China dominates Bitcoin hashrate despite mining ban

Singapore Pledges $112M to Boost Fintech Solutions Including Web3Acknowledging the growing significance of collaboration with industry stakeholders in propelling advancements in emergent technologies such as Web3, Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has unveiled plans to allocate up to 150 million Singapore dollars (approximately $112 million) towards supporting a spectrum of financial technology solutions, with a special focus on Web3.Photo by Jason Leung on UnsplashDistributed over three yearsThis financial commitment, outlined in a press release published to the MAS website on Monday, will be distributed over a three-year period as part of the revamped Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 3.0), designed to invigorate and fortify innovation by backing projects that leverage cutting-edge technologies.The renewed innovation scheme encompasses multiple avenues, including the Enhanced Centre of Excellence track, the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) fintech track, and the Innovation Acceleration track — the last incorporating the realm of Web3.Emphasizing industry partnershipsMAS underlined the importance of forging partnerships with industry participants to bolster inventive fintech solutions originating from emerging technologies such as Web3.“MAS will conduct open calls for the use of innovative technologies in industry use cases. Grant funding will be provided to support actual trial and commercialization,” the central bank stated.In addition to these efforts, the initiative will maintain its commitment to encouraging adoption across domains like artificial intelligence, data analytics, and regulatory technology (RegTech). Furthermore, there will be an emphasis on fostering adoption within companies that are still digitally maturing and seeking to integrate RegTech solutions.Applicants across the various program tracks will be required to allocate resources toward nurturing talent. This strategy aims to augment Singapore’s fintech talent pool, ultimately contributing to the nation’s expertise in the sector.Ravi Menon, the Managing Director of MAS, underscored the substantial investment that the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) has funneled into the FSTI program since its inception in 2015.Menon highlighted that this initiative’s overarching objective is to spur innovation and facilitate the seamless integration of novel technologies within the financial landscape. Over the years, the program has exemplified its commitment to driving transformation and pioneering the adoption of new technology across the financial sector.Nurturing Web3 innovationPotential Web3 and crypto hubs have come and gone, but Singapore has been vying to take its place as a center for Web3 innovation over a sustained period after it suffered some setbacks in 2022 related to a string of crypto business failures.While Binance had not been permitted to serve customers in the city-state, that meant that a disproportionate number of Singaporeans got caught up in the failure of the FTX crypto exchange. Alongside that regulatory failure, state investment giant Temasek had to write off a substantial investment in the company, while suffering reputational damage for not having detected the FTX fraud.The city-state has also been home to the failure of crypto lender Hodlnaut and crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC). Despite these setbacks, Singaporean authorities are continuing to work towards setting the proper stage to further develop Web3 innovation. In June, MAS proposed a comprehensive framework for the design of open networks relative to tokenized digital assets. This latest initiative will further Singapore’s ambition to grow its Web3 sector.

WEMIX PLAY Launches NFT Auction ServiceWEMIX PLAY, the global blockchain gaming platform operated by South Korean gaming publisher Wemade, has officially launched its non-fungible token (NFT) auction service dubbed “Drops”.Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on UnsplashNFT biddingDrops will serve as a platform for auctioning game NFTs and special NFTs, catering to the growing demand for unique digital collectibles. Auctions on Drops will follow an English auction format where the highest bidder wins, which is also used on NILE, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and NFT platform based on the company’s decentralized blockchain network WEMIX3.0. Users can participate using WEMIX dollars (WEMIX$), the official stablecoin issued on the WEMIX3.0 mainnet.The first three games to launch NFTs on Drops are Melting Earth, Ballies, and Yield KingZ. Melting Earth collections are currently available for sale online, and the latter two will be released soon, according to WEMIX PLAY.Revolutionizing GameFiThe company’s introduction of Drops reflects the growing popularity and value of NFTs within the gaming world, providing gamers and collectors with an opportunity to acquire unique and rare in-game assets through an accessible and transparent auction platform, thus offering a more interactive gameplay experience while leading innovation in the gaming finance (GameFi) sector.

Digital asset exchange business Bullish has filed confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. The Financial Times reported on June 11 that the IPO had been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in recent weeks. Choosing to file the IPO confidentially will have enabled the firm to delay public disclosure, allowing it to progress with its preparation for the IPO and reveal financials closer to the point at which it goes public. Back in February, Bloomberg reported that the company was looking at the possibility of executing an IPO, with investment banking and financial services firm Jefferies understood to have been advising the firm. This latest report confirms that Jefferies will work as the lead underwriter in relation to the IPO deal.Photo by Markus Winkler on PexelsHong Kong tiesBullish is a subsidiary company of Block.one, a blockchain software company founded by Brendan Blumer and Dan Larimer, best known for having established the EOS.IO blockchain network. Both companies have strong ties with Hong Kong.  The Bullish exchange is licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). It has also obtained licensing from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) and the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).  The exchange business is jointly operated by corporate entities registered in Hong Kong and Gibraltar. The company maintains offices in Hong Kong, Gibraltar, Singapore, New York, London, Frankfurt and the Cayman Islands.  The business is also being backed by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li and American entrepreneur Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies and Founders Fund. Blumer, who is based in Hong Kong, founded Bullish in 2021 and currently serves as Bullish chairman. The company is understood to have in the region of 275 employees with Tom Farley leading it as CEO. Farley previously fulfilled the role of president at Intercontinental Exchange’s NYSE group. Positive climate for crypto IPOsAmid a more positive crypto climate in the United States, crypto-related IPOs appear to be back in favor. Leading stablecoin issuer Circle executed an IPO earlier this month with the offering being 25x oversubscribed. Following the success of the Circle IPO, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes asserted on X that it would lead to a plethora of crypto-related IPOs over the next few years. He likened that anticipated wave of IPOs to the flurry of initial coin offerings (ICOs) that occurred back in 2017. Earlier this month American crypto exchange platform Gemini confidentially filed for an IPO in the U.S. A Bloomberg report published in March suggested that rival exchange business Kraken is planning an IPO for Q1 2026.  There has been some speculation that Ripple, the American technology company that developed and supports XRP and the XRP Ledger (XRPL), may be a prime candidate for an IPO. Taking to the X social media platform, “Pentoshi,” a pseudonymous crypto market analyst with over 860,000 followers on X, said that a Ripple IPO “feels only logical.” The analyst added that if the company executed an IPO, it would likely weigh in at “some insanely stupid valuation.”