Solv raises $11M to bring overall funding to $25M

Chainlink, a prominent decentralized oracle network, has partnered with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a free zone and international financial center located on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a view towards further developing tokenization frameworks.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashCompliant tokenization frameworksAccording to an announcement on the ADGM website, the international financial center signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chainlink. It claimed that the collaboration marks “a major step in advancing compliant tokenisation frameworks.” Chainlink provides a suite of services. Central to that is the delivery of real-world data feeds into blockchain networks. ADGM believes that through the partnership, projects located within the free zone will be able to access this technology, while the ADGM’s Registration Authority will ensure regulatory compliance. The CEO of the ADGM Registration Authority, Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, said that the strategic alliance is a significant step towards ADGM leadership in blockchain innovation. He added: “By collaborating with Chainlink, we are aiming to set a global benchmark that spearheads transparency, security, and trust across the blockchain space.” The collaboration includes plans to host events and workshops aimed at educating the blockchain sector within the UAE. The two parties also aspire to the initiative, sparking greater dialogue on regulatory matters relative to blockchain, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. Global collaborationsThis is the latest in a long list of collaborations that Chainlink has entered into, relative to asset tokenization. In October, it partnered with Singapore’s DigiFT, an exchange dedicated to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). The following month, it completed a pilot program alongside financial messaging service SWIFT and UBS Asset Management under the umbrella of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Guardian. The project concerned itself with the settlement of tokenized funds. Earlier in 2024, Chainlink partnered with U.S. financial market infrastructure firm DTCC on the Smart NAV pilot project. The initiative centered on the creation and issuance of tokenized funds, counting JPMorgan, State Street, BNY Mellon, Invesco and Franklin Templeton among its participants. In the UAE, Chainlink has been added as a member of the Digital Asset Lab of one of the country’s largest banking groups, Emirates NBD. For its part, the ADGM has also been on the front foot with regard to tokenization initiatives. Its Regulatory Authority has established a regulatory framework with regard to asset tokenization, with an emphasis on investor protection. In October of last year, RWA tokenization platform Realize launched the financial center’s first tokenized U.S. treasury bill fund. At the time, the ADGM said that the development highlighted an objective for the region in becoming the global market leader where RWA tokenization is concerned. The ADGM began operations in 2015 with its own legal system. As of the end of 2024, the financial center hosted 134 fund and asset managers. Market maker and Web3 investment firm DWF Labs moved its headquarters from Singapore to Abu Dhabi’s ADGM at the end of last year, citing the goal of wanting to expand tokenized RWA-based projects as one of the reasons for the move.

According to India’s Finance Ministry, Binance and a number of other virtual asset service providers (VASPs) are not tax-compliant in India. Cases of tax evasion detectedNews of this matter emerged via written answers, published on Dec. 2, provided in response to parliamentary questions which had been put to India’s Finance Minister, Pankaj Chaudhary. The minister confirmed that a “few cases of evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST) by cryptocurrency exchanges and investors” had been detected. The document goes on to list 17 crypto entities who are currently being investigated on that basis, with Binance being the most well-known among them. Notable Indian exchanges listed include WazirX, CoinDCX and CoinSwitch. Chaudhary included details of cases booked against these exchanges. In Binance’s case, it was required to pay 722 crore Indian rupees, which amounts to around $85.2 million. While Binance doesn’t appear to have incurred penalties, in the case of WazirX, the exchange had an assessed tax shortfall of 40.51 crore Indian rupees ($4.78 million), but after fees and interest, it was provided with a demand for 49.19 crore Indian rupees ($5.8 million). CoinDCX and CoinSwitch were also assessed with a demand for 20.86 crore Indian rupees ($2.46 million) and 19.38 crore Indian rupees ($2.28 million), inclusive of penalties and interest. In the case of WazirX, CoinDCX and CoinSwitch, the exchanges have had to pay an additional 21%, 24% and 37% respectively in fees and interest over and above their original tax liabilities.Photo by Naveed Ahmed on UnsplashPrevious tax and regulatory issuesTo date, the Finance Ministry has recovered 122.3 crore rupees ($14.4 million) as part of these investigations. Binance has as yet not paid the funds demanded by the authorities. It emerged in August that India’s Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) had imposed an $86 million tax demand on the company, with Binance contesting the assessment. The global crypto exchange platform had previously paid a $2.5 million fine for having engaged with Indian customers despite not having been approved by the authorities to trade within the country. After a number of months during which it didn’t trade within the Indian market, in August Binance regularized its standing and gained approval to trade. In a request for comment on the matter from Cointelegraph, a Binance representative stated: “We continue to work closely with regulatory authorities and attend necessary hearings to address any concerns and questions. Binance remains responsive and cooperative and is committed to addressing all necessary tax inquiries.” The company recently hired UK-based accounting and business advisory firm Grant Thornton to assist with accounting, tax and audit preparedness. In the case of WazirX, a spokesperson said that “GST law on cryptocurrencies was not clear in India,” and that on this basis, the company found itself being assessed for non-payment of the applicable taxes.

