Bithumb META Unveils Naemo World: A Sneak Peek into Immersive Metaverse Project

Singapore Bank Opens Branch in the MetaverseSingapore’s OCBC Bank has made its debut in the Metaverse with the opening of OCBCx65Chulia in Decentraland, a virtual platform that uses blockchain technology. The bank occupies nine plots of virtual land and visitors can access its website to open a bank account, apply for a credit card, and learn about its historical milestones and latest banking products and services.©Pexels/Andrea PiacquadioThe virtual branch got its name from its headquarters located at 65 Chulia St, OCBC Centre, Singapore. It is designed after OCBC Bank’s red logo, “a nod to the bank’s rich heritage,” the bank said in a statement.Reaching a larger and younger audienceOCBCx65Chulia represents a new way to connect with the younger generation, the bank added. “With the Bank’s arrival in the Metaverse, customers gain an additional access point that also represents a new way to engage with the younger crowd,” it said.The bank aims to tap into this emerging technology to reach a larger audience, said Peter Koh, Head of Group Technology Architecture at OCBC Bank.“Many have doubted the purpose of the Metaverse. Though a nascent and evolving space that we are still working to understand, the Metaverse remains one of the newer ways to make a connection. We are ready to tap on these, as they emerge, to reach a larger audience. At the same time, through experimentation and collaborating with an industry player, our younger colleagues can learn and develop themselves,” he said.GamificationIn the third quarter of 2023, OCBCx65Chulia will involve gamification, the bank said. This enhancement will come from the winning ideas of a group of Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) Diploma in Interaction Design students who won the associated hackathon held in February 2023. The bank also collaborated with Web3 firm Memotics, an expert in emotive and social spaces through digital architectural design.Broader banking interestOCBC Bank, which opened its doors in 1932, is the second-largest in Southeast Asia by assets, according to Forbes. It is not the first bank in Singapore to venture into the Metaverse. Last year, DBS partnered with decentralized gaming virtual world The Sandbox to create an interactive Metaverse experience called DBS BetterWorld, which also forms part of its sustainability agenda.In February of last year JPMorgan became the first bank to enter the metaverse. At the time, it launched its virtual Onyx Lounge within Decentraland’s Metajuku Mall. The lounge featured a portrait of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, a spiral staircase and a dynamic roaming tiger.It also took the opportunity to release its “Opportunities in the Metaverse” report, in which it estimated a trillion dollar metaverse opportunity over the next few years. The metaverse has seen a plethora of well known corporations enter the space in recent times, including Gap, Adidas, PwC, Verizon and Nike.OCBC Bank’s move to the Metaverse represents a new era of banking where technology is used to reach a larger audience, especially the younger generation. With the Metaverse still being a nascent and evolving space, it is a new way to connect, engage, and experiment with the digital world.The gamification element in OCBCx65Chulia also shows how banks are exploring ways to make banking more interactive and fun. It will be interesting to see how other banks and financial institutions will follow suit and use the Metaverse to engage with customers and provide innovative services in the future.

Hong Kong regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), which oversees Hong Kong’s securities and futures markets, is understood to be planning to give the go-ahead for crypto derivative products to be offered to professional investors within the Chinese autonomous territory. Chinese English-language newspaper China Daily reported on June 4 that the proposed move forms part of Hong Kong’s efforts to expand its digital assets-related product offering in order to further bolster its position as a leading regional hub for the sector. Christopher Hui, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, told the publication that the SFC will open up crypto derivatives trading to professional investors in the city “in an orderly, transparent and secure manner.”Photo by Florian Wehde on UnsplashBoosting liquidity to spot marketsChina Daily claimed that the SFC outlined that the crypto derivatives product will enable efficient risk transfers, while boosting the liquidity of the underlying spot markets. TokenInsight data suggests that the global crypto derivatives market has reached $21 trillion in trading volume over the course of Q1 2025. By comparison, derivatives trading dwarfs spot trading, given that spot trading weighed in at just $4.6 trillion over the same period. Liquidity in the underlying spot markets can be enhanced by a broadening of crypto derivatives product offerings in instances where digital assets are traded for immediate payment and delivery. Their availability will also appeal to professional traders and investors who need access to derivatives as part of their overall strategies in order to hedge positions and add leverage when required. Industry interestReaction to news of the Hong Kong SFC’s plans has largely been positive. Back in February, Jean-David Péquignot, chief commercial officer (CCO) with the world’s largest crypto derivatives exchange Deribit, told the South China Morning Post that opening up availability of crypto derivatives products was the one item missing from Hong Kong’s push towards development as a hub for the digital assets sector. At the time, he stated:“Hong Kong is this central financial hub in the world and a big one in Asia. If regulators can solve the derivatives piece, it is a place where we love to be.” On that basis, Péquignot suggested that Deribit, headquartered in Dubai, would be interested in establishing itself in Hong Kong, suggesting that “Asia is a big market for derivatives.” He added:“We want to be in Asia. We just need to find the right place and time to engage with regulators and get a regulatory framework to work with.” The company’s acquisition by Coinbase was announced last month for $2.9 billion. Regulatory approach questionedWhile many see the move towards the approval of crypto derivatives in Hong Kong as bullish, not everyone perceives the regulator’s approach in this instance to be positive. Pseudonymous crypto trader “Pickle Cat” outlined on X that “opening crypto derivatives only to 'professional investors' isn’t progress.”  The trader points out that good regulation would concentrate on controlling issuance and not circulation. Suggesting that the SFC has missed the point in its approach, the trader claims that the regulator would serve the crypto derivatives market best by verifying what backs such products while not restricting how such tokens move. 

CrossAngle undergoes rebranding, shifting focus to ERP solutionAccording to industry sources on Wednesday (KST), CrossAngle, the operator of digital asset data research platform Xangle, is in the process of rebranding. The company recently changed its name to Xangle, and the research platform’s name will be changed to Xangle Portal. Its Web3 enterprise resource planning solution formerly known as Xangle Beacon will also be renamed Xangle ERP.Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on UnsplashService transitionPreviously, Xangle’s main services involved evaluation and disclosure for crypto-related projects. However, in the first half of this year, these services were suspended due to uncertainty surrounding crypto regulations, and the company started shifting its focus to data research. It had also announced plans to launch a business-to-business (B2B) solution for companies that are looking for crypto asset accounting services.Now, Xangle is gearing up to establish Xangle ERP — scheduled for release at the beginning of next year — as its main service. This solution is targeted toward Web3 enterprises and uses on-chain data to provide accounting services, manage tokenomics systems and evaluate the performance of blockchain projects. The firm announced on Monday that it would host a closed beta test for companies that signed up for pre-registration.Strategic allianceXangle also recently formed a partnership with Samjong KPMG, the South Korean branch of accounting giant KPMG, to jointly research how on-chain data can be used for accounting in the crypto sector. This is a crucial opportunity in the development process for Xangle ERP, as Xangle will be able to ascertain the various real-world problems that Web3 businesses face.“Xangle has been focusing on building infrastructure that can process on-chain data and conducting research to understand it. Through our partnership with Samjong KPMG, we will be able to expand our knowledge and expertise on accounting and taxes,” said Lee Hyun-woo, Co-CEO of Xangle.