Blockchain Tech Enhances Korean Meat Industry’s Trading System

Hivemind Capital Partners expands into Hong Kong marketHivemind Capital Partners, a prominent player in the world of Web3 and digital asset investment, has officially unveiled its plans for expanding its operations to Hong Kong.Photo by Chromatograph on UnsplashNew Head of Asia appointmentIn a press release published by the New York-headquartered firm on Tuesday, Hivemind outlined that alongside this significant Asian expansion, the company has appointed Stanley Huo as Head of Asia. Huo is a seasoned investment banker with over 15 years of experience at prestigious institutions like China Renaissance, UBS, Citi and BAML across Asia and Europe.Huo expressed his excitement, stating: “I’m thrilled to be joining Hivemind at such a transformative period. The intersection of traditional finance and burgeoning digital asset technologies in Hong Kong presents unmatched opportunities and I’m looking forward to leading our initiatives in this vibrant ecosystem.”Identifying an opportunityHivemind Capital Partners had nothing but praise for Hong Kong as a significant crypto hub. The company highlighted the distinct advantages that come with operating in the city-state, including a well-established ecosystem that facilitates access to traditional financial infrastructure, capital-raising opportunities and the exploration of blockchain-related innovations.Huo told The Block: “It was very interesting to see that the Hong Kong government welcomes all the Web3 capital and talents… They want to build up a Web3 center.”Matt Zhang, Founder and Managing Partner of Hivemind, is equally enthusiastic about the Hong Kong expansion, stating:“Our expansion into Hong Kong not only represents our firm’s growth, but our commitment to being at the center of financial innovation and technology. With Stanley leading our business in Asia, we are positioned to significantly contribute to, and influence, the evolving narrative of blockchain technology and digital assets in the region.”Zhang is a speaker at Hong Kong Fintech Week later this week, where he will participate in a panel discussion titled “The Future of Stablecoins: Exploring Virtual Asset Payment Infrastructure and the Rise of Non-USD Stablecoin Frameworks.” He founded Hivemind in November 2021, with a view towards deploying capital within verticals such as crypto infrastructure, virtual worlds, programmable money and blockchain protocols.Hivemind has been on a significant growth trajectory, as evidenced by its recent launch of a $1.5 billion investment vehicle, with available funds still waiting to be deployed. Additionally, the company introduced the Liquid Opportunity Fund, a $300 million crypto fund, earlier in the year, securing $60 million for the fund in June.Following a regional trendThe company’s move to Hong Kong aligns with the broader trend of cryptocurrency firms recognizing the region’s potential and considering it for their expansion plans. Notably, Zodia Custody, a digital asset custodian backed by Standard Chartered, recently announced its launch in Hong Kong.While Hong Kong has actively positioned itself as a hub for Web3 companies, boasting recent developments like the introduction of retail trading for licensed crypto exchanges in August, it has also faced challenges. The city recently witnessed the largest Ponzi scheme in its history, involving the embezzlement of approximately $166 million from JPEX crypto exchange users. The investigation into this incident is still ongoing.

