Korbit CEO partakes in anti-drug relay campaign

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), the operator of the Hong Kong stock exchange, has announced plans to launch a digital asset price index. The index which the company is marketing as the HKEX Virtual Asset Index Series, will aim to provide for the developing asset class, while complimenting Hong Kong’s overarching efforts to transform itself into a regional digital assets hub. The company announced details of the new product offering in a press release published to its website on Oct. 28. HKEX indicated that the product will go live on Nov. 15, outlining that the product “provides investors with transparent and reliable benchmarks for Bitcoin and Ether pricing in the Asian time zone.”Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashReference index for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH)The firm claims that the Index Series will include a Reference Index for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) while providing a Reference Rate for the two leading digital assets. The Reference Index will be formulated using a 24-hour volume-weighted reference spot price, with that pricing coming from leading virtual asset exchanges. The Reference Rate has been devised with the settlement of financial products in mind. As a result, it will be calculated on a daily basis at 16:00 Hong Kong time. From a compliance perspective, the product complies with the European Union’s (EU) Benchmark Regulation (BMR), being the first such product to be developed in Hong Kong. Additionally, the Index Series will be administered by CCData, a UK-headquartered data and index solutions firm formerly known as CryptoCompare.  Taking to the X social media platform, CCData outlined that the product is underpinned by its data selection process, leveraging its “Exchange Benchmark methodology to provide highly robust real-time and EOD  [end-of-day] reference rates.” The firm added that the offering will introduce “essential benchmarks for the Asian market,” while enhancing transparency and reliability within the digital assets sector, broadening opportunities for market participants across the region. Enabling informed investment decisionsHKEX CEO Bonnie Chan said that the company was pleased to introduce the HKEX Virtual Asset Index Series to meet the region's growing demand for this fast-emerging asset class. “By offering transparent and reliable real-time benchmarks, we seek to enable investors to make informed investment decisions,” she added.Like many other financial services firms in TradFi, HKEX has been getting itself acquainted with the blockchain and digital assets sector. In October of last year, the firm launched a blockchain-based settlement platform called Synapse. The platform relies upon DAML-based smart contracts. Earlier this year, a number of asset management firms launched spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the exchange. In April, a report published by HKEX suggested that the true potential of crypto ETFs had yet to be fully realized, pointing out that a number of regulatory tweaks would be necessary to better support digital asset-based products. HKEX itself could have a greater role to play in the expansion of the digital assets sector in Hong Kong. Last month Hong Kong Legislative Council member Lee Wai-hung called on the platform to expand its range of derivatives, including crypto derivatives.

Taiko Labs Raises Funding to Build Ethereum-Equivalent zkEVMTaiko Labs, a crypto startup focused on scaling the Ethereum blockchain, has successfully raised a total of $22 million in two funding rounds.According to a blog article published to the startup’s website on Thursday, the first funding round, a $10 million seed raise, was led by Sequoia China and concluded in the third quarter of 2022. The second round, a recent pre-Series A round, raised $12 million and was led by Generative Ventures, according to co-founder Daniel Wang.Photo by cottonbro studio on PexelsBroad investor participationNotable investors in the two rounds include IOSG Ventures, GSR, and GGV Capital, as well as angel investors like Patricio Worthalter, the Founder of the Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP), Tim Beiko from the Ethereum Foundation, and Anthony Sassano, Co-Founder and COO of the decentralized virtual world, The Sandbox. Taiko Labs has not disclosed its valuation.Scaling EthereumThe primary focus of Taiko Labs is to develop a scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain that closely adheres to Ethereum’s design and ideology. The company refers to its product as a Type 1 zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM).Vitalik Buterin, the inventor of Ethereum, emphasized the importance of Type 1 zkEVMs for scaling the Ethereum layer 1 in a blog post. Taiko Labs aims to extend Ethereum’s capabilities by sticking to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) specification and leveraging its best properties, as explained by Matthew Finestone, co-founder of Taiko Labs.On Wednesday, Taiko Labs released its latest version, its alpha-3 testnet, Grímsvötn, marking a significant milestone on its path to a decentralized and Ethereum-equivalent ZK-EVM.Taiko backstoryThe journey towards Taiko Labs began when Daniel Wang and Matthew Finestone worked together at Loopring Foundation, a trading and payment protocol based on zk-rollup technology. Wang served as the founder and CEO of Loopring Foundation from July 2017 until November 2021, while Finestone worked as the head of business for three years.Wang initially intended to build a decentralized social network but encountered a major obstacle — the lack of infrastructure and scalability. This realization led to the birth of the idea for Taiko Labs.Wang commented on the funding milestone, stating: “We believe that we are now on the cusp of having a truly decentralized Ethereum-equivalent ZK-rollup. This is our core mission at Taiko and we are incredibly proud to partner with leading investors who share our uncompromising vision.”The successful financing rounds will enable Taiko Labs to ensure a successful launch of its mainnet. However, the company is considering raising additional capital, partly to establish an ecosystem investment fund that will attract decentralized applications (dApps) and developers to the ecosystem.In terms of organizational structure, Taiko Labs plans to follow in Ethereum’s footsteps. Wang told The Block: “We are going to quickly convert the organization into a non-profit one. Ideally, we’ll operate very similarly to the Ethereum Foundation.”These successful funding rounds provide a solid foundation for Taiko Labs’ future endeavors, and the company is aiming to make a meaningful impact on the global adoption of blockchain technology with its focus on scaling.

