Japanese firms expand Bitcoin holdings amid growing institutional interest

South Korean Firms Combine Strengths to Draw Hobbyists into the MetaverseCom2Verse, the metaverse subsidiary of South Korean game developer Com2uS, has formed a partnership with Somssidang, a leading hobby sharing platform, and Hana Bank, a prominent financial institution, to attract hobbyists to the metaverse.That’s according to a report by local news agency Newsis. This collaboration aims to create an infrastructure within Com2Verse’s metaverse that offers hobby classes and extends financial support to class providers.Photo by Steve Johnson on UnsplashSeminars and classes in metaverseThrough the combined expertise of the partnering companies, they strive to deliver engaging seminars and interactive classes in the metaverse, while actively promoting and expanding its ecosystem.Com2Verse plans to enable its metaverse users to partake in virtual as well as face-to-face courses offered by Somssidang. This will establish an environment conducive to the growth of hobby-related businesses, effectively bridging the gap between the physical and virtual realms. Somssidang, on its part, aims to expand its operations by providing high-quality content materials, such as classes by distinguished experts, to Com2Verse.Somssidang, boasting a user base of 1.2 million, stands as Korea’s largest hobby platform. The platform is currently offering a wide range of hobby classes, both online and in-person, across the nation. In addition to organizing lectures, Somssidang sells a wide range of do-it-yourself kits, as well as tickets for concerts, exhibitions, and tours. Furthermore, Somssidang provides specialized hobby workshops that are specifically tailored to meet the needs and preferences of business customers.Financial groundworkHana Bank, in collaboration with Com2Verse, will lay the financial groundwork necessary to support the metaverse. This partnership includes extending financial assistance to small business participants within the metaverse and promoting recreational activities for socially marginalized groups.CEO statementsCom2Verse CEO Lee Kyoung-Il expressed his conviction that the company’s metaverse will go beyond the traditional realm of online classes, offering educational courses that exceed expectations. He also emphasized the metaverse’s capacity to provide a diverse range of services, enabling users not only to enjoy their hobbies but also to achieve personal fulfillment. Somssidang CEO Jeong Myeong-won affirmed the platform’s commitment to developing content and services tailored specifically to the metaverse.Kim So-jung, Deputy President of Hana Bank, said this opportunity would converge cultural and financial sectors to realize our daily lives onto the metaverse. Kim added that Hana Bank is committed to ongoing strategic cooperation with the other two partners to deliver innovative financial services and fulfill its social responsibilities.

A settlement agreement between failed crypto lender BlockFi and bankrupt Singaporean crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) has received approval from a U.S. judge. However, the specifics of the settlement remain sealed, citing concerns raised by yet another failed crypto platform, FTX. Dispute resolvedDuring a hearing on Feb. 6, New Jersey Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael Kaplan resolved the dispute, which saw BlockFi claiming $129 million owed by 3AC, while the Singapore-based firm contended that BlockFi owed it $280 million. Judge Kaplan's decision to keep the settlement agreement sealed stemmed from a perspective that unsealing it would be counterintuitive. BlockFi had filed a motion to seal the settlement terms last month. The U.S. Trustee objected to the seal, asserting that the debtors hadn't provided sufficient justification for sealing the agreement.Photo by mk. s on UnsplashSensitive settlement termsBlockFi justified the need for confidentiality, citing the sensitive commercial nature of the terms, which could potentially impact ongoing litigation involving FTX. The approval of the settlement now paves the way for BlockFi to proceed with distributions from the lending estate to its 100,000 creditors, with the firm owing up to $10 billion. Central to the dispute were preferential payments, transactions made just before bankruptcy that could have given the recipient more than they would have received through court proceedings. The resolution of counterclaims between BlockFi and 3AC follows mediation ordered by Judge Kaplan in October, likely culminating from a two-day hearing starting on Jan. 5 aimed at resolving the matter conclusively. This settlement follows another agreement between 3AC and Genesis, settling $1 billion in claims by 3AC. The company filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, attributing the extreme fluctuations in cryptocurrency markets as the reason for its collapse. Projected 46% 3AC creditor recoveryAccording to a December report to creditors by Teneo, it's estimated that 3AC creditors will receive approximately 45.74% of their claims from the bankrupt estate. As of Dec. 18, 2023, 3AC's assets were valued at $1.16 billion, while recognized claims for distribution stood at $2.7 billion. In an ongoing effort to secure 3AC's assets, a British Virgin Islands (BVI) court froze $1 billion in assets belonging to 3AC's founders, amid the liquidation process. This move is part of a broader strategy to seek recoveries from the founders and Kelly Chen, wife of one of the co-founders. 154 claims totaling $3.4 billion were filed against the 3AC estate, with $200 million not admitted for distribution and $322 million rejected or expected to be rejected. Additionally, claims worth $76 million are currently under dispute. BlockFi, along with eight affiliates, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022. The firm cited significant exposure, including obligations owed to BlockFi by FTX-linked hedge fund Alameda Research, assets on the FTX platform and an undrawn credit line from FTX. 3AC’s collapse in June 2022, followed by FTX's downfall, led to BlockFi's bankruptcy filing in late November 2022. In a separate development, OPNX, a crypto bankruptcy claims platform launched by 3AC co-founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, announced its cessation of operations, with plans to shut down by Feb. 14.  

