CarrieVerse secures investment from JB Financial Group and Ecrux Venture Partners

Newly founded bankruptcy claim trading platform OPNX has provided further details about the entities backing the fledgling startup. Taking to Twitter on Friday, Open Exchange CEO Leslie Lamb outlined a number of venture capital backers, with a mixture of international and Asia-centric firms among them. Global backersLamb’s tweet via the firm’s official Twitter account, together with a similar announcement published to the firm’s website, outlined AppWorks, a leading Taiwanese venture capital firm and startup accelerator, as an investor in the company. Other Asian backers include Hong Kong-based crypto fund, Token Bay Capital and the Hong Kong-based arm of one of China’s largest banks, China Merchant Bank International.With the firm based in Dubai, Middle-Eastern interest is represented through the involvement of Saudi digital asset fund, Tuwaiq Limited. Otherwise, the company lists a number of other international backers, including US equity options exchange MIAX Group, DeFi-focused venture and trading firm Nascent, top tier global venture capital firm Susquehanna and the investment arm of market maker and early stage investor, DRW. Questionable founding teamOnly hours after the disclosure by Open Exchange, DRW reached out to CoinDesk to confirm that it is not an investor in the bankruptcy claims exchange. Nascent and Susquehanna also denied that they are involved. The companies are still being listed by OPNX as backers of the project on its website.The launch of OPNX has been mired in controversy from the outset as its founding team includes the founders of the former crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) which failed spectacularly in 2022. Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, the founders of 3AC are now the founders behind OPNX. Before their involvement, OPNX was preceded by Seychelles-based crypto yield platform CoinFLEX. That business also failed during the 2022 crypto bear market. It entered into a restructuring process with the consent of the courts in the Seychelles. Emerging from it is OPNX with the 3AC duo of Zhu and Davies having gotten involved at that point. Industry push-backMany in the crypto space have been highly critical of the development of OPNX on the basis of the involvement of both Zhu and Davies. The duo are being blamed for the collapse of the crypto hedge fund due to mismanagement and the knock on effects the firm’s demise had on other entities within crypto. Many of the series of crypto lenders who failed at a later stage in 2022 had major exposure to the wayward hedge fund.There had been some speculation as to who was backing the new project. Earlier this month, BitMEX co-founder and former CEO Arthur Hayes claimed that the 3AC duo had received substantial funding from Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund to establish the project. In February, Hayes suggested that the crypto bull market must be starting based on news of Zhu and Davies wanting to launch the OPNX platform.Crypto-focused venture capitalist Michael Arrington also spoke out around that time, stating on Twitter, that 3AC founders successfully raising capital for their latest venture was “the saddest bulls**t I’ve heard in a long time.”Upon its launch earlier this month, industry commentators quickly declared the project a flop citing a trading volume of $13.64 on its first day of trading. Five days in, OPNX made light of the situation, declaring a win on the basis that it had progressed to $12,398 in trading volume, representing a 90,000% increase in trading.Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued an investor and marketplace alert on April 12 stating that while OPNX may be Dubai-based, it is not regulated by VARA and instead operates on an unregulated basis. It warned investors against using any unregulated crypto entity.

Komainu and Crypto Garage partner to bring about institutional crypto adoptionKomainu, the crypto custodian and portfolio company of Japanese financial services conglomerate Nomura, has partnered with Crypto Garage to work towards enabling institutional crypto adoption in Japan.The digital asset custodian made the announcement of the partnership in a press release published to its website on Wednesday. The collaboration builds upon the investment by Crypto Garage's parent company, Digital Garage, in Komainu, aimed at fortifying Komainu’s market presence in Japan. The investment also unites Digital Garage with other prominent Japanese stakeholders in Komainu, including Laser Digital, the digital asset subsidiary of Nomura, alongside the Nomura Research Institute.Photo by Agathe on UnsplashCapitalizing on growing institutional interestCrypto Garage, a company that provides custody, over-the-counter (OTC) trading and settlement services in both the Japanese and international markets, has seen a growing interest from Japanese institutions in digital assets. This has spurred Komainu and Crypto Garage to develop advanced digital asset custody solutions tailored specifically to meet institutional demands, with a strong focus on security and compliance.The partnership harnesses the diverse expertise of both entities, laying the foundation for what both firms hope will be a robust and dependable digital asset management platform throughout the lifecycle of these assets. Speaking to that notion, Crypto Garage CEO Masahito Okuma suggested that the firms share a common vision, adding:“By combining forces, we will leverage our collective expertise to deliver solutions that satisfy the unique needs of Japanese institutions.”Nicolas Bertrand, CEO of Komainu, expressed his optimism regarding the collaboration and the Japanese market, stating:“Japan is a key jurisdiction for digital assets and continues to be an important part of our plans to be the most coveted institutional-grade custodian globally.”This partnership represents a significant leap forward in advancing the institutional crypto landscape in Japan. With the support of established financial entities such as Nomura Holdings Inc. and Digital Garage Inc., this venture is poised to instill confidence among Japanese institutions by demonstrating a strong commitment from the traditional financial sector.This collaboration not only demonstrates the evolving dynamics of institutional crypto services in Japan but also underscores the broader acceptance and integration of digital asset management solutions within traditional financial frameworks. It signifies a matured understanding and approach to digital asset custody and management.Komainu, established as a joint venture between Nomura, CoinShares and Ledger, operates in full compliance with regulatory standards, offering a fusion of traditional financial services with state-of-the-art security measures for institutional custody in the digital age. Earlier this year, the firm entered into a partnership with crypto exchange platform OKX, providing the company with digital asset custody services.In August, Komainu secured a trading license from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai. Meanwhile, Crypto Garage extends its services to crypto asset businesses, both within Japan and internationally, covering custody, over-the-counter (OTC) trading and settlement services for digital assets.

Sejong Telecom and Hyosung TNS to Collaborate on Real Estate Security TokensSejong Telecom said Tuesday that it has signed a business deal with Hyosung TNS, the infrastructure and finance arm of South Korean conglomerate Hyosung Group, to boost the profitability of its real estate investment service BBRIC and collaborate in security token offering (STO) services.Photo by Tierra Mallorca on UnsplashIntegrated servicesUnder the deal, Sejong Telecom will integrate the BBRIC platform into NFTtown — Hyosung TNS’ portal service dedicated to providing information, news, and educational content on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). BBRIC aims to expand its user base and modes of marketing by promoting its investment products, events, and services within NFTtown’s fractional real estate investment channel.Furthermore, users can conduct their transactions in a secure and convenient manner through BBRIC without paying intermediary fees. This promotion strategy is expected to ultimately increase profitability, BBRIC said.“Through this deal, we will create an ecosystem where anyone can readily find and compare information on fractional investments and invest accordingly,” said Park Hyo-jin, Head of Sejong Telecom’s blockchain division. “BBRIC will diversify its promotional and sales channels to create real estate financial investment products that are not only stable and reliable but also accessible to a wide range of customers.”Hyosung TNS’ venturesHyosung TNS is a leading player in the automated teller machine (ATM) market both in Korea and overseas. It operates in 46 countries, supplying a variety of financial automation solutions. NFTtown is part of the company’s blockchain endeavors, through which it plans to provide information about various security tokens, including real estate.