Crypto fraud hits 20% of Korean investors, global trend shows seniors most vulnerable

Axie Infinity Moves Further Mainstream with App Store ReleaseThe developer of Axie Infinity, one of Asia’s most iconic Web3 projects to date, has released a version of its latest game on Apple’s App Store.Photo by James Yarema on UnsplashGame adoption strategyAxie Infinity’s Origins game is a card-based strategy game that allows players to collect, own and use a limitless variety of creatures to take into combat. Sky Mavis, the Singapore-headquartered developer behind Axie Infinity, has taken an interesting approach to bring about adoption for what will ultimately be a Web3 game.Initially, the game was launched on iOS with zero Web3 aspects to it. NFTs will not feature. Players will be given free non-NFT “starter characters.” That’s an entirely different approach to the one employed on the original Axie Infinity game. In that instance, players had to acquire NFT-based characters, by either renting or buying them, in order to participate in the game from the outset.While those starter characters will remain non-NFT in nature, the plan is to facilitate players in purchasing NFT-based characters at a later stage, as they progress within the game. Axie Infinity Co-Founder and COO Aleksander Leonard Larsen explained the strategy in an interview with Decrypt:“Starter Axies will remain as non-NFTs, but eventually as people buy other Axies in app we will want [to] turn them into NFTs.”App Store listingIt appears that the firm has been working on an Apple App Store listing for quite some time already. Larsen explained: “We have been in touch with Apple for about two years now, after a lot of trial and error, the current version is a lite version of Axie Origins with more to follow.”In a social media post, the project confirmed the significance of the listing: “We believe this is the first time that Apple has agreed to make an externally-purchased NFT usable on the App Store.” The initial step to getting listed on the large application platforms started out with a feature-limited Origins listing on the Malaysian version of the Google PlayStore in December 2022, before getting listed on that platform on a broader basis.The project outlined that it was following a similar strategy with Apple. This release will see the Axie Infinity Origin game listed on the Apple App Store relative to the following markets: Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The expectation is that the game will be listed in more territories as matters progress.Token price increaseAs the game runs on Sky Mavis’s Ronin network, an Ethereum sidechain, players who own Axie NFTs will still be able to utilize them in gameplay via the iOS version. The significance of the listing wasn’t lost on Axie Infinity community members. The unit price of the Axie Infinity Shards ($AXS) token, a governance token for the Axie Infinity gaming ecosystem, increased by 8% on Wednesday.Axie has proven to be a standout Web3 project for the Asian region. Axie’s developer, Sky Mavis is headquartered in Singapore although the project first emerged via its Vietnam-based development team.The original Axie game, which captured the imagination of crypto-enthusiasts more so than traditional gamers due to its ‘play-to-earn’ model, really came into its own during the pandemic. In particular, the game garnered a lot of adoption in the Philippines due to the opportunity it presented to Filipinos to earn tokens as a result of gameplay.

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), the statutory body tasked with regulating and developing capital markets within the Southeast Asian nation, has published a consultation paper in an effort to garner public feedback on potential enhancements to its crypto regulatory framework. In a press release published to its website on June 30, the SC claimed that its proposals seek “to enhance competitiveness of Malaysia’s regulated digital asset market, improve investor protection and strengthen the resilience and integrity of [Digital Asset Exchange] operators.”Photo by Vlad Shapochnikov on UnsplashEasing listing requirementsIn the event that the proposals are adopted, one key change would see a liberalization of the listing requirements for digital assets. Where certain key eligibility criteria have been met, the regulator would allow the listing of digital assets on digital asset exchanges without prior SC approval. The regulator stated that it wants to make this change in order to speed up the time taken to get digital assets to market as they emerge. By setting out additional criteria, there will be greater exchange operator accountability. Exchange operators would bear responsibility for listing tokens in compliance with the requirements set out by the regulator.  Assets could only be listed once those assets and the underlying protocol and network had undergone security audits which had been carried out by an independent and qualified blockchain security auditor, with the audit results made public.  For the purposes of the “Liberalised Listing Framework,” the asset must have been trading on a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-compliant virtual asset service provider (VASP) platform for a minimum of one year. The regulator believes that easing the listing requirements will result in a broader digital asset product offering being made available in Malaysia. Last month, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started a public consultation process aimed at revising token listing rules. Coin listing processes have also come under scrutiny from the authorities in South Korea recently. Segregating client assetsAmong the proposals is a plan to oblige exchange platforms to properly segregate client assets from operational funds and assets held by the exchange business. In recent years, many failed crypto exchange platforms, most notably FTX, got into difficulty by co-mingling customer funds with operational funds. Furthermore, the regulator doesn’t want any cross-over of assets between the local exchange operator and any overseas affiliate companies it may have.The SC stated that it is cognizant of recent global exchange failures, which has led it towards further enhancing crypto exchange operational governance and controls. It suggests that only 10% of client assets should be held by a Malaysian exchange in hot wallets, with the remaining 90% held in cold or offline wallets. The SC said that it welcomes feedback from members of the various stakeholder groups on the proposals outlined. The public consultation period runs from June 30 through Aug. 11.  Malaysia is expected to have 4.74 million crypto users by 2026. That would equate to 13% of Malaysians using crypto by then.

Intella X Teams Up with Web3 Comm Protocol to Boost Game ExperienceSouth Korean gaming company Neowiz announced on Tuesday that its blockchain gaming platform, Intella X, has forged a partnership with DMTP, a developer of Web3 communication protocols.The partnership aims to bolster the capabilities of Intella X services and nurture a robust ecosystem around the platform.Photo by Andrey Metelev on UnsplashOn Polygon networkIntella X, currently under development by Neowiz, will operate on the Polygon network. The platform is designed to be user-centric, offering a range of services beyond gaming. These include its own decentralized exchange (DEX), an NFT launchpad, and an NFT exchange.Messages between wallet addressesDMTP has developed a communication tool named after itself, which enables message exchange between Web3 wallet addresses. Encrypted user messages are securely stored on the blockchain and managed in a decentralized, distributed manner. This ensures data preservation in case of unforeseen circumstances, such as service termination.The two companies will discuss introducing DMTP to the Intella X Wallet. Having recently soft launched the Android and web versions of Intella X Wallet, Neowiz plans to coordinate with DMTP to expedite technological development and marketing efforts to enrich user experience.