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Disagreement has emerged within the Bitcoin blockchain community, revolving around the BRC-20 token standard. Domo, the pseudonymous developer behind the creation of the token standard, has publicly expressed his opposition to an upcoming upgrade proposed by the Hong Kong headquartered project, UniSat Wallet.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashDue diligence concernsOn Tuesday Domo took to the X social media platform (previously Twitter) to articulate his concerns. He voiced apprehensions about hastily implementing updates in BRC-20, asserting that such a rush could potentially harm the broader BRC-20 user community. Domo's resistance is rooted in his belief that UniSat Wallet's proposed updates lack due diligence and are being introduced precipitously without considering potential repercussions. He wrote:”Recognizing the serious implications and valuations involved, I believe rushing these updates in BRC20 is reckless, disregards their peer indexers, and could potentially harm the broader community of BRC20 users.” ‘Split’ rather than ‘fork’Conversely, UniSat Wallet has declared its intention to “follow the Ordinals Jubilee upgrade, to confirm that BRC-20 is still on Ordinals without splitting into an isolated protocol." Described as a "split" rather than a "fork," UniSat Wallet's approach adapts to the Ordinals Jubilee upgrade, a transformative change in how the Bitcoin blockchain manages tokenized assets. In mapping the way forward its proposing to take, UniSat outlined that it would publish a whitepaper on Jan. 31, describing it as “the most significant present we are able to deliver” for BRC-20, Ordinals and Bitcoin. The crux of the matter lies in the method and pace of implementing these changes. Domo's concerns reflect a broader sentiment within the crypto community, where the rapid pace of advancements often collides with the need for stability and thorough vetting. UniSat Wallet's proposed changes, though innovative, may be viewed as potentially destabilizing by certain community members, especially those deeply entrenched in the current BRC-20 standard. Striking a balanceThis development is pivotal, highlighting the dynamic and occasionally contentious nature of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency standards. Web3 project incubator and investor TrustlessLabs summed up the matter in a social media post on Wednesday, drawing the following conclusions:”This situation encapsulates a critical challenge in blockchain protocol development: finding the right balance between preserving stability and embracing technological advancements.” As technology evolves, divergent opinions on the trajectory of these advancements are inevitable. The ongoing debate between Domo and UniSat Wallet serves as a microcosm of the larger conversations transpiring in the crypto space about how to strike the right balance between progress and stability. The BRC-20 token standard, an experimental fungible token standard on Bitcoin, draws inspiration from Ethereum's ERC-20 standard. It allows the creation of fungible tokens using Bitcoin’s Ordinals protocol, constituting a significant breakthrough in cryptocurrency by enabling novel forms of tokenization on the Bitcoin blockchain. This disagreement not only spotlights a critical debate in the crypto realm but also emphasizes the delicate equilibrium between innovation and stability.  

Korbit Passes Post-Audit for ISMS-P and ISO CertificationsSouth Korean crypto exchange Korbit announced on Wednesday that it has successfully passed a post-audit to maintain its Personal Information and Information Security Management System (ISMS-P) certification and four different International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications — ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, and ISO27701.“By maintaining our ISMS-P and ISO certifications this year, we were able to reaffirm the stability and trustworthiness of Korbit’s personal information protection capabilities and security management system,” said Oh Se-jin, CEO of Korbit.Photo by FLY:D on UnsplashRigorous criteriaThe ISMS-P is a security management system jointly operated by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Personal Information Protection Commission, representing the highest level of security management in Korea. It combines 80 requirements for Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification and 22 requirements for Personal Information Management System (PIMS) certification, totaling 102 requirements that must be met. Once obtained, certification is valid for three years, and annual post-audits are required to maintain its validity.Korbit first obtained ISMS-P certification in September of 2021 and has once again passed this year’s post-audit that was conducted last Wednesday.Meeting international standardsIn addition, the exchange had previously passed post-audits for four ISO certifications related to information protection and personal information management systems earlier in June. This includes ISO 27001 for information security management systems, ISO 27017 for information security controls on cloud services, ISO 27018 for protection of personally identifiable information (PII) in public clouds, and ISO 27701 for privacy information management systems.This achievement demonstrates Korbit’s commitment to reliability and security when operating and managing exchange services.“As a crypto exchange, we will continually focus on strict security management to ensure the protection of customer information and assets,” said CEO Oh.

Taiwan Aims to Propose Special Crypto Law by Late NovemberIn a bid to address growing concerns surrounding offshore crypto exchanges and prevent regulatory arbitrage, Taiwan is actively working towards proposing a draft special crypto law for its first reading by the end of November.Yung-Chang Chiang, a member of the Legislative Yuan, the Taiwanese parliament, emphasized the need for a dedicated crypto asset act to effectively regulate crypto businesses in discussion with The Block on Friday. Chiang believes that cryptocurrencies, as an asset class, significantly differ from traditional financial products and require oversight through a separate, specialized legal framework.Photo by Ian Chen on UnsplashPublic hearingThe Taiwanese politician recently organized a public hearing within the parliament to discuss the draft proposal with key stakeholders, including virtual asset service providers, legal experts, and academics. He argued that while Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) had released guidelines for the crypto sector to establish self-supervisory rules through a potential industry association, these measures lack legal enforceability.Chiang pointed out:“In this case, under the authority of this special law, regulatory authorities can impose administrative penalties on operators who violate these self-regulation rules. Without such a special law, the regulators would lack the ability to impose penalties.”Under the proposed special law, all crypto platforms operating in Taiwan would be required to obtain a permit. Failure to do so could result in regulatory orders to cease operations. Presently, Taiwan mandates that virtual asset service providers comply with anti-money laundering (AML) laws, which were introduced by the FSC in July 2021. However, the broader crypto industry in Taiwan remains largely unregulated.It is unlikely that the special law will pass through all three readings during the current legislative session, which is expected to conclude by the end of this year. Chiang noted: “An election is coming up, and the current legislative session focuses more on reviewing the government’s budget.”Chiang also mentioned the possibility of Taiwan’s FSC proposing its version of the special crypto law, but this is not anticipated until at least mid-2024. He explained: “It’s hard to say exactly when the special law will be enacted, but it should likely occur sometime after the middle of 2024.”Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is understood to be in the process of registering in Taiwan for AML compliance, despite not currently being regulated in the country. The exchange has formed a local entity named “Binance International Limited Taiwan Branch (Seychelles),” as indicated in the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs’ database.Banking difficultiesDuring the public hearing, Damien Ho, Representative of Global Partnerships at Binance, raised concerns about the challenges faced by crypto platforms in Taiwan in securing suitable banking services. Despite the FSC’s efforts to discourage banks from treating crypto platforms as high-risk entities, crypto platforms still encounter difficulties in their interactions with banks. Ho suggested that the Taiwanese government should encourage private or public banks to become more crypto-friendly, facilitating the regulated and effective development of crypto businesses.At the public hearing, Winston Hsiao, Co-Founder and Group CRO of Taipei-based crypto exchange XREX, suggested a step-by-step approach to regulation, with smaller entities adhering to self-supervisory rules formulated by the industry association after registration. For larger entities, he proposed obtaining a permit under the special law and potentially applying for other relevant financial licenses.