Hong Kong firms move forward with staking services

Dunamu Pushes for Biodiversity Conservation Through NFT ProjectDunamu, the fintech company operating South Korea’s leading crypto exchange Upbit, said Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute (KoAGI) and the Korea Green Foundation (KFG) to drive a non-fungible token (NFT) biodiversity project over the course of three years. This comes as part of efforts to ramp up biodiversity conservation efforts.Photo by Eelco Böhtlingk on UnsplashThe MOU was signed at Dunamu’s headquarters in Gangnam, southern Seoul, with Dunamu CEO Lee Sirgoo, Director Ryu Kwang-soo of the KoAGI, and Lee Mi-kyung, Head of the KFG, in attendance.“This partnership serves as a starting point for Dunamu to actively utilize our technology to conserve biological resources — especially trees — and collaborate with various communities,” said Lee Sirgoo, CEO of Dunamu.Conservation meets NFTsThe project will involve creating NFTs from images of plant seeds stored in the Seed Vault — a conservation facility managed by KoAGI — which will then be issued through Upbit NFT, the exchange’s NFT trading platform. Owners of these NFTs will have the opportunity to engage in various events such as quizzes, Dunamu said, thereby promoting biodiversity conservation and fostering awareness about the importance of forests.Additionally, certain plant species that have been issued as NFTs will be selected to be placed in plant conservation facilities built in collaboration with botanical gardens located near the plants’ natural habitats.“Given the irreplaceability of both NFTs and flora and fauna, we will continue to do our utmost to fulfill our environmental responsibilities,” CEO Lee emphasized.The involved parties are also looking to establish an online community where they could directly gather the NFT owners’ opinions through methods such as polling to help plan for more upcoming projects. This integration of online projects with offline conservation activities is expected to contribute to local development and biodiversity.Boosting ESG effortsAs a key part of its ESG strategy, Dunamu has been focusing on trees while leading efforts for environmental protection and forest restoration. Earlier this year, the company teamed up with KoAGI to issue NFTs and contributed its entire sum of sales proceeds and transaction fees of around KRW 20 million (approximately $14,800) to establish an endangered plant protection fund.The company also held a campaign back in March with the Korea Forest Service and the Korea Forest Welfare Institute called “2nd foRest,” dedicated to restoring forests affected by fires. For every virtual tree planted in Dunamu’s metaverse, 2ndblock, two real trees were planted.The following month, Dunamu donated KRW 500 million in aid for the recovery of areas hit by the large-scale forest fires in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. The company also established virtual reality healing gardens at the Geumcheon Fire Station and Seoul Rehabilitation Hospital.

XPLA joins hands with EDUM to bring Study-to-Earn services to learnersSouth Korean gaming corporation Com2uS Group’s layer 1 blockchain XPLA has established its newest partnership with EDUM, a Study-to-Earn (S2E) project operated by Dream Ladders, a blockchain subsidiary of educational and career services provider Jinhak, according to an official announcement on Monday (KST). Together, they plan to bring blockchain to education, helping students benefit from a new, innovative approach to learning and proving that blockchain can be useful in any environment.Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on UnsplashOptimizing the learning experience with Web3EDUM is set to leverage Web3 technology to provide students with access to affordable, high-quality educational services for everyone, no matter their economic background. Users will be able to earn rewards in the form of EDUM or EDUMP tokens when using different functions on the EDUM mobile application. EDUM is the project’s market-based utility token that can be cashed through external exchanges or even swapped with EDUMP, which has a fixed value and can only be used within the EDUM ecosystem. EDUMP tokens can also be used for purchasing NFTs or lectures on the EDUM platform.The project will also incorporate NFT technology as a key mechanism. Learners on EDUM can record their achievements as NFTs through certification performed by a Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP). The platform offers benefits to instructors as well, whose content such as lectures, exams and textbooks can be protected and compensated by being minted as NFTs.Going beyond gamingBy working with EDUM, XPLA aims to venture into the realm of education, which is outside of its usual gaming focus, helping the platform revolutionize S2E services and creating more real-world use cases for blockchain technology.

Hong Kong Insurer Expands Into Digital AssetsOneDegree, a leading virtual insurer in Hong Kong, has successfully raised US$55 million in its latest funding round to support the expansion of its digital assets insurance portfolio, according to an announcement made by the company on Thursday.The round saw participation from existing investors such as Gobi Partners, Sun Hung Kai, and Bitrock, as well as new investors. This marks OneDegree’s fifth fundraising effort since its establishment in 2016 and brings its total funds raised to over US$97 million. $28 million of this Series B round had been raised in 2021.Digital asset insurance will be offered under the name “OneInfinity” by the firm in partnership with global insurance behemoth Munich Re. The product is being targeted at digital asset trading platforms, custodians, asset managers, and technology providers. While the company doesn’t insure DeFi projects right now, it aspires to do so in the future.Photo by Kindel Media on PexelsLeading Hong Kong online insurerAs one of the four purely online insurers licensed by the Hong Kong Insurance Authority, OneDegree is at the forefront of the authority’s push to integrate technology into the insurance sector to enhance services and reduce costs. The company is not permitted to hire agents, and all sales must be conducted online or through mobile apps.Alvin Kwock Yin-lun, Co-Founder of OneDegree and former JPMorgan banker, expressed his gratitude for the strong support received during this challenging fundraising environment. Kwock attributed the successful round to the company’s robust revenue growth in various insurance segments, including pet, home, fire, medical, and digital assets coverage. He expects OneDegree to achieve profitability next year.Digital asset insurance importanceHighlighting the importance of digital asset insurance, Kwock pointed out that in 2022, approximately US$3.8 billion worth of digital assets were compromised globally, out of a total global cryptocurrency market capitalization of US$1 trillion. He estimated that the market for digital asset insurance premiums would surpass US$1 billion annually in the coming years.To capitalize on this growing demand, OneDegree has been focusing on providing insurance coverage to virtual asset trading platforms and operators. The company introduced its cryptocurrency insurance by offering a HK$100 million cover to Hong Kong Digital Asset Exchange in November 2021.Kwock emphasized that the recent regulatory regime introduced by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on June 1 will further drive the demand for digital asset insurance. He believes OneDegree is well-positioned to offer comprehensive coverage for the risks faced by digital asset operators, as the company possesses the necessary expertise and experience.Looking ahead, OneDegree plans to expand its presence across Asia and offer innovative products such as InsurTech and cybersecurity software-as-a-service solutions.OneDegree’s expanding presence in Asian markets relative to digital assets is to be welcomed. The digital assets space has had its fair share of collapses that may have been prevented with the involvement of a digital asset insurance specialist, and failing that, the application of such a product would naturally prevent losses suffered by market participants.