Dunamu reports Q3 slump amid interest rate hikes and economic slowdown

Aptos and Lotte Group Collaborate on Pink Bear NFTs to Drive Web3 ExpansionLayer-1 blockchain network Aptos took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce a partnership with Lotte Group, an industrial conglomerate based in South Korea with a specialization in the retail business. This strategic collaboration aims to propel Lotte’s expansion into the dynamic Web3 landscape.Photo by 김 대정 on PexelsPink bear NFTsThe initial focus of their collaboration will center around Bellygom, the pink teddy bear mascot of Lotte Home Shopping — a major player in the Korean media commerce industry. NFT projects associated with Bellygom, including the Bellyland universe, are under the stewardship of Daehong Communications, a marketing solutions company affiliated with Lotte. Aptos will play a pivotal role by providing the backend support for the development of Super Jelly, a reward system within Bellyland. These Super Jelly rewards, slated to be launched on the Aptos mainnet, will be attainable through engaging in Jelly Adventures — a collection of diverse games and missions within Bellyland.Aptos and Lotte Group have expressed their enthusiasm for venturing into Web3 initiatives throughout multiple business areas of the South Korean retail giant. Aptos noted that more updates will follow as this collaboration unfolds.Earlier partnership with PolygonThe momentum behind Daehong Communications’ Bellygom NFT initiatives for global expansion grew as it joined hands with blockchain company Polygon in February. This partnership led to the migration of Bellygom NFTs from the Klaytn blockchain to the Polygon blockchain in April.Lotte’s hospitality business and NFTsIn June, Daehong employed NFTs to attract customers to various Lotte entities. Through Korea’s largest NFT trading platform, Pala, the marketing affiliate sold Magic Ride NFTs, aiming to enhance customer engagement for the Lotte World amusement park, Lotte Duty Free, and Lotte Hotels.

Grab, the Nasdaq-listed Southeast Asian superapp, has signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with StraitsX, a Singapore-based stablecoin payment infrastructure provider, to develop Web3 wallets and a payment network powered by stablecoins. A Nov. 18 press release said Web3 wallets will be added to the Grab app, allowing merchants in Asia to accept stablecoin payments from local and overseas customers.Photo by Grab on UnsplashXSGD and XUSDUnder the partnership, Grab users may be able to hold and use stablecoins like XSGD and XUSD, which are pegged to the Singapore dollar and U.S. dollar respectively, and convert between fiat and other stablecoins in-app, provided they meet regulatory compliance requirements. Grab expects the integration to facilitate real-time cross-border settlement with transparent foreign-exchange rates, improving efficiency through faster, cheaper, and compliant transactions. The superapp operator seeks to create a single, interoperable Web3 payment framework that eliminates the need to switch between country- or method-specific systems. Merchants are expected to benefit from enhanced liquidity and capital management via programmable settlement features enabled by smart contracts and on-chain treasury tools. ASEAN’s regulatory gapsThis industry development comes amid growing interest in digital finance among intergovernmental organizations. In a blog post, Yasuto Watanabe, Director of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), noted the private sector’s growing involvement in stablecoins, outlining their advantages and risks. He said stablecoins offer greater accessibility and enable faster, cheaper transactions compared with traditional banking.  Stablecoins are widely used for remittances in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines and Vietnam, and are also a common tool for small businesses engaged in cross-border trade. Watanabe also warned of risks such as anonymity-driven money laundering and capital control evasion. He also pointed to concerns that the rise of U.S. dollar–denominated stablecoins could undermine monetary sovereignty. In this context, the AMRO Director underscored the importance of the ASEAN+3 region addressing existing gaps through concerted action. 12M USDT seized in Thailand crackdownGovernment concerns are reflected in recent crypto-related crimes making headlines. In a recent case, Thai authorities, in coordination with the U.S. Secret Service, detained 73 individuals and confiscated assets valued at more than 522 million baht. About 400 million baht of that total was in USDT (12 million USDT). Tether said in an announcement that it supported law enforcement in the operation. The emergence of stablecoins is clearly transforming the traditional financial landscape. Companies are racing to harness new technologies, while regulators focus on combating illicit activity and strengthening consumer protections. As the sector evolves, new opportunities and risks will surface, and the balance between innovation and safety will be a key question moving forward. 

Leading crypto exchange OKX has announced the seamless integration of Uniswap Labs' application programming interface (API) into its decentralized exchange (DEX). The objective of the Uniswap addition is to usher in an era of gas-free trading through its innovative feature called "Snap” for OKX service users. Snap trading modeThe company made the announcement by way of a PR Newswire press release on Feb. 29. OKX asserts that Uniswap is one of the most trusted names in DeFi. As part of the integration, the Snap trading mode will be included as a feature on OKX DEX, with the objective of aggregating Uniswap’s liquidity.The feature operates directly on the OKX DEX interface by way of the UniswapX protocol. UniswapX is an immutable smart contract built with the intention to be fully permissionless. The contract cannot be modified or paused by anyone, including Uniswap Labs. Liquidity providers pay the feeIn explaining away the technology, Jason Lau, the chief innovation officer at OKX told Cointelegraph the mechanics behind the no-fee swaps. Lau unveiled a novel model wherein liquidity providers absorb transaction fees on behalf of users. He asserted that this approach not only enhances convenience but also facilitates cost savings for traders. Lau elaborated further, stating: “By agreeing to a price and signing a transaction off-chain, then settling the transaction on-chain, users end up paying no gas fees because the liquidity providers will pay the fee on the user’s behalf.”Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashGoing beyond trading fee reductionAnticipating a positive response from DeFi enthusiasts, Lau highlighted additional features that go beyond transaction fee savings. These include the elimination of slippages, maximum extractable value (MEV) bot attacks and transaction failures, addressing prevalent concerns within the DeFi space.In tandem with the gas-free trading initiative, OKX announced a seamless integration for its wallet users within the Uniswap interface, courtesy of the Multi-Injected Provider Discovery upgrade on Ethereum, based on Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-6963. This enhancement extends to all browser extension wallets, enabling OKX wallet users to seamlessly connect with Uniswap, facilitating activities such as cryptocurrency swapping, NFT trading, liquidity pool participation and decentralized application (dApp) development. Positioning this integration as a pivotal addition to their ecosystem, Lau reiterated OKX's commitment to broadening user access to diverse on-chain use cases. He expressed enthusiasm for ongoing development initiatives and urged users to actively contribute feedback for further enhancements. The crypto exchange platform achieved further technical progress recently, with the addition of support for atomicals, runes, doginals and stamps to its Web3 wallet. Providing further detail on these additions last month, the company said that they were part of a "first-to-market" initiative relative to Bitcoin NFTs. Alongside technical advancements like these, earlier this week it emerged that the company was further advancing its market expansion strategy, through the launch of OKX TR, its Turkish platform. With OKX pioneering gas-free trading and bolstering user accessibility to decentralized finance, the convergence of traditional finance and blockchain technology accelerates, indicating an ongoing transformative shift in the crypto space.