CertiK Skyfall research team inducted into Samsung Mobile Security Rewards Program Hall of Fame

Modhaus attracts $8M in advancing blockchain-based K-pop fan engagementModhaus, a South Korean Web3 startup focused on blockchain-driven K-pop promotion, recently announced that it has raised $8 million in Series A funding, according to a report by local news outlet Maeil Business Newspaper. This latest funding round brings the company’s total investment to over $12 million.Photo by C D-X on UnsplashKey investorsThis Series A funding was led by Sfermion, a Chicago-based venture capital firm focused on non-fungible tokens and the immersive internet. The investment round also saw participation from various investors, including SM Culture Partners, Laguna Investment, the KDDI Open Innovation Fund, Foresight Ventures, Reflexive Capital, NFT song collector Cooper Turley, Quantstamp CEO Richard Ma and Playco CEO Michael Carter.Modhaus had previously attracted investment from other players in earlier funding rounds. These included UNOPND, a venture division of Web3 venture capital firm Hashed; Naver D2SF; CJ Investment and Futureplay.Digital photo cards and tokensDoubling as an entertainment agency, Modhaus operates Cosmo, an app that empowers fans to play a role in their favorite artists’ operations. Through Cosmo, fans can purchase digital photo cards, earning tokens in return. These tokens then allow fans to vote on various aspects of their artists’ activities. The use of blockchain technology ensures that all votes are transparently and securely recorded, boosting the fan-artist relationship.Sfermion’s general partner, Dan Patterson, expressed enthusiasm about their investment in Modhaus, explaining that it “has innovatively bridged the K-pop fandom with both tangible and digital realms through NFTs. [The new] investment signifies more than just financial backing; it’s a venture into melding the energetic world of K-pop with the expansive narrative of the metaverse.”Jaden Jung, CEO of Modhaus, said, “K-pop fans possess keen insights. With their sharp eyes for talent and trendspotting, we aim to enhance artist value through amplified fan involvement.” He emphasized the crucial role of fan engagement in the entertainment industry, pointing out that Modhaus is dedicated to elevating this aspect to new heights. He referred to the achievement of girl group TripleS, which has garnered 1.74 million subscribers on YouTube since its debut in February of this year, as an example of what they envision for Cosmo. He suggested that Cosmo has the potential to evolve into a platform akin to LinkedIn or Kickstarter within the K-pop sector, aiming to maximize the value and reach of artists.Deepening artist-fan connectionsModhaus seeks to use the funds raised from this recent investment round to advance its Cosmo platform. This improvement aims to deepen the connections between fans and artists, providing fans with more opportunities to actively engage with and contribute to their favorite idol groups.At the helm of Modhaus are co-founders Jaden Jung and Kwanghyun Joseph Baek. Jung brings over two decades of experience as a producer at JYP Entertainment and Woollim Entertainment. Baek, on the other hand, has a background as the Chief Operating Officer at Playlist Originals, a digital content studio, and as a consultant at Bain & Company.Their team also includes Chief Product Officer Park Jae-hyun, formerly Product Owner at Viva Republica, the fintech company behind the internet-only bank Toss. Chief Creative Officer Kim Jong-soo has a history in the music industry as well, having produced girl groups like Dreamcatcher and Dal Shabet. Chief Business Officer Lee Gyu-hwa comes from MyMusicTaste, a K-Pop platform, while Chief Financial Officer Yang Ji-eun brings her experience from venture capital firm NCORE Ventures.