Audius Achieves Token Listing On India’s CoinSwitchAudius, a decentralized music streaming platform which is attempting to cut intermediaries out of the music business, took a major leap forward in the Asian market on Wednesday, scoring a listing of its native $AUDIO token on Indian crypto exchange, CoinSwitch.Photo by Studio Art Smile on PexelsIn announcing the token going live on the platform CoinSwitch encouraged platform users to “trade $AUDIO today and support independent artists worldwide.” Founded in the United States in 2018 by Stanford University graduates Forrest Browning and Roneil Rumberg, the project launched its $AUDIO token in 2020.The token commenced trading on top tier global crypto exchanges shortly afterwards. In terms of listings on Asian exchanges, $AUDIO can be traded on DigitFinex Global, Bitrue and BingX in Singapore, HitBTC and Hotbit in Hong Kong and Tokocrypto and INDODAX in Indonesia. While it is already listed on WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, the project will welcome another Indian listing via CoinSwitch given a market that ranks sixth in the world in terms of crypto ownership, with a backdrop of a population of 1.4 billion.Web3 with a Web2 UXAudius has taken a different approach than most other crypto projects. From the outset, its founders have focused on giving the platform the look and feel of a Web2 streaming service. Audius decided to embed its non-custodial wallet Hedgehog into the user login process.The strategy has been to make the UX as customer friendly and intuitive as possible in order to aid user on-boarding. There have been trade-offs in taking this approach and with that, the project advises users to keep only a small amount of the $AUDIO token within the Hedgehog wallet. When Hedgehog was launched in 2019, a project blog post proclaimed that “decentralization doesn’t have to come at the expense of user experience.”TikTok integrationEarlier this year, the Web3 streaming service integrated TikTok, allowing platform users to create accounts simply by linking their TikTok profiles. Additionally, the integration meant that users could share their Audius songs in the TikTok videos they produced.In late January, the $AUDIO token jumped 70% in a matter of hours once it became known that Coinbase planned to list the token on January 26. While a CoinSwitch listing is a significant milestone for the project in the Indian market, naturally it doesn’t compare with the volume that a global exchange listing on Coinbase can bring. At the time of publication, the $AUDIO token was trading at $0.29.For its part, CoinSwitch has experienced many of the ups and downs that this nascent industry could possibly deliver. In August 2022, five properties associated with the crypto exchange were searched by India’s Enforcement Directorate on the grounds of suspected contravention of India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).Founded in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni and Vimal Sagar Tiwari, the firm has attracted investment and backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global Management and Paradigm.