto market operates nonstop without limits to time or borders, having a solid infrastructure that can seamlessly handle large amounts of data is crucial. Upbit has thus been working on its so-called “Stairway to Heaven” project for the past two years to upgrade its trading infrastructure, including its matching engine.Constant upgradesThe Stairway to Heaven is a long-term project in which Upbit’s operator Dunamu has invested a total of KRW 10 billion (approximately $7.6 million) to adjust to the rapidly advancing crypto industry and improve the performance of the entire market system. The upgradesThe main goal of the project is to upgrade Upbit’s matching engine to be cloud-native and horizontally scalable. The engine is now capable of supporting more than 40,000 transactions per second — a 25-fold increase from the previous version of the engine — allowing it to respond efficiently to surges in user traffic. In the event of a traffic spike, the system can handle more than 100,000 transactions per second with additional servers, the exchange said.“Unlike the way traditional finance approaches ledger management, our cloud-native architecture allows us to flexibly respond to surges in traffic,” Upbit said. “We will continue to make various system improvements to offer a stable investment environment.”Elevating the user experienceIn addition to upgrading its matching engine, Upbit has recently revamped its UI/UX to include price chart updates by second increments and an overview of profits and losses. The exchange plans to continue its multifaceted efforts in service quality, security and investor protection to become a domestically and globally recognized exchange.

Concerns Hanging Over Huobi Result in Significant Net OutflowAmidst rumors swirling around its executives’ involvement in a Chinese investigation, Seychelles-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has observed net outflows exceeding $73.3 million in the past week.Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash$73 million net outflowAccording to data sourced from blockchain analytics firm Nansen, Huobi reported an outflow of tokens worth $505.9 million over the previous week, with an inflow of $432.5 million. This resulted in a net outflow of approximately $73.3 million.Notably, this net outflow seems to be gaining momentum, as the exchange witnessed an outflow of $32.9 million on Monday alone, based on Nansen data. Additionally, Huobi’s stablecoin balances experienced a significant 33% contraction, dwindling to $99.47 million within the seven-day span, as per the data.Unverified reportsHowever, the outflow of funds coincided with unverified reports. Techub News, a Hong Kong-based crypto media outlet, cited insider sources to suggest that at least three high-ranking Huobi executives had been apprehended by Chinese authorities for investigation. Huobi originated in China with Chinese founders, albeit it has based itself in Seychelles ever since the Chinese crackdown on crypto trading emerged.Huobi’s Head of Social Media, Jiayin Xie, acknowledged the rumors and likened the situation to being “invited to tea,” a colloquial Chinese expression for being summoned by authorities for questioning. Despite this, Xie expressed concern over the baseless nature of the allegations, suggesting that the path to restoration might be challenging yet necessary for the exchange’s resurgence.Justin Sun, an advisor to Huobi, responded cryptically by tweeting the number “4,” a term commonly used in the crypto community to counter FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). He also retweeted Xie’s post, standing in defiance of the rumor.Alongside this specific difficulty, Huobi continues to grapple with financial challenges. Sun revealed that the exchange hadn’t posted a profit from last year’s third quarter to this year’s second quarter. Despite this, Sun remains optimistic, projecting a potential break-even in the present quarter and a return to profitability in the upcoming quarter.Crypto platform uncertaintyThe aftermath of widespread crypto platform failures in 2022 has resulted in both regulatory pushback and concern among the crypto community relative to the well-being of the platforms that remain standing. Both Huobi and Binance are front and center of this speculation and concern. The issue is that without independently verified audits carried out by reputable auditors, market participants simply have no way of telling if these platforms are solvent.Travis Kling, the Chief Investment Officer at Ikagai Asset Management didn’t mince his words in taking Houbi to task via Twitter: “You are clowns and criminals, and there’s a billion dollar hole in your balance sheet that customers will have to eat.” Kling has been equally scathing in his criticism of Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). Ikagai took a significant hit in the FTX collapse, and in its wake, Kling promised to speak out more and be more critical regarding emerging issues within the sector.As the net outflows coincide with reports of executive custody, the situation surrounding Huobi remains fluid. The exchange’s journey through these challenges will no doubt be closely monitored by the crypto community.