Temasek Cuts Pay Following FTX Autopsy

RaonSecure to Develop Digital Identity Strategy for the Indonesian GovernmentRaonSecure, a South Korea-based decentralized identity (DID) service provider utilizing blockchain technology, has secured a contract with the Korea-Indonesia e-Government Cooperation Center. The contract involves providing consultation services aimed at devising a strategy for the implementation of a digital identity system in Indonesia. The selection of RaonSecure as the contract winner was orchestrated by Korea’s National Information Society Agency (NIA), and this strategic venture is being executed through the bilateral center.Photo by Ben Sweet on UnsplashBilateral center fostering tech exchangeEstablished in Jakarta in 2016, the bilateral center aims to facilitate the exchange of technological expertise between the Korean government and its Indonesian counterpart. This organization also serves to accelerate the entry of Korean enterprises into the Southeast Asian market.Indonesia’s national service portalAs the Indonesian government looks forward to establishing a national service portal, the need for a robust national digital identity system has been growing. This system is envisaged to support functionalities such as user authentication, e-signatures, and privacy protection.Blockchain-based DID implementationIn light of these needs, RaonSecure has emerged as a suitable company for the project, showcasing its technological prowess and stability. The Korean tech firm’s expertise has been evident in the successful deployment of its blockchain-powered DID platform, OmniOne, across diverse organizational settings. Noteworthy deployments include providing OmniOne for the issuance of identification cards to government employees, licensed drivers, and military veterans. Furthermore, RaonSecure has recently partnered with the Korea Federation of Savings Banks (KFSB) to develop a solution that verifies bank customers’ identities using mobile ID cards.The Indonesian venture is encouraging development for RaonSecure as it will serve as a gateway to not only fostering its presence within Southeast Asia but also propelling its reach far beyond, and the company’s blockchain DID technology will play a key role in spearheading this expansion into new horizons.

Fonte Capital, an Astana-based investment management company that allocates capital across a broad range of asset classes, including digital assets, launched a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Kazakhstan’s capital city on Aug. 13. The firm is based within the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), with the launch prompting AIFC Governor Renat Bekturov to take to X to outline that the product offering is the first spot Bitcoin ETF to be listed within the Central Asian region.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashReflecting Bitcoin price dynamicsThe product has been listed on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) and has been assigned the ticker “BETF.” In announcing the offering, Fonte claimed that the ETF “aims to accurately reflect the price dynamics of bitcoin, striving to achieve this performance before fees and fund obligations.”Shares in the ETF are listed in U.S. dollars, with the fund having a “non-exempt” classification, meaning that it can be offered to a broad range of investors, including non-qualified retail investors. Each ETF share will be fully backed by Bitcoin, with Fonte having partnered with BitGo for digital asset custody.  Delivering institutional-grade accessTaking to social media, BitGo described the product offering as a “new era for digital assets” in Kazakhstan. The company asserted that through what it termed “U.S.-regulated cold storage,” the new fund is delivering institutional-grade access to Bitcoin within the region for the first time. Fonte pointed out that the fund “provides investors with a regulated and secure way to include Bitcoin in their investment portfolios without the complexities associated with holding and transferring the underlying asset.” This isn’t the first Bitcoin-related product that the AIX has listed. Back in 2021, it listed iX Bitcoin Exchange Traded Notes, with special purpose company iX Bitcoin SPC Limited acting as the note issuer.  The product differs from the Fonte ETF in that it is backed by shares of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, a future-based ETF first listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2021. In comparison, Fonte’s product has the advantage of being directly backed by Bitcoin. The ETF’s backers have pointed out that there are further implications for the ETF’s shareholders. As the product is regulated by the AIFC, Fonte asserts that within that jurisdiction, holders of the product’s shares are protected from the potential reach of international sanctions. In this regard, the product offers further protection as it is not dependent upon overseas issuers.  Overall, the AIFC has played a key role in the development of crypto within Kazakhstan over the course of the last few years. In 2023, it awarded crypto exchanges Bybit and Binance approval to trade within the Central Asian nation.  Binance subsequently launched a local crypto exchange platform in Kazakhstan, achieving full licensing in October 2024. In June of this year, the authority granted its first license for the issuance of a fiat-backed stablecoin.  It emerged recently that Kazakhstan is working towards the establishment of a national crypto reserve, with the administrators of the country’s sovereign wealth fund expressing the desire to commence investment in crypto assets.

In a move announced on Friday, OKX, the Seychelles-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange, declared its decision to delist 20 trading pairs by Jan. 5, triggering a notable price fall for major privacy coins such as Monero, Dash and ZCash. The exchange cited that the affected pairs did not align with its listing criteria, though specific details were not disclosed.Photo by Khara Woods on UnsplashPrivacy coin delisting trendWhile OKX did not explicitly articulate the rationale behind this move, industry observers are speculating that it could be part of the exchange’s broader efforts to comply with evolving regulatory measures. Privacy coins have increasingly drawn regulatory scrutiny due to concerns about potential illicit activities within the crypto space. Earlier in the year, Binance had also announced the delisting of several privacy coins to ensure compliance with local laws and regulations. The broader context of regulatory pressures on privacy-focused cryptocurrencies seems to be impacting major exchanges’ decisions. In 2022, Huobi cited regulatory pressures when it took the decision to delist Monero and other privacy coins. Kraken was further ahead of the curve still, delisting Monero for UK customers in November 2021. Downward price actionFollowing OKX’s announcement on Friday, the prices of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, notably Zcash (ZEC) and Monero (XMR), experienced a decline. The entire sector of “privacy cryptos” has witnessed a 7.1% decrease in overall market capitalization, according to an index of such coins compiled by Malaysian crypto indexing firm CoinGecko. During this period, Monero and Zcash have seen unit price declines of 4.5% and 10.7%, respectively. Other tokens set for delisting, including Dash, Powerpool and Horizen, have recorded declines of up to 14%. OKX has provided guidance to users, advising them to cancel orders related to the affected trading pairs before the delisting date to avoid automatic cancellation, a process that may take 1–3 working days. Concurrently, the exchange has halted deposits for the impacted cryptocurrencies and plans to cease withdrawals by Mar. 5, 2024, affording holders sufficient time to withdraw their assets. However, once the delisting is complete, trading these digital assets on OKX will become impossible. Interestingly, certain privacy coins like MINA continue to be listed on the exchange, experiencing a 7.5% increase following the delisting announcement. It’s crucial to note that OKX’s delisting is not exclusive to privacy tokens, as it also includes other trading pairs associated with digital assets such as Kusama, Flow, Kyber Network and Aragon. The fight for privacySome crypto community members have voiced their concerns on social media, with many fearing that the innovation may be ‘captured’ by the various state authorities over time. However, ex-Monero developer Ricardo Spagni (AKA “Fluffypony”) was nonchalant about the whole thing, judging by his comments. In a post on social media platform X, he wrote: ”Monero users and contributors literally couldn’t care less about delistings at this point.” As the regulatory landscape evolves, cryptocurrency exchanges are navigating these challenges, impacting the availability and value of specific tokens on their platforms. Investors and privacy advocates alike will be closely watching how such regulatory compliance measures continue to shape the crypto market and crypto use.