As Excitement for First US Spot Bitcoin ETF Intensifies, South Korea Still Faces Mountain to Climb

Coins.ph Suffers 12M XRP ExploitCoins.ph, a leading cryptocurrency exchange in the Philippines, is grappling with the alleged loss of over 12 million XRP tokens, valued at $6 million, in a purported exploit.That’s according to various reports that have been emerging from the Philippines in recent days. The incident not only spotlights serious questions about the security protocols and regulatory oversight of crypto exchanges in the Philippines but it also sparked fears of an impact on market sentiment relative to the XRP unit price.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashHacker used various platformsThe reports revealed that an exploit targeted Coins.ph, resulting in the unauthorized transfer and exchange of 12 million XRP tokens in a mere 30 minutes. The hacker behind this incident managed to navigate through various platforms, including OKX, WhiteBIT, OrbitBridge, SimpleSwap, ChangeNOW, and Fixed Float, leaving users and investors alarmed.Coins.ph’s wallet, the focal point of the exploit, has a connection to BitGo, a California-based crypto custody firm, which initiated its activation back in 2018. At present, neither Coins.ph nor BitGo has issued any official statements regarding this reported breach.The alleged exploit brings to the forefront once again, the importance of robust security protocols and regulatory oversight within the cryptocurrency industry in the Philippines and elsewhere. Coins.ph is a major player in the crypto sector in the Southeast Asian country, having more than 10 million users.The hacker responsible for the exploit attempted to execute several transactions, trading nearly 13 million XRP tokens, with one transaction seemingly failing to go through. Following the successful acquisition of approximately 12.2 million XRP tokens, the hacker swiftly moved these assets to different exchanges.Responding to the incident, some platforms promptly blocked or marked the stolen XRP tokens and sought assistance from blockchain analysis firms such as Cristal and Chainalysis. This exploit is being deemed as one of the most substantial thefts of XRP tokens in recent history.It’s understood that WhiteBIT blocked the movement of some of the XRP that has been implicated in the hack. WhiteBIT told The Block: “WhiteBIT, as soon as received a request from the Philippines-based exchange Coins, promptly reacted and blocked 445,000 Ripple.”XRP impactXRP, the native cryptocurrency of the Ripple network, which primarily focuses on facilitating cross-border payments, has been grappling with its price stability in recent times. This has been largely due to the ongoing legal disputes between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations of conducting unregistered securities offerings.While it had been speculated initially that the hack would have impacted the XRP unit price, XRP seems to have held up well. At the time of writing, it was trading at $0.526. There has been an overall uplift in the crypto market as a whole over the course of the past 24 hours which may be a contributing factor, with digital asset market cap being up 2.7%.As the crypto community waits for official responses from Coins.ph and BitGo, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of safeguarding digital assets and enhancing regulatory oversight in an industry that continues to evolve and expand.

Korea’s FSS Seeks to Protect Investors from Crypto Exploit LossesLee Bokhyun, Governor of the Korean Financial Supervisory Service, said the agency will seek to protect investors from losses resulting from cryptocurrency exchange exploits, according to Korean newspaper Donga Ilbo.©Pexels/RODNAE ProductionsEfforts to enact legislationWhile delivering a congratulatory speech at a forum co-hosted by Donga Ilbo and its subsidiary broadcasting company Channel A on Wednesday, Lee underlined that the agency will be committed to enacting legislation that obligates crypto exchanges to be held accountable for customer asset losses caused by hacks.He explained that amidst a continued crypto winter triggered by multiple failures, such as the collapse of the stablecoin Terra last year, cases of security vulnerabilities are subsequently occurring.Cold wallet requirementsIn response to this situation, financial authorities and the National Assembly are collaborating on legislation that would require crypto exchanges to store a portion of their custody assets in cold wallets, which are disconnected from the Internet, or face liability for damages resulting from hacks.A February report from blockchain data platform Chainalysis showed that losses to crypto hacks last year amounted to $3.8 billion. Earlier this month, Korean crypto exchange GDAC suffered an exploit of 20 billion KRW (~$15 million).Lee said the agency will work with the financial industry to bolster the fraud detection system and build an immediate response system that prevents uncanny transactions when abnormalities are detected. These efforts are to curb the rise in financial crimes, which followed the growing popularity of remote banking services.Experts’ inputsAt the event held to discuss the protection of consumer information in the digital age, senior researcher Kim Gap-rae at Korea Capital Market Institute said that a law should be introduced to penalize unfair practices, such as market manipulation and use of undisclosed information, in the virtual asset market.Lee Joo-hwan, head of the information security management division at Hana Bank, suggested the approach used in the US, which is recovering ill-gotten gains from financial crimes to compensate victims.Kang Byung-hoon, a professor who teaches cyber security at KAIST, anticipated that the financial industry would accelerate the adoption of confidential computing, a highly secure system, to which even administrators have limited access.

SK Securities introduces fractional investment service with three partnersSK Securities, a major South Korean securities firm, announced on Friday (local time) that it has launched a service aimed at enabling fractional investments.Photo by Mathieu Stern on UnsplashReal estate, artworks and luxury goodsThis service involves three fractional investment companies: real estate platform Funble, online art auction house Seoul Auction Blue and luxury goods platform Treasurer.This offering represents the first phase of the fractional investment alliance, delivering a wide array of investment insights from these platforms. Funble presents details on housing subscriptions, special housing supplies and key real estate market indicators. Seoul Auction Blue provides analyses of the art market along with information on individual artworks. Additionally, Treasurer offers insights into an assortment of luxury collectibles, including fine wines. Customers of SK Securities can easily access this service through the company’s mobile trading system called Frequency 3.0.Second phase in H1 2024As part of the second phase, SK Securities is developing an API-integrated system designed to link with assets on these fractional investment platforms. This system is slated for launch in the first half of the upcoming year.An SK Securities spokesperson explained that the firm has rolled out this novel service to guide its clients through the emerging arena of fractional investments, while also enriching their investment options. Beginning with this offering, SK Securities aims to broaden its collaborative efforts with fractional investment entities. Furthermore, the firm is committed to advancing the security token ecosystem, which will involve channeling investments into blockchain startups and participating in security token consortiums.On a related note, SK Securities inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Woori Bank and Samsung Securities in September, targeting the development of business models for security tokens within the bounds of regulatory compliance.