NEAR Foundation and Dongdaemun District of Seoul Forge MOU to Boost Web3 Industry

Hana Securities Holds Second Event to Promote Security Token VentureHana Securities, the securities arm of South Korean financial holding company Hana Financial Group, is currently holding the second event of its Meta1 project, which aims to bridge future assets with modern finance as part of the company’s security token platform venture.This comes after the first event in April, which was organized in collaboration with the art gallery Print Bakery (PBG), during which it showcased paintings and NFT artwork by PBG exclusive artists Kim Sunwoo and DADAZ.Photo by Zach Key on UnsplashA fusion of NFT art and creative workshopsThe second event, dubbed “Meta1 Art & Play,” is being held in collaboration with PBG again at Airdrop Space in Garosu-gil, southern Seoul, and will continue until September 3. It showcases an art exhibition of 20 works, including new NFT artwork by Kim Sunwoo and DADAZ as well as pieces by collage artist Sunhotan and illustrator Boat. The latter two artists will also teach one-day art workshops for pre-registered guests, and their works will later be issued as NFTs, Hana Securities said.Collaborative pop-ups and diverse eventsIn addition, the event features a pop-up bar jointly operated by Hana Securities and online liquor retailer Dali. Visitors can enjoy a cocktail made with the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Nomad Seoul edition whisky by signing up for Dali and opening a Hana Securities banking account. Johnnie Walker and Dali are participating as sponsors of the event.Visitors who make reservations beforehand will also be eligible to receive a cup of coffee and an NFT made by one of the participating artists. Surprise gifts will also be prepared for 100 guests every day on a first come, first served basis.“We have prepared ‘playable, visual, and enjoyable’ content for visitors to have hands-on engagement in line with the recent trend of experience-based consumption,” said Im Sang-soo, Head of the Wealth Management division at Hana Securities.

NEOPIN wallet users gain access to Pala’s NFT marketplaceNEOPIN, a centralized decentralized finance (CeDeFi) platform, has entered into a strategic partnership with South Korean NFT marketplace Pala. This collaboration aims to connect the NEOPIN wallet to Pala’s NFT trading platform, thereby facilitating a more interconnected blockchain ecosystem on a global scale.Photo by Pete Linforth on PixabayNEOPIN wallet integrated into PalaThis partnership paves the way for enhanced user experience, as NEOPIN wallet holders will have the added convenience of trading non-fungible tokens (NFTs) directly on Pala using the virtual assets in their NEOPIN wallets. Furthermore, these wallets will also serve as a repository for purchased NFTs.Additionally, Pala stands to benefit from access to NEOPIN’s international users who have gone through the Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks, broadening its market reach.Growing network connectionsNEOPIN is set to aid Pala in establishing connections with NEOPIN’s network of NFT partners. Conversely, Pala will assist NEOPIN with introductions to Pala’s blockchain partners. This collaborative approach leverages their respective strengths, setting the stage for a synergistic relationship.Additionally, the collaboration will involve concerted efforts from both parties to enhance their services and broaden their customer reach. Part of this initiative includes aiding Web2 companies and projects in their Web3 endeavors, as well as rolling out products that are underpinned by real-world assets (RWAs) or offer practical real-life benefits.NEOPIN CEO Kim Yong-ki expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, noting that it is poised to be mutually advantageous, particularly since trust and convenience are core values shared by both companies. Kim further emphasized their commitment to achieving success on an international level, not only through service cooperation but also by utilizing their respective ecosystems.Jason Pyo, CEO of Pala, echoed a similar sentiment, stating that the partnership is set to propel service enhancement, foster the growth of blockchain businesses and contribute to the expansion of the Web3 ecosystem.It’s noteworthy that Pala is a joint venture established by Snow, the mobile video messaging app subsidiary of internet giant Naver, and artificial intelligence (AI) company Alchera. This joint enterprise has claimed a leading position in the Korean NFT trading arena, having exceeded an accumulated trading volume of KRW 30 billion ($23 million) as of April last year.The Pala platform serves as a one-stop shop for NFT services, including NFT minting, secondary market sales and launchpads. It accommodates a range of blockchains like Klaytn, Ethereum and Polygon.NEOPIN has been expanding its offerings to improve user experience, introducing services beyond its DeFi suite. This includes their NFT wallet capabilities. Following its announcement last year to intensify focus on NFT initiatives, NEOPIN has updated its wallets to support multiple NFT standards, such as KIP-17, ERC-721 and EIP-5192.

Chinese Fentanyl Producers Taking Payment in CryptoA report produced by blockchain analytics and crypto compliance solutions firm Elliptic has found that most Chinese suppliers of fentanyl precursors are accepting payments for the illicit material in cryptocurrency.In a blog post published on its website on Tuesday, Elliptic claimed that 90 percent of the 90 China-based firms, from which its researchers received offers of fentanyl precursors, accepted cryptocurrency as a form of payment. The majority of fentanyl which is trafficked into the United States is manufactured using imported fentanyl precursors like the material that the Elliptic researchers were offered.Seventeen of the suppliers even offered to provide fentanyl itself. Others still offered to supply synthetic opioids, equally or more potent than fentanyl, which are currently legal to both produce and supply within China.Photo by Hal Gatewood on UnsplashTracking blockchain transactionsIn tracing back transactions relative to these illicit suppliers, the Elliptic researchers’ analysis demonstrated that the digital asset wallets used by the rogue suppliers have received thousands of payments. The research team has estimated the net worth of those transactions to total $27 million.It appears that a move towards crypto payments is trending with this group of suppliers as there has been a 450% increase year-on-year when it comes to payments for fentanyl precursor using crypto.The study highlighted activity related to Dutch national Alex Peijnenburg. An alleged fentanyl supplier, Peijnenburg, made an $85,000 payment in crypto to one of the ninety fentanyl precursor suppliers identified by Elliptic researchers. In November of last year, the Dutchman was sanctioned by US authorities relative to his activities.Global trade and distributionThe report stated: “During our correspondence, the suppliers showed no concerns about how the chemical would be used, with some explaining that it was their best-selling product and could be used to produce fentanyl.”It went on to state that “others pointedly mentioned that they had sold it to customers in Mexico.” Mexico is a significant location in the global drugs trade, given the activity of drug cartels within the country. One supplier offered an insight to researchers as to the preferences of their nefarious Mexican clients, stating: “They always use USDT or Bitcoin to pay. It is no problem.”While it looks like these nefarious Chinese companies are able to trade into and out of crypto assets, that should be a difficulty for them as China banned the offering of crypto trading services going back a number of years already. Furthermore, foreign digital asset exchanges are prohibited from servicing the needs of Chinese clients where crypto is concerned.Elliptic’s research team uncovered that the majority of the illicit drugs trade suppliers have been using workarounds in order to gain access to overseas digital asset exchanges. The suppliers have used intermediaries in order to convert crypto into Chinese yuan.The report concludes that this part of the international fentanyl trade can be dealt with and “disrupted by the services that act as gateways into and out of crypto assets.” On arriving at that conclusion, Elliptic has acted by notifying the digital asset exchanges that these suppliers are using. “[We] have flagged hundreds of crypto addresses in our tools as being linked to this activity,” the report states.Crypto had infamously been associated with illicit activity on the dark web in its earliest years. It has moved well beyond that although due to its decentralized nature, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to control who utilizes decentralized digital currency.