Seoul Labs’ Web3 launchpad SLUSH attracts investors

MaskEX Gets Initial Regulatory Approval in UAEThe online cryptocurrency trading platform and wallet provider, MaskEX has been given initial regulatory approval by a regulator in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Photo by Carlos Alberto Gómez Iñiguez on UnsplashThe trading platform received outline approval from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai, where the company is headquartered. While the business has been around since 2021, this first compliance step is significant as it seeks to build and extend its footprint within the UAE and the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.Regulatory significanceTo say that regulation has lagged the development of crypto assets on a global basis is an understatement. However, the high profile and spectacular crypto business failures in 2022 have really captured the attention of regulators and lawmakers. Many point to inadequate regulation as a key cause of those failures. With that, most regulators recognize that it won’t be acceptable to the broader public to have such a loss impact on ordinary investors in a rerun of the collapses of 2022.VARA has been one of the most proactive regulators in that respect. The Authority has developed a regulatory framework, culminating in its current licensing regimen for crypto businesses. It wouldn’t have been feasible for MaskEX to trade without obtaining regulatory approval.Regulatory actionIn February, VARA issued Open Exchange (OPNX), a platform that specializes in the trading of crypto bankruptcy claims, with a cease and desist order, relative to the establishment of that business in Dubai. Last month, the Regulatory Authority issued an investor alert related to OPNX, warning the investing public that OPNX was not regulated by them and that investing in or using the platform was risky.That culminated with VARA sending OPNXs founders and CEO a formal warning letter. With that sort of action playing out, it’s no surprise that MaskEX has tried to go the compliant route, acquiring that initial approval.The firm is not alone in taking that approach. On May 1, BitOasis, another crypto trading platform headquartered in Dubai, became the first entity to be awarded a broker-dealer license.This milestone event for MaskEX means that it can now complete entity formation, expand its team, secure banking services and generally, open for business. In its application MaskEX requested permission to engage in the activity of acting as an exchange, offer borrowing and lending services, as well as to act as a broker and crypto asset manager.Crypto market to be driven by ME and Central AsiaOn social media on Thursday, MaskEXs VP and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) Ben Caselin, said that the initial approval forms part of the firm’s application for a Full Market Product (FMP) license. Caselin used the opportunity to post a video offering a sneak peek at the firm’s new Dubai offices. “MaskEX will be the first crypto exchange to publicly disclose their headquarters and even allow the general public to visit,” he said.Speaking at Finoverse Arabia this week, Caselin also said that “the next crypto bull market is once again going to be driven by Asia, and the unsurprising surprise will come from the Middle East and Central Asia.” That’s a prediction that’s being floated by quite a number of industry commentators, and with the US shooting itself in the foot in its approach to digital assets, it sounds like a reasonable prediction.

Eureka Entertainment Hosts Opening Event for Coin Musme’s Korean Discord CommunityEureka Entertainment has opened a celebratory event for the opening of an online Korean language Discord community for its upcoming Play-to-Earn (P2E) blockchain game, Coin Musme, which is scheduled for release later this year.Photo by Alexander Shatov on UnsplashBridging crypto and entertainmentCoin Musme revolves around a storyline where characters inspired by cryptocurrencies undergo a process of becoming popular idols at the Coin Musme Academy in order to revive the public’s interest in crypto after a major market collapse. Players can earn non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are sold through the gacha mechanic. The gacha mechanic allows players to spend in-game currency — in this case, Musme Coin (MSM) — in exchange for a random item. The MSM utility token will be listed on multiple exchanges leading up to the game’s official launch.The game’s official Discord community server called Coin Musme Academy was launched publicly on August 2 in various countries. It is led by Musme-chan, the non-playable official PR character, and operates in a school-themed roleplay style. Participants can find information about Coin Musme on the server, such as interaction events, campaigns, and more.Notably, last Tuesday (local time), a designated channel for Korean and Chinese users was added. To mark the occasion, the game is hosting an event for Korean users, who will get a chance to receive free gacha NFT vouchers that can be used in the game. Users can participate by joining the Coin Musme Korean Discord channel and following the official global Coin Musme X (formerly Twitter) account. 20 winners will be selected through a draw.Users can change their language settings to Korean and join the #general-kr channel, where they can find details about the event. The community is also recruiting Korean ambassadors, who will be responsible for promoting the game through their personal social media accounts as well as those under Musme-chan’s name.Meanwhile, another event is taking place to celebrate the recent listing of MBX, MARBLEX’s governance token, on the Japanese exchange Zaif, and the debut of a new Musme character representing MBX named Marblex-chan. Her character NFT can be found on Zaif’s NFT marketplace.Fostering fun and communityEureka Entertainment emphasized that the goal of everyone making money in the gaming world is essentially unattainable, expressing their intention to instead present a user-centered game focused on providing fun experiences, encouraging user interaction, and enhancing gameplay experiences.

