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Kandle Secures Funding for Platform DevelopmentSingapore-based crypto fantasy GameFi startup Kandle has recently secured $1.7 million in a seed funding round, with Saama Capital, a venture capital firm that invests in early and growth stage tech sector companies, leading the investment.Other participants in the funding round included PointOne Capital, Cloud Capital, Good Capital, Founder’s Room, Seeders Fund, and Sumit Gupta, CEO of crypto investment platform CoinDCX.The GameFi concept is an innovative fusion of blockchain technology, gaming, and decentralized finance, allowing players to earn cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) while playing games on the platform. Additionally, GameFi enables the transfer of in-game items to the virtual world, enabling trade on NFT marketplaces and crypto exchanges.Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashExpansion plansKandle stands out by offering fantasy games that incorporate crypto tokens, where players compete to win various rewards. Already gaining traction in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as in burgeoning markets such as Nigeria and India, Kandle has ambitious plans to expand its footprint across Asia and North America.As part of its efforts to realize that expansion, funding is being used to build out the Kandle platform further, expanding its user base into the bargain. Founder Jaideep Yadav expressed enthusiasm about the potential of gaming and crypto coming together, positioning Kandle at the forefront of this evolving landscape.Yadav stated: “There is a massive opportunity at the intersection of gaming and crypto, and we’re excited to be at the forefront of this evolution in crypto fantasy gaming. Super grateful for the unwavering support of our investors as we forge ahead in bringing the vision of Kandle to fruition. “Project roadmapLooking ahead, Kandle aims to unveil its project roadmap, which will include token issuance, token utility, and a play-and-win model designed to reimagine the play-to-earn ecosystem. Notably, Kandle has taken a unique approach by prioritizing the development of a fully functioning, sustainable gaming product based on sound gaming principles rather than merely focusing on project tokens. The team plans to integrate smart contracts to ensure transparency, security, and fairness in the gaming experience.Ash Lilani, the Managing Partner at Saama Capital, commented on the importance of making the crypto industry safer for the next wave of users. He praised Kandle’s gamified approach for providing a secure and unique way for users to engage with crypto without taking direct exposure to any specific coins.Kandle’s funding success signifies the increasing interest and investment in the GameFi space, which merges the excitement of gaming with the possibilities offered by blockchain and cryptocurrencies. News of the investment comes within the same time frame as an announcement by Sky Mavis, the team behind Axie Infinity, which is also Singapore-headquartered, which sees it partner with CyberKongz, an Ethereum-based non-fungible token collection.The development of blockchain gaming has not progressed in a neat straight line. It’s been imperfect but ongoing activity in the sector suggests that ultimately, GameFi start-ups will continue to evolve until such time as a mass market breakthrough is made in gaming.

Mercari, one of Japan's leading e-commerce platforms, has declared its intention to accept bitcoin payments starting from June of this year. The decision, which was reported by Japanese financial media outlet Nikkei on Friday, outlines that the processing of bitcoin payments will be managed through Mercari's Tokyo-based crypto subsidiary, Melcoin.Photo by Dmytro Demidko on UnsplashSeamless BTC conversionIt's noteworthy that Melcoin will convert all BTC payments into yen, ensuring vendors receive fiat currency despite the buyer's choice of bitcoin for payment. While the company won't display prices in bitcoin, listing items for sale in fiat yen, customers will have the option to select BTC as a payment method during the purchase process on the platform. In recent months, Mercari has introduced various crypto-related products, including the Mercari bitcoin crypto trading service. This service allows users to buy and sell bitcoin using the proceeds from their sales on the platform. The integration of a loyalty points system further enhances the crypto trading experience, enabling Mercari users to exchange their points for bitcoin. Remarkably, Mercari announced that its bitcoin trading service surpassed the 1 million user milestone in October, just seven months after its launch. At the time of the launch of the trading service, the company outlined that it would “make bitcoin more accessible to people who have never tried crypto trading before.” Notably, around 80% of the crypto users on Mercari had no prior experience with crypto-asset trading in June of the previous year. Expanding its crypto-related offering to include bitcoin payments unleashes much more potential relative to crypto adoption. 