Hong Kong securities group proposes ICOs as growth opportunity

Korbit relists blockchain gaming token WEMIXKorbit, a major fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, is relisting WEMIX, a cryptocurrency issued by blockchain gaming company Wemade. Korbit’s decision follows in the footsteps of its local competitors, Coinone and Gopax, who have also recently reinstated WEMIX. The WEMIX token is used to pay transaction fees, stake and vote on governance proposals.Starting at 1:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 7, Korbit users gained the ability to create a WEMIX wallet and deposit the token on the exchange. Trading and withdrawals of WEMIX will be enabled at 3:00 p.m. UTC on the same day.The Korbit exchange only accepts WEMIX deposits originating from the Wemix network. Deposits of WEMIX sent from other blockchain networks, including BNB Beacon Chain, Ethereum and Klaytn, may be processed improperly and carry the risk of becoming irretrievable.Photo by Asa E-K on UnsplashDecision reversal and underlying rationalesOver a year ago, the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), a coalition of the five Korean fiat-to-crypto exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — collectively decided to delist WEMIX from all their platforms. This decision was based on several concerns, including unreliable disclosure of the token’s circulating supply, provision of inadequate and misleading information to investors and inconsistencies in the data provided during the explanation period. These issues collectively eroded trust in the company.However, Korbit has determined that the previously identified issues with WEMIX have been addressed. The exchange observed that the circulating supply of WEMIX has been reduced to a level that aligns with the schedule initially submitted to DAXA. The launch of the WEMIX mainnet rectified the discrepancy where the circulating supply displayed on crypto data platforms like CoinMarketCap was twice the actual figure. Additionally, the collateral that Wemade had deposited in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Kokoa Finance has been recovered.The crypto trading platform also believes that Wemade has resolved the problem of providing misleading information to investors by making corrections to its third-quarter earnings report.Regarding data fallacies, Korbit holds the view that the game publisher has taken steps to address the inaccuracies in the data previously provided to the alliance. These efforts to reduce uncertainty and fulfill disclosure responsibilities include several measures: Wemade now live-updates the circulating supply of WEMIX and other pertinent details on its official blog. The gaming company has also entrusted the management of its non-circulating WEMIX supply to Ceffu, the sole institutional custodian for Binance, a global crypto exchange. Furthermore, Wemade now makes announcements about token movements whenever they occur.Restrictions imposed on GopaxMeanwhile, Korbit stated its commitment to complying with voluntary regulations and common listing guidelines established between DAXA members. This statement is particularly noteworthy in light of the recent developments with Gopax. Gopax faced the three-month suspension of its voting rights from DAXA, following the relisting of WEMIX.

OKX NFT Marketplace hits the front on trading volumeIn the non-fungible token (NFT) space, OKX’s NFT marketplace has emerged as the leader in daily trading volume, surpassing long-standing frontrunners such as OpenSea, Blur and Magic Eden.According to data from decentralized applications (DApp) tracker DappRadar, on Dec. 18, the OKX NFT Marketplace had recorded a 24-hour trading volume of $50 million. In more recent trading, that has reduced to around $35 million. Nevertheless, it maintains its lead over its main competitors, whose combined 24-hour trading volume stands at approximately $24 million.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashOrdinals driving volume uptickThe surge in trading volume can be attributed to OKX’s support for Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs and BRC-20 tokens. Notably, the NFT transaction volume on Bitcoin experienced a substantial increase, reaching $121.8 million between Dec. 10 and Dec. 17.Unlike traditional NFTs, Ordinals do not rely on smart contracts pointing to a digital asset. Described as digital artifacts by developer Casey Rodarmor, they lack smart contract features, making their trading reliant on decentralized exchanges and wallets.The Ordinals protocol has been made possible by the Bitcoin Taproot upgrade, which was implemented in November 2021. The upgrade allows digital files to be inscribed on satoshis, the smallest monetary denomination on the Bitcoin network, each with a unique number or ordinal.Strategic focus on BRC-20The OKX NFT Marketplace’s strategic focus on the BRC-20 token standard has also played a role in its success. Collaborating with UniSat, a developer of Ordinals wallets, OKX created an indexing mechanism for BRC-20 transactions built on ordinal inscriptions, further solidifying its position in the market.The Ordinals protocol has not been without controversy, with some, including Adam Back, CEO of Blockstream, criticizing it as a misuse of Bitcoin transaction blockspace. Despite the controversy, Ordinals have gained momentum, contributing to $367 million in sales volume on the Bitcoin network, surpassing Ethereum and Solana.Ordinals and the BRC-20 standard have generally been a boon for Bitcoin miners, boosting their revenues through increased fees. This incentivizes miners to secure the network. Over 49 million transactions have resulted in over 2,250 BTC in transaction fees. Around 6 p.m. UTC on Monday, bitcoin fees are averaging out at $38.43 per transaction.Beyond Bitcoin Ordinals, the broader NFT space has seen a resurgence, with the collective volume nearing $1 billion in November. During that month, the average value of NFT transactions experienced a notable 114% increase, rising from $126 to $270. This suggests a willingness among users to engage in higher-value trades compared to previous months.Speaking with The Block, Nick Ruck, COO of ContentFi Labs, a community-owned Web3 tool suite, had this to say on the development:“OKX has become the number one NFT marketplace after enabling trading of BTC Ordinals NFTs. Blur and OpenSea have not yet allowed trading of these Bitcoin-based NFTs, so they’ve started to fall behind in terms of volume due to the huge demand of Ordinals.”

