Polaris Office marks 10th anniversary, POLA rises 14%

In an effort to safeguard crypto investors from falling prey to misleading advertisements, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has intensified its scrutiny of promotional campaigns within the crypto sphere. Photo by Dave Kim on UnsplashBroker agent eventsOn April 29, the Bangkok Post reported that the SEC has raised concerns regarding the potential violation of local regulations through introducing broker agent (IBA) events. These events, the SEC clarified, may breach regulations as IBAs are only permitted to promote digital token services to deter speculation on cryptocurrencies, categorized as high-risk assets. IBAs, acting as local conduits for partner digital asset exchanges, typically earn commissions by onboarding clients within a specific market. Such practices are common for exchanges or brokers that don't directly operate in certain markets. Deputy Secretary-General Anek Yooyuen conveyed the commission's unease over crypto exchanges offering preferential treatment to onboard users. Yooyuen stated: "When operators organise sales promotions by offering rewards to entice people to use the service, this could encourage use of the service without considering the investment risks. This is especially the case for cryptocurrencies.” Warning of consequencesHe cautioned that failure to adhere to these guidelines would result in “punishment according to the law.” While cryptocurrency exchanges are legal in Thailand, they must secure local approval. Notably, last month, Thailand even greenlit asset management firms to launch private funds, offering Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) exclusively to institutional and ultra-high-net-worth investors. Nonetheless, the country recently prohibited the sale of cryptocurrency lending products and mandated that exchanges prominently display risk warning messages. International regulatory trendThis move by the Thai SEC mirrors actions taken by regulators in other major crypto markets. For instance, the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued 450 alerts for illegal crypto ads in 2023 alone. Similarly, Spain’s principal securities market regulator, the National Stock Market Commission, denounced fraudulent crypto asset promotions in November 2023, emphasizing companies’ obligations to adhere to local laws. Thai advertising guidelines mandate businesses and advertisers to substantiate the “facts” presented in their campaigns, failing which could lead to legal repercussions. A recent incident provides a case in point. Hackers hijacked advertisements on Etherscan, redirecting users to phishing sites aimed at draining crypto wallets. Scam Sniffer, a blockchain investigation firm, attributed the widespread phishing campaign to the inadequate oversight by advertisement aggregators. The company made the following statement on the matter: “Etherscan aggregates ads from platforms like Coinzilla and Persona, where insufficient filtering could lead to exposure to phishing attempts.” The wallet drainer scam involves enticing users to counterfeit websites and coercing them to link their crypto wallets, enabling scammers to siphon funds into their own wallets without user authentication or consent. This is not the first time that the authorities in Thailand have homed in on crypto-related advertising. In August 2023, the Southeast Asian country’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) outlined that it had engaged with social media firm Meta, owner of Facebook, informing it that its response to the proliferation of fraudulent platform ads relative to crypto had been inadequate. 

Dubai Regulator Issues Reprimand to OPNX FoundersThe Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), the regulator that concerns itself with the digital assets market in the Emirate of Dubai, has formally reprimanded the founders of digital asset exchange OPNX.Photo by Kai Pilger on UnsplashVARA issued an investor and marketplace alert on April 12 to inform investors that OPNX was not a licensed entity regulated by VARA and with that, it urged investors to be cautious. The regulator has now gone one further, this time formally writing to OPNX’s founders to reprimand them.The statement cites the following rationale for the issuance of the reprimand:”Carrying out VA (Virtual Asset) Exchange Services on an unregulated basis in and from the Emirate of Dubai; and Marketing, promoting and/or advertising OPNX services and its native token [FLEX] without the necessary permits from VARA.”Contextual backgroundThe statement goes on to provide the context for the regulator’s most recent action. VARA became aware of OPNX soliciting the public to use the exchange in February of this year. It noted that the business was actively marketing through various social media channels “without establishing warranted restrictions for residents of Dubai/UAE.” VARA went on to explain that OPNX commenced trading in April without having secured a regulatory license despite the activity warranting such a license.Cease and desistOn February 27, VARA issued OPNX with a cease and desist order, relative to the foundation of the business and the marketing and promotion of services. Thereafter, the exchange applied certain restrictions but the regulator deemed the measures to not have been applied comprehensively across all OPNX communication channels, prompting it to issue a further cease and desist order the following month.The investor and marketplace alert followed in April as OPNX proceeded to launch its exchange. The written reprimand was then issued on April 18, “to address historical and ongoing activity conducted on an unregulated basis.” The recipients included the OPNX founders, (Mark Lamb, Sudhu Arumugam, Kyle Davies and Su Zhu) and the firm’s CEO Leslie Lamb.Given what the regulator deems to have been “a continued lack of satisfactory remedial action [taken] by the responsible parties,” it is continuing to actively monitor the situation. VARA stated that it will further investigate OPNX’s activity to assess further corrective measures that may be required to protect the market.Lack of industry supportThe digital assets industry is in no way enamored with founders Davies and Zhu. Their record has been badly blemished by the unceremonious collapse of their crypto hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital, in 2022. That failure wreaked major damage on the overarching crypto space, directly leading to the failure of other crypto businesses later that year.Prominent crypto venture capitalist Michael Arrington said of their capital raise for OPNX that it was “the saddest bulls**t I’ve heard in a long time.” It later transpired that two of the investment firms that OPNX suggested were backing the start-up refuted the claim.In response to this latest development, OPNX’s CEO Leslie Lamb told Blockworks that the business was initially launched in Hong Kong. “To confirm, we have no Dubai or UAE customers and do full KYC on all users,” she stated.

