Komainu acquires Singaporean digital asset custodian

Bitstamp, regarded as the longest-running cryptocurrency exchange in the business, declared on March 6 that it has obtained in-principle approval for a license to function as a Major Payment Institution (MPI) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).Photo by Zhu Hongzhi on UnsplashFirst major Euro exchange in SingaporeThis preliminary approval, a precursor to a full-fledged license for operation in Singapore, marks a significant milestone for Bitstamp towards offering digital payment token services within the city-state. According to the exchange's press release, it's the first crypto trading platform with a substantial presence in the European Union (EU) to secure such approval from MAS. The nod from Singapore’s financial regulator arrives amidst notable regulatory strides in the crypto domain, including the European Union’s rollout of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework and the green light given by the U.S. for Bitcoin ETFs. Focusing on AsiaBitstamp's strategic focus on the Asia Pacific region, with Singapore as its central hub, underscores its focus in delivering services to both institutional and retail clientele across the region. The firm’s intent in this regard became clear in August of last year when Bitstamp sought capital funding to enable it to extend the platform’s reach into various markets across Asia. Whilst the company’s origins can  be traced back to Slovenia, it has since developed further ties with Asia. In 2018, the company was acquired by NXMH, a subsidiary of South Korea’s NXC Corporation. The same holding company owns Korean crypto exchange Korbit. Compliance strategyWhile the licensing is quite the achievement, the company already boasts a robust regulatory track record, surpassing the 50-license mark across key markets such as Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France the United States (with coverage in 40 states including New York, Washington, Texas and Florida) and the United Kingdom. In its press release the company referred to its ever-growing licensing collection, outlining that “compliance and regulation [are] at the heart of all operations.” Leonard Hoh, Bitstamp's APAC General Manager, lauded Singapore's proactive stance in establishing a regulatory framework for crypto exchanges, positioning the city-state as a pivotal player in the digital assets landscape. Singapore has already granted full licenses to several crypto service providers, including Blockchain.com, Circle, Coinbase and Ripple. In late 2023, Bitstamp initiated talks with three major European banks regarding the potential introduction of cryptocurrency services in 2024. This signals a broader trend within the EU, where the crypto regulatory initiative, MiCA, is smoothing the path for traditional financial institutions to venture into the digital assets realm. Robert Zagotta, Bitstamp’s Chief Commercial Officer, highlighted the surge in interest surrounding its “Bitstamp-as-a-Service” offering, especially within European circles. This service furnishes a white-label licensing framework, coupled with requisite technology, to aid banks and fintech entities in facilitating cryptocurrency transactions for their clientele. However, the regulatory landscape isn't as welcoming in India, where the country’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) urged the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block the URLs of nine major global crypto exchanges, including Bitstamp, in late 2023. 

Incheon City Creates Metaverse Representation of Incheon Landing Operation Within The SandboxIncheon Metropolitan City announced Wednesday that the metaverse representation of the Incheon Landing Operation, the turning point of the Korean War, will be accessible on virtual gaming platform The Sandbox. Incheon is the first public organization in South Korea to collaborate with The Sandbox.Photo by Ian Hutchinson on UnsplashHonoring veteransThe metaverse content depicting the military operation has been developed to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement and to honor the soldiers who protected the freedom and peace of the Republic of Korea.This urban experiential content aims to offer virtual gamers the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the Incheon Landing Operation and engage in interactions with historical figures. Additionally, the platform will feature a variety of mini-games.Support through NFTsAs part of this initiative, Incheon will create and release a limited NFT collection, with all proceeds from the sales being donated to support Korean War veterans, both domestically and abroad, through the Korean War Veterans Association.The NFT collection will be available for purchase on the Sandbox Marketplace. Moreover, NFT buyers will have the opportunity to win Incheon tourism products like hotel vouchers and passes to tourist destinations.Meanwhile, Incheon is creating more content within The Sandbox, with the objective of showcasing the city to a global audience. It also plans to explore avenues for inviting metaverse users to Incheon, providing them with chances to enjoy its urban landscape.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has outlined that it has established a community initiative relative to its recently launched Project Ensemble tokenization market development effort. 'Project Ensemble Architecture Community'In a press release on May 7, the Hong Kong regulator set out the establishment of the “Project Ensemble Architecture Community.” Project Ensemble was launched two months ago on March 7. At the time, the regulator described the project as “a new wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) project to render support to the development of the tokenisation market in Hong Kong.” The HKMA is trying to create an environment in which it can “develop standards” for the emerging tokenization market, with particular emphasis on the use of a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC). The Chinese autonomous territory’s central bank has launched the “Project Ensemble Architecture Community,” with a view towards supporting interoperability between a wholesale CBDC, tokenized money and tokenized assets. The HKMA has outlined the community's primary objective, stating it aims to provide recommendations on various topics, with initial emphasis on devising a mechanism to facilitate seamless interbank settlement of tokenized deposits through wCBDC for tokenized asset transactions.Photo by Jimmy Chan on PexelsPublic and private sector participantsFurthermore, the working group intends to support the design and execution of Project Ensemble. Notable participants in the "Architecture Community" include the HKMA itself, Hong Kong’s other financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, the CBDC Expert Group and seven private sector entities.  Among these are Bank of China (Hong Kong), Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, Standard Chartered Hong Kong, HashKey Group, Ant Digital Technologies and Microsoft Hong Kong. Hashkey Group owns one of two Hong Kong-regulated cryptocurrency exchanges, HashKey Exchange. It also runs a brokerage, asset manager and tokenization platform, amongst other entities. Ant was recently involved in a tokenized deposit trial with HSBC. Regulatory sandboxOne of the first matters on the agenda for the newly-formed Community is to make recommendations about using a wCBDC for interbank settlement of tokenized deposits. Following that, the project plans to work towards the design and implementation of the Project Ensemble Sandbox which will launch in the coming months. The HKMA has been actively testing its CBDC and commenced the second phase of the e-HKD pilot in March. This phase of the pilot program is slated to extend until mid-2025. The journey towards exploring CBDCs in Hong Kong dates back to 2017, with the authorities intensifying their focus on researching a potential e-HKD in 2021, spanning both wholesale and retail levels. With the participation of key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, including leading financial institutions and technology firms, the initiative appears to be well-positioned to drive innovation and address the evolving needs of the financial industry in Hong Kong.