P2E Game Covenant Child Developer Partners with Pala for Global NFT Collaboration

FPG Halts Withdrawals Following HackFloating Point Group (FPG), a prominent crypto prime brokerage platform, has temporarily halted trading, deposits, and withdrawals following a cyber security incident that occurred on Sunday.Photo by Thom Milkovic on UnsplashIncident responseFPG, headquartered in Singapore while maintaining a base in Hoboken, New Jersey in the United States, manages over $50 billion in assets. The firm took immediate action upon discovering the incident by engaging third-party forensics experts and law enforcement agencies.The company acknowledged the problem publicly via a tweet thread on Twitter on Wednesday. FPG stated that the company has locked all third-party accounts and secured its wallets while it investigates the extent and details of the breach. Although the full extent of the loss is still under investigation, the current estimate stands at approximately $15 million to $20 million in lost cryptocurrencies.Investigative cooperationIn response to the incident, FPG is collaborating with the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, regulatory bodies, and Chainalysis to comprehend the nature of the attack and initiate asset recovery measures. As the investigation involving those entities is ongoing, specific details are not being disclosed at this stage, but FPG has pledged to provide updates as new information becomes available.The cyber security incident comes six months after FPG obtained a SOC 2 certification, which verifies the implementation of robust security, privacy, and control measures by service organizations to ensure the reliable handling of sensitive data and systems.Originally founded in 2018 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, FPG functions as both a crypto prime brokerage platform and an agency trading desk for asset managers, offering access to liquidity across various markets. In December, FPG announced that its blockchain foundation customers accounted for 5% of the total treasury management market.Backed by prominent investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Anthony Scaramucci of SkyBridge Capital, and Naval Ravikant, the founder of AngelList, FPG has raised a total of $12 million in funding thus far.In August of the previous year, FPG successfully registered as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) in the Cayman Islands. This registration ensured the secure custody of customer assets and safeguarded them from the company’s creditors in the unlikely event of bankruptcy.Broader crypto issuesIt has not been a good couple of weeks for the crypto sector relative to hacks and platform withdrawal pauses. Within the past twenty four hours, two Asia-based crypto lending platforms, Haru Invest and Delio, have suspended withdrawals. In those cases, the issue is suspected to relate to platform contagion and solvency issues.Earlier this month, the Atomic Wallet platform was hacked despite the understanding that the project offered self-custodial wallets. Originally, the loss was estimated at $35 million, but more recent reports are now estimating that figure to be in excess of $100 million.As FPG continues its efforts to mitigate the aftermath of the cyber attack, industry participants eagerly await further updates and measures undertaken by the company to recover from this incident and restore trust among its clients.

The Dubai Court of First Instance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has notched up another milestone relative to the continuing rollout of the use of and legal status of cryptocurrency by recognizing crypto as a legitimate means of payment where salaries are concerned. The groundbreaking decision, which was revealed in the court via case number 1739 of 2024, gives confirmed legal recognition to the validity of crypto as a means of payment for salaries, which may be stipulated in an employment contract.Photo by David Rodrigo on UnsplashRuling reflecting a progressive approach to cryptoThe outcome hit the radar of a number of crypto-centric UAE-based lawyers, with Web3 lawyer Irina Heaver, a partner at NeosLegal, pointing out that the decision marks a shift from previous relevant case law in the UAE in 2023 when a similar set of circumstances led to crypto not being recognized for the purposes of salary payment. Commenting on the ruling of that previous case, she stated: “This decision reflected a traditional viewpoint, emphasizing the need for concrete evidence when dealing with unconventional payment forms.” Ecowatt (EWT) tokensIn this latest case, the circumstances revolved around a dispute whereby an employee claimed for unpaid salary, termination compensation and further benefits. The employee’s contract of employment outlined a payment in both fiat currency, alongside 5,250 Ecowatt (EWT) tokens.  Ecowatt is a renewable energy blockchain project which claims to serve a purpose in reducing carbon impact on a global basis through the tokenization of green energy. It was the failure of the employer to pay out the tokenized portion of the employee’s salary that led to the dispute and the subsequent lawsuit. The court ultimately sided with the employee, agreeing that the employer must fulfill its contractual obligation and pay out the remainder of the employee’s salary and benefits in Ecowatt tokens. The judgement stated: “As the respondent did not provide evidence of payment in EcoWatt tokens, the court orders the respondent to pay the claimant the value of her wages in EcoWatt tokens.” In weighing up this latest adjudication, Heaver concludes that the move is congruent with the progressive approach that is being taken to digital assets within the UAE. “This decision reflects a broader acceptance of cryptocurrency in employment contracts and highlights the court’s recognition of the evolving nature of financial transactions within the Web3 economy,” she stated. Mahmoud Abuwasel, partner at Wasel & Wasel, an international firm with a presence in Abu Dhabi, also noted the relevance of the ruling, posting on the matter on legal update database, Lexology.  Greater legal clarityLittle by little, greater clarity is emerging in jurisdictions worldwide with regard to the status of cryptocurrency and digital assets within the context of international legal systems. In 2023, a Chinese court recognized virtual assets as legal property, affirming the legal status of virtual assets as protected property under Chinese law.Earlier in 2023, the courts in the Chinese autonomous territory of Hong Kong determined cryptocurrency to be property “capable of being held in trust.” Not all decisions have been positive however, with a Singaporean court determining in April 2023 that crypto is not money, albeit that the judge did acknowledge that the matter would require a more detailed examination of evidence in another court. 