No Turkish Delight for Crypto Exchange CEO Sentenced to 11,196 YearsIn a landmark ruling, Faruk Fatih Ozer, the 29-year-old Turkish Founder and CEO of defunct Turkish crypto exchange Thodex, has been sentenced to 11,196 years in prison for orchestrating a massive fraud that left investors out of pocket.Photo by engin akyurt on UnsplashExtradited from AlbaniaBloomberg reported on Friday that Ozer, the mastermind behind the Thodex exchange, fled to Albania in 2021, vanishing along with millions of dollars in investor assets as the exchange suddenly crumbled.His arrest in Albania on an Interpol warrant marked the beginning of a lengthy legal battle. Having spent months on the run, he was finally extradited back to Turkey in June, where he faced charges of money laundering, fraud, and organized crime. During the trial in Istanbul, Ozer defended himself, claiming that his actions did not demonstrate criminal intent. He asserted:“I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth.”“That is evident in this company I established at the age of 22. I wouldn’t have acted so amateurishly if this were a criminal organization,” he added. Nevertheless, the court found him guilty, along with his sister Serap and brother Guven, who faced the same charges.Lengthy jail termThe sentences handed down were notably long, with the defendants sentenced separately for multiple crimes against 2,027 victims. Following the abolition of the death penalty in 2004, lengthy prison sentences are quite common in Turkey.Prosecutors had initially sought a jaw-dropping 40,562-year prison sentence for Ozer, although the difference would have been purely symbolic when compared with the sentence which was ultimately handed down. The Thodex exchange, founded in 2017, quickly rose to prominence as one of Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency platforms.Ozer’s financial acumen earned him national recognition, and he even cultivated ties with influential pro-government figures. However, the sudden implosion of the Thodex exchange in April 2021 shook the cryptocurrency world. Investor assets vanished, and Ozer went into hiding.Reports initially indicated that Ozer had fled with assets worth $2 billion, but the prosecutor’s indictment put the total losses to Thodex investors at 356 million Turkish liras. The depreciation of the lira and rampant inflation since the exchange’s collapse means that this amount is now equivalent to around $13 million on the international markets.Lagging regulationThe Thodex case serves as a stark reminder of cryptocurrency market risks, given its immature state and the lag in regulators responding to the innovation in order to ensure a safe marketplace for investors.Despite this setback in the development of the crypto ecosystem within Turkey, interest in crypto is stronger than ever. A recent report produced by Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin found that there has been a significant increase in crypto market participants in Turkey over the course of the past 18 months. It’s likely that runaway inflation of the Turkish lira is providing Turks with the motivation to investigate crypto as an alternative.