Nibiru Chain, a layer-1 blockchain and smart contract ecosystem, is venturing into the Asian market with key appointments poised to drive growth in gaming, DeFi, NFTs and real-world assets (RWAs). Crypto sector expertiseYura Nam and Nicholas Lo have been appointed to lead growth and business development efforts in the region. Seoul, South Korea-based Nam is a former Head of StarkNet Asia. She has extensive experience hosting conferences, meetups and other events. The crypto sector professional has been an active member of the Korean blockchain community Nonce, a distributed network of independent businesses and individuals dedicated to blockchain. Lo previously served as Asia Pacific (APAC) Growth Manager at Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Apes Yacht Club NFTs.  Based in Hong Kong, he brings with him a diverse background, having worked as an analyst at JPMorgan and spearheaded Asia expansion for various exchanges. He has a wealth of expertise and insight into the Asian Web3 landscape.  Jonathan Chang, Nibiru Chain's COO, expressed excitement about the new additions to the team, highlighting their deep understanding of the Asian markets and Web3 ecosystem. He emphasized their role in fortifying Nibiru's foothold in the region, particularly through their proven track record in relationship building and execution of growth strategies.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashMultifaceted expansion strategyThe expansion strategy is multifaceted, incorporating marketing, community engagement and business development initiatives to establish a strong local presence and drive adoption. Nibiru's focus extends to key markets such as Korea, Japan, India, Southeast Asia (SEA) and Chinese-speaking countries. Plans include hiring local community leads and nurturing relationships with regional stakeholders and businesses. Nicholas Lo will concentrate on solidifying Nibiru's presence in pivotal APAC markets. His role at Nibiru involves cultivating relationships with major protocols, ecosystem dApps, gaming entities, financial institutions and local partners. Lo will also collaborate with Asian media outlets to enhance exposure for Nibiru's layer-1 offerings, targeting verticals spanning gaming, DeFi, NFTs and RWAs. Meanwhile Yura Nam will leverage her partnership and event planning experience to bolster the platform's expansion efforts. Her seven years in the financial services sector equip her with a nuanced understanding of partnerships, sponsorships and event management within Asia, serving to strengthen Nibiru's ties in the region. VC FundingThe company's ambitious growth plans received a significant boost with a successful $12 million funding round earlier this year, attracting investments from prominent venture capital firms such as Kraken Ventures, ArkStream, NGC Ventures, Master Ventures, Tribe Capital and Banter Capital. This funding follows a previous seed round in April 2023, which raised $8.5 million, valuing the project at $100 million at the time. In a further effort to bootstrap growth in April, the project announced $15 million in developer grants to incentivize ecosystem growth. $5 million of that is being ring-fenced for the Asian region. Silicon Valley-headquartered Nibiru Chain officially unveiled its public mainnet in March. With a focus on a robust smart contract ecosystem offering high throughput and top-tier security, the project aspires to position itself as the preferred platform for builders in several blockchain sectors, particularly blockchain-based gaming. At the time of writing, the project’s native NIBI token was trading at $0.2932, according to data from crypto project data aggregator CoinMarketCap.