Zodia Custody to Commence Yield Offering on Stablecoins

Korean Crypto Exchange Alliance Reveals Standardized Regulation GuidelinesThe Digital Asset eXchagne Alliance (DAXA), consisting of five leading cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, today revealed standardized regulation guidelines, according to a report by news media The Asia Business Daily.Photo by Nick Fewings on UnsplashStandardized guidelinesTwo important documents — the standardized internal control framework and the code of conduct and ethics — were released by DAXA today. These documents were developed based on data provided by financial investment firms and member exchanges. Reviewed by DAXA members and advisors, this documentation represents a significant milestone as it is the first of its kind to address the unique characteristics of the crypto industry. The establishment of unified rules and regulations through the collaborative efforts of the member exchanges stands as a commendable achievement.Internal control frameworkThe internal control framework consists of five parts, encompassing a total of 68 articles. These parts cover general provisions; governance of virtual asset service providers (VASPs); organization and standards for internal control; compliance officers and internal control system management; and compliance details.Code of ethicsThe code of conduct and ethics comprises five chapters with 24 articles. These chapters focus on general provisions, customer ethics, employee ethics, corporate management ethics, and societal ethics.DAXA Vice Chairman Kim Jae-jin expressed optimism that these guidelines will serve as a valuable reference for all VASPs, fostering the development of a fair, trustworthy, and globally competitive crypto market.DAXA’s websiteLast month marked the launch of DAXA’s official website, and their YouTube channel has been active since January. The alliance is made up of five member exchanges: Gopax, Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit, and Coinone. At the helm of the alliance is Chairman Lee Sirgoo, who concurrently serves as CEO of Dunamu — the company operating Upbit, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the nation.

INDODAX, Indonesia’s largest virtual asset trading platform by trading volume, has acquired full licensing in Indonesia from the local regulator. That’s according to a report published by local media outlet VOI. The license, a Physical Crypto Asset Trader (PFAK) license, has been awarded to the company by Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency, better known as BAPPEBTI.  The license will place INDODAX in a complaint position within the Indonesian market, relative to local regulations. The business has been issued certificate number 10/BAPPEBTI/PFAK/12/2024 by the regulator, its approval certificate as a Physical Crypto Asset Trader.Photo by Mark König on UnsplashMandatory registration requirementIn December 2023 the authorities in Indonesia set out a mandatory requirement for crypto trading entities to register with the Commodity Future Exchange (CFX). CFX is Indonesia’s national crypto bourse, while INDODAX is a member. As of April 2024, 35 crypto exchanges had been registered with the regulator. CFX has been given the mandate to monitor crypto exchange operations, to safeguard investors by ensuring exchanges abide by local regulations. Fendy Tan, chief financial officer (CFO) at INDODAX commented on the firm’s recent licensing milestone, stating: "We are grateful to BAPPEBTI and CFX for the trust given through this full license. The long process that must be passed reflects our commitment to providing the best protection for users. The license number 10 also has a special meaning, which symbolizes perfection, and symbolizes the 10-year journey of INDODAX in leading the crypto industry in Indonesia."  Liquidity and SOP requirementsIn order to acquire this license INDODAX had to comply with BAPPEBTI Regulation Number 8 of 2021 and Number 13 of 2022. It has also had to ensure a minimum paid-up capital of 100 billion Indonesian Rupiahs ($6,158,000), and a minimum equity of IDR 50 billion ($3,079,000). Furthermore, the company has had to implement a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs), together with achieving ISO certification in accordance with global security standards, with specific emphasis on complying with regulations to safeguard customer funds according to the balances held on account of fiat currency and digital assets by INDODAX customers. INDODAX is understood to have 7.1 million customers while a transaction volume of 109 trillion Indonesian rupiahs was reached for the period January to November 2024. BAPPEBTI had extended a deadline for the crypto licensing of exchanges late last year, a move welcomed at the time by INDODAX CEO Oscar Darmawan. Darmawan said that the move would strengthen the industry by ensuring that market participants were compliant with recently introduced regulations. While this licensing milestone is a positive for INDODAX, the firm had faced challenges in 2024. In September it emerged that the platform had been compromised with the loss of around $18 million in digital assets. Meanwhile, the authorities in Indonesia had planned to switch crypto market oversight from BAPPEBTI to the Financial Services Authority (OJK) by Jan. 12. However, a recent report published by the Jakarta Globe suggests that the Indonesian government has yet to finalize this regulatory transfer.

CoinGecko expands data offering through Zash acquisitionCoinGecko, the Malaysian crypto data aggregator, has intensified its focus on the non-fungible token (NFT) market through the recent acquisition of London-headquartered Zash. The move forms part of CoinGecko’s initiative to enhance its API offering by providing comprehensive data on digital collectibles.Photo by Andrey Metelev on UnsplashSolving for crypto data fragmentationIn a statement published to its website on Wednesday, CoinGecko provided further details on its acquisition of the enterprise-grade NFT and blockchain analytics company. Separately CoinGecko Co-Founder Bobby Ong told Tech in Asia that the crypto data sector is fragmented. As a consequence, it leads to inefficiency as market participants are forced to navigate multiple crypto data APIs. It’s in an effort to solve that issue that Ong and CoinGecko have moved to acquire Zash.Zash Co-Founder and CEO Parit Patel expressed optimism about the evolving nature of NFTs and their potential to unlock new use cases globally, creating value for both companies and consumers. The company plans to introduce new services derived from the acquisition by the second quarter of 2024.Enriched data offeringIn its own statement, CoinGecko emphasized its commitment to offering more NFT-related metrics. The acquisition aims to enrich CoinGecko’s data offerings with information such as metadata, historical trades and lending data related to NFTs. The specific financial details of the deal were not disclosed.With the integration of Zash, users can expect access to a broader range of data across multiple blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain), Bitcoin Ordinals and Solana. The extended services will cover NFT lending information indexing various marketplaces, such as Blend, X2Y2 and NFTfi.In reflecting on the acquisition, CoinGecko Co-Founder TM Lee considered the move in terms of the ongoing process of asset tokenization. Taking to the X platform, Lee wrote:“Any asset that can be tokenized, will be tokenized. Like tokens, NFT is a core primitive to the crypto economy stack. We’ve been building http://coingecko.com/nft earlier even in the bear market and I’m excited on possibilities within the NFT industry with @zash_api joining us!”Monitoring wash tradingOne notable feature introduced through Zash is the ability for users to monitor wash trading, an illegal form of market manipulation that gives the false impression of market activity. CoinGecko clarified that this feature would be available for “major collections” minted on Ethereum.Wash trading, involving the simultaneous buying and selling of assets, has been associated with the NFT bubble of 2022. Blockchain forensic firm Chainalysis reported that over 100 profitable wash traders collectively earned nearly $9 million from this activity. However, it noted that the majority of NFT wash traders have been unprofitable, resulting in losses exceeding $416,984 from more than 150 wash trades.While the NFT market has faced challenges, with total sales currently at $80.8 million, significantly lower than the peak in August 2021 when daily sales exceeded $2 billion, CoinGecko’s strategic move positions the company to provide users with enhanced tools for assessing and ranking their cryptocurrency holdings. Established in 2014, CoinGecko operates as a platform offering comprehensive data and information on digital currencies, contributing to the quantitative evaluation of cryptocurrency portfolios.