Incheon City to leverage blockchain for construction transparency

Korean mobile game company Com2uS Holdings’ blockchain mainnet XPLA has announced today that it entered a partnership with SOOHO.IO, a Seoul-based security services provider for smart contracts. This news was reported by the local online media iNews24. The partnership aims to enhance blockchain security and facilitate public access to decentralized finance (DeFi). Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on UnsplashXPLA’s further push into the Japanese marketEstablished by local security experts in 2018, SOOHO.IO is currently providing smart contract technologies to approximately 200 big companies and validation institutions. Furthermore, SOOHO.IO is a developer and operator of Tealswap, the sole decentralized exchange on the Oasy network that specializes in blockchain games.  An insider from XPLA expressed excitement about this partnership, stating that the collaboration with SOOHO.IO will enable the game company to strengthen its position in the Japanese Web3 gaming market.  Smart contract-powered securityXPLA, already closely partnered with Oasys, promises to provide financial solutions equipped with safe and convenient smart contract security to Web2 users by strengthening collaboration with SOOHO.IO.  Paul Kim, the head of XPLA team, said this partnership will revolutionize the Web3 games and entertainment industry, with the company’s plans to introduce easy-to-access DeFi services and “GameFi,” a concept that combines game and finance.  Park Ji-su, CEO of SOOHO.IO., expressed his excitement about partnering with the global mainnet XPLA, which he thinks will bring substantial synergy effects for both companies through the sharing of key technologies. 

Nearly five years have passed since South Korea’s second-largest city Busan was designated as a blockchain regulation-free zone (blockchain zone) in July 2019. This designation has allowed blockchain companies to run their businesses within the region’s regulatory sandbox, freely exploring the potential of the cutting-edge industry. Busan is the only city in Korea to have won the bid for running more than two regulation-free blockchain projects approved by the SME ministry. However, Busan city may soon lose its status as the blockchain zone, unless it develops and attracts new blockchain-related businesses, local news media KBS News reported. The city has been struggling to attract new blockchain businesses after its 10-month-long preparation to enact a law, which would have enabled startups to enroll in indemnity insurance, resulted in failure.  Photo by Alexander Smagin on UnsplashBlockchain startups on the brink of closing its services Among the blockchain companies operating in the blockchain zone is Busan Blockchain Real-estate Investment Currency (BBRIC), which allows users to invest in real estate with a budget as small as KRW 1,000 ($0.75). Park Hyo-jin, Vice CEO of Sejong Telecom operating BBRIC, expressed his concerns in an interview with KBS News, saying that the termination of the city’s status as the blockchain zone would make it difficult for BBRIC to continue its services. Another blockchain startup in the region’s blockchain zone emphasized the importance of maintaining the city’s status in an interview with the press. Kim Yong-gil, the chief research officer at a blockchain-driven solution firm, said the company he’s working for was able to lay the foundation for its business growth after it was selected as one of the first companies to operate within the blockchain zone in 2019. The company currently aims to expand its distribution business from fisheries to coffee industry.  At the moment, 43 blockchain companies like these are operating their offices at the Busan International Finance Center (BIFC). Among 15 of them have relocated to Busan from the outside region to benefit from the sandbox. Busan’s loss of its status would also result in these companies leaving.  Busan’s desperate bid to retain its status as blockchain zone To retain the blockchain startups, the Busan government must maintain its status as the blockchain zone by getting permission to extend the designation period. Kwon Ki-kwang, Head of the Blockchain Regulation-free Zone team at Busan Technopark – a public foundation that supports SMEs – stated that it is looking for businesses specialized in blockchain technology, including those focused on blockchain-driven voting systems.  

A subsidiary company of Tiger Brokers, a Singapore-based online brokerage firm with nine million users, has been awarded a virtual asset trading license in Hong Kong. The subsidiary, YAX (Hong Kong) Limited, has been added to a list of licensed virtual asset trading providers (VATPs) on the website of the local regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). Photo by Simon Zhu on UnsplashSeven platforms licensedBack in August, YAX found itself among a list of 11 VATP applicants that had been provided with feedback with regard to issues that needed to be addressed following inspections carried out by the SFC. Evidently, those issues have been resolved given that the company has now been awarded a trading license. YAX is now just one of nine trading platforms that have obtained licenses in the Chinese autonomous territory. These include OSL and HashKey, who were the first entities to be licensed in Hong Kong. HKVAX followed with approval granted in August 2023. Last October, SFC CEO Julia Leung told local news media that the regulator was dealing with 11 applications and that four approvals were imminent. In December, four additional exchanges, namely HKbitEX, Accumulus, DFX Labs and EX.IO, were awarded licenses. Bixin.com, WhaleFin and Matrixport HK are among the eleven applicants that have yet to receive a license. Alongside YAX, Panthertrade (Hong Kong) Limited was issued a license on Jan. 27, meaning that seven platforms have now been licensed. Panthertrade is a subsidiary company of Chinese mobile internet firm Cheetah Mobile.  Crypto trading and custodyOnce launched, YAX intends to extend crypto trading services alongside crypto custody to its clients. The company’s CEO, Kelvin Liu Kai, has said that as it rolls out its service offering, YAX will look to enhance speed trading, focus on transparency and security relative to the trading process and reduce custodial risks.  Tiger Brokers CEO Wu Tianhua has suggested that the virtual asset sector has grown rapidly on a global basis and with that, he sees “immense potential” for further growth. He added:“Cryptocurrencies are a key future investment trend. The establishment of YAX not only demonstrates our confidence in the potential of the market, but also showcases our firm commitment to creating a transparent and secure trading environment.” Swift licensing processThese latest licensing applicant approvals follow confirmation earlier this month that the SFC had extended access to its swift licensing process to all new VATP applicants. The four applicants approved in December had been the first to be put through the process.  In December, Joseph Chan, Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (FSTB), confirmed to Hong Kong’s Legislative Council that in addition to the swift licensing process, a consultative panel for licensed trading platforms will be established in early 2025. It emerged in October 2023 that both YAX and Panthertrade were planning on submitting applications for VATP licensing in Hong Kong. With licensing pending, YAX parent company Tiger Brokers partnered with HashKey Exchange in May 2024, in order to launch a virtual asset trading service.  The service was made available to retail investors through the Tiger Trade platform the following month, enabling the platform’s 800,000 users to trade Bitcoin and Ethereum.