INDODAX snags full licensing in Indonesia

Parachain Fork Sees Transition to Enjin BlockchainEnjin, a Singapore-headquartered non-fungible token (NFT) platform, has announced its transition to a new mainnet named Enjin Blockchain, with the goal of further advancing Web3 adoption. As part of this transition, Enjin has forked its Polkadot parachain, Efinity, to the new blockchain.The project made the announcement via a blog post published to its website on Thursday.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashIntegrated functionalityAccording to the team at Enjin, the Enjin Blockchain distinguishes itself from other blockchain solutions by integrating functions such as NFT creation and transfer directly into the foundational code of the blockchain, eliminating the reliance on smart contracts. This integration aims to streamline and simplify the process of creating and transferring NFTs.In addition to this fundamental change, the Enjin Blockchain introduces several new features. One notable feature is “Fuel Tanks,” which enables developers to subsidize user transaction fees, making it more cost-effective for users to interact with the blockchain. Another feature is “Discrete Accounts,” which allows users to engage with blockchain-based projects without the need to download specific wallet software.Fork to Efinity MatrixchainAlongside the transition to the Enjin Blockchain, the team has also forked Efinity, the Polkadot parachain, to the new mainnet. This rebranded version will be known as the Efinity Matrixchain and will facilitate a smooth transition for existing users.Witek Radomski, the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Enjin, emphasized that the launch of the Enjin Blockchain aims to support creativity by making the creation and distribution of NFTs more accessible and affordable. Radomski stated: “Enjin Blockchain makes the creation and mass distribution of NFTs affordable and accessible to everyone. Our aim is nothing short of revolutionizing gaming, ownership, and online identity.”Enjin’s chief financial officer, Oscar Franklin Tan, expressed his belief that NFTs and digital ownership will be pivotal in the future of gaming, particularly with advancements in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality. Tan emphasized Enjin’s commitment to supporting this next wave of gaming and the resulting “explosion of content.”Enjin believes that it sets itself apart from the competition due to the fact that it’s built on top of the open-source Substrate framework, a mechanism that facilitates the development of customized blockchains that may be run on an entirely autonomous basis.Using this unique approach, Enjin Blockchain doesn’t depend upon the use of smart contracts. Instead, critical functions such as creating, using, and transferring NFTs are integrated directly into the core, foundational blockchain code.NFT lending stabilityIn related news, the stability of NFT lending has been aided by the use of blue-chip collateral. Paraspace, an NFT protocol, recently reported that despite facilitating NFT loans totaling over $280 million, it experienced no bad debt and only 16 NFT liquidations. This success can be attributed to the protocol’s requirement that only blue-chip NFTs can be used as collateral, ensuring the value and stability of the assets involved.As Enjin embraces its new mainnet and the Efinity Matrixchain, the platform positions itself as a key player in the evolving NFT and blockchain landscape. With a focus on accessibility, affordability, and the support of creative endeavors, Enjin aims to drive innovation in gaming, ownership, and online identity.

Suspected Malicious Activity Drains AnySwap Tokens via Multichain ExecutorAccording to an on-chain sleuth known as Spreek, a person is using the Multichain Executor to drain tokens associated with the AnySwap bridging protocol.Multichain is a cross-chain routing network, established and maintained by a Chinese developer team. It supports in excess of 25 blockchains and more than 1,100 tokens.Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash$100 million outflowThis revelation comes after abnormal outflows of over $100 million from Multichain bridges on July 7, which were flagged by the Multichain team. Spreek’s report via Twitter on July 10 states that the Multichain Executor address has been draining anyToken addresses across multiple chains and transferring them to a new externally owned account (EOA).Evidence provided in the report includes an Ethereum transaction, 0x53ede4462d90978b992b0a88727de19afe4e96f0374aa1a221b8ff65fda5a6fe, which called the “anySwapFeeTo” method on the Multichain Router: V4 contract. This transaction resulted in approximately $15,275.90 worth of anyDAI being minted on Ethereum, sent to the Multichain Executor, burned, and exchanged for the underlying DAI backing the asset.The funds from these transactions were sent to the following address:0x1eed63efba5f81d95bfe37d82c8e736b974f477b. Similarly, on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC), the Multichain Executor used the anySwapFeeTo function to convert $208,997 worth of anyUSDC into Binance-pegged USDC and sent them to the same address. Additionally, 50.80 anyBTC, equivalent to $39,251.43 at the time, was converted into Binance-pegged Bitcoin and sent to the address.In total, approximately $263,524.33 worth of tokens were sent to this address through the anySwapFeeTo method. Spreek suggests that this behavior could be part of the protocol’s normal functioning. However, a different account engaged in similar activity the day before and ultimately sold the drained tokens, indicating malicious intent.Potential exploitSpreek theorizes that the attacker may be exploiting the anySwapFeeTo function by setting fees to an arbitrarily large amount, allowing them to drain users’ funds. The function apparently permits setting any value, enabling the address to choose the total value of the token held in that anyToken.The Multichain incident has puzzled blockchain analysts, as it remains unclear whether it resulted from an exploit or if it was simply large token-holders moving their funds between networks. The mystery began on July 7 when over $100 million worth of tokens were withdrawn from the Ethereum side of Multichain’s bridges and transferred to wallet addresses with no prior transactions. This represented the majority of funds held on each bridge.Hack or rug pullThe Multichain team labeled these withdrawals as “abnormal” and advised users to stop using the protocol. However, they have not disclosed the source or nature of the anomaly. In response to the incident, stablecoin issuers Circle and Tether froze some of the addresses involved in the suspicious transactions. Chainanalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, has commented that the incident appears more like a hack or rug pull rather than a migration.Adding to the complexity, the Multichain team has reported that their CEO is missing, and they have shut down certain bridges due to losing access to some of the network’s multi-party computation network servers. There have been various concerns relative to Multichain since May. The situation continues to evolve, with ongoing investigations and efforts to mitigate any potential damage caused by the suspected malicious activity.

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.