Korea’s KFTC launches blockchain-powered loan service for public servants

Foblgate adds D’CENT and Trust as supported external walletsSouth Korean cryptocurrency exchange Foblgate will allow users to register the external digital wallets D’CENT and Trust on their accounts, offering more options for managing and trading crypto assets, according to local news site Etoday on Tuesday (KST).Photo by Shubham’s Web3 on UnsplashD’CENT is a hardware wallet that safeguards users’ assets through a robust security system employing biometric technology, encrypted storage, firmware authentication and security certification. It supports some 3,000 cryptocurrencies and allows users to create up to 80 addresses in a single wallet. Trust, on the other hand, is a one-stop Web3 wallet where holders can trade and swap crypto, earn rewards, manage NFTs and enjoy various decentralized applications (dApps). Like D’CENT, it is known for securing customer assets and privacy.“By providing support for external wallets, we are striving to enhance user convenience, respond to various demands and create a safe and convenient trading environment on Foblgate,” Ahn Hyun-jun, CEO of Foblgate, emphasized.Travel Rule requirementsAs per the Travel Rule under Korea’s Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, any user who wants to transfer cryptocurrencies worth more than KRW 1 million (approximately $775) via a personal wallet must register that wallet beforehand. The Travel Rule refers to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Recommendation #16, which outlines that VASPs must share certain personal information about customers — including names and account numbers — when facilitating crypto transactions that exceed a certain amount. This is aimed at preventing money laundering and other illicit activities.Expanded optionsFoblgate currently supports several other external wallets as well, including MetaMask, Blockchain.com, MyEtherWallet, Klip and Burrito Wallet, which was added at the end of last month. The two newest additions, D’CENT and Trust, bring the total number of supported wallets to seven. The exchange has also uploaded a guide on its website on how to add external wallets.

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the leading U.S. dollar stablecoins USDT and USDC, expanding its list of approved cryptocurrencies within the Southeast Asian country.Photo by Tarun Ottur on UnsplashListing on regulated exchanges The approval was announced in a statement published on the SEC website on March 6. It means that Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC can now be listed on regulated exchanges in Thailand. The regulator had arrived at its decision to add the two stablecoins following a public consultation process regarding regulatory changes. Those changes were finalized last month and will now proceed to go into effect on March 16. The two stablecoins join five cryptocurrencies that had previously been approved. These include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Stellar (XLM). Certain cryptocurrencies are also being used for the testing of payment settlement through the Bank of Thailand’s Programmable Payment Sandbox.   A regulatory sandbox is a controlled environment testing ground for products and services developed within the private sector. Back in June of last year, the Southeast Asian country’s central bank launched an enhanced regulatory sandbox focused on programmable payments.  USDT issuer Tether responded to the addition of its stablecoin within the approved cryptocurrency list, stating: “This approval enables USD₮ to be traded within the country, facilitating its listing on regulated exchanges and paving the way for USD₮ to be accepted for payments, which advances the region’s leadership in digital asset innovation.” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that the company sees value in the Thai market and with that, it intends to continue to explore ways to broaden its service offering within Thailand. He added:  “We are committed to supporting the long-term success and adoption of stablecoins in Thailand and look forward to contributing to the growth of the country’s digital asset ecosystem by fostering a strong and sustainable stablecoin infrastructure.” Stablecoin market growth According to DeFi data aggregation platform DefiLlama, the stablecoin market now stands at $227 billion in terms of market capitalization. This represents a 68% increase by comparison with the size of the market in 2023. It indicates that stablecoin adoption is on an upward growth trajectory. Digital assets are being used in many instances to facilitate international payments and remittances, particularly in emerging markets. In Europe, American investment bank JPMorgan recently forecasted that the introduction of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation will drive euro-pegged stablecoin growth.  Meanwhile, in the United States, S&P Global Ratings recently identified that a current lack of stablecoin regulation is acting as a barrier to broader institutional use. The company anticipates adoption growth once regulatory clarity has been achieved. Vlad Tenev, CEO of commission-free investing platform Robinhood, stated last month on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast that stablecoin legislation will be passed in the U.S. in 2025. Tenev believes that applying a 4% interest rate to stablecoins would lead to a greater rate of adoption.

Fraud Defense Sees Terraform Labs Pursue Access to FTX WalletsTerraform Labs, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency firm at the center of a lawsuit filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February, is taking steps to bolster its defense against fraud charges.Photo by Anete Lusina on PexelsSubpoena for debtors’ recordsAccording to a motion filed with the FTX bankruptcy court in Delaware on Wednesday, the company is seeking permission from a judge to subpoena data from the bankrupt crypto exchange. The filing shows that Terraform’s legal team is requesting access to information about digital wallets utilized by short sellers between March and May 2022.The company believes that its algorithmic stablecoin’s collapse was not a result of natural market forces but rather a coordinated attack by short sellers, potentially involving Alameda Research, FTX’s sister company.The motion states: “To establish these defenses, TFL needs Debtors’ records about wallets, accounts, and assets used to transact on the FTX International and US exchanges and sales/offers of large volumes of cryptocurrencies developed by TFL, if any, by FTX Trading and West Realm Shires Services Inc. d/b/a FTX US.”Alleged securities fraudThe SEC’s lawsuit, filed on February 16, accuses Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, of orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud. The regulator alleges that Terraform offered unregistered securities through its algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), and the Terra Luna (LUNA) token. The failure of Terraform in 2022 led to a staggering loss of over $40 billion in the crypto markets.The motion also targets Jump Trading, another entity accused by the SEC of colluding with Terraform to manipulate the price of the UST stablecoin. Jump Trading is facing a separate lawsuit in Illinois in the US, accused of purchasing millions of UST tokens in 2021 as part of an agreement with Terraform to maintain the stablecoin’s peg to $1.“Defendants misrepresented UST’s recovery by claiming that the algorithm was able to restore and maintain the price peg. According to the SEC, UST instead recovered its price peg because Defendants entered an arrangement with a U.S. trading firm, Jump Trading, […] to purchase substantial amounts of UST to support the price,” reads the court filing.Jurisdictional argumentsAside from its pursuit of FTX’s data, Terraform is also seeking to dismiss a class-action lawsuit in California, having already sought to have the SEC lawsuit dismissed. The company argues that since it is based in Singapore, US securities laws referenced in the lawsuit are not applicable to its foreign-developed protocols.Using a similar jurisdictional argument, Do Kwon also tried to conceal documents held in Singapore by the Singaporean company from the SEC, but he failed in that endeavor.Another significant development at Terraform has seen a new CEO appointed to lead the troubled company. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Chris Amani, who has been acting as Terraform’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer up until now, has been appointed as CEO.