Next Month’s Hackathon Event in Seoul Draws Attention from Ethereum Developers

Coinbase Signals Interest in UAE BaseIn further evidence of a contrast in progression relative to the approach taken to digital assets in the United States versus other world regions, US crypto exchange Coinbase is understood to be considering the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a potential strategic hub for the company.Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on PexelsCause and effectA number of weeks ago, while Gary Gensler of the Securities of Exchange Commission (SEC) was facing a grilling in a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Brian Armstrong of Coinbase put out a statement saying that if the regulatory approach to crypto in the United States didn’t change, then the company would choose to locate itself elsewhere.It hasn’t taken Armstrong long to act on that intention. Late last month, the digital assets platform took its first step outside the United States by securing a license to operate in Bermuda. In line with Armstrong’s earlier comments, the move was seen as a strategic action taken by the company to expand its operations on a global basis.Armstrong had warned that unless regulators in the US provided complete regulatory clarity in relation to the activities of cryptocurrency firms, then the innovation would quickly develop in offshore havens. Alongside the announcement of the license to trade in Bermuda, a blog article was published which indicated that the company was also in discussion with regulators in Abu Dhabi in the UAE with a view towards potentially obtaining a license to operate there.Blog articleFast forward to Sunday, with the publication of yet another blog article by the company, and it seems that the company is hinting at a much stronger likelihood of establishing a UAE base. The article outlines that over the course of the next week, the Coinbase founder and CEO and the company’s executive team are in the UAE to participate in a round of meetings with regulators, industry partners, policymakers, clients and web3/crypto founders.The article outlines that Armstrong would give a keynote at the Dubai Fintech Summit, while elaborating that “the region has the potential to be a strategic hub for Coinbase, amplifying our efforts across the world.” In a recent interview with Bloomberg TV, the Coinbase CEO said that “we are looking for a home to set up an international hub that could serve the long tail of countries in the world.”At the Dubai Fintech Summit on Monday, Armstrong stated that the UAE “is leading the way regionally in crypto” and that it could be a potential international hub. He added: “I would say that the UAE’s approach has been more forward thinking than the US.”UAE crypto aspirationsThere’s no doubt that the UAE is trying to develop itself as a center for crypto and digital asset innovation. The country’s Prime Minister has said as much, declaring his intention to establish the Middle Eastern nation as a key player in the future of crypto. Both the Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been proactive in working towards a digital asset regulatory framework, complete with a crypto licensing program in recent months.

Netherlands-based mobile wallet Swoo Pay has joined forces with global financial giant Mastercard to target the Southeast Asian market, offering crypto cashback on everyday purchases. Crypto loyalty tokensThe partnership was announced via a press release published on Cointelegraph earlier this week. Through Swoo's platform, users stand to gain crypto rewards, specifically Swoo Loyalty Tokens, for each contactless payment made via the app using digitized Mastercard cards. The partnership marks yet another step forward in the convergence of traditional financial systems with the burgeoning world of cryptocurrency. It reflects a broader trend among major financial institutions and retailers, who increasingly view cryptocurrency integration as a means to revitalize loyalty programs. Once users accrue “Tokenback” in the form of Swoo Loyalty Tokens, they have the flexibility to either exchange their rewards for popular cryptocurrencies like USDT or BTC within the Swoo app or convert them into fiat currency through partnering services. As Swoo continues to refine its crypto rewards platform, it will incorporate more Web3 features, further enhancing the utility and value of loyalty tokens within its ecosystem.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashTargeting emerging marketsSwoo Pay is targeting emerging markets. Alongside Southeast Asia, that also brings the Middle East region and Africa within the scope of its marketing efforts for this product offering. Emerging markets have long been seen as ideal markets within which to bring about crypto adoption more generally. The significance of this announcement wasn’t lost on Nicki Sanders, chief technology officer (CTO) with tokenized real estate enterprise, Realio. Taking to social media, Sanders cited crypto adoption as one of three main reasons as to why this partnership could be a game-changer.   