The Ethereum Foundation is set to make a significant impact on the Southeast Asian Ethereum community as it announces Bangkok as the location for Devcon 7.Photo by Viktor Forgacs on UnsplashFocusing on Southeast AsiaThe Ethereum developer conference will be held in the Thai capital from Nov. 12 to 15. The decision signifies a broadened vision for the event, shifting from a city-focused approach to embracing the entire Southeast Asia region as the backdrop for this community gathering. To underscore the Foundation’s intent, it has renamed the event from Devcon 7 to "Devcon Southeast Asia." Expressing enthusiasm about the potential and rapid growth of the Ethereum community in Southeast Asia, the Ethereum Foundation sees the scheduling of Devcon 7 for 2024 as an opportunity to deeply engage with local communities, providing meaningful support and empowerment. This shift aims to make Devcon 7 a more inclusive and regionally focused event, aptly named "Devcon Southeast Asia" to highlight its broader reach and impact. There has already been a positive reaction from crypto community members in the region in response to the choice of Bangkok for the conference. Navaporn Nalita, the founder of Crypto City Connext in Thailand wrote that “Bangkok's collaborative ecosystem, welcomes Devcon 2024 with open arms (and open blockchains)! Thailand's vibrant dev scene is primed to ignite alongside the world's brightest minds.” In short order, community builders have been looking to make the most out of the opportunity. Aligning with crypto growth potentialAccording to the blog post published by the Ethereum Foundation outlining the announcement, the choice of Bangkok as the host city aligns with the region's crypto adoption growth. Countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand have shown remarkable positions in the Global Crypto Adoption Index, underscoring the pivotal role of Southeast Asia in the global Ethereum landscape. To support Ethereum events, grassroots communities and educational initiatives in Southeast Asia, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) initiated the Road to Devcon (RTD) Grants round on June 29. This grant round is specifically aimed at individuals in Southeast Asia actively building communities, developing educational activities, and contributing to the growth of the Ethereum ecosystem. Encouraging smaller meet-ups over large events, the EF set the maximum grant at $1,000. The initiative aims to empower the Southeast Asian Ethereum community by providing support along the Road to Devcon. In a recent Chainalysis research report, Vietnam has emerged as the leader in cryptocurrency adoption within Southeast Asia, claiming the top spot in the region and ranking third globally in the Global Crypto Adoption Index for 2023. This index considers transaction volumes, protocols, web traffic patterns and factors like population size and purchasing power. The competition among Southeast Asian countries to establish themselves as crypto hubs is evident. Each nation adopts different regulatory approaches, with Singapore and Thailand implementing stricter measures. There has been a steady stream of Ethereum developer-centric conferences in recent years. 2022 featured EthDenver, Avax Barcelona, Devconnect Amsterdam, Devcon Bogota and EthSF (San Francisco). EthDenver, EthCC Paris and Devconnect Istanbul followed in 2023. As Devcon Southeast Asia approaches, the Ethereum Foundation anticipates fostering deeper connections and collaboration in this vibrant and evolving ecosystem.