Korea’s DAXA Prohibits Relisting of Delisted Cryptos for a Year

Asiastar Entertainment and Codus to Develop Casual P2E Game with NFT RewardsAsiastar Entertainment, a Korean company specializing in animation, food products, and toys, revealed plans last Friday to work with its business partner, software and blockchain development firm Codus, to develop a casual play-to-earn (P2E) game that rewards players with NFTs.Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on UnsplashTokenized in-game assets and coin rewardsSpecifically, multiple in-game characters and backgrounds will be tokenized as NFTs for trading. As players progress through the game, they can also earn rewards in the form of TBC — the official tradeable coin issued by TurboChain Foundation, a subsidiary of Asiastar Entertainment. These rewards can be exchanged for gift vouchers and various merchandise, the company said.The two companies plan to leverage Asiastar Entertainment’s Great Q-Bot animation model — a model originally aimed at providing animated educational content for children — to create the P2E game.Watch-to-earn, short-form videosMeanwhile, TurboChain Foundation is gearing up to launch its Turbo Playhouse platform in the latter half of the year. This watch-to-earn, short-form video platform links offline products and online videos with QR codes to allow users to receive TBCs.Asiastar Entertainment also added that it is currently focusing on expanding its business through blockchain-related ventures by taking advantage of its core competencies in this emerging field.

Mitsui & Co. and Animoca Brands to Drive Web3 Innovation in Japan’s Digital LandscapeTokyo-based trading and investment company Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui) has announced today a strategic partnership with Hong Kong-based Web3 gaming firm Animoca Brands. This new partnership aims to utilize Mitsui’s extensive business network to foster new ventures that contribute to the distribution and advancement of Web3 technology in Japan. The companies will particularly focus on utilizing blockchain technology to address issues such as wellness and carbon credits.Mitsui expects this collaboration to strengthen its presence in the blockchain and digital assets space. The goal is to promote the development of a digital society and improve the lives of Mitsui’s customers.Photo by Shubham’s Web3 on UnsplashAnimoca Brands’ Web3 expertiseAnimoca Brands, a well-known company specializing in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification, has an impressive portfolio of over 450 Web3 investments. This includes popular non-fungible token (NFT) based online video game Axie Infinity and NFT marketplace OpenSea. Animoca Brands actively promotes digital property rights and the establishment of the open metaverse, a blockchain-based virtual space that ensures permissionless access and user ownership of data.Mitsui’s blockchain initiativeMitsui also initiated a blockchain-related project through its affiliate Mitsui & Co. Digital Asset Management (MDM). Just last month, MDM launched Alterna, a security token platform that grants retail investors access to previously inaccessible real-world assets (RWAs), such as large-scale real estate properties and infrastructure. To expand the reach of Alterna, MDM has partnered with Sony Bank, a member of the Sony Financial Group, to introduce the platform to the Tokyo-based online bank’s clients.

Many Countries Are Welcoming Traditional Financial Institutions Into Crypto — When Will Korea Catch Up?Although overseas traditional financial institutions are gradually expanding their reach into the crypto market by launching related services and products, this remains challenging for institutions in South Korea, where it is difficult for them to even invest in virtual assets.Photo by NASA on UnsplashMajor developments in other countriesAccording to industry sources, traditional financial companies such as Japan’s largest investment bank and brokerage group Nomura Group, and New York-based investment banking company Citigroup are starting to bring new crypto-related services and products to the market.Laser Digital, the asset management unit of Nomura Group, launched a Bitcoin adoption fund targeting institutional investors, according to an official press release from last Tuesday (local time), which will provide institutional investors with direct and secure access to investments in Bitcoin.Similarly, Citigroup’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) is piloting its new crypto-based cash management and trade finance service dubbed Citi Token Services, which caters to institutional clients by utilizing blockchain and smart contract technology to provide digital asset solutions. “Digital asset technologies have the potential to upgrade the regulated financial system by applying new technologies to existing legal instruments and well-established regulatory frameworks. The development of Citi Token Services is part of our journey to deliver real-time, always-on, next-generation transaction banking services to our institutional clients,” said Shahmir Khaliq, Global Head of Services at Citi.Earlier this summer, several asset managers in the US, including BlackRock, applied for a spot-traded Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), drawing the interest of the industry as a whole. The SEC has been delaying its decision regarding approval for the ETF and will likely do so until its allotted 240-day review period is over, but industry experts predict that the approval will go through for several reasons including BlackRock’s implicit influence as the world’s biggest asset manager and the SEC’s former court loss against Grayscale for its review of the firm’s spot Bitcoin ETF.These developments are made possible through the commonly held opinion that the involvement of traditional financial institutions in the crypto sphere is beneficial for the industry due to their ability to increase liquidity by moving much larger amounts of capital than the crypto market alone.Moreover, many countries around the world already allow institutions to invest in virtual assets. For instance, the US Nasdaq Stock Market has already listed crypto futures-based ETFs such as Bitcoin and Ether, and there are trust products on the market like Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust that target qualified investors. Countries like Hong Kong have also gradually begun to allow individual investments in virtual assets again, while institutional investment has always been permitted.Roadblocks in KoreaIn contrast, it remains impossible for institutional or corporate investors in Korea to invest in virtual assets, let alone offer virtual asset fund products. Although local asset managers like Mirae Asset Global Investments and Samsung Asset Management have listed Bitcoin-related ETFs in the US and Hong Kong, such products do not exist in South Korea.Korean authorities also banned financial institutions from holding, purchasing, or investing in virtual assets back in 2017 on the grounds that their investment in cryptocurrencies could stimulate investor sentiment. Also, shadow regulation after the enactment of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information in 2021 practically bars local corporations and institutions from using crypto exchanges, though there is no provision that explicitly prohibits opening corporate bank accounts on crypto exchanges.In response to this situation, an anonymous industry insider highlighted the need for a nationwide drive to support virtual assets and Web3 technology. “This is the time to push emerging industries, and we should not overlook industry trends. The current situation is somewhat frustrating,” they said. “Japan was the most conservative country in this regard, but it has recently opened up and subsequently gained momentum. Korea should also take a more progressive approach.”