HashKey & Bosera launch world’s first tokenized money market ETFs

Blockchain and fintech company Dunamu has decided to release videos and presentations from the Upbit D Conference (UDC) 2023 — one of the biggest blockchain events in the country this year — for free on the official UDC YouTube channel, as stated in an official press release on Tuesday (KST). According to the company, it aims to support and revitalize the blockchain industry by making the content publicly available, although the offline event had an admission fee.Photo by Andrei Stratu on UnsplashExpert insightsNow in its sixth year, UDC has evolved into a comprehensive conference covering not only technology, but policies, finance and culture as well. Touting the slogan “All That Blockchain,” this year’s event brought together 39 local and international experts to present an in-depth vision of the trajectory of the blockchain industry. The conference featured a series of sessions led by key industry figures such as Matt Sorg, Head of Technology at the Solana Foundation; Roger Ver, founder of Bitcoin.com; and Oh Se-hyeon, Executive Vice President of SK Telecom, who spoke on various topics like AI, blockchain and Web3. Active online participationThis year’s UDC was also the first to be held both on and offline in a hybrid format to expand access for a bigger audience. The offline event was held at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul hotel on Nov. 13 and was streamed via YouTube. It attracted a record number of online visitors, with more than 100,000 total views on the livestream and up to 10,000 viewers watching at once. The online sessions featured guests like Laura Shi, Head of International Expansion at Consensys, who explained the convenience of using digital asset wallets for managing digital asset transactions. In addition, Pacman Blur, Core Contributor at Blur, touched on the future of NFTs and their role in Web3 ecosystems. A summary of the conference’s events and discussions can be found in the UDC 2023 Report, which is available in both Korean, English and Chinese on the UDC website. “We hope that content from UDC 2023 will bring knowledge and vision of blockchain to more people,” the company said.UDC has become increasingly popular since its inception, with more than 23,100 attendees participating over the last six years. All of the videos from this year’s conference have racked up a cumulative view count of 1.28 million as of November.

Coinbase Signals Interest in UAE BaseIn further evidence of a contrast in progression relative to the approach taken to digital assets in the United States versus other world regions, US crypto exchange Coinbase is understood to be considering the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a potential strategic hub for the company.Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on PexelsCause and effectA number of weeks ago, while Gary Gensler of the Securities of Exchange Commission (SEC) was facing a grilling in a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Brian Armstrong of Coinbase put out a statement saying that if the regulatory approach to crypto in the United States didn’t change, then the company would choose to locate itself elsewhere.It hasn’t taken Armstrong long to act on that intention. Late last month, the digital assets platform took its first step outside the United States by securing a license to operate in Bermuda. In line with Armstrong’s earlier comments, the move was seen as a strategic action taken by the company to expand its operations on a global basis.Armstrong had warned that unless regulators in the US provided complete regulatory clarity in relation to the activities of cryptocurrency firms, then the innovation would quickly develop in offshore havens. Alongside the announcement of the license to trade in Bermuda, a blog article was published which indicated that the company was also in discussion with regulators in Abu Dhabi in the UAE with a view towards potentially obtaining a license to operate there.Blog articleFast forward to Sunday, with the publication of yet another blog article by the company, and it seems that the company is hinting at a much stronger likelihood of establishing a UAE base. The article outlines that over the course of the next week, the Coinbase founder and CEO and the company’s executive team are in the UAE to participate in a round of meetings with regulators, industry partners, policymakers, clients and web3/crypto founders.The article outlines that Armstrong would give a keynote at the Dubai Fintech Summit, while elaborating that “the region has the potential to be a strategic hub for Coinbase, amplifying our efforts across the world.” In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, the Coinbase CEO said that “we are looking for a home to set up an international hub that could serve the long tail of countries in the world.”At the Dubai Fintech Summit on Monday, Armstrong stated that the UAE “is leading the way regionally in crypto” and that it could be a potential international hub. He added: “I would say that the UAE’s approach has been more forward thinking than the US.”UAE crypto aspirationsThere’s no doubt that the UAE is trying to develop itself as a center for crypto and digital asset innovation. The country’s Prime Minister has said as much, declaring his intention to establish the Middle Eastern nation as a key player in the future of crypto. Both the Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been proactive in working towards a digital asset regulatory framework, complete with a crypto licensing program in recent months.

Japanese auto-parts manufacturer Ikuyo announced last week its board has approved a 300 million yen ($2 million) investment in Galactic Holdings, the parent company of the TruBit cryptocurrency exchange. The investment expands a capital and business alliance first established on June 26.Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashStablecoin for B2B cross-border paymentsIn a press release, the Kanagawa-based company stated the funding will be executed through a third-party allotment of new shares. The capital will support Galactic’s stablecoin infrastructure for B2B cross-border payments and help Ikuyo build expertise in digital financial services, diversify its assets, and enhance its long-term corporate value. The initiative arrives as Japan’s auto-parts sector, which counts more than 600,000 workers at roughly 20,000 firms, seeks new efficiencies amid global economic pressures. Autos represented 28.3% of Japan’s exports to the U.S. in 2024, making U.S. trade policy a key influence. This year, the sector navigated a 25% U.S. tariff on automobiles and parts imposed in April, which was then lowered to 15% on July 22 after a deal with the Trump administration. Shifts in the global trade landscape provide an incentive for companies to streamline operational costs. As a proof of concept, Ikuyo plans to pilot stablecoin settlements in transactions between its China-based subsidiary, Kunshan Veritas Automotive Systems, and Veritas in Mexico. Currently, these trades are settled in Mexican pesos and converted to U.S. dollars. The company expects the use of stablecoins to reduce remittance costs and accelerate settlement times.  While the launch timing, performance metrics, and monetization strategy are still being finalized, the pilot’s results will guide future business development. In the long term, Ikuyo aims to become an early adopter of stablecoin settlement in the auto-parts sector, applying the technology to improve efficiency and transparency in international trade, initially between Japan and Latin America and between Japan and Southeast Asia. Japan embraces Web3 in push for growthThis corporate move aligns with a broader trend of growing government support for decentralized technologies in Japan. Speaking at the WebX2025 event on Aug. 25, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced stronger state support for Web3 initiatives, describing the sector as a driver of innovation that could help Japan tackle demographic decline and foster economic transformation.  He noted that Web3 is already being implemented at the Osaka Expo and highlighted local pilot programs where communities use tokens as governance rewards. Ishiba also stressed that the government’s five-year startup growth plan would be strengthened through investment and regulatory reforms, with Web3 and related digital industries expected to take center stage. On the financial policy front, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato recently addressed the rapid increase in crypto adoption across Japan. He explained that his role is to balance necessary oversight with providing the industry enough freedom to innovate. While acknowledging that digital assets remain highly volatile, Kato argued that creating a secure trading environment would protect investors while also helping to diversify and enrich their portfolios. Ikuyo’s initiative underscores the private sector’s quickening embrace of crypto. Last month, SBI Group, one of the nation’s largest financial conglomerates, revealed a strategic alliance with the decentralized oracle provider Chainlink. Their collaboration aims to expand the institutional adoption of digital assets and blockchain globally. The partnership will utilize Chainlink’s Proof of Reserve, SmartData, and Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) to facilitate the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) across multiple blockchains.