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Ripple scores DFSA license approval in Dubai

Web3 & Enterprise·October 02, 2024, 2:57 AM

Blockchain-based digital payment network enterprise Ripple has announced that it has acquired in-principle approval of a financial services license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 

In a press release published on the firm’s website on Oct. 1, Ripple claimed that the approval “unlocks Ripple’s end-to-end payment services in the UAE, boosting Middle East operations.”

 

The in-principle approval is a first step on the company’s path towards full approval. That eventuality will enable Ripple to offer cross-border payment services relative to fiat and digital assets, within the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) special economic zone.

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Expanding Middle Eastern presence

The company claims that pursuing the license is part of a broader strategy to expand its Middle Eastern presence. It follows on from the firm’s move in 2020 to establish its Middle Eastern headquarters in Dubai. Ripple claims that the licensing “significantly strengthens Ripple’s global footprint as a regulated entity and enables the introduction of seamless cross-border payment services, including Ripple Payments Direct (RPD), in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).”

 

In moving from in-principle approval to full approval, Ripple will have further obligations to accomplish, such as securing office space within the DIFC special economic zone. The company had previously indicated its intention of establishing an office within the DIFC. Back in August, it emerged that Ripple had partnered with the DIFC Innovation Hub with a view towards promoting blockchain and digital asset innovation within the UAE.

 

Regulatory clarity in the UAE

Ripple is striving to become the first blockchain-enabled payment services provider licensed by the DFSA. Once licensed, the company plans to roll out its enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure.

 

Ripple’s XRP has been one of five digital assets approved by the DFSA such that investment funds are allowed to invest in it, although the regulator did indicate in June that it is moving towards expanding the list of recognized tokens.

 

Mired in legal difficulties with local regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its home market of the United States in recent years, the company signaled a change of strategy in 2023, indicating its interest in focusing more on international expansion.

 

While speaking at an event in Dubai at the time, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that Ripple was expanding in Dubai. Taking to X in relation to this latest milestone, Garlinghouse wrote that “regulatory clarity is what businesses want, and what consumers need,” adding that “the UAE understands that.”

 

In the company’s press release, Garlinghouse referred to the “forward-thinking regulatory approach” being pursued in the UAE, which he believes is positioning the country “as a global leader in this new era of financial technology.”

 

The UAE isn’t the only focus for the company’s international expansion. Ripple has established an office in Singapore which handles over 50% of the firm’s payment flows. On Oct. 1, U.S. investment bank Houlihan Lokey published a report in which it highlighted Ripple as an emerging competitor to the SWIFT cross-border payments system. 

 

Although the company has had some success in navigating its way through litigation with the SEC in the U.S., it’s thought that the dispute may be prolonged further as some commentators have suggested that the SEC plans to appeal a recent court decision.

 

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Web3 & Enterprise·

Oct 27, 2023

Anboto Labs Reveals $3M Funding and Platform Launch

Anboto Labs Reveals $3M Funding and Platform LaunchHong Kong-based crypto trade execution specialist Anboto Labs has successfully secured $3 million in funding and unveiled an institutional-grade non-custodial trading platform.Investors who participated in the funding round included Kronos Ventures, Cherry Crypto, Mechanism Capital, XBTO, and Singaporean digital assets financial services platform Matrixport, contributing to this funding round during the third quarter of this year. Anboto Labs, known for its crypto trading execution tools, has been on a steady growth trajectory, having raised $1.9 million last year, elevating its valuation to $35 million, according to Guillaume Forcade, the company’s co-founder.Photo by Csaba Nagy on PixabayCrypto trade executionFrom its inception, Anboto Labs has consistently generated revenue, and now it’s ready to introduce its execution platform to a broader audience of experienced traders. The public launch of the platform will enable Anboto to scale up to support thousands of traders simultaneously.The newly released platform underwent an extensive 18-month closed beta phase, during which it processed $4 billion in trading volume across 20 exchanges and blockchain networks. Anboto Labs is attempting to distinguish itself in the market with its execution algorithms, including TWAP, VWAP, and iceberg, which are designed to optimize pricing and execution quality.TWAP, or time-weighted average price, can be incorporated into a trading algorithm with a view towards optimizing a trade’s average price while executing the trade over a predefined time period. In recent days, the project’s Head of Quantitative Research, Suren Markosov, took to blogging site Medium to outline how Anboto’s TWAP algorithm is geared up to save on trading costs. According to Markosov, the firm’s approach could lead to traders saving between two and eight basis points in costs.VWAP, or volume-weighted average price, can be used to filter out the “noise” in the market to determine the real buy/sell price that exists within the market within a given period. Meanwhile, an iceberg order is executed such that it is sliced up into smaller orders. In this way, the impact cost of overall trade execution is minimized.Focus on securityAnboto Labs also places a strong emphasis on security. It allows users to sign up without the need for a time-consuming Know Your Customer (KYC) process, offering a streamlined experience. Additionally, the platform provides multi-factor authentication and the option to whitelist IP addresses, further enhancing security measures.Brett Sun, an investor with Cherry Crypto, took to X (formerly Twitter) to recognize Anboto’s platform launch. Sun stated:“Big strides from @guiviaje and the team at @anboto_labs. They’ve come out of beta to democratize access to professional-grade trading tools for all traders.”WOO Network integrationEarlier this week, Anboto announced the integration of Taipei-based liquidity provider WOO Network into its platform. Forcade said that the integration will enable the firm to offer even more efficient trading tools to its users.In the coming months, Anboto Labs plans to expand its trading features with the aim of democratizing access to institutional-grade execution tools for all crypto traders. With a track record and fresh funding behind it, Anboto Labs is setting itself up to potentially make a significant impact in the cryptocurrency trading space, offering traders the tools they need for success in the crypto market.