OKX and Bybit Exclude Sanctioned Russian Banks from P2P ServicesIn response to the mounting pressure on crypto firms to improve general compliance standards, prominent digital asset exchanges OKX and Bybit, based in the Seychelles and Dubai, have decided to delist sanctioned Russian banks from their peer-to-peer (P2P) services.Photo by Eduardo Soares on UnsplashThe move by the two exchange platforms, brought to light by Russian media reports, comes just days after Binance had done the same.Tinkoff Bank and Sberbank, two significant Russian financial institutions, have been expunged from the P2P platforms of OKX and Bybit. This effectively removes the option for Russian crypto users to exchange their assets for fiat through these banks. The decision sees the exchanges fall into line with Western sanctions imposed on the banks due to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.Enforcement difficultiesWhile the removal of these banks from the platforms is a significant step, the nature of P2P transactions introduces complexities in enforcing such bans comprehensively. Reports indicate that certain users are still engaging in P2P transactions with these banks through private channels, showcasing the challenges in regulating this decentralized method of exchange.In the case of OKX, at the time of publication, the platform still allows Russian users to receive fiat through accounts held with the Russian Standard Bank and the Russian branch of Raiffeisen Bank.This action aligns OKX and Bybit with Binance, which faced a similar scenario last week. Binance came under scrutiny when it continued to list the sanctioned banks as part of its payment methods. Following a report by The Wall Street Journal, Binance eventually removed the banks from its platform.Binance’s compliance effortsA spokesperson from Binance conveyed that while the banks have been delisted, the company remains committed to ensuring compliance by continuously updating its systems.“We regularly update our systems to ensure compliance with local and global regulatory standards,” they said. “When gaps are pointed out to us, we seek to address and remediate them as soon as possible.”Despite this stance and the latest action it has taken, users on Binance’s P2P platform are still posting ads for the sale of crypto using the “green bank,” referring to the sanctioned banks, as the preferred method of payment.Western-imposed sanctions have led to significant economic challenges in Russia, pushing individuals and institutions towards cryptocurrencies as a potential solution. In a country that has previously banned private cryptocurrencies, the attraction of decentralized digital assets has grown stronger as a means to break through the sanctions-induced financial stranglehold.Sanctions impactReports from Russian financial institutions reveal dramatic declines in profits, some as high as 90%, as they find themselves cut off from the global payments network SWIFT. Tinkoff Bank, for instance, reported a substantial decline of 67% in the second quarter of 2022, attributing the drop to escalating global tensions.In April, the Bank of Russia introduced a bill that could potentially allow cryptocurrencies to be used in international trade, a measure aimed at mitigating the impact of sanctions. While this could potentially open doors for cross-border transactions involving cryptocurrencies, the restrictions on local transactions remain intact.