K-GAMES and KOCCA release report on overseas gaming regulations

Report: Vietnamese Crypto Investors Rely Heavily on ReferralsWhile Vietnam has been leading the way in terms of cryptocurrency adoption among ordinary people, the decision-making process of Vietnamese crypto holders also sets them apart, according to a new report.The report, a collaboration between Vietnamese venture capital firms Kyros Ventures and Coin68, in association with Hong Kong-based Web3 firm Animoca Brands, reveals a striking trend. 76% of Vietnamese crypto holders base their investment choices on recommendations from friends and acquaintances.Photo by Silver Ringvee on UnsplashThe importance of referralsReleased on Wednesday, the report relied upon a survey involving 3,300 participants. A staggering 75.5% of respondents admitted that their crypto investment decisions were significantly “influenced by recommendations or referrals.” This figure stands at 2.5 times the equivalent percentage reported in the United States.Aside from word of mouth, Vietnamese crypto investors rely heavily on self-study, community groups, and media news as primary sources of information relative to crypto. Nearly 50% of survey participants indicated their reliance on these methods for staying informed about the crypto market.Market sentimentThe “Vietnam Cryptocurrency Market Report” for the first half of 2023 also sheds light on the sentiments of the crypto community. It indicates that 70% of survey participants believed that the bear market has already concluded or is approaching its end.Notwithstanding that, another data point could be interpreted such that market participants are still exercising an abundance of caution. Around 60% of respondents confirmed that they hold stablecoins as a significant constituent of their portfolios. Stablecoins are widely used by traders when exercising risk-off positioning.Interestingly, another finding of the report is the fact that an overwhelming 75% of respondents expressed a desire for increased regulatory intervention within the crypto sector. It’s unlikely that this is coincidental, given the number of high-profile crypto platform failures that took place in 2022.Vietnam leading adoptionChainalysis data confirms Vietnam’s dominant position globally in terms of crypto adoption and its impressive second-place ranking in decentralized finance (DeFi) adoption. Remarkably, more than 19% of adults in Vietnam own digital assets while Vietnam ranks among the top five countries when it comes to trading volume on global crypto platform Binance.However, this level of adoption stands in contrast with the limited educational infrastructure supporting it. Only nine educational institutions in the country offer blockchain courses.The survey also probed into user behavior within various crypto domains. The findings show a significant engagement in DeFi activities, with nearly 90% of respondents participating. By the end of 2022, there were in excess of 200 active blockchain projects in operation within Vietnam.GameFi, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), centralized finance (CeFi), and SocialFi are also popular among the Vietnamese crypto community, with engagement rates of between 55% and 91%. The research also found that users maintain a balanced preference between centralized and decentralized exchanges.The report concludes by highlighting the rapidly evolving local tech landscape and its synchronization with global trends. Largely, the report points to a positive sentiment in Vietnam relative to the future of cryptocurrency and Web3 innovation in the country.

Singaporean Researchers Devise More Effective DAO VotingResearchers at the Singapore University of Social Sciences have come up with a more efficient governance model for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashDAO governance reviewThe scientists presented their work via a paper titled “Voting Schemes in DAO Governance,” which was published earlier this week. The paper is due to appear in the Annual Review of Fintech in due course.The research paper initially sets out with a review of the different forms of voting currently used to affect DAO governance in the various early stage projects that are already up and running. Having taken a deep dive into existing approaches, the research team of Qinxu Ding, Weibiao Xu, Zhiguo Wang and David Kuo Chuen Lee decided that they could go one better themselves.Their review encompassed eight current approaches including the following: token-based quorum voting, knowledge-extractable voting, conviction voting and reputation-based voting. Each voting scheme was then evaluated based on the following factors:Efficiency: An assessment of the speed at which proposals are selected and approved.Fairness: Each voter should have equal rights to vote.Scalability: The degree to which storage, computation and communication needs can be adjusted relative to the number of voters.Robustness: An assessment of the relative resistance of the voting scheme to attacks and collusion.Incentive Schemes: The extent to which DAO members are motivated to vote.Following on from that analysis, the scientists put forward a hypothetical voting mechanism with design considerations relative to fully decentralized and permissionless DAO governance. When it came to ratings, the holographic consensus approach scored highest, with a “high” rating in the categories of efficiency, fairness and robustness, dropping down to medium when it came to scalability. None of the other approaches came close.In trying to go one better, the team took the holographic consensus approach and set out to create their own hypothetical voting mechanism based on this model. As evidenced from the paper, they tried to effect improvements to this approach:“We know that the downside of the conviction voting mechanism is that it takes time to approve an urgent proposal. To address this concern, we introduce a blind betting mechanism: each member could choose whether to bet on any proposals with a certain number of their tokens.”The researcher’s hypothetical model allows stakeholders to gamble their tokens on the likelihood of a proposal passing or failing. The logic with this approach, they claim, is that it would speed up the governance process, while making it more robust at the same time.In concluding remarks, the researchers acknowledged that all approaches were not without their pros and cons. They point out that the further development of DAOs shouldn’t be confined to a static organizational future. While they believe that their own hypothetical scheme is in theory superior, they acknowledge that it too has flaws. With that, the realities of implementing it in the real world may be a challenge.