Bitmain Planning Mining Equipment Support For Aleo BlockchainBitmain, the leading Beijing-headquartered crypto mining rig manufacturer, is set to bolster the proof-of-work (PoW) blockchain network of Aleo with its upcoming Antminer release.The firm announced its intentions via a social media post which was published on WeChat on Monday. The move follows Bitmain’s recent introductions of Filecoin and Kaspa mining machines and its latest series of Bitcoin miners.Photo by RDNE Stock project on PexelsEnhanced privacy through zk proofsBitmain plans to unveil a miner compatible with the forthcoming Aleo blockchain network which is currently in testnet mode. Aleo’s PoW blockchain promises to bring enhanced privacy through zero-knowledge (zk) proofs while retaining programmability. Zk proofs represent a cryptographic advancement insofar as they can verify data while it remains encrypted and undisclosed to the verifying party. The blockchain network adopts a statically typed programming language inspired by Rust, known as Leo.Aleo has been gaining significant attention in the crypto space, much like other venture capital-backed layer 1 blockchains, including Solana, Aptos, and NEAR, before their respective debuts. In April 2021, Aleo’s team successfully secured $28 million in a Series A funding round, with Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) leading the way.Aleo’s journey reached new heights in February 2022 when its Series B funding round raised a substantial $200 million, pushing the project into unicorn status. This funding round was jointly led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 and Kora Management LP, with participation from a16z, Tiger Global, Sea Capital, Slow Ventures, and Samsung Next.Latest in series of product launchesBitmain’s announcement is part of a series of product launches in recent months. In July, the company unveiled a mining rig designed for Filecoin (FIL). The following month marked the shipment of Bitmain’s Kaspa (KAS) mining machines. Shortly after the Kaspa deliveries, Bitmain revealed plans for an August release of a Monero (XMR) mining rig. Most recently, Bitmain introduced two next-generation Bitcoin (BTC) miners from the S21 series.The Chinese crypto mining equipment manufacturer has faced financial challenges in recent times. In April, it emerged that the company had been fined by the Chinese authorities for tax irregularities.Earlier this month, reports suggested that the company was experiencing liquidity issues. It failed to pay some of its employees although it later resolved the matter. Reports of staff payment difficulties surfaced two weeks ago. Arising out of that episode, the company subsequently fired three employees for posting information about salary payment issues on social media.Nevertheless, the firm managed to secure two contracts with US-based mining operations following those reports. In these contracts, Bitmain sold a combined 5.8 exahash per second (EH/s) of its new S21 Antminers to Iris Energy and Cleanspark. In September, Bitmain finalized a deal with troubled crypto miner Core Scientific that will see the firm supply the restructured company with 27,000 Bitcoin miners.The company has been blighted by internal conflicts going back a number of years between co-founders Jihan Wu and Zhan Ketuan. Subsequently Wu went on to found Singapore-headquartered crypto cloud mining platform Bitdeer.