Chinese industry bodies issue joint warning on crypto fraud and RWA risks

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. 

Binance withdraws Abu Dhabi bid amid global licensing reevaluationLeading global crypto exchange Binance has chosen to withdraw its bid for a trading license in Abu Dhabi, according to information gleaned from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) register and a report published by Reuters on Thursday.Photo by Demid Druz on UnsplashChange of directionThe local subsidiary company responsible for the application, BV Investment Management Limited, initially submitted its licensing bid on Nov. 15, 2022. Much has changed in the crypto space and in the fortunes of Binance over the course of the past year, leading the firm to withdraw its application on Nov. 7.This proposed license would have granted Binance the authority to pool and invest funds from professional investors. The decision to retract the bid is part of Binance’s broader reevaluation of its overall strategy going forward. “When assessing our global licensing needs, we decided this application was not necessary,” a spokesperson from the company told Reuters.Adapting to new circumstancesMuch has changed for Binance in 2023. The company has been combating regulatory pushback in multiple jurisdictions worldwide, not least in the United States, where Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) recently reached a plea agreement with U.S. prosecutors and agreed to pay $4.3 billion for violations related to money laundering and sanctions laws.As part of that process, CZ stepped down as CEO, passing the leadership to Singaporean Richard Teng. Teng is a former regulatory executive who previously oversaw the exchange’s regional operations. A spokesperson for the company maintained that this recent decision relative to licensing in Abu Dhabi is entirely unrelated to the recently agreed-upon settlement in the United States.UAE tiesWhile Binance may be dropping its attempts to gain licensing in Abu Dhabi, in July the company acquired a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) license from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) other major center, Dubai. The UAE is also the location where CZ has established his home.Some had speculated that the company had also established its headquarters within the UAE. However, CZ has always refused to disclose the firm’s global headquarters, instead suggesting that the firm has no global headquarters. Teng has taken a similar approach.Binance was originally founded in China in 2017. It then shifted its headquarters to Japan and later established a base in Malta to circumvent regulatory challenges in China. Similarly, it’s thought that regulatory scrutiny provides the rationale for the company’s ongoing stance in refusing to confirm the location of its corporate headquarters.Despite regulatory challenges, Binance had previously expressed a focus on expanding its operations in the Middle East, known for its crypto-friendly environment and specific regulatory frameworks. Binance holds various crypto licenses from regulators in the region. In May of last year, it acquired a Category 4 crypto-asset service provider (CASP) license from the Central Bank of Bahrain.The exchange maintains registrations and licenses across Europe, Asia and other regions. It’s had mixed fortunes in its endeavors over recent months, driven out of some markets while making in-roads in others. Earlier this week, its Binance Japan subsidiary became fully operational. Last week, regulators in the Philippines moved against the company due to regulatory irregularities.

DeSpread and Crypto Times Team Up to Bridge Blockchain Information Gap in Korea and JapanDeSpread, a Web3 consulting company based in South Korea, has announced a partnership with Crypto Times, a blockchain media outlet owned by Japanese digital media company Rokubunnoni. The goal of this collaboration is to tackle information asymmetry in the blockchain industries of both countries and expand their global blockchain services.Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on PexelsLeveraging respective expertiseDeSpread intends to leverage its knowledge of the Korean and global markets to assist international Web3 projects in entering the Japanese market, with the ultimate aim of integrating the global Web3 industry into Japan. Recognizing Crypto Times’ thorough understanding of the Japanese market and its culture, DeSpread has chosen to collaborate with them.Sharing market analysesAs part of their partnership, both companies will localize their research reports on a regular basis to share market analyses of the two countries. To start off, Crypto Times will distribute a paper related to the latest trends of zkSync for free. Subsequent papers will be published on DeSpread’s Scribe channel on the digital content monetization platform Access Protocol.The collaboration also aims to provide a comprehensive consulting and marketing solution for Web3 projects seeking to expand into Korea, Japan, and other markets.Creating synergiesRokubunnoni Co-founder Shingo Arai expressed his belief that the cooperation between DeSpread and Crypto Times will create synergies within the Korean and Japanese blockchain industries. Arai expects that the combined expertise of the two firms will offer valuable insights into the Web3 market, delivering new perspectives. He also highlighted that Crypto Times’ research platform, CT Analysis, will improve its services and provide a greater variety of content to its readers, further contributing to the Japanese crypto market.Echoing similar sentiments, Earl Cho, the head of the Japanese business division at DeSpread, emphasized that the collaboration will facilitate the entry of more Web3 companies from Korea and abroad into the Japanese market. Cho expressed hope that this opportunity would unite the efforts of both countries, enabling the East Asian market to better connect with the global market in the Web3 sphere and positioning East Asia as a leader in the crypto industry.