Top Korean Crypto Exchanges Witness Surge in Listings and Delistings During H1

Korbit, one of South Korea’s leading crypto exchanges, has recently conducted an education session on anti-money laundering (AML) for its employees, local tech media outlet ZDNet Korea reported.  Held in the office lounge of Korbit, the session was led by Hwang Seok-jin, an expert in financial crime and anti-money laundering regimes. A professor at the Graduate School of International Information Protection of Dongguk University, he has served as a compliance officer and a consultant at Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), a group consisting of five leading cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea.  Photo by Viacheslav Bublyk on UnsplashEmphasis on the Virtual Asset User Protection Act  Mr. Hwang informed Korbit’s employees about the upcoming Virtual Asset User Protection Act, effective July, highlighting guidelines for investor protection, prohibitions against unfair transactions and the financial regulators’ authority and oversight. The session especially focused on explaining the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, given that the Act would deeply influence many departments of Korbits ranging from the accounting and finance unit handling customer deposits to blockchain-related units responsible for the custody of virtual assets.  Korbit maintains a no-negotiation policy that bars projects from interacting with exchange employees prior to their tokens being listed. This policy enhances the transparency of Korbit’s evaluation process, ensuring that the exchange assesses projects impartially, without third-party influence or external pressures. After listing an asset, Korbit conducts quarterly risk assessments on all crypto assets traded on the platform. Additionally, it plans to adopt a stricter approach to internal controls to enhance customer protection, in line with the upcoming enactment of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act. 

EOS Granted Whitelist Approval by Japanese RegulatorsThe open-source layer-1 blockchain platform EOS has secured whitelist approval from the Japan Virtual and Crypto Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA).The EOS Network Foundation, an entity established with a view towards supporting and safeguarding the development of the EOS blockchain network, announced the approval via a blog post published to its website on Wednesday.EOS raised eyebrows with a staggering $4 billion initial coin offering (ICO) back in 2018. This approval will likely act as a shot in the arm for the project, given the period of relative stagnation that has followed the ICO.Photo by Paul MARSAN on UnsplashEOS price respondsThe approval paves the way for EOS to be traded against the Japanese yen, potentially opening up new avenues for the cryptocurrency’s adoption and utilization. The endorsement has had an immediate impact on the EOS token’s value, driving its price up by 5.54% over the course of the past seven days in a surge of market activity.At the time of writing, the EOS token is trading at $0.622 with an accompanying market capitalization of $696 million. This positive market response underscores the significance of regulatory greenlights in the cryptocurrency sphere.Mid-September trading launchThe Japanese Financial Service Authority (FSA) will oversee the regulation of EOS trading on local Japanese crypto exchange BitTrade, a well-established platform in the Japanese crypto space. The anticipated commencement of EOS token trading on BitTrade is slated for mid-September.The EOS development team is coming out the better end of its interaction with regulators in this instance. However, that hasn’t always been the case. In 2019 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States fined technology company Block.one, which at that time was responsible for the EOS ICO. All things considered, the sanction was recognized by most in the crypto space as being very much on the lighter end.Fostering Web3 growthJapan’s crypto ecosystem has been actively seeking ways to integrate and foster the growth of the Web3 industry. Its regulators have been lauded more recently, given that Japanese customers of failed crypto platforms like FTX were protected from those failures due to regulatory rules that insisted upon crypto platforms ring-fencing and safeguarding user funds.There have also been several initiatives taken to collaborate with international regulators on developing regulatory standards relative to digital assets. Earlier this month, the Japanese Financial Accounting Standards Foundation (FASF) met with the Korea Accounting Institute (KAI) to work on establishing accounting standards for digital assets.Japan’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) is also participating in Singapore’s Project Guardian, an initiative driven by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to explore the potential of digital assets.Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s supportive stance on Web3, describing it recently as “the new form of capitalism,” further reinforces Japan’s ambitions to establish itself as a hub for cryptocurrency activities. This regulatory nod for EOS could potentially mark the beginning of a broader trend, attracting more projects and investments to the Japanese crypto sector.

B. Riley Financial Agrees Strategic Bitdeer Share PurchaseBitdeer, the Singapore-based crypto mining firm that emerged as a spin-off from the renowned mining manufacturer Bitmain, has solidified a significant pact with financial services firm B. Riley Financial, through a share purchase deal. This accord entails the sale of up to $150 million worth of Bitdeer’s Class A ordinary shares.Photo by Kelly Sikkema on UnsplashOption to buyIn a filing dated August 9 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the terms of the agreement unveil a strategic arrangement. B. Riley will possess the option, albeit not the obligation, to procure a designated quantity of Bitdeer’s shares over a span of three years. Parameters of this agreement include a maximum acquisition of either 1 million shares or 25% of the shares of Bitdeer traded on the Nasdaq throughout this stipulated purchase timeframe.The filing states: “Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, the Company has the right to sell to B. Riley Principal Capital II, up to US$150,000,000 of its Class A ordinary shares, par value US$0.0000001 per share (the “Class A Ordinary Shares”), subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement.”Amplified voting privilegesIn essence, this arrangement affords B. Riley a distinct position within Bitdeer’s echelons. Class A shares, which typically elude public trading, grant shareholders amplified voting privileges in contrast to their Class B counterparts. Ergo, this deal furnishes B. Riley with a tangible stake in the domain of crypto mining.Underpinning this transaction, Bitdeer has committed to compensating B. Riley with 0.5% of the deal’s total value in acknowledgment of its commitment to procuring these shares. Additionally, B. Riley will be indemnified for legal expenses and outlays, extending up to a cap of $50,000.Broader mining interestIt’s not the first time that B. Riley has shown an interest in crypto mining. It signed a $100 million equity deal with Iris Energy last year. Additionally, it’s one of the largest creditors of Core Scientific.Noteworthy is the fact that Bitdeer embarked on its journey to public status via a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) deal with Blue Safari Group back in April. This strategic maneuver enabled Bitdeer to become public without taking the conventional route of an initial public offering (IPO).Marking a departure from the throes of the crypto winter, this SPAC deal entailed the fusion of a special purpose acquisition company with a private entity. Bitdeer’s subsequent Nasdaq debut wasn’t without its problems. Investors were lukewarm in the interest shown in the Bitdeer proposition, resulting in an immediate 30% price drop.Bhutan mining collaborationNotably, Bitdeer made headlines when it inked a partnership with Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) in May, signifying a collective stride towards establishing an ecologically-conscious, carbon-neutral digital asset mining venture within the realm of the Kingdom of Bhutan.Rooted in the visionary pursuits of Jihan Wu, the former Co-Founder of Bitmain, Bitdeer is distinguished for its cloud-mining services, a pursuit realized through its data centers stationed in Tennessee, Washington, and Texas. The company’s most recent operations report attests to the mining of 220 Bitcoin (BTC) via its self-mining enterprise in July, constituting an impressive year-over-year escalation of 41%.