It’s been a tough couple of months for global crypto exchange, Bybit. Having had to leave the Malaysian market due to regulatory issues, the firm is now being forced to shutter its service in India for similar reasons.Photo by Naveed Ahmed on UnsplashWithdrawing services on January 12The exchange announced its withdrawal from the Indian market via a statement published to its website on Jan. 10. The service for Indian residents has been ceased from 08:00 UTC on Sunday, Jan. 12.  Account opening and crypto trading has been disabled. Furthermore, the ability to place market orders through other exchange products offered by the company has also been disabled. The ability for customers to withdraw fiat currency and digital assets remains in place. Achieving full complianceWhile the company is leaving the market, it has stated that its services are temporarily suspended in India. It cited a need to “operate in full compliance” as the firm’s primary objective relative to the Indian market. Elaborating on this, it stated:”We have taken this measure while we continue to work closely with the regulator to finalize our registration as a Virtual Digital Asset Service Provider in India, which we expect to secure in the coming weeks.” Malaysian market issueThe situation mirrors a similar set of circumstances that Bybit finds itself in relative to the Malaysian market. On Dec. 27, the Malaysian Securities Commission published a statement outlining details of an enforcement action it had taken against Bybit and the firm’s CEO, Ben Zhou.  In that instance, Bybit was directed to disable its service offering within the Malaysian market. The company indicated that it would return to the market once it had secured the necessary licensing. India hasn’t proven to be the most crypto-friendly jurisdiction to date. Indian crypto influencer R.K. Gupta took to the X social media platform, claiming that the government was at fault for Bybit having to withdraw from the Indian market. He stated: “Our country’s flawed policies are ruining crypto, while others aim for reserve currency status. Govt targeting exchanges, and now Bybit might stop services in India.” In December 2023, India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) took action to prevent unregistered overseas exchanges from operating within the Indian market. It issued compliance show-cause notices to nine exchanges at the time. Shortly afterwards, Apple India blocked access to these exchanges on the Indian Apple App Store.  While Bybit wasn’t amongst them, it is now being brought into line by Indian regulators. Back in September, it emerged that the FIU was considering requests to allow four offshore cryptocurrency exchanges to resume activity within the Indian market. Having been deemed to have come into compliance, Binance and KuCoin resumed activities in India in August 2024. Aside from Malaysia and India, Bybit has also encountered regulatory difficulties in Europe. Last August, it left the French market due to regulatory problems. In May 2022, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the French financial markets authority, blacklisted Bybit, warning investors that it wasn’t a registered digital asset service provider.  As part of that market withdrawal, Bybit collaborated with partner Coinhouse, a regulated French crypto-asset platform. Accounts holding assets above the value of 10 USDC were transferred to Coinhouse.

Korean and Indonesian firms join forces to tokenize shipping assetsCentralized decentralized finance (CeDeFi) platform NEOPIN said Wednesday that it has signed a business agreement with the Klaytn Foundation, South Korean juggernaut Kakao’s Layer 1 public blockchain, and Pelayaran Korindo, the shipping arm of Southeast Asian conglomerate Korindo, to tokenize real-world assets (RWAs).Photo by Andy Li on UnsplashRevolutionizing shipping financeThe three companies will first tokenize shipping-related assets owned by Pelayaran Korindo. This integration of digital assets into the maritime industry — which up until now has been under the umbrella of traditional finance — is expected to increase accessibility to shipping investments not only for institutional investors but also for individual investors.Pelayaran Korindo specializes in comprehensive shipping logistics mainly in Indonesia. Under the newest collaboration, the company plans to enhance the accessibility of its RWAs to Web3 companies as well as share its knowledge on localization and partner networks. It aims to play an essential role in the joint venture by leading the decentralization of traditional finance and promoting the widespread adoption of RWA tokenization.On the other hand, NEOPIN, along with the Klaytn Foundation, plans to leverage its expertise in CeDeFi to help Pelayaran Korindo digitize and liquify their assets while optimizing the plaform’s user inferface.Ushering in an era of RWA tokensThe partnership is also a part of the Klaytn Foundation’s efforts to expand its ecosystem through RWA-related endeavors. By tokenizing RWAs and producing certifications of digital ownership, the enterprise hopes to popularize blockchain and create value through real-world use cases. To achieve this, the foundation will work with RWA tokenization experts both in Korea and overseas to build a business model that is profitable, technologically feasible and regulatory compliant.“The Klaytn blockchain enables the construction of a digital asset trading platform with fast processing speed and low fees that can satisfy both token issuers and also regular users,” explained Seo Sang-min, Representative Director at the Klaytn Foundation. “The foundation has accumulated practical experience in the entire service construction process, from discovering promising RWA tokenization projects to launching real services. Moving forward, we will collaborate with Pelayaran Korindo and NEOPIN to actualize various global RWA tokenization initiatives, starting with maritime finance.”NEOPIN’s CEO Ethan Kim also mentioned the company’s intent to work with Pelayaran Korindo and the Klaytn Foundation to introduce attractive RWA investment products that are easy to navigate and have strong factors of appeal, thus leading the global RWA market in maritime finance.