Hana Financial Group Joins Hands with Netmarble to Attract Digitally Savvy Youths to the Metaverse

Nibiru Chain, a layer-1 blockchain and smart contract ecosystem, is venturing into the Asian market with key appointments poised to drive growth in gaming, DeFi, NFTs and real-world assets (RWAs). Crypto sector expertiseYura Nam and Nicholas Lo have been appointed to lead growth and business development efforts in the region. Seoul, South Korea-based Nam is a former Head of StarkNet Asia. She has extensive experience hosting conferences, meetups and other events. The crypto sector professional has been an active member of the Korean blockchain community Nonce, a distributed network of independent businesses and individuals dedicated to blockchain. Lo previously served as Asia Pacific (APAC) Growth Manager at Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Apes Yacht Club NFTs.  Based in Hong Kong, he brings with him a diverse background, having worked as an analyst at JPMorgan and spearheaded Asia expansion for various exchanges. He has a wealth of expertise and insight into the Asian Web3 landscape.  Jonathan Chang, Nibiru Chain's COO, expressed excitement about the new additions to the team, highlighting their deep understanding of the Asian markets and Web3 ecosystem. He emphasized their role in fortifying Nibiru's foothold in the region, particularly through their proven track record in relationship building and execution of growth strategies.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashMultifaceted expansion strategyThe expansion strategy is multifaceted, incorporating marketing, community engagement and business development initiatives to establish a strong local presence and drive adoption. Nibiru's focus extends to key markets such as Korea, Japan, India, Southeast Asia (SEA) and Chinese-speaking countries. Plans include hiring local community leads and nurturing relationships with regional stakeholders and businesses. Nicholas Lo will concentrate on solidifying Nibiru's presence in pivotal APAC markets. His role at Nibiru involves cultivating relationships with major protocols, ecosystem dApps, gaming entities, financial institutions and local partners. Lo will also collaborate with Asian media outlets to enhance exposure for Nibiru's layer-1 offerings, targeting verticals spanning gaming, DeFi, NFTs and RWAs. Meanwhile Yura Nam will leverage her partnership and event planning experience to bolster the platform's expansion efforts. Her seven years in the financial services sector equip her with a nuanced understanding of partnerships, sponsorships and event management within Asia, serving to strengthen Nibiru's ties in the region. VC FundingThe company's ambitious growth plans received a significant boost with a successful $12 million funding round earlier this year, attracting investments from prominent venture capital firms such as Kraken Ventures, ArkStream, NGC Ventures, Master Ventures, Tribe Capital and Banter Capital. This funding follows a previous seed round in April 2023, which raised $8.5 million, valuing the project at $100 million at the time. In a further effort to bootstrap growth in April, the project announced $15 million in developer grants to incentivize ecosystem growth. $5 million of that is being ring-fenced for the Asian region. Silicon Valley-headquartered Nibiru Chain officially unveiled its public mainnet in March. With a focus on a robust smart contract ecosystem offering high throughput and top-tier security, the project aspires to position itself as the preferred platform for builders in several blockchain sectors, particularly blockchain-based gaming. At the time of writing, the project’s native NIBI token was trading at $0.2932, according to data from crypto project data aggregator CoinMarketCap.

Cosmose AI, an artificial intelligence-driven retail analytics firm headquartered in Singapore, has opted to collaborate with the Near Foundation with the aspiration of building a blockchain-based payments system centered on low transaction fees as a more cost-efficient alternative to more conventional payments processors like Stripe and PayPal. Payment platform disruptionThe Near Foundation is a non-profit organization responsible for guiding governance, contracting protocol maintainers and funding ecosystem development relative to the proof-of-stake (PoS)-based Near blockchain protocol. In a blog post published to the Cosmose AI website on Sunday, the company set out the extent of its new partnership with the Near Foundation.Cosmose AI uses AI-powered analytics to track in-store foot traffic as a basis to engage with shoppers online. Both companies will work towards building a payment system that facilitates shoppers to purchase goods and services at low transaction fees through cryptocurrency. As part of the deal, Near has made a strategic investment in Cosmose AI, reflecting a Cosmose company valuation of $500 million.In its press release, Cosmose stated that the investment from the Near Foundation means that the Cosmose “is set to apply Web3 principles and further advance the AI-driven retail ecosystem. Cosmose believes that it can leverage Web3 such that users maintain complete control over their data while benefiting from the ecosystem they help to create.The AI-driven company has a suite of retail solutions, including the KaiKai app, which enables retail customers to discover retail stores in their local vicinity. The app also includes an online targeting platform. Both elements are being overhauled with a Web3 facelift, with the Near collaboration enabling the integration of blockchain into the app.KaiKai already settles payments by leveraging Near Protocol with the creation of its own native stablecoin, Kai-Ching. Near Foundation CEO Marieke Flament said that Near will give Cosmose “the means to leverage the full potential of Web3 in a way that is sustainable, transparent, and infinitely scalable.” Moving away from Stripe, PayPalIn an interview with TechCrunch, Cosmose Founder and CEO Miron Mironiuk stated: “ I’m not sure if you know how expensive and slow it is to process online payments. It’s absolutely crazy.” The Near protocol leads with an ability to achieve inexpensive, scalable blockchain transactions. If successful in building this blockchain-based payments system, Cosmose would be in a better position to replace the use of payments service providers like Stripe and PayPal.Mironiuk gave the example of a simple coffee purchase. Small transactions like that can involve transaction fees in excess of 10%. This overhead is reflected in the overall price of the cup of coffee, with the seller passing on the cost to the buyer. In that one isolated example, Mironiuk makes the point that a regular coffee drinker could be spending an additional $200 per year to cover the costs of payments intermediaries.Over the course of nine years, Cosmose has grown to a point where it extends its service to 20 million stores. The firm operates on a global basis, with its team of eighty staff distributed across centers such as Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Shanghai and Warsaw, as well as at its Singapore headquarters.

Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange operated by Dunamu, announced on Jan. 2 that its user base surpassed 13 million by the end of last year. With South Korea’s population at 51.6 million, the data implies that roughly one in four Koreans now holds an account on the platform. Demographic breakdowns show that users in their 30s comprise the largest cohort at 28.7%, followed by those in their 40s at 24.1% and 20s at 23.2%. Users in their 50s accounted for 16.9%, while those in their 60s and 70s made up 6.0% and 1.1%, respectively. Adoption is particularly high among younger generations, with the combined total of users in their 20s and 30s reaching 5.48 million. Based on Ministry of the Interior and Safety data showing 12.37 million people aged 20 to 39 as of November, approximately 44% of Koreans in this age demographic use the platform. Upbit added 1.1 million new users last year, with men comprising 56.9% of new accounts and women 43.1%.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashXRP overtakes BTC and ETH in tradingIn terms of trading volume, Ripple’s XRP was the most traded cryptocurrency in 2025, outpacing both Bitcoin and Ethereum. Daily activity peaked in the morning, coinciding with the start of the typical business day. The highest volumes were recorded at 00:00 UTC, or 9 a.m. Korea Standard Time. Beyond standard trading, users are increasingly turning to Upbit’s asset management tools. Since its 2022 launch, the platform’s staking feature has attracted over 300,000 users, generating 257.3 billion won ($178.6 million) in total rewards. Furthermore, a dollar-cost averaging feature introduced in August 2024 has drawn about 220,000 users, with cumulative investments totaling 478.1 billion won ($331.9 million). Kbank eyes public listingIn the broader ecosystem, Upbit’s banking partner is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) this year. Kbank, an internet-only lender that has partnered with Upbit since 2020, is closely linked to the exchange through shared customers. According to Hansbiz, crypto-related funds accounted for roughly 16% of Kbank’s total deposits as of the first half of 2025. Under South Korean law, fiat-to-crypto service providers must secure real-name accounts from a local bank, meaning Upbit users are required to deposit Korean won at Kbank before trading on the exchange. However, Kbank’s financial performance has softened following the 2024 implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, which compelled the bank to raise annual interest rates on deposits from Upbit users from 0.1% to 2.1%. On a consolidated basis, net interest income totaled 323.2 billion won ($224 million) in the third quarter of 2025, down 13% year over year. Net fee income remained in the red, posting a loss of 2.8 billion won ($1.94 million), widening from a 1.3 billion won loss in the same period a year earlier. This latest IPO push follows two failed attempts and carries contractual implications. When Kbank raised 725 billion won ($503 million) in 2021 from investors including Bain Capital and MBK Partners, it pledged to list its shares by July 2026. If the upcoming attempt fails, those backers could exercise drag-along rights and put options, potentially resulting in increased financial obligations for Kbank. Meanwhile, Upbit has seen other notable shifts in its business and governance. In November, Dunamu and Naver Financial, a subsidiary of internet giant Naver, approved a merger plan structured as a comprehensive share swap at a ratio of 1 to 2.54. At the time of the announcement, market observers estimated Dunamu’s valuation at 15 trillion won ($10.4 billion), compared with 5 trillion won ($3.5 billion) for Naver Financial.