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Web3 & Enterprise·

May 03, 2023

Temasek Refutes Claims of Investment in Array

Despite reports emerging on Monday that it had invested in Array, an algorithmic currency system, Singaporean state-owned conglomerate and global investment firm Temasek has denied any such investment.In a very brief statement published to its website on Tuesday, Temasek stated:“We have seen news articles and a tweet from Array about Temasek’s investment in it. This news is incorrect. Temasek has not invested in Array and we have no relationship with them.”CoinTelegraph had taken to reporting the claim on Monday. The article had outlined a $10 million investment by the Singaporean state investor into Array, the developer of an algorithmic currency system that relies upon smart contracts and artificial intelligence. Reputational lossIf it had been true, such an investment would have been seen as a positive for the crypto space as it would be indicative of a renewed appetite for crypto-based projects from the giant Southeast Asian investor.Temasek was a key investor in failed cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. In November 2022, the company had to write down its entire investment of $275 million into the fraudulently managed exchange business. To an onlooker, a $275 million write-down may seem like an extraordinary loss.However, given that the Singaporean investing behemoth has a $403 billion dollar portfolio, the loss represents just 0.09% of that portfolio, hardly making a dent in the health of the company.The greater loss for Temasek relative to the FTX collapse has been reputational. Top tier venture capital investors like Temasek, who had otherwise been assumed to be the most diligent of actors in the professional investing world, were all sharply criticized for failing to identify the extent of the mismanagement and fraud that had occurred at the now bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. Bogus ClaimsIn fairness to those who had reported the fake news, they were acting on information that Array had put out into the ether and as of yet, has not corrected. At the time of publication, the project’s website features a list of renowned investors including Temasek. Alongside Temasek, Array claims to have obtained investment from Standard Chartered, Coinbase Ventures, Spark Capital, Khosla Ventures, The Blackstone Group, Binance Labs, Sequoia Capital and a16z.In the case of Binance Labs, a spokesperson for the venture arm of the global exchange told The Block that it is not an investor in the project. To further dispel the claim, Temasek took to Twitter, stating:”Fake news about Temasek’s investment in @Array_Protocol. We have seen news articles and a tweet from Array about Temasek’s investment in it. This news is incorrect. Temasek has not invested in Array and we have no relationship with them.” Further instances of misinformationThe misinformation follows a similar scenario that played out with OPNX, a newly launched platform that offers spot and futures trading, alongside the ability for investors to trade bankruptcy claims.A couple of weeks ago, the platform, which had been founded by Kyle Davies and Su Zhu, the key executives behind failed crypto hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital, asserted that it had the backing of some notable investors. Almost immediately, venture capital and market maker DRW and venture capital firm Nascent denied that they were investors in OPNX.

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Web3 & Enterprise·

May 30, 2023

Dunamu’s Q1 Revenue Drops 28.6% Amid Global Liquidity Contraction

Dunamu’s Q1 Revenue Drops 28.6% Amid Global Liquidity ContractionDunamu, the operator of Upbit, a major cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, announced today the release of its Q1 2023 report.Photo by Tiger Lily on PexelsDeclining revenueAccording to the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART) of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), Dunamu’s consolidated sales revenue for the first quarter of 2023 was 304.8 billion KRW ($231.3 million). This figure represents a 28.6% decrease from 426.8 billion KRW ($323.9 million) recorded during the same period last year. Additionally, its operating income declined by 26.3% to 211.9 billion KRW ($160.8 million) from 287.8 billion KRW ($218.4 million). However, its net income showed an increase of 54.9%, reaching 326.3 billion KRW ($247.6 million).Global liquidity contractionDunamu attributed the decline in revenue to several factors, including the ongoing global liquidity contraction, economic downturn, and reduced investor confidence. These factors collectively impacted the company’s financial performance during the first quarter of 2023. On a positive note, Dunamu linked the net income increase to the recovery and upward movement of digital asset prices in comparison to the previous quarter.Established in April 2012, Dunamu has enjoyed noticeable growth by offering a range of services related to digital assets, securities, and asset management. In recent years, it has been tapping into new technology trends like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverses to adapt to the era of Web3 and enhancing transaction security and convenience for valuable assets.As a company with a shareholder base exceeding 500, Dunamu has been disclosing its business reports as well as quarterly and semiannual reports since 2022 in line with the Korean Capital Markets Act’s requirements.

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