22 million monthly usersEstablished in 2013, Mercari has evolved into Japan's largest community marketplace platform, boasting 22 million monthly users as of July 2023. It’s a flea market application, making it a consumer-to-consumer platform that could play a significant role in bringing about bitcoin adoption in Japan among ordinary people. The company has also expanded its footprint internationally, with a particular focus on Europe. Market observers have labeled Mercari's crypto service, along with a competitor operated by Rakuten, as a potential "gateway" for bitcoin and crypto investors and traders. Rakuten, another major Japanese e-commerce platform deeply involved in the crypto space for an extended period, operates the Rakuten Wallet crypto trading service. Like Mercari, Rakuten has integrated its loyalty points program with its crypto arm, allowing users to trade their points for crypto-assets. Rakuten had also emerged last year among a shortlist of Asian companies expressing an interest in purchasing failed crypto exchange FTX. A recent survey highlighted the growing influence of these e-commerce giants in the crypto space. Japanese individuals who entered the coin trading scene towards the end of 2022 overwhelmingly favored either Mercari's bitcoin trading app (24.7%) or Rakuten's Rakuten Wallet platform (24.2%). This revelation dealt a blow to traditional crypto exchanges, with bitFlyer, the long-standing market leader, securing the third position with a share of 11.3%. This move contributes towards a more progressive crypto environment in Japan, where lawmakers recently indicated a willingness to consider making tax rules more accommodative of the crypto sector.

Korbit relists blockchain gaming token WEMIXKorbit, a major fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, is relisting WEMIX, a cryptocurrency issued by blockchain gaming company Wemade. Korbit’s decision follows in the footsteps of its local competitors, Coinone and Gopax, who have also recently reinstated WEMIX. The WEMIX token is used to pay transaction fees, stake and vote on governance proposals.Starting at 1:00 a.m. UTC on Dec. 7, Korbit users gained the ability to create a WEMIX wallet and deposit the token on the exchange. Trading and withdrawals of WEMIX will be enabled at 3:00 p.m. UTC on the same day.The Korbit exchange only accepts WEMIX deposits originating from the Wemix network. Deposits of WEMIX sent from other blockchain networks, including BNB Beacon Chain, Ethereum and Klaytn, may be processed improperly and carry the risk of becoming irretrievable.Photo by Asa E-K on UnsplashDecision reversal and underlying rationalesOver a year ago, the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), a coalition of the five Korean fiat-to-crypto exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — collectively decided to delist WEMIX from all their platforms. This decision was based on several concerns, including unreliable disclosure of the token’s circulating supply, provision of inadequate and misleading information to investors and inconsistencies in the data provided during the explanation period. These issues collectively eroded trust in the company.However, Korbit has determined that the previously identified issues with WEMIX have been addressed. The exchange observed that the circulating supply of WEMIX has been reduced to a level that aligns with the schedule initially submitted to DAXA. The launch of the WEMIX mainnet rectified the discrepancy where the circulating supply displayed on crypto data platforms like CoinMarketCap was twice the actual figure. Additionally, the collateral that Wemade had deposited in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Kokoa Finance has been recovered.The crypto trading platform also believes that Wemade has resolved the problem of providing misleading information to investors by making corrections to its third-quarter earnings report.Regarding data fallacies, Korbit holds the view that the game publisher has taken steps to address the inaccuracies in the data previously provided to the alliance. These efforts to reduce uncertainty and fulfill disclosure responsibilities include several measures: Wemade now live-updates the circulating supply of WEMIX and other pertinent details on its official blog. The gaming company has also entrusted the management of its non-circulating WEMIX supply to Ceffu, the sole institutional custodian for Binance, a global crypto exchange. Furthermore, Wemade now makes announcements about token movements whenever they occur.Restrictions imposed on GopaxMeanwhile, Korbit stated its commitment to complying with voluntary regulations and common listing guidelines established between DAXA members. This statement is particularly noteworthy in light of the recent developments with Gopax. Gopax faced the three-month suspension of its voting rights from DAXA, following the relisting of WEMIX.