Animoca founder: $200T crypto market within 10 years

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), an independent statutory body that regulates Hong Kong’s securities and futures markets, has alerted investors to 33 suspicious websites which appear to be masquerading as HashKey, one of the Chinese autonomous territory’s first licensed virtual asset exchanges.Photo by Dan Freeman on UnsplashAlert listThe regulator flagged the websites by publishing their domain names to its alert list. Hong Kong’s SFC first published its alert list relative to suspicious crypto-related entities in November 2021. In terms of both suspicious trading platforms and suspicious crypto-related web links, the regulator has found 91 instances to date. Remarks added to the listing confirm that a HashKey company, Hash Blockchain Limited, had reported the websites to the regulator as fraudulent websites. The web domain links have been slightly modified when compared to official links to the HashKey website, in an effort to mislead HashKey customers. A little less than two weeks ago, HashKey published a statement to its website, making service users aware of the fraudulent links and websites. It stated: “Fraudulent websites will appear under different domain names or with slight modifications or variations of the official HashKey Exchange website address www.hashkey.com by adding a combination of letters, numbers or symbols.” The company added that it has no connection with these websites, that no affiliation exists with HashKey Exchange, and consequently the company doesn’t accept any liability for any matters relating to these fraudulent websites and links. As well as the regulator, HashKey has also reported the matter to the Hong Kong Police Force. Tackling crypto-related fraudBoth law enforcement and regulators in Hong Kong have been more proactive in tackling any signs of crypto-related fraud or potential scams following an episode of fraud involving an unlicensed Dubai-headquartered crypto exchange, JPEX, in 2023. At that time, the authorities within the Chinese autonomous territory received in excess of 2,369 complaints from Hong Kong residents who had been duped by the unregulated exchange. Overall, victims were out of pocket to the tune of $166 million. Some commentators had likened the JPEX scandal as being an “FTX moment” for Hong Kong, referring to the high profile collapse of Bahamas-headquartered crypto exchange FTX in November 2022. However, Hong Kong investors also suffered as a result of the FTX collapse.  In fact, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the SFC were listed as FTX creditors in 2023. The statutory bodies appeared on the FTX creditor list alongside 50 Hong Kong institutions. Towards the end of 2023, the agency issued a public warning regarding HongKongDAO and BitCuped, entities that were accused of misinformation. In February 2024, the SFC issued a reminder to investors within the Chinese autonomous territory to ensure that they’re only engaging with licensed cryptocurrency platforms. To date, the regulator has awarded crypto trading licenses to seven virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs). Earlier this month, the regulator extended use of its swift licensing process to all new applicants in an effort to fast-track the approval of more licensed platforms.

KOMSCO and KEPCO Cooperate on Blockchain TechnologyKorea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) have recently agreed to cooperate on blockchain technology, as well as other information and communication technology, according to a press release by KOMSCO.©Pexels/Savvas StavrinosConnect and develop modelLast Thursday, KOMSCO held a seminar on tech cooperation with KEPCO in Daejeon, home to many Korean government agencies. At the seminar, both sides decided to embrace a connect and develop model, which is more advantageous than closed research and development models in terms of agility and cost-effectiveness.Digital transformationThe two agencies possess a wealth of advanced technologies: KOMSCO excels in NFT authentication and blockchain-based payments systems, while KEPCO holds a competitive edge in blockchain platforms. Both parties will explore various ways to collaborate in these areas to promote Korea’s digital transformation.More stable electricity gridFurthermore, KOMSCO is continuously expanding infrastructure for information technology, and deploying its security solutions to KEPCO is expected to bolster the stability of the country’s electricity grid.

Further Setback for Luno With Loss of Top ExecGlobal crypto exchange Luno has been challenged of late, with job cuts, the closure of its presence in Singapore and now the loss of a key executive from the company.According to a report published by CNBC on Tuesday, the embattled crypto firm is losing Vijay Ayyar, its Vice President of Corporate Development and International. The setback follows an announcement last month by the company to withdraw its presence from the Singaporean market.Photo by Marten Bjork on UnsplashUnrelated to Singapore closureAyyar made the following comment via WhatsApp message: “I’ll be leaving Luno after 7 years at the company. Given the time I’d spent at Luno, it just seemed like it was time for another challenge.” It’s understood that Ayyar has confirmed that Luno’s move to exit Singapore (where he was based) was not related to his own decision to move on. Instead the top executive has said that he will be joining another company within the crypto and over-arching Web3 space.Luno management had previously outlined that its decision to exit Singapore formed part of an overall “evaluation of [its] global strategy and presence.” As part of its retreat from that South East Asian market, it withdrew its licensing application from consideration by the local regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).At the time of that announcement, the company stated: “ It’s not a decision we’ve taken lightly. It’s always been our mission to put the power of crypto in everyone’s hands. This is still true.”Organizational changesThe company is clearly going through a period of adjustment from a staffing and resourcing perspective. Last month, Luno announced that its co-founder, Marcus Swanepoel, would be stepping down as CEO. Filling his boots in that role will be Luno’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), James Lanigan.This organizational upheaval follows a further setback in January, when the company announced a 35% cut in headcount. The decision for those job cuts was taken as a knock on reaction to what had been a very challenging trading environment for Luno and crypto companies generally during a year long crypto bear market in 2022.A troubled parent companyLuno’s difficulties have been further compounded given that it is a portfolio company of crypto industry conglomerate, Digital Currency Group (DCG). DCG had acquired the company in 2020. DCG also owns digital assets-focused financial services firm Genesis which filed for bankruptcy in January. It owes $575 million to Genesis in a scenario that places DCG itself in default risk.Genesis and DCG have recently entered into a 30 day mediation process in order to reach a resolution relative to creditors who participated in the Gemini Earn programme associated with the Gemini cryptocurrency business run by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.As yet DCG has not sought to sell off any of its portfolio companies which includes Grayscale, CoinDesk and Foundry. However, it’s understood that Luno has hired investment bank Canaccord Genuity in an effort to garner suitors who would be interested in investing in the company. This may be part of a plan to unburden the troubled DCG parent company.