Subreddit Token Price Slide Following Surge

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.

Zhong An Bank (ZA Bank), Hong Kong’s largest digital bank, has announced that it is now offering crypto trading services to its 800,000 retail customers. The bank set out details of its latest offering in a press release published to its website on Nov. 25. With that, ZA Bank claims to be the first Asian bank to offer crypto trading services to retail customers. Singapore’s DBS Bank was the first conventional bank in Asia to offer crypto services, although in that case, its offering was confined to institutional and accredited investors. It has yet to launch crypto trading for its retail customers.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashHashKey Exchange partnership While DBS built its own crypto exchange platform, in this instance, ZA Bank has decided to partner with local regulated crypto platform, HashKey Exchange. To begin with, the bank will offer Bitcoin and Ethereum in HKD and USD trading pairs. To promote the service, users are being offered commission-free trading during the first three months. A minimum investment level of HKD 600 ($70) has been set. Essentially, ZA Bank customers can access this trading feature through the ZA Bank banking app. Commenting on the partnership, HashKey Exchange CEO Livio Weng stated:”Our collaboration goes beyond technical synergies; it also reflects our shared commitment to upholding the highest regulatory standards. Looking ahead, HashKey Exchange will continue to work closely with ZA Bank to drive the development of the Web3 ecosystem, while delivering more diversified financial services to our users. Together, we aim to usher in a new era of wealth management.” HashKey Exchange is one of three virtual asset exchanges in the Chinese autonomous territory that have been fully regulated and licensed. Facilitating retail demand The bank cited a recent Hong Kong Association of Banks survey, which suggested that 70% of respondents believe that banks offering virtual asset trading services would mean greater convenience for people in accessing cryptocurrencies. Consequently, it would lead to further adoption of cryptocurrencies and it’s on this basis that ZA Bank has launched this latest service, catering to an emerging demand from its customers. Speaking to that, ZA Bank's Alternate Chief Executive Calvin Ng stated:“The rise of cryptocurrency presents investors with more diverse asset allocation opportunities.” On X, Neo blockchain co-founder Da Hongfei described the development as “noteworthy.” In particular, he highlighted the fact that ZA Bank supports account openings not just for Hong Kong residents but also mainland China residents living in Hong Kong. Notwithstanding that, crypto services still remain out of bounds for mainland China residents.  Hongfei also pointed out that the offering doesn’t allow the customer to transfer crypto purchased via the app off the platform. It is strictly limited to trading of crypto between digital assets and fiat currency. This offering by ZA Bank has been in the works for quite a while, with the bank having indicated that an app-based crypto retail offering was in development last December.  In September the bank received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to add digital asset transactions to its Type 1 license. The bank is owned by ZA Global, an affiliate company of Chinese insurance company Zhong An.

Binance APAC Head Urges the Korean FIU to Approve Gopax’s Exec ChangesIn a recent interview with Yonhap News, Leon Sing Foong, Binance’s head of Asia-Pacific operations, emphasized the importance of the Korean financial regulator approving the change of executives at Gopax, a Korean crypto exchange.©Pexels/freestocks.orgDelayed staked asset returnFoong’s comments came in the face of mounting worries regarding the delayed repayment of assets stored in Gopax’s staking service GOFi. He explained that 25% of the assets staked in GOFi have been repaid, and the remaining assets will be refunded after approval of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) is secured.Foong was appointed as the new CEO of Gopax last February, with Binance becoming the largest shareholder of Gopax’s operator Streami. In March, Gopax submitted an application to the FIU to inform them of the executive changes, as required by Korean law.However, the application review has been delayed amid concerns about the unclear location of Binance’s headquarters and its regulatory challenges in the US.Controlling staking servicesThe Binance executive believes Gopax’s staking service should be controlled by the exchange itself, rather than a third party. The current GOFi issue emerged due to Gopax’s management of its custody assets through crypto lender Genesis, which ceased trading following the FTX bankruptcy. Foong stated that Binance will require Gopax to maintain reserves of over 100% and eventually phase out the third-party-based service.According to Foong, Gopax’s business model will remain unchanged, and the exchange will work alongside Binance to bolster liquidity within the local market while enhancing both infrastructure and security measures. He considers internal risk management as Gopax’s top priority.Risk assessmentFoong also expressed confidence in the upcoming risk assessment of Gopax by Jeonbuk Bank, recently requested by the Korean Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). He said that the exchange is healthy, and that Binance has high-level anti-money-laundering (AML) capabilities.Korean law mandates crypto exchanges supporting Korean won trading have real-name bank accounts, and Gopax receives such accounts from its partner Jeonbuk Bank.Binance’s Asian expansionBinance’s endeavor to enter the Korean market is part of its strategy to expand its presence in Asia. It was previously reported that Binance Japan will start its operations around June this year.