Multiple crypto corporate treasury announcements across Asia

Korean Police Agency Bolsters Crypto Investigation SkillsThe Korea National Police Agency (KNPA) is escalating its efforts to improve its proficiency in probing digital asset-related crimes. As reported by Digital Today, this will be achieved by providing dedicated training to track digital assets and implementing a strategic plan to eradicate such illicit activities.Photo by Pixabay on PexelsTracking digital assetsIn a recently revealed training proposal, the KNPA outlined its intention to launch a specialized training program on tracking digital assets. The program, scheduled to begin in mid-July, will run for three months and include four distinct sessions, with a total of 120 attendees.The rising number of cases involving the illicit use of virtual assets to gain criminal proceeds has underscored the necessity for proficient tracking of these assets during investigations. As part of its commitment to strengthening its cyber investigation capabilities, the KNPA is encouraging its officers to obtain professional certifications. Last year, the agency also organized a training course focusing on tracing virtual assets.Hands-on, case-based approachThis year’s training curriculum will adopt a more hands-on, case-based approach, emphasizing practical experience. There will be two types of courses offered: specialized and advanced. They will cover a range of topics, including the fundamentals of Bitcoin, the differences between Ethereum and Bitcoin, and the concept of crypto mixing and unmixing.Chainalysis certificationsUpon completion of the specialized course, participants will be awarded a Chainalysis Reactor Certification from a reputable crypto data analysis company based in New York. Those completing the advanced courses will receive certifications such as the Chainalysis Ethereum Investigations Certification and the Chainalysis Investigation Specialist Certification.In April, the KNPA initiated a procurement procedure to acquire and install 12 units of crypto tracking software developed by Chainalysis, costing 81.67 million KRW ($61,000) per unit. This software allows for real-time monitoring of crypto address transactions, data visualization, correlation analysis, and supports the tracking of over 100 tokens, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. It also facilitates IP tracking and unmixing, a technique used to disentangle mixed cryptocurrency transactions.Strategic effortsTo further enhance its expertise in investigating virtual assets, the KNPA commissioned a study this month titled “Establishing Strategies to Eradicate Virtual Asset Crimes and Address Investigation Risks.” Through this initiative, the agency aims to examine the policy and legislative approaches adopted by other countries in combating crypto crimes, assess their applicability in Korea, and study investigative techniques and systems tailored to various virtual assets.

One of South Korea's prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, Bithumb, has doubled down on its effort to solidify its position as a leading crypto trading platform in the country. Bithumb has recently announced its policy to offer the lowest withdrawal fees among all local crypto exchanges, while enhancing its user experience by upgrading the user interface (UI) and adding more features to its app, according to the local media outlet Kyunghyang Games.  Already one of the few qualified fiat-to-crypto exchanges in Korea and a member of Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA) – a consultation group of the top five local crypto exchanges – Bithumb aims to further strengthen its competitiveness in the market. Photo by Traxer on UnsplashLower withdrawal fees with trading fees already at 0.04%According to the press, Bithumb has announced to offer the lowest withdrawal fees in the local crypto scene to win the hearts and minds of investors. Under the updated fee policy, users are now charged 0.0008 BTC for withdrawing Bitcoin and 0.009 ETH for Ether. The exchange has also been known for offering one of the lowest trading fees at 0.04%.  Making the deposit limit increase easierBithumb has long been getting complaints from users over its relatively unfavorable user experience and cumbersome processes required to increase the deposit limit of their real-name accounts. In response, Bithumb has introduced a new in-app feature that simplifies such procedures, so that users can raise their deposit limit with ease.  Among users who joined Bithumb in March, those whose initial deposits have passed 30 days and who purchased crypto assets valued at over KRW five million ($3,700), are now eligible for the deposit limit raise, allowing them to deposit and withdraw up to KRW 500 million per day.  Enhanced user interface and user experience One of the newly added features is the "Even Faster Chart," which provides users with four times faster response times following its transition from "Web view" to "Native view."  Bithumb's Chief Operating Officer (COO), Moon Seon-il, stated that the exchange is improving its service in multiple ways, including offering the lowest fees, supporting multichain transactions and enhancing UI for users.  

Gemini Opening Engineering Center in IndiaUS-based crypto exchange Gemini announced on Thursday that it is in the midst of opening an engineering center in India. The company plans to open the center in Gurgaon, making it Gemini’s second largest engineering hub behind its existing base in the United States. Gemini also has offices in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Ireland.©Pexels/Studio Art SmileDeveloping next-gen user experiencesThe objective of the India-based engineering, design and operations team will be to work on the development of core platform fundamentals relative to compliance, security, payments, and data pipelines and warehousing. Furthermore, the unit is being set the goal of building new feature sets relative to the company’s NFT and digital asset marketplaces. What that team develops is intended to be used within Gemini’s overall retail and institutional product and service offering across in excess of seventy countries worldwide.In the statement published to its website, Pravit Tiwana, Gemini’s Global Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) region Chief Executive Officer (CEO) stated that the firm is actively recruiting software engineers and technical product managers and for other technical roles to staff the Gurgaon facility. Tiwana emphasizes a need for people who are “inspired to learn quickly” relative to DeFi, Web3, NFTs and DAOs.Singapore expansionTiwana himself has been newly appointed to his role and in a separate announcement Gemini founders Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss welcomed Tiwana on-board. The statement also reveals that in addition to establishing an engineering team presence in India, it also intends to add a business team in India and to expand its business team at its existing Singapore base with the objective of growing its institutional and retail customer base in the APAC region.The Winklevii twins said that they believe that “crypto and Web3 products will continue to have a [sic] strong growth trajectories in APAC. Crypto knows no boundaries, and that is why Gemini is a global company.”Expanding beyond the USIt’s patently obvious to anyone following developments in the crypto space over the course of recent months that the Biden administration in the United States is currently hostile to crypto. The Washington, D.C. government has used various mechanisms of state including the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury to instigate a purge against crypto companies, including those who bank crypto companies. That has seen key operators in the US crypto ecosystem looking beyond US borders right now.Earlier this week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong signaled that the company would act and move overseas if the regulatory environment in the United States didn’t improve. Subsequently, it emerged that Coinbase had established a presence in Bermuda. It’s being speculated that this entity could be used to float an offshore exchange. Similarly, the company is understood to be seeking a crypto license in Abu Dhabi.Gemini looking to develop overseas is likely to be motivated by similar concerns. Crypto companies can see that jurisdictional arbitrage applies and if governments act to stymie such business activity, other global centers such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, India and others will seize the opportunity and nurture that business and the innovation at hand.