Bitstamp awarded MPI license in Singapore

Hana TI Partners with BitGo for Web3 Digital Asset Custody SolutionsHana TI, Hana Financial Group’s financial information technology (IT) arm, announced that it will work with US-based digital asset trust company BitGo on technological collaborations related to Web3-based virtual asset custody services.BitGo has been taking steps to enter the Korean market, starting with the establishment of its Korean branch and its new joint venture for digital asset custody services with Hana Bank. Following this announcement, the company said that it would delve deeper into cooperation with Hana TI.Photo by Medienstürmer on UnsplashCharting the course for digital asset custody in KoreaMike Belshe, Co-Founder and CEO of BitGo, recently visited Hana Financial Group’s Integrated Data Center in Incheon’s Cheongna district, which serves as a digital finance facility for the group. He was accompanied by Park Geun-young, CEO of Hana TI, on a tour through the integrated security control center and server rooms.The two CEOs also discussed various cooperative strategies to expand the Korean market for digital asset custody services, including security measures such as obtaining Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification. In addition, Belshe emphasized the significance of a secure and transparent custody infrastructure for facilitating the issuance and distribution of institutional security tokens. To that end, he expressed BitGo’s commitment to consumer protection and enhancing transparency and security within the Korean digital asset industry together with Hana Bank and Hana TI.“We hope that this collaboration will have a positive impact on enhancing trust and stability in the local digital asset ecosystem,” Park added.Along with security cooperation, Belshe and Park agreed that building up the technical capabilities of Web3-based digital asset platforms is equally important in expediting the growth of the market.Belshe and Park also visited the Hana Global Campus in Cheongna — a hub for cultivating talent — as well as the group’s future headquarters, set to be completed in 2025. Hana TI representatives shared their vision for the Hana Dream Town project currently under development in Cheongna.Commitment to advancing Web3 technologyHana TI is currently concentrating efforts on strengthening its capabilities to internalize Web3-based blockchain technology. The company thereby established a division dedicated to Web3 endeavors in June of last year. It has since been actively engaged in research and development for technologies involved in blockchain infrastructure, digital assets, and security tokens.

As the cryptocurrency market anticipates the approval of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States and the subsequent boost to bitcoin’s unit price, Arthur Hayes, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of family office Maelstrom, has issued a warning of potential market turbulence. Hayes, better known as the founder of crypto derivatives platform BitMEX, has moved on to Hong Kong-based Maelstrom, a family office that invests in early stage infrastructure ventures that implicate a move towards the decentralization of everything.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashMacroeconomic risk factorsIn a detailed blog post on Friday, Hayes outlines a number of macroeconomic variables that could lead to a bitcoin unit price downturn. Hayes begins by highlighting the depletion of the Federal Reserve’s reverse repo program (RRP), which has served as a significant driver for risky assets over the past year. This program allows qualified banks and investment firms to park cash and earn interest on it. The RRP balance has rapidly declined from a record high of $2.5 trillion at the end of 2022 to $700 billion. Hayes projects it to reach its historical average of $200 billion by March. As this liquidity source dwindles, he anticipates negative impacts on bonds and stocks, as well as cryptocurrencies. Fed BTFP expirationThe second factor contributing to the potential market turmoil is the expiration of the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) on March 12. This crucial Fed facility is designed to provide longer-term loans to commercial banks. The mechanism aids banking sector stability. Hayes is concerned that the BTFP might not be extended. Such an eventuality could lead to bankruptcy for banks holding massive unrealized losses on their bond holdings. It could lead to a “liquidity rug pull” event reminiscent of the banking crisis in March of the previous year. The crypto OG predicts that such an eventuality would force a response. “The combination of a lack of liquidity gushing from the RRP and the lack of printed money to cover the bond losses on banks’ balance sheets will decimate the financial markets globally,” he wrote. Hayes asserts that the combination of reduced liquidity from the RRP and the lack of printed money to cover bond losses could have a global impact on financial markets. In response to this scenario, he predicts that the Fed will cut interest rates during its March 20 meeting and reinstate the BTFP funding line. ‘Healthy’ correctionIn terms of bitcoin’s price, Hayes foresees a “healthy” correction of 20% to 30% from early March prices if the outlined scenario unfolds. However, he suggests the decline could be as much as 40% if BTC rallies to $60,000-$70,000 in the coming weeks. Despite this temporary plunge, Hayes remains optimistic about bitcoin’s resilience, emphasizing its status as a neutral reserve hard currency that is not a liability of the banking system and is traded globally. In a recent podcast appearance, Hayes expressed the view that the business model of U.S. dollar stablecoin issuer Tether will be challenged once multinational banks receive the go-ahead to offer fiat-backed stablecoins. Overall, Arthur Hayes has urged investors to be cautious and to prepare for potential market volatility in March, emphasizing the importance of understanding the interconnected factors influencing both traditional finance and the cryptocurrency market. 

Following the recent bitcoin boom, transactions in cryptocurrencies among Korean investors have surged, significantly benefiting local banks that have made contracts with Korean crypto exchanges to offer real-name accounts for crypto investors. As the price of bitcoin soared to as high as KRW 90 million ($67.6 million) in Korea on Thursday, online-only bank Kbank saw an uptick in trading fee revenue, according to local media outlet The Seoul Economic Daily. Kbank is a partner with crypto exchange Upbit, which accounts for 70% of the Korean crypto market.  Under the current law, Korean crypto exchanges offering trading against Korean won must secure real-name accounts from a bank. These banks typically earn fees of KRW 300 to KRW 1,000 per transaction. Currently, other than Kbank, NongHyup Bank offers real-name accounts to Bithumb, Kakaobank to Coinone, Shinhan Bank to Korbit and Jeonbuk Bank to Gopax.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashCrypto trading volume up 68.2% in a monthAccording to Xangle, a crypto data intelligence platform, the total crypto trading volume in Korea rose by 68.2% between the last week of January and the last week of February, rising from KRW 2.39 trillion to KRW 40.2 trillion. During the same period, the daily average trading volume also grew from around KRW 4 trillion to KRW 5.7 trillion.   In particular, the bitcoin trading volume on Upbit surged to 19,254 BTC on Feb. 28, reaching the second-highest level since Nov. 10, 2022, when the asset’s trading volume stood at 20,710 BTC. After signing the real-name account contract with Upbit in 2020, Kbank raked in KRW 29.2 billion in fees during the last bull market of 2021, which was equivalent to 14% of its annual interest income of KRW 198 billion and exceeded its net income for the year, which stood at KRW 22.5 billion. Increased bank deposits from exchange usersKbank also saw a substantial rise in its balance sheet, with Upbit users depositing around KRW 2.94 trillion into their real-name accounts. The sum is six times greater than the deposits made into NongHyup Bank by Bithumb users, which stood at KRW 547.1 billion.  Experts see that the surge in Kbank’s user base, which recently surpassed 10 million users, is largely attributed to growing excitement surrounding bitcoin. One crypto insider said that crypto trading fees, which have been on the decline for the past 2 years, could take a turn this year, signaling further gains for the affiliated banks.