Korean Crypto Market’s Healthy Growth Requires Corporate Participation

XPLA Welcomes Mobile Game Idle Ninja Online on Its MainnetSouth Korean game developer Com2uS has revealed that its blockchain gaming platform, XPLA, will be launching Idle Ninja Online, an AFK MMORPG, on its mainnet. AFK MMORPG is an acronym for away from keyboard massively multiplayer online role-playing game.Photo by Rodion Kutsaiev on UnsplashGameplay and featuresIdle Ninja Online offers players the opportunity to level up their characters by battling monsters that pose a threat to the ninja village. The game’s idle gameplay element ensures accessibility for all players. Its charming graphics, unique dungeons, and various bosses captivate players’ attention. A noteworthy feature is the ability for players to strategically combine tens of thousands of in-game items to create custom decks for engaging in battles. With availability in multiple languages, including English, Japanese, Thai, and Spanish, the game has garnered continued interest from gamers across the globe.P2O system next monthNext month, Idle Ninja Online is set to introduce a play-to-own (P2O) system that will utilize its native token, NINKY, which is compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine. Players will be able to earn NINKY tokens through gameplay, which can then be traded for XPLA, the native token of the XPLA ecosystem.Paul Kim, CEO of XPLA, extended a warm welcome to Puzzle Monsters’ acclaimed Idle Ninja Online as it joins the XPLA ecosystem. He said that the close collaboration between the two entities will showcase creative and entertaining content to Web3 gamers on a global scale.XPLA is a global blockchain mainnet encompassing an NFT marketplace, a metaverse, and various entertainment services. In July, it introduced well-regarded titles like action RPG Summoners War: Chronicles, casual game MiniGame Party, and fishing game Ace Fishing: Wild Catch. The XPLA mainnet has established partnerships with renowned Web3 projects, including Japanese gaming blockchain Oasys, Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming developer Animoca Brands, decentralized gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG), and blockchain infrastructure platform Blockdaemon.

Korean Supreme Court acquits Dunamu Chairman Song Chi-hyungThe Supreme Court of South Korea, in a significant ruling on Thursday (local time), acquitted Song Chi-hyung, chairman and principal stakeholder of Dunamu, of fraud and forgery charges, according to a report by local news agency Yonhap. This ruling is particularly noteworthy because Dunamu is the operator of the nation’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit.This decision, led by Justice Oh Kyung-mi, marks the culmination of a legal battle that began with Song’s indictment in Dec. 2018, and it extends to the acquittal of the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the head of the Data Value Team, who were jointly indicted.Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on UnsplashBackground of the caseSong Chi-hyung and his colleagues were alleged to have fabricated an account on Upbit between September and November 2017. They had been accused of feigning the deposit of assets valued at KRW 122.1 billion and then employing these fictitious funds to enable transactions among actual members.The prosecution also leveled fraud charges against them, claiming that the fabricated account was utilized to sell 11,550 bitcoins to 26,000 members, thereby generating KRW 149.1 billion.The Seoul Southern District Court, acting as the court of first instance, found them not guilty. The court reasoned that the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to establish that the defendants actually deposited the assets in the account.Issues with the prosecution’s evidence gatheringThe Seoul High Court, serving as the appellate court, identified problems with the evidence provided by the prosecution, determining that part of it lacked credibility due to improper collection methods. Notably, the court observed that the prosecution had directed Dunamu employees to access their Amazon cloud server to download the account’s transaction history. However, since this remote server was not included in the search and seizure warrant, the court highlighted the illegitimacy of the evidence.The appellate court also pointed out another issue with the evidence: documents stored on the CFO’s USB drive. The prosecution did not follow the legitimate search process, which requires them to extract only data related to the allegations. Moreover, the prosecutors did not present a warrant when confiscating the laptop of the Data Value Team’s lead, further undermining the credibility of their evidence.The court further stated that even if the remaining evidence provided by the prosecution was considered viable, it was still insufficient to substantiate the prosecution’s accusations.The prosecution, disagreeing with the decision of the appeals court, had escalated the case to the Supreme Court. However, the highest court in the nation sided with the ruling of the appeals court, effectively upholding the decision made at the appellate level.

Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based Web3 company focused on blockchain gaming and NFTs, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with DayDayCook (DDC) Enterprise Limited in a deal that will see Animoca allocate up to $100 million in Bitcoin with that capital to be exposed to yield enhancement strategies operated by DDC.Photo by Erika Fletcher on UnsplashBitcoin treasury strategyIn a press release published to its website, Animoca Brands claimed that the deal accelerates the Bitcoin accumulation strategy pursued by DDC. Back in May, DDC Enterprise, a Chinese company listed on the Nasdaq in the U.S. while headquartered in Hong Kong, became one of many Nasdaq-listed companies recently to add Bitcoin to its balance sheet.  At that time, it made a symbolic initial 21 BTC purchase, bearing in mind the leading digital asset has a supply cap of 21 million BTC. The company has set out an ambitious plan to build up a Bitcoin treasury of 5,000 BTC over the course of three years. DDC Founder Norma Chu described the development as a “pivotal moment.” ‘Pristine monetary asset’On this occasion, Chu described the partnership with Animoca as a “transformative step,” reflecting the companies’ “shared vision to accelerate Bitcoin’s role as a pristine monetary asset.” As part of the partnership, Animoca Brands Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Yat Siu, will join DDC’s Bitcoin Visionary Council (BVC). The company established the BVC recently in order to put strategic leadership and guidance in place so that DDC’s Bitcoin-related treasury operations are conducted in accordance with industry standards so as to maximize value creation in the long term. Siu said that the arrangement enables Animoca Brands “to enhance the value of [its] blockchain technologies and maximize the value of [its] Bitcoin holdings.” Commenting further on the partnership, he added: “We will focus on developing strategies to enhance Bitcoin’s value proposition, leveraging DDC’s commitment to advancing corporate Bitcoin treasury solutions." Siu told Cointelegraph that Animoca Brands' belief in the abilities of the DDC founder played a large part in the company establishing the partnership. He said that her background and experience enable her to “bridge the East and West to successfully navigate markets on both sides of the planet,” adding that “she has good appeal and connections to the Chinese market, one of the largest for crypto adoption, while also running a NASDAQ-listed company.” On BitcoinTreasuries.net, a Bitcoin treasury data hub, DDC is listed as 47th in terms of corporations globally that have adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy, ranked by the amount of Bitcoin that they have accumulated. The website suggests that DDC currently holds 368 BTC, valued at approximately $43.2 million. Following its initial purchase of 21 BTC in May, the company followed up with the acquisition of 38 BTC in June. On July 1, it announced that it had raised $528 million to expand its Bitcoin holdings, with confirmation of a further purchase of 230 BTC by July 7.