Kiln raises $17M to fund APAC growth

Amber Group Targets Trust in Web3 Via Thoughtworks PartnershipSingapore-based Amber Group, a leading digital asset service provider in crypto-related infrastructure, products and trading, has announced a partnership with global technology consultancy Thoughtworks.© Pexels/Palu MalerbaAI-led product offeringThe strategic partnership has been formed between the two entities in an effort to develop innovative security solutions that can enhance transparency and trust in Web3. It’s envisaged that in meeting this objective, product development will rely heavily on artificial intelligence-based technology.In a press release on Wednesday, Amber Group’s Head of Web3 Security, Dr. Chiachih Wu, said that the partnership allows the firm to provide its clients with “even more comprehensive and cutting-edge security solutions, such as automated software testing and AI-powered vulnerability detection.”Leveraging software design and security expertiseSong Zhang, Global Service Lines Lead at Thoughtworks believes that in order to advance the development of a next-gen internet, Web3 has to use “sophisticated engineering practices and scientific methods to address crucial issues caused by decentralization.” Zhang cites issues such as compliance, privacy and security. He believes that through the collaboration both firms can contribute to leverage their respective software design and security expertise, and in that way, tackle these challenges.“By using new technology and tools, we aim to create applications and new standards that promote the construction of a healthy, transparent, open, inclusive and responsible Web3 ecosystem,” he stated.Strategic realignmentThis is not the first strategic departure Amber Group has taken recently. Earlier this month the Singapore-based firm was said to be mulling over the sale of its Japanese crypto lending subsidiary. It’s understood that the proposed move would help the company to streamline its operations and focus on its core markets.Launched in 2018 as a joint venture with Japanese financial services conglomerate SBI Group, the Amber Japan crypto lending business had failed to gain traction in a difficult Japanese market.The firm acts as a liquidity provider, miner and validator on over 70 digital asset exchanges, applications and networks. Earlier this year it took the decision to cut headcount, in the process reducing staffing at its Hong Kong office by 40. Last December the firm shuttered WhaleFin, its crypto exchange business.The collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November 2022 had a knock-on effect on some of the firm’s products and customers. 10% of its trading capital was held with FTX when the exchange collapsed. Additionally, a number of the firm’s products would have experienced significant drawdowns without the company taking action. In response, Amber raised $300 million in a Series C funding round to overcome that challenge.Those events are likely to have been key in terms of the company subsequently taking a strategic approach of focusing on core business operations and partnerships like this one that it has just announced with Thoughtworks. Undeterred by the challenges, the company still focuses on becoming a category leader in the industry.

Bank of Korea Conducts Successful CBDC Pilot Test with Financial InstitutionsThe Bank of Korea (BOK) announced yesterday in a press release that its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot program operated successfully in a practical setting involving multiple financial institutions.Testing environmentsPreviously, the CBDC system was tested in an isolated cloud environment. In this recent test, the system was installed on the servers of various financial institutions over a five-month period to evaluate its performance.The 1.2 billion KRW ($905,000) project included the participation of six companies, such as Kakao’s Krust Universe, KakaoBank, and KakaoPay, as well as 14 banks and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute. Kookmin, Shinhan, and Woori were among the participating banks.Four scenariosThe BOK and financial institutions tested the system’s performance under four scenarios: increasing transaction requests per second, increasing the number of active users, reducing the transaction queue size, and adjusting the block generation time ratio.The increase in transaction requests led to a 10% decrease in transactions per second (TPS), from 2,100 TPS to 1,900 TPS, compared to the single cloud environment test. This result is still deemed acceptable, as the highest TPS recorded in the current small payment infrastructure network is 1,200, which occurs on paydays and other high-transaction days.Issues such as slower response times arose with higher transaction request volumes but were resolved by enlarging the transaction queue size and increasing the block formation time proportion in the block generation process. The block generation process involves two stages: block formation, where transactions are recorded, and block validation, where transactions are verified.Greater stabilityThe test demonstrated that transaction errors at individual institutions did not affect others, suggesting that a distributed ledger system offers greater management stability than a centralized system. However, institutional officers cited challenges in problem-solving and communication when using the distributed ledger system.The BOK plans to involve more institutions in ongoing experiments this year, supporting them in testing their smart contracts on the CBDC pilot system.Photo by Bundo Kim on Unsplash

Turkey has decided not to tax profits from stocks and cryptocurrencies but is considering implementing a “very limited” tax on transactions, according to Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek. In a recent interview in Ankara, Şimşek stated the government's intention to ensure every financial sector contributes to the national revenue without specifying the size of the potential tax. He emphasized that the approach aims to enhance fairness and effectiveness in the taxation system. Historically, in 2008, Turkey lowered its tax rate on stock market profits from 10% to 0%, promoting investment in the stock market. Despite earlier reports from Bloomberg suggesting new taxes on gains from stock and cryptocurrency trading, the government has clarified its position to only consider transactional taxes.Photo by Engin Yapici on UnsplashCrypto tax regulationsCurrently, Turkey lacks specific regulations for taxing cryptocurrencies but is actively working to establish a comprehensive legal framework for digital assets. A bill introduced by Turkey’s ruling party on May 16 mandates crypto businesses to obtain licenses and adhere to international standards. This includes regulation by capital markets boards and mandatory revenue collection from crypto service providers. The bill also aims to ban foreign crypto brokers, fostering a locally regulated ecosystem and addressing concerns from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to remove Turkey from its "gray list." According to a report by Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, Turkey ranks fourth globally in cryptocurrency market activity, with an estimated trading volume of $170 billion between July 2022 and June 2023, surpassing countries like Russia, Canada and Germany. Since 2021, Turkish regulations have prohibited the use of cryptocurrencies for payments, reflecting a cautious approach towards the integration of digital assets into the financial system.