Sanders feels that the nature of the offering will result in crypto adoption as daily crypto use will be boosted. In turn, that will bring digital currencies into the realm of mainstream acceptability.She also feels that the product offering will be significant in terms of financial inclusion as it’s very accessible to underserved communities. Additionally, Sanders identifies the inherent innovation as being likely to result in mass adoption. “Focusing on Android and Huawei users, Swoo Pay navigates around Google service sanctions, offering a fresh pathway to digital payments,” she claims.This partnership builds upon the success of a previous trial campaign dubbed “Super Tokenback with Mastercard.” During the three-week initiative, users enjoyed 5% Tokenback (crypto cashback) on all Mastercard purchases made through Swoo Pay. The results were positive, with over 17,000 participants conducting upwards of 128,000 transactions. Not only did this drive increase card spend, but it also introduced a wave of new consumers to the concept of crypto-backed rewards. Representatives from Swoo emphasize the seamless integration of crypto into mainstream markets, ensuring compliance with local regulations and simplifying the launch and scalability of marketing campaigns to attract new users. Conversely, officials from Mastercard underscore the company's commitment to expanding the possibilities of digital payment instruments, prioritizing convenience, technological advancement and security. They highlight the role of Swoo Pay in addressing issues with tokenized payments for Android device users, thereby broadening accessibility to these innovative financial solutions.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), an independent statutory body that regulates Hong Kong’s securities and futures markets, has alerted investors to 33 suspicious websites which appear to be masquerading as HashKey, one of the Chinese autonomous territory’s first licensed virtual asset exchanges.Photo by Dan Freeman on UnsplashAlert listThe regulator flagged the websites by publishing their domain names to its alert list. Hong Kong’s SFC first published its alert list relative to suspicious crypto-related entities in November 2021. In terms of both suspicious trading platforms and suspicious crypto-related web links, the regulator has found 91 instances to date. Remarks added to the listing confirm that a HashKey company, Hash Blockchain Limited, had reported the websites to the regulator as fraudulent websites. The web domain links have been slightly modified when compared to official links to the HashKey website, in an effort to mislead HashKey customers. A little less than two weeks ago, HashKey published a statement to its website, making service users aware of the fraudulent links and websites. It stated: “Fraudulent websites will appear under different domain names or with slight modifications or variations of the official HashKey Exchange website address www.hashkey.com by adding a combination of letters, numbers or symbols.” The company added that it has no connection with these websites, that no affiliation exists with HashKey Exchange, and consequently the company doesn’t accept any liability for any matters relating to these fraudulent websites and links. As well as the regulator, HashKey has also reported the matter to the Hong Kong Police Force. Tackling crypto-related fraudBoth law enforcement and regulators in Hong Kong have been more proactive in tackling any signs of crypto-related fraud or potential scams following an episode of fraud involving an unlicensed Dubai-headquartered crypto exchange, JPEX, in 2023. At that time, the authorities within the Chinese autonomous territory received in excess of 2,369 complaints from Hong Kong residents who had been duped by the unregulated exchange. Overall, victims were out of pocket to the tune of $166 million. Some commentators had likened the JPEX scandal as being an “FTX moment” for Hong Kong, referring to the high profile collapse of Bahamas-headquartered crypto exchange FTX in November 2022. However, Hong Kong investors also suffered as a result of the FTX collapse.  In fact, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the SFC were listed as FTX creditors in 2023. The statutory bodies appeared on the FTX creditor list alongside 50 Hong Kong institutions. Towards the end of 2023, the agency issued a public warning regarding HongKongDAO and BitCuped, entities that were accused of misinformation. In February 2024, the SFC issued a reminder to investors within the Chinese autonomous territory to ensure that they’re only engaging with licensed cryptocurrency platforms. To date, the regulator has awarded crypto trading licenses to seven virtual asset trading platforms (VATPs). Earlier this month, the regulator extended use of its swift licensing process to all new applicants in an effort to fast-track the approval of more licensed platforms.