Grab extends crypto payment options to the Philippines

South Korea-based document management software firm Polaris Office announced the 10th anniversary of its office software (SW) cloud service launch, according to local media News1. Reaching this milestone has coincided with the rising price of its native token, POLA. At the time of writing, POLA is trading at KRW 48.89 ($0.04), up 13.99% from the previous week.  The 10th anniversary of its service launch appears to be a direct cause behind this recent rise in POLA prices, despite the recent downturn in the crypto market. The company said that it recently held an AI (artificial intelligence) talk concert to celebrate its 10-year milestone.Photo by Andrew Neel on UnsplashPOLA as rewards for sharing knowledge Launched in 2020, POLA tokens are distributed as a reward within its platform, Polaris Share Service, which the company describes as "the distributed trading system of incentive knowledge." Here, users can earn POLA by creating content and sharing knowledge on the platform. Cloud-based document management softwarePolaris Office offers a cloud-based service that allows real-time document editing on various operating systems (OS) including mobile, web office, Windows and Mac. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has experienced significant growth in its sales, recording an all-time high annual sales last year. This growth is attributed to the increased adoption of hybrid work environments.  By consolidated standards, Polaris Office recorded KRW 107.9 billion in sales, KRW 6.2 billion in operating profit and KRW 24.4 billion in net profit, marking YoY increase of 346.1%, 277.1% and 91.2%, respectively.  Joining government-led document AI projectMeanwhile, Polaris Office has been designated as a participatory company in the "SW Computing Industry Source Technology Development Project" led by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea, as reported by crypto media CoinNess on April 15. In this project, Polaris Office is expected to contribute to advancing the document AI technology. 

XRP, the native asset of the XRP Ledger (XRPL), a blockchain network developed by Ripple Labs, is destined for further institutional adoption in Asia due to the launch of the region’s first XRP tracker fund. Crypto-focused institutional asset manager HashKey Capital recently announced the launch of its HashKey XRP Tracker Fund, which has been devised to track the performance of what is the world’s fourth-largest crypto asset by market cap, after Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and U.S. dollar stablecoin Tether (USDT).Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashEnabling institutional accessThe fund enables investors to gain exposure to XRP without having to take direct ownership and custody of the digital asset. Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become popular in a number of markets, including the United States, as they allow institutional investors to gain exposure to these digital assets where they may have been uncomfortable with direct ownership due to concerns around custody and counterparty risk or regulatory concerns. According to HashKey’s press release, investors can buy into the fund through cash or in-kind subscription and subscribe or redeem shares monthly. The fund will be measured and compared against a benchmark index provided by CF Benchmarks, a provider of crypto-related indices. HashKey Partner Vivien Wong acknowledged the potential that XRP has in the market, stating:“XRP stands out as one of the most innovative cryptocurrencies in today’s market, attracting global enterprises who use it to transact, tokenize, and store value.”She added that the new fund simplifies access to XRP within the region, while catering to a growing demand for investment opportunities related to digital assets.Potential ETF fund conversionThis marks HashKey’s third product that tracks digital asset pricing, with the company having launched both Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) previously. On X, HashKey Capital outlined that the XRP Tracker Fund could potentially evolve into a fully fledged ETF, subject to regulatory approval, within the next 1-2 years. The new fund, which was launched on April 18, also incorporates a strategic partnership with XRP developer Ripple Labs. In what is understood to be the first of a number of collaborations, Ripple will fulfill the role of being the fund’s anchor investor. Ripple’s Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Fiona Murray, cited the development as proof that institutional adoption of digital assets continues to go from strength to strength.  Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated last month that he expects a number of spot XRP ETFs to be approved in the United States later this year. Earlier in March, analysts at American investment bank JPMorgan had estimated that spot XRP ETF approval in the U.S. could result in net inflows of $8 billion into such products.At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $2.09. The asset has increased in price by 300% over the course of the past 12 months, largely due to a changing regulatory environment in the United States and optimism that a settlement can be reached to end its multi-year legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Conflict Identified as Crypto.com Trading on its Own PlatformTrading practices at Crypto.com, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, have raised questions about potential conflicts of interest within the digital assets industry.Citing a number of unnamed sources, the Financial Times (FT) made the claim in a report published on Monday.Photo by Pixabay on PexelsConflict of interestIn traditional financial markets, exchanges typically match buyers with sellers at competitive transparent prices, while market making and proprietary trading are conducted by separate private companies. However, US regulators have recently cracked down on similar activities at digital asset exchanges. Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, faced 13 charges from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including allegations of manipulative trading to inflate trading volume.The presence of internal traders at Crypto.com has not been widely known since the company’s launch in 2016. The FT’s sources claim that Crypto.com executives provided sworn statements to external trading houses denying the company’s involvement in trading activities.Employees were allegedly instructed to deny the existence of an internal market-making operation. In response to inquiries, Crypto.com denied that employees were asked to lie, stating that their internal market maker functioned similarly to third-party market makers, ensuring tight spreads and efficient markets on their platform.The majority of Crypto.com’s revenue reportedly comes from its app for retail traders, where the company acts as the counterparty for transactions and operates as a broker model. The company’s trading team hedges these positions on various venues, including their own exchange, to maintain risk neutrality. Crypto.com emphasized that their exchange provides a level playing field for institutional traders.According to insiders, Crypto.com’s proprietary trading desk engages in trading activities on the company’s exchange and other platforms, solely focused on generating profits rather than facilitating an exchange. The market making desk, on the other hand, aims to enhance liquidity on the platform.Not a revenue sourceCrypto.com defended its practices by stating that comparing trading volumes to competitors is common in the industry. It said that the company’s priority is to continuously improve order book liquidity and reduce spreads, benefiting all participants. The firm told Decrypt that trading is not a source of revenue: “While we do have some market making activity, for example, we have internal market makers for our CFTC-regulated product Up/Downs in the United States.”As a private company, Crypto.com publishes accounts in different countries, but revenue breakdown by business line is not disclosed.Closure of institutional tradingFollowing the SEC’s enforcement actions, earlier this month Crypto.com announced the closure of its exchange for institutional US traders due to limited demand in the current market landscape, effective from June 21.In any marketplace transparency and fairness are crucial. It’s fair to say that there has been some level of sharp practice among some actors in the marketplace while regulators have been lacking in getting up to speed with the emergent sector, and moving to protect consumers. With the major crypto platform failures of 2022 has come renewed interest in resolving these issues. That may make for some short-term difficulty, but in the longer term, it should mean greater protections for market participants so long as a common sense approach is pursued.