Fingerlabs launches Web3 solution to help partners build membership NFTs

Ripple Pursues International Growth Via Dubai ExpansionThe Dubai Fintech Summit was held in the Venice of the Gulf earlier this week, bringing with it an announcement from Ripple outlining its plans to expand in the Middle Eastern location.Photo by Christoph Schulz on UnsplashResponding to the regulatory environmentRipple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was a keynote speaker at the Summit on Monday, and he took that opportunity to outline the company’s plans within the region. Immediately following his speech, Garlinghouse took to social media to confirm those plans. He tweeted out:“As I just shared on stage at #DubaiFintechSummit, @Ripple is expanding in Dubai. With 20% of our customers based in MENA and clear regulatory regimes being developed, it’s no surprise that Dubai is emerging as a key global financial hub for crypto innovation to thrive.”It’s no coincidence that at the very same event, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was present alongside the company’s executive team. Armstrong also spoke at the event and the outcome of that involvement saw Coinbase too, signaling that it sees potential in setting up a regional base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).In Coinbase’s case, it’s understood that it is considering the Emirate of Abu Dhabi as opposed to Dubai. Nonetheless, the rationale for pursuing such a move by both leading digital assets companies is the same. Both have been outspoken about the issues they have with the regulatory situation as it exists in the United States right now, relative to digital assets.Office presenceAs an initial step in that Middle East expansion, Ripple is opening an office in Dubai. The office will be located within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DFIC). In what appears like an effort to underscore the company’s official arrival in the United Arab Emirates, Ripple is holding its seventh annual customer conference in the country’s capital later this year.This week, Garlinghouse confirmed that the company’s prolonged legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States is projected to cost the company a whopping $200 million. The Biden administration is using all the major financial agencies in the US to clamp down on the sector. It’s little wonder, therefore, that companies like Ripple and Coinbase are seeking refuge overseas.That regulatory and administrative landscape in the United States relative to crypto stands in total contrast to the experience of Navin Gupta, Ripple’s Managing Director of South Asia & MENA in respect of the UAE. In an interview with CoinDesk TV Gupta said that the “UAE as a market is very attractive to us, the Middle East as a market is doing very well.”Gupta drew on his experience in working in Silicon Valley previously and recalling how back then it had three ingredients that made it function that he believes is now the case for the UAE: talent, venture capital investment and a workable regulatory approach.

Creditcoin listed on UpbitCreditcoin (CTC) — an ERC20 token issued on the Creditcoin Network — was listed on South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit on Tuesday evening (KST), according to an official announcement on the Upbit website.Photo by Maxim Hopman on UnsplashThe token was initially listed on Upbit’s BTC trading market, then on the Korean won-denominated market (CTC/KRW) trading market shortly after. In the announcement, the exchange clarified that it can only be deposited through the Ethereum network and not others like BNB Smart Chain (BSC).Major growthUpbit is the third Korean exchange that CTC has been listed on after Bithumb and Gopax. “Through this listing on Upbit, we expect that CTC’s liquidity will be boosted significantly since it will be traded in a broader market,” said Gluwa, the developer of the Creditcoin Network. Notably, the token’s price jumped 171.14% in just a day following the listing. It is currently $0.64 as of this writing, according to CoinMarketCap.Revolutionizing RWA investmentsCTC tokens power the Creditcoin Network’s global real-world asset (RWA) ecosystem, which functions as a platform for connecting investors and fundraisers. Fundraisers initiate offers on the network, which are pegged with CTC, and investors can choose which offers to invest in based on assessing the risk by examining the fundraisers’ decentralized and public credit history. In this process, blockchain technology plays an important role by facilitating direct contact between fundraisers and investors, building a sustainable cryptocurrency ecosystem and allowing users to share credit history without disclosing personal information to centralized institutions or intermediaries.Since its major Creditcoin 2.0+ mainnet update that transitioned the protocol from a proof of work (PoW) to a fully nominated proof of stake (NPoS) consensus model, Creditcoin has experienced an increase in the number of network participants and the amount of staked CTC.

South Korea Reveals Guidelines for Public Officials’ Virtual Asset DisclosureSouth Korea’s high-ranking government officials will soon be obliged to divulge specific information regarding their virtual asset holdings, including types and quantities, as part of their wealth declaration process. The Ministry of Personnel Management (MPM) issued a press release yesterday, announcing revisions to the Enforcement Decree of the Public Service Ethics Act. These amendments are slated to come into effect on December 14.Photo by Chris Boland on UnsplashIn addition, officials holding positions of rank one or higher will be required to disclose the methods through which they acquired their virtual assets. They must also furnish documentation of transaction records for a period of one year.These amendments to the decree come in the wake of the revised Public Service Ethics Act, which was passed in May. The primary aim of this act is to make it obligatory for government employees to declare their virtual asset holdings. The changes to the decree can be summarized into five main points.Types and amountsFirst, officials obligated to disclose their wealth must report the types and amounts of virtual assets. The prices of virtual assets traded on Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit — all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) designated by the Commissioner of the National Tax Service — are required to be reported using the average daily price observed on the reporting day. As for other assets, their values should align with their most recent market prices. In cases where determining these prices is not feasible, they should be reported at reasonable values that reflect transaction prices.Acquisition methodsSecond, high-level public officials must explain how they acquired virtual assets. Under the existing regulation, officials are obligated to reveal both the date and method of acquisition, along with the source of funds. However, following the adoption of the updated decree, they will also be required to provide analogous information for virtual assets.Year-long transaction historyThird, comprehensive guidelines will be established to outline the process of reporting virtual asset transaction history records. Officials subject to the disclosure requirement must divulge all virtual asset transactions conducted within the past year, even if they do not possess such assets on the day of reporting. They are obligated to furnish documentation prepared by VASPs.Officials and their family membersFourth, officials are required to permit VASPs and other relevant institutions to provide the Government Ethics Committee with information on virtual asset holdings owned by both themselves and their family members. This will be facilitated through the inclusion of virtual assets in the existing information provision agreement, similar to the approach applied to other types of assets such as real estate.Addressing conflict of interestLastly, the revised decree could potentially impose restrictions on certain public officials with regard to possessing virtual assets, especially when their responsibilities encompass tasks like formulating relevant policies, granting approval for virtual assets, and overseeing taxation matters related to them. The outcomes of these restrictions will be reported on an annual basis to the Government Ethics Committee.In a briefing regarding this development, MPM Vice Minister Lee In-ho underscored the significance of the amended decree as the regulatory framework for enforcing the requirement of public officials to declare their virtual assets. He highlighted the Korean government’s commitment to ensuring that public servants adhere to accurate reporting practices concerning virtual assets, thereby preventing unlawful accumulation of wealth.