Japan weighs probe into prime minister-themed ‘Sanae Token’

HTX experiences $258 million outflow post-hackHTX, the digital-asset trading platform associated with Chinese-born crypto mogul Justin Sun, has witnessed a substantial net outflow of $258 million since resuming operations after a significant security breach.According to Bloomberg, data from DefiLlama indicates that the outflow occurred between the exchange’s restart on Nov. 25 and Dec. 10, signaling unease among some clients following last month’s cyberattack. In November, HTX reported a loss of $30 million in crypto tokens due to the breach, prompting a temporary suspension of withdrawals and deposits.Towards the end of last month, the platform re-enabled withdrawal services for major cryptocurrencies, gradually bringing the exchange back to full service, supporting withdrawal of all digital assets.Photo by Amritanshu Sikdar on UnsplashMultiple hacksJustin Sun is also associated with the Poloniex exchange and the HECO Bridge, a network established by HTX for blockchain transfers. Both Poloniex and HECO fell victim to hacks in November, resulting in the theft of approximately $200 million in crypto. It’s worth noting that hackers had previously stolen $8 million from the HTX platform in September.HTX, which was formerly known as Huobi up until a business rebrand in September, boasts an average trading volume of $1.5 billion in the past 24 hours, securing its position as the fifteenth largest exchange when measured in terms of trading volume.Increased vigilanceIn the wake of several high-profile crypto platform failures in 2022, digital-asset investors are increasingly vigilant about monitoring flows and reserves at virtual currency exchanges. In particular, that trend gained momentum after the FTX platform’s collapse last year due to fraud.November turned out to be the most damaging month this year so far in terms of platform digital asset theft. Exit scams and exploits encountered during the month totaled a staggering $363 million in losses.In October, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) included HTX, alongside KuCoin, on a warning list, due to their promotion of services in the UK, without having obtained the required regulatory approvals.A third of reserves in BitcoinDefiLlama data reveals that Bitcoin constitutes the largest portion of HTX’s reserves, accounting for approximately 33%. Tron’s TRX token, launched by Sun in 2017, represents around 32% of the reserves. HTX’s native exchange coin, HT, makes up 14%, followed by a Sun-backed token named stUSDT at 12%.In August, Travis Kling, Founder of Ikigai Asset Management, had this warning relative to Sun and HTX:”Justin Sun is a criminal. There’s a hole in Huobi, a hole in TUSD and a hole in Tron DeFi. Act accordingly.”TRX, at the center of U.S. fraud allegations against Sun, prompted a March lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing him and his firms of market manipulation to inflate the token’s trading activity. Sun dismissed the suit on the X social media platform back in March, stating that it “lacks merit.” On Sunday, Sun claimed that the Tron blockchain network which he founded had reached a new milestone of 200 million users.Despite security firm BlockSec reporting the recovery of the $8 million stolen in September, hackers still appear to control the $30 million taken last month. The ongoing situation raises concerns about the security measures and resilience of HTX in the face of persistent cyber threats.

Hana Financial Group Joins Hands with Netmarble to Attract Digitally Savvy Youths to the MetaverseKorean financial holding company Hana Financial Group has formed a strategic partnership with game publisher Netmarble, aiming to capture the attention of digitally savvy youths in South Korea. Their strategy involves introducing innovative financial services and identifying opportunities for joint business projects, as reported by local news outlet Consumer Times.Photo by Andre Taissin on UnsplashFinancial services in the gaming realmThe two sides intend to launch Hana Financial Group’s services within the realm of Grand Cross: Metaworld, a 3D animated massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. Grand Cross is being developed using Unreal Engine 5 and is a project led by Metaverse World, an affiliate of Netmarble.While the companies strive to collaborate on joint marketing promotions that encompass both gaming and financial aspects, the specific plans for executing these initiatives are still in the process of being developed.Some industry experts anticipate that the two entities will leverage their respective strengths within the virtual world to create synergistic outcomes.User interaction and advertising benefitsAccording to a tech insider who spoke to Consumer Times, there are indications that Netmarble will initially empower Hana to feature the financial group’s affiliated entities on the gaming company’s metaverse platform. This strategic step holds the potential for fostering user interaction and reaping advertising benefits. Additionally, the source mentioned that subsequent to this phase, Hana might take steps to enable customers to access banking services within the virtual domain.If, in the future, in-game goods were to establish themselves as a dependable form of currency due to potential policy reforms, it’s believed that Hana Financial Group would play an even more substantial role, leading to increased business opportunities for both partners, the source noted. These offerings would primarily cater to digital native generations.

Web3 Offers Potential for Japan to Rediscover its MojoEveryone recognizes that Japan has been at the forefront of innovation and the development of technology in the past but can it rediscover that cutting edge through Web3 and blockchain? In a recent interview with Forkast News, Yudai Suzuki, Co-Founder of a Tokyo-based Web3 incubator, suggested that it has that potential.©Pexels/邱 韬Re-establishing a competitive edgeSuzuki, who heads up Fracton Ventures, believes that such a pivot is possible for Japan in making Web3 the means through which it can rediscover the innovative edge it has been lacking in more recent years.Despite an historical strength and depth in technology and innovation, Japan has struggled when it comes to adopting and implementing new technology on a global scale more recently.Legacy techEarlier this year, it emerged that leading Japanese technology companies were collaborating with a view to creating a new open metaverse infrastructure called “Ryugukoku.” That project implicates the creation of a Japan Metaverse Economic Zone. Suzuki cites this project as demonstrative of a key issue relative to the overall development of Web3 in Japan.The project involves Japan’s legacy tech companies such as Fujitsu and Mitsubishi. He goes on to clarify that the majority of Web3 projects in Japan are being led by the existing technology behemoths despite the fact that Japan is seeing the emergence of a Web3-native generation.Suzuki identifies that one of the fundamental aspects of Web3 is that every decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that’s created is immediately global in nature. Allied with that, most of that 18–25 year old Web3 native generation in Japan want to break through language barriers and communicate on a global basis.That outward looking characteristic is positive but it’s not how venture investment has traditionally worked in Japan. He explains that the conventional approach to investing in start-ups in Japan has been to first look to dominate the Japanese market before going global. The Fracton Ventures founder believes that this is a flawed approach in today’s world and that by the time they’ve gotten to number one in Japan, it’s already too late in trying to achieve that on a global basis.Government responsibilitySuzuki places much of the responsibility in affecting a more appropriate approach on the Japanese Government. “If they focus only on these huge Japanese companies, they will not succeed,” he says. He is also critical of the regulatory approach. Suzuki believes that “the government wants to change the laws and set new regulations at an early date,” and with that, such over-regulation has resulted in crypto entrepreneurs leaving the field. Regulation needs to be set on a more flexible basis so that it can be easily updated and upgraded as the technology develops.Global MindsetHe highlights the importance of having a global mindset and being open to different ideas and perspectives in order to succeed in the Web3 space. The entrepreneur points to that Web3-native demographic in Japan, explaining that their mindset has changed to a more global one as a consequence of dabbling in Web3. The same he believes is necessary on the part of the government if Japan is to become a leader in the tech industry once again.