Bitget works towards goal of Bitcoin ecosystem supportBitget Wallet, a Web3 trading wallet offered by the Bitget Seychelles-based crypto derivatives platform, has unveiled a plan designed to bolster its support for and development within the Bitcoin ecosystem.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashEnhancing user experienceIn an effort to elevate user experience and expand trading options, Bitget Wallet is committing to extensive product research, development initiatives and increased investments. The company plans on offering a wide array of services tailored to the Bitcoin ecosystem.This includes robust support for BTC asset management, cross-chain swaps, on-ramping for externally owned account (EOA)-based wallets, multi-party computation (MPC) wallets, Taproot compatibility and streamlined asset transfers for both BRC-20 tokens and NFTs. In October, Bitget announced that it was taking the route of enhanced security by embarking on integrating MPC.Integrated dApp browserThe platform also provides users with insights into macro and micro market trends through Bitget Swap, enabling interaction with popular projects via its dApp browser.Bitget Wallet’s move has already garnered support from several Bitcoin ecosystem projects, with integrations on official websites such as Unisat, ALEX Lab, LifeRestart and Bitmap Explorer. The integrated dApp browser ensures convenient user access to these projects, fostering increased engagement and accessibility.Looking forward, Bitget Wallet aims to capitalize on the medium to long-term market prospects within the Bitcoin ecosystem. The company is directing its efforts towards enhancing both technological infrastructure and product features, with a specific focus on critical areas such as Lightning Network, Nostr, Taproot Assets, BRC-20 and ARC-20 inscriptions.Facilitating cross-chain transactionsAn important facet of Bitget Wallet’s approach involves supporting multiple address formats, particularly within the Lightning Network. By doing so, the platform aims to improve asset transfer efficiency and introduce asset swaps between the Bitcoin mainnet and the Lightning Network. This move is geared towards facilitating cross-chain transactions between BTC and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) assets on Bitget Swap, providing users with increased opportunities for portfolio diversification.Alvin Kan, the Chief Operating Officer of Bitget Wallet, underscored the significance of Bitcoin as the foundational cornerstone of the crypto industry. He emphasized the platform’s commitment to becoming a key player in the growing Bitcoin ecosystem, providing users with robust and seamless ways to manage and grow their assets.Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet stands as Asia’s largest all-in-one Web3 trading wallet, boasting a five-year legacy and over 12 million users worldwide. On a global basis, the non-custodial wallet recently ranked fourth overall in terms of the number of wallet downloads.Bitget acquired the Singaporean startup wallet project in June. Its addition helped the broader Bitget platform to achieve the milestone of 20 million users. The product was rebranded as Bitget Wallet shortly afterwards.The company is keen to support other blockchain networks and ecosystems also. Earlier this month, the company announced an investment into Morph, a layer-2 blockchain that uses zero knowledge roll-up technology in an effort to focus on enhanced consumer experience.Last week, the platform added support for ZKFair, a zero knowledge layer-2 network which is based on the Polygon CDK.