Shares in Moon Inc. surge following 1 BTC purchase

Internet-only Kbank offers virtual accounts for fractional art investorsKbank, a neobank based in South Korea, announced on Tuesday (local time) a new service for its customers interested in art investment. According to a report by local news outlet Newsis, Kbank has introduced virtual accounts for clients investing in securities that allow fractional ownership of artworks. These virtual account numbers will mirror the mobile phone numbers of securities subscribers, making them easy to remember and use. Subscribers will utilize these accounts to deposit funds for placing bids on fractional shares of art pieces.Photo by Precondo CA on UnsplashYayoi Kusama’s pumpkinThis unique bidding event, a first in the nation, is scheduled to run until Dec. 22. It will feature “Pumpkin,” a 2001 artwork by renowned Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama. Artnguide, a platform operated by Yeolmae Company, is managing the event. Yeolmae Company has secured regulatory approval to issue security tokens backed by the artwork.Total of 12,320 sharesThe event offers a total of 12,320 shares, with each share having a par value of KRW 100,000, which is approximately $77. An individual participant in this event is allowed to place bids for a maximum of 300 shares.In the Korean crypto market, Kbank is well-known for providing banking services to Upbit, the nation’s largest fiat-to-crypto exchange. In Korea, legal regulations mandate that any virtual asset service provider offering trading in Korean won must secure bank accounts from a local bank.Kbank’s recent initiative highlights the internet-only bank’s active engagement in the blockchain industry. Presently, Kbank provides its virtual account services to 16 companies, and it is focused on expanding its partnership base. Looking ahead, the bank plans to diversify its financial offerings, exploring innovative approaches like security token offerings to broaden its services in the evolving financial landscape.

CertiLife Secures Funding for Blockchain-Based Medical Device WarrantiesCertiLife, a South Korean startup that specializes in blockchain-based warranty services for medical devices, has recently secured seed funding from dentists and the blockchain industry. The amount of the investment remains undisclosed, as reported by local media outlet Mirakle Ahead.Photo by Jonathan Borba on UnsplashBlockchain advantagesCertiLife leverages the power of blockchain technology to issue warranties for medical devices. Unlike traditional physical warranties, CertiLife’s digital warranties are not only environmentally friendly but also offer cost-saving benefits to medical device manufacturers. This is achieved by eliminating the need for physical resources.Through messaging appCertiLife’s blockchain-powered warranties are issued through South Korea’s popular messaging app KakaoTalk, providing convenience to clinics and patients. They can be easily managed using Klip, a digital asset wallet developed by GroundX, a blockchain subsidiary of Kakao Corp.One of the investors expressed expectations that blockchain-based warranties would address the inconvenience and risk of loss associated with traditional warranties. The investor said that CertiLife’s digital warranties will ensure secure data management, save time, and offer improved convenience.CEO Kim Do-hee of CertiLife emphasized the company’s commitment to utilizing investment funds to enhance its services. Kim said that CertiLife is actively preparing to collaborate with various medical device manufacturers and also exploring opportunities to expand into international markets later this year.

Gemini Opening Engineering Center in IndiaUS-based crypto exchange Gemini announced on Thursday that it is in the midst of opening an engineering center in India. The company plans to open the center in Gurgaon, making it Gemini’s second largest engineering hub behind its existing base in the United States. Gemini also has offices in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Ireland.©Pexels/Studio Art SmileDeveloping next-gen user experiencesThe objective of the India-based engineering, design and operations team will be to work on the development of core platform fundamentals relative to compliance, security, payments, and data pipelines and warehousing. Furthermore, the unit is being set the goal of building new feature sets relative to the company’s NFT and digital asset marketplaces. What that team develops is intended to be used within Gemini’s overall retail and institutional product and service offering across in excess of seventy countries worldwide.In the statement published to its website, Pravit Tiwana, Gemini’s Global Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) region Chief Executive Officer (CEO) stated that the firm is actively recruiting software engineers and technical product managers and for other technical roles to staff the Gurgaon facility. Tiwana emphasizes a need for people who are “inspired to learn quickly” relative to DeFi, Web3, NFTs and DAOs.Singapore expansionTiwana himself has been newly appointed to his role and in a separate announcement Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss welcomed Tiwana on-board. The statement also reveals that in addition to establishing an engineering team presence in India, it also intends to add a business team in India and to expand its business team at its existing Singapore base with the objective of growing its institutional and retail customer base in the APAC region.The Winklevii twins said that they believe that “crypto and Web3 products will continue to have a [sic] strong growth trajectories in APAC. Crypto knows no boundaries, and that is why Gemini is a global company.”Expanding beyond the USIt’s patently obvious to anyone following developments in the crypto space over the course of recent months that the Biden administration in the United States is currently hostile to crypto. The Washington, D.C. government has used various mechanisms of state including the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury to instigate a purge against crypto companies, including those who bank crypto companies. That has seen key operators in the US crypto ecosystem looking beyond US borders right now.Earlier this week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong signaled that the company would act and move overseas if the regulatory environment in the United States didn’t improve. Subsequently, it emerged that Coinbase had established a presence in Bermuda. It’s being speculated that this entity could be used to float an offshore exchange. Similarly, the company is understood to be seeking a crypto license in Abu Dhabi.Gemini looking to develop overseas is likely to be motivated by similar concerns. Crypto companies can see that jurisdictional arbitrage applies and if governments act to stymie such business activity, other global centers such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, India and others will seize the opportunity and nurture that business and the innovation at hand.