OKX Ventures broadens portfolio to include Orbiter Finance

China Unveils Blockchain-Powered Data ExchangeChinese government officials have announced the launch of a data exchange leveraging blockchain technology during the 2023 Hangzhou Summit in China on Wednesday.According to local media reports, the Hangzhou Data Exchange, introduced at the summit held in Hangzhou, aims to facilitate seamless buying and selling of Web3 data across enterprises. The event garnered participation from over 300 companies, including tech giants Alibaba Cloud and Huawei, marking a significant step towards embracing decentralized technology for data management.Photo by Xiaolin Zhang on UnsplashEnabling Web3 data tradingIt’s understood that the Hangzhou Data Exchange has been established with the aspiration of revolutionizing the trading landscape for enterprise information technology data by harnessing the capabilities of distributed ledger technology. Officials emphasize that the platform’s implementation will ensure that transactions conducted through the exchange remain unalterable and traceable.Chen Chun, the Director of the National Laboratory of Blockchain and Data Security, provided insights into the exchange’s advanced features, stating that it integrates research blockchain, privacy computing, and other cutting-edge technologies to establish a secure and confidential environment for sharing and utilizing data across departments and regions.Hangzhou’s digital economy sector has demonstrated significant growth, surpassing 500 billion Chinese yuan (equivalent to $69 billion) in 2022. This accounted for nearly 27% of the city’s total GDP. It suggests that the city is putting a strategic focus on technological development and innovation.Complex blockchain strategyChina’s stance on blockchain technology has been complex. While the Chinese authorities have been rigorous in regulating private blockchain enterprises, they have simultaneously championed government-led blockchain initiatives.President Xi Jinping, during the inauguration of the 2023 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Conference (SCO), highlighted the significance of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in expanding the use of local currencies for settlements among SCO member countries. In a move to stimulate domestic spending, the Chinese government recently distributed over 100 million yuan worth of digital yuan CBDC to its residents.China’s promotion of its digital yuan has been unrivaled. Over the course of recent months, various initiatives have been launched to further the use of the CBDC. These initiatives have included paying state employees with the currency in Changshu, integration of the currency into the education system in Jiangsu province, and the installation of digital yuan ATMs in Hainan, among many other such projects.Likewise, when it comes to metaverse development, a series of initiatives have been established recently. Henan province established a metaverse fund in May to support metaverse-related projects. In the same month, a National Blockchain Center was established to develop talent within the sector. Around the same time frame, the city of Zhengzhou announced proposals geared towards supporting the growth and development of metaverse companies.The unveiling of the Hangzhou Data Exchange underscores China’s ongoing determination to harness blockchain’s potential, in this case relative to enhancing data trading and management within the Web3 ecosystem.

South Korean cybersecurity firm AhnLab’s blockchain arm, AhnLab Blockchain Company, is working with Web3 performing arts platform Metacultures to offer free limited edition NFTs to all visitors of the "School of Rock" musical world tour’s show in Seoul, according to local news outlet Etoday on Monday (KST). The NFTs will be issued via AhnLab Blockchain Company’s digital Web3 wallet, ABC Wallet. As a non-custodial wallet, this service uses multi-party computation to support multiple blockchain networks including Ethereum, Polygon and Klaytn.Photo by Gwen King on UnsplashPreserving memories"We aim to offer a way for Korean fans of the 'School of Rock' musical to preserve the special experience of the performance with this NFT," said Lim Joo-young, Business Leader at AhnLab Blockchain Company. "We will continue to carry out various projects based on blockchain technology at various events." Visitors who wish to receive the NFTs can scan the QR code provided at the performance venue and register an ABC Wallet using their social media accounts on the linked site, after which the NFT will be automatically issued to their wallets. "We are glad to be able to provide NFT products for the 'School of Rock' musical to the audience through ABC Wallet, which boasts excellent security. We look forward to various security-based collaborations with AhnLab Blockchain Company in the future," said Lee Sang-woon, CEO of Metacultures. Show detailsThe ongoing performance will be held until March 24 at the Seoul Arts Center’s Opera House in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

EOS Granted Whitelist Approval by Japanese RegulatorsThe open-source layer-1 blockchain platform EOS has secured whitelist approval from the Japan Virtual and Crypto Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA).The EOS Network Foundation, an entity established with a view towards supporting and safeguarding the development of the EOS blockchain network, announced the approval via a blog post published to its website on Wednesday.EOS raised eyebrows with a staggering $4 billion initial coin offering (ICO) back in 2018. This approval will likely act as a shot in the arm for the project, given the period of relative stagnation that has followed the ICO.Photo by Paul MARSAN on UnsplashEOS price respondsThe approval paves the way for EOS to be traded against the Japanese yen, potentially opening up new avenues for the cryptocurrency’s adoption and utilization. The endorsement has had an immediate impact on the EOS token’s value, driving its price up by 5.54% over the course of the past seven days in a surge of market activity.At the time of writing, the EOS token is trading at $0.622 with an accompanying market capitalization of $696 million. This positive market response underscores the significance of regulatory greenlights in the cryptocurrency sphere.Mid-September trading launchThe Japanese Financial Service Authority (FSA) will oversee the regulation of EOS trading on local Japanese crypto exchange BitTrade, a well-established platform in the Japanese crypto space. The anticipated commencement of EOS token trading on BitTrade is slated for mid-September.The EOS development team is coming out the better end of its interaction with regulators in this instance. However, that hasn’t always been the case. In 2019 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States fined technology company Block.one, which at that time was responsible for the EOS ICO. All things considered, the sanction was recognized by most in the crypto space as being very much on the lighter end.Fostering Web3 growthJapan’s crypto ecosystem has been actively seeking ways to integrate and foster the growth of the Web3 industry. Its regulators have been lauded more recently, given that Japanese customers of failed crypto platforms like FTX were protected from those failures due to regulatory rules that insisted upon crypto platforms ring-fencing and safeguarding user funds.There have also been several initiatives taken to collaborate with international regulators on developing regulatory standards relative to digital assets. Earlier this month, the Japanese Financial Accounting Standards Foundation (FASF) met with the Korea Accounting Institute (KAI) to work on establishing accounting standards for digital assets.Japan’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) is also participating in Singapore’s Project Guardian, an initiative driven by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to explore the potential of digital assets.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s supportive stance on Web3, describing it recently as “the new form of capitalism,” further reinforces Japan’s ambitions to establish itself as a hub for cryptocurrency activities. This regulatory nod for EOS could potentially mark the beginning of a broader trend, attracting more projects and investments to the Japanese crypto sector.