South Korea to Revive Tech Exports with Metaverse, Blockchain

The Sandbox Adds Singapore Virtual Neighborhood Lion CityMetaverse platform The Sandbox has announced the launch of Lion City, Singapore’s virtual neighborhood, during its inaugural Singapore Partner Day event.In a blog post published on Tuesday, The Sandbox project team outlined that Lion City is set to debut in September 2023 and will feature 512 plots of virtual land. With over 40 partners and 10+ studios, Lion City aims to showcase global and regional brands, along with established Web3 natives, representing Singapore’s culture in sports, fashion, entertainment, and technology within The Sandbox metaverse.Photo by Kin Pastor on PexelsRegional brand partnershipsThe Sandbox has attracted a range of local partners for Lion City, including MM2 Asia, ONE Championship, Mighty Jaxx Group, Spa Esprit Group, METAVI, Technology Development Centre (TDC) of ITE College Central, UKISS, Bandwagon, Renovi, Affyn, 8sian, The Engineers, Metaskull by Jacky Tsai x Froyo Games, Fabric of Reality, CreativesAtWork, Memotics, FXMedia, Kappou, The Parlour, Manifest, Vaniday, PengWine, LOFI, and Zodium. These partners represent various industries and will contribute to the diverse offerings and experiences within Lion City.Studio partnersMoreover, studio partners catering to the Singapore market will be an integral part of the Lion City experience. These studios include Smobler Studios, CGame Studio, Oceanus Media Global, and iCandy Interactive subsidiaries Lemonsky Studios and Hashcode Studio, New Moon Studios, Pangu by Kenal, and Clevereen. Collaborative ecosystem partners such as OKContract, Pinnacle, DIFY, and Peatix are also contributing to the development of the metaverse.Unlocking Web3 opportunitiesThe Sandbox emphasized the significance of Lion City as a gateway and launchpad for Southeast Asia. With over 400 global brands, including Singapore’s DBS Bank, already on board, Lion City has the potential to unlock new Web3 possibilities in the region. The supportive and collaborative ecosystem in Singapore will provide companies with opportunities to explore digital frontiers and test decentralized technologies.The project also announced the milestone during the Singapore Partner Day event held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre. The event served as a platform for networking and sharing insights among The Sandbox’s partners.Keynotes were delivered by Sébastien Borget, the Co-Founder and COO of The Sandbox, and George Wong, the project’s Head of Singapore. They discussed the vast opportunities within the metaverse, and panel discussions with ecosystem partners took place, covering topics like intellectual properties (IPs) and the metaverse’s future, as well as the development of the open NFT metaverse.During the event, Borget highlighted Singapore’s regulatory environment, as being conducive to emerging technologies. He also emphasized Singapore’s position as an innovation hub for Web3 advancements.The metaverse faces new challenges in 2023, with the crypto market gravitating towards a more institutional-friendly approach, and questions surrounding its relevance. Recently, Borget had a clash with the SEC in the United States, disagreeing with the regulator’s classification of the project’s native $SAND token as a security.No doubt that experience has helped to underscore his appreciation for Singapore’s regulatory setup. Nevertheless, Wong described 2023 as an important and pivotal year for metaverse growth.

Upcoming Regulatory Framework in Taiwan Sees Crypto Exchanges UniteIn preparation for the impending arrival of a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies in Taiwan, nine prominent cryptocurrency firms have announced their collective efforts to establish an industry association.The nine exchange businesses announced the development via a press release which was published on Tuesday. The move comes in anticipation of Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) releasing comprehensive guidelines on cryptocurrency trading and payments by the end of September.Photo by Timo Volz on UnsplashDeveloping regulatory environmentThe industry body will include participation from native exchanges such as MaiCoin, BitoGroup, and ACE. While Taiwan has been behind the regulatory curve until now where crypto is concerned, the one measure that the FSC had already taken steps to mandate was that virtual asset services providers (VASPs) in Taiwan must adhere to the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. However, numerous other intricacies unique to the cryptocurrency industry still require careful consideration and regulation.Authorities in Taiwan have also put forward ten guiding principles for VASPs, designed to protect Taiwanese consumers.The forthcoming guidelines aim to address these concerns by introducing a comprehensive set of rules inspired by the VASP licensing framework in Hong Kong. One of the primary focuses of these proposed guidelines is consumer protection. They advocate for specific hot and cold wallet ratios for customer deposits with cryptocurrency exchanges, a measure designed to safeguard customer funds. Additionally, the guidelines suggest mandatory insurance against user losses to further enhance consumer confidence.Moreover, the FSC’s guidelines intend to prevent offshore cryptocurrency exchanges from operating onshore in Taiwan without proper compliance registration. This step aims to ensure that all participants in Taiwan’s cryptocurrency market adhere to uniform standards.In a bid to stabilize the Taiwanese financial system and prevent deceptive advertising practices, the guidelines also propose a ban on stablecoins linked to the Taiwanese dollar and impose restrictions on foreign exchange advertising within the country.Enabling self-regulationRegulators have also proposed the classification of crypto regulations within their own novel business category. As part of that initiative, officials expressed an interest in fostering self-regulation. The formation of this industry group could be deemed to be an encouraging sign relative to that aspiration.The nine cryptocurrency firms forming the industry association have established a working group led by Winston Hsiao, Co-Founder of XREX. This group aims to expedite the development of self-regulatory rules based on the forthcoming FSC guidelines.Wayne Huang, another Co-Founder of XREX, expressed his hope that the new FSC guidelines will provide the cryptocurrency industry with legitimacy, oversight, a clear growth trajectory, and an accelerated path to earn public trust.The formation of this industry association, coupled with the impending release of the FSC’s comprehensive regulatory guidelines, marks a significant milestone for Taiwan’s cryptocurrency sector. As the industry evolves, these proactive measures seek to ensure its stability, security, and compliance with international standards.

MARBLEX Announces Game Tokenomics Revamp and New Game TitleMARBLEX, the blockchain subsidiary of South Korean game developer Netmarble, said Thursday that it will revamp its game tokenomics strategy, which will debut in Ring Games’ Stella Fantasy game.Photo by Mateo on UnsplashRevolutionizing in-game currencyAs part of the game tokenomics overhaul, MARBLEX plans to incorporate the use of its native token, MARBLEX (MBX), directly into its upcoming game title. In particular, the new gMBXL token, which is directly linked to the existing MBXL bridge token at a 1:1 ratio, will be issued on the game chain instead of each game having its own base in-game currency. gMBXL offers key advantages such as high-speed transactions and enhanced utility, thus guaranteeing more efficient game-specific tokenomics and an improved gaming experience.Paving the way to a new tokenomics eraThe first game to feature this new tokenomics framework will be Stella Fantasy — an online character collectible action role-playing game (RPG) developed by Ring Games where players can embark on adventures in the fantasy-inspired world Reterra. Since the launch of its PC version in April, the game has garnered praise from gamers around the world for its high-quality anime-style graphics and immersive gameplay. The mobile version was released at the end of last month.“We have initiated collaboration with external game studios, starting with Stella Fantasy as our first title,” MARBLEX said in a statement. “With a well-established ecosystem, we are committed to continuously securing AAA games.”MARBLEX also recently updated its multichain service Warp, allowing BNB Chain users to access services within the MBX ecosystem.