Chinese tech firm pours $15 million into Bitcoin fundLinekong Interactive, a Beijing-based gaming and film production company listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX), has made a strategic move by earmarking $15 million for investment in projects designed to build on the Bitcoin network.Photo by Dmytro Demidko on UnsplashThe ‘BTC Next’ fundWang Fang, the founder of Linekong, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday to announce the establishment of the “BTC Next” fund. The fund’s primary goal is to fast-track the development of emerging projects within the Bitcoin ecosystem, spanning a wide range of areas, including asset issuance protocols, trading markets, expansion initiatives, virtual machines, NFT’s real-world asset (RWA) and GameFi.As part of its initial efforts, Linekong Interactive plans to actively engage in research and investment activities within the Bitcoin network’s ecological assets. The firm will also make its investment portfolios publicly available, enabling transparent visibility into its chosen projects within the Bitcoin ecosystem.Building on BitcoinThe idea of building out Web3 offerings on the Bitcoin network is one that has attracted considerable debate in recent years. Traditionally, Bitcoin has been recognized for its limited programmability in comparison to newer blockchains like Ethereum.Many see that as a feature and benefit. For the most part, Bitcoin has remained largely unchanged since its inception in 2008. A myriad of alternative blockchain projects started to emerge due to the frustrations of developers in wanting to have greater programmability options.However, the past year has seen significant developments within the Bitcoin ecosystem, thanks to the introduction of novel data storage methods known as Ordinals, Inscriptions and BRC-20 Bitcoin tokens modeled on Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard.Growing momentumIn May, Singapore’s OmniBOLT, a project that develops solutions on Bitcoin’s layer-2 network environment, outlined that it will support BRC-20 tokens on Lightning Network. In the same month, crypto exchange OKX announced its support for Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens.Established in 2007 as an online gaming company in Beijing, Linekong Interactive made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2014. Wang Fang, prior to founding Linekong, served as the Vice President of Software Development at Kingsoft Software, a prominent Chinese information technology conglomerate.In 2018, Wang Fang stepped down as CEO of Linekong to dedicate his focus to blockchain technology. During this period, he initiated multiple projects implicating NFTs, DeFi and Bitcoin mining. In 2022, following an invitation from Linekong’s board of directors, he returned as CEO with the objective of achieving a more seamless integration of Linekong products with the emerging world of Web3.One community member provided a nuanced take on why there has been less development on Bitcoin on X today, stating:“It turns out you can actually do a lot of cool things within the constraints of #bitcoin’s code, but VCs [venture capitalists] weren’t interested in funding these things because they couldn’t cash out on the sale of unregistered security tokens. Fiat incentives at work.”Linekong Interactive’s $15 million investment in the Bitcoin ecosystem reflects a growing trend of interest in expanding the capabilities and applications of the Bitcoin network in spite of the incentives that venture capital firms may have followed in the overarching crypto space in the past.

Incheon City to Host Blockchain Conference Showcasing its VisionIncheon City will host a blockchain conference, Incheon Metanomics 2023, to showcase its vision at the Songdo Convensia Convention Center on May 9.The event will present the city’s goal of building a blockchain ecosystem and fostering digital economy growth. About 150 blockchain experts from around the world are expected to attend, according to Block Media.Insightful talksProminent industry figures, including Leon Sing Foong, the head of Asia-Pacific operations at cryptocurrency exchange Binance; Steve Park, Asia-Pacific head of public policy at online game platform Roblox; and Justin Kim, a solutions architect at semiconductor company AMD, will speak at the event. Foong will talk about the collaboration between crypto exchanges and governments, Park will provide insights into the future of the metaverse, and Kim will address upcoming trends in decentralized storage systems.Registration for the conference is free and open until May 4 through Event Us, with a live stream of the event available on YouTube.Incheon and DubaiIncheon has been working towards establishing a special digital economy zone within the city by utilizing blockchain technology. In March, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok met with Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the executive chairman of the UAE’s Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), to discuss cooperation in the blockchain industry and digital economy.The DMCC, a free trade zone in Dubai, hosts over 65,000 workers from more than 21,000 companies across 180 countries. Notably, the DMCC crypto center is home to a community of over 500 crypto firms, fostering the Web3 and blockchain economy.Similarly, Incheon operates a free trade zone that connects 147 cities with populations exceeding 1 million within a three-hour flight radius. The Incheon Free Economic Zone is appealing to global blockchain companies as it offers flexible business operations for foreign entrepreneurs.© Pexels/joon young, Park