Wintermute Asia executes inaugural options block trade via CMEWintermute Asia Pte. Ltd, the digital asset derivatives trading arm of the well-known algorithmic trading firm and crypto market maker Wintermute Group, has successfully executed its first options block trade through the CME Group.The BTC/USD block trade was conducted in collaboration with U.K.-based liquidity and data solutions specialist TP ICAP. It was successfully cleared by ABN AMRO, marking a significant milestone for Wintermute Asia in the digital assets space.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashMeeting institutional investor needsInstitutional interest in secure and alternative avenues for exposure to digital assets continues to build momentum. It’s likely with that in mind that Wintermute Asia is strategically expanding its derivatives product offerings with this latest move. It’s also no surprise that Wintermute’s Singapore-based team was involved in this development, given a recent expansion of its Singapore base and the fact that its derivatives business is dealt with in Singapore.Presently, Wintermute Asia provides vanilla options in BTC, ETH and various altcoins, featuring expiration periods ranging from 1 day to 6 months. The platform also caters to more sophisticated needs with the inclusion of exotic options.Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of Wintermute Group, expressed enthusiasm about Wintermute Asia’s evolving product offering, stating:“Wintermute Asia is excited to offer a range of OTC derivatives solutions to our counterparties that can accommodate all of their trading needs. Our growing suite of derivative instruments allows investors to easily hedge and manage risks, generate yield, and gain synthetic exposure to the underlying digital assets.”The move towards facilitating options block trades aligns with the increasing diversification of institutional portfolios into the digital asset sector. Giovanni Vicioso, Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products at CME Group, emphasized the significance of the partnership with Wintermute Asia. He commented:“We are pleased to provide Wintermute and its counterparties with access to our highly liquid, regulated suite of benchmark cryptocurrency futures and options on bitcoin and ether.”Involving TradFi heavyweightsCME is a cornerstone TradFi financial derivatives exchange, first established in 1898 and headquartered in Chicago in the United States. Its CEO Terry Duffy pushed back against proposals from convicted fraudster and FTX Founder Sam Bankman Fried in 2022 to alter the futures clearing model on the basis that such a move would introduce significant risk into the financial system. A year on from the failure of FTX and many other crypto platforms, a move towards involving established TradFi firms like CME, as Wintermute is doing, is far more appealing to institutional investors.Sam Newman, Digital Assets Head of Broking at TP ICAP, acknowledged Wintermute as another participant in block trading CME Group cryptocurrency products. TP ICAP, a key player in digital asset broking services since 2020, has been instrumental in price discovery and liquidity through global coverage on regulated exchanges. Newman expressed excitement about witnessing crypto-native firms like Wintermute accessing traditional products and services, indicating the market’s maturation.Earlier this year, CME Group upgraded its BrokerTec Stream from version 1.5 to 2.0. The upgrade aims to enhance performance and reduce latency for clients, introducing features such as sweepable matching and firm price improvements. Recently, CME became the second largest bitcoin futures exchange, second only to global crypto exchange Binance.