Bitget Adopts Stricter KYC Measures in Line with Global Regulations

Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin announced on Friday that over $300 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen from its primary wallet, marking one of the digital asset industry's largest hacks in recent years.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashHack confirmed without further detail"At approximately 1:26 p.m. on Friday, May 31, 2024, we detected an unauthorized leak of bitcoin from our wallet," the company stated, based on an English translation of its original statement in Japanese, which had been posted on the firm’s website. DMM Bitcoin is a subsidiary of DMM Group, which incorporates businesses covering a broad spectrum of activities including solar energy, gaming, 3D printers, FX, e-books and software. The company has, as yet, not provided any further detail relative to the manner in which the hack occurred. Notwithstanding that, DMM Bitcoin did confirm that measures have been taken to prevent any repeat of the hack. Furthermore, the company outlined that a full investigation into the hack is ongoing right now. Buy orders and leverage trades suspendedThe company has moved to reassure platform users that their digital assets are fully guaranteed. It stated: "Please rest assured that all of your bitcoin deposits will be fully guaranteed, as we will procure the equivalent amount of BTC that was leaked with support from our group companies."  The exchange has taken the decision to temporarily suspend a number of activities, including spot trading buy orders and the opening of leveraged trading positions. A temporary halt has been imposed on crypto withdrawals while Japanese yen withdrawals are permitted, albeit that the exchange suggests that service users may experience delays. Blockchain security sector responseIn light of the hack, a number of well-known blockchain security firms have been giving the matter their attention. Beosin, a blockchain security specialist, outlined that it is continuing to monitor the wallet addresses implicated in the hack, with a view towards tracing any further movement of the funds. Meanwhile, blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence has offered a 1,000 ARKM token bounty to anyone who may provide information leading to the identification of the perpetrators of the hack. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis described the hack as “the 7th largest crypto hack ever.” The company has labeled the stolen funds within its products. Broader industry implications and historical contextThis hack is a significant blow to the industry, given that a hack on this scale has not occurred thus far in 2024 or at any point during 2023. The crypto industry has faced numerous significant breaches in the past. In 2022, a series of large-scale exploits targeted layer-1 blockchains, crypto exchanges and DeFi protocols. The largest hack amongst them implicated the BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain), which resulted in the loss of $566 million worth of BNB. The latest hack is second only (within Japan) in size relative to the 2018 hack of Coincheck, one of the country’s largest exchanges, when over $550 million worth of XEM was stolen. Japan was also host to the most infamous Bitcoin hack, that of the Mt. Gox exchange, whose bankruptcy administrators moved $9 billion worth of its remaining Bitcoin holdings on the blockchain in recent days for the first time in many years. 

Crypto fund manager secures capital markets license in SingaporeDigital asset fund manager HashKey Capital Singapore celebrated a significant milestone on Tuesday as it secured a regulatory license from the local regulator and central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash‘Pivotal development’HashKey announced its regulatory success by way of a press release published to its website. This achievement, described by the company as a “pivotal development,” positions the firm to offer regulated fund management services primarily in connection with capital markets products from its Singapore base.Deng Chao, Chief Executive of HashKey Capital Singapore and Head of HashKey Singapore, expressed the company’s commitment to the local blockchain community, stating:“As a licensed fund management company, we are committed to contributing to the local blockchain community and playing our part in shaping its future.”Enabling product launchHaving initiated the licensing process in late 2021, HashKey Capital Singapore now plans to leverage its new status to launch a regulated fund and provide capital market products to local customers. The company envisions connecting blockchain experts and global capital to the local market, contributing to the advancement of the blockchain community in the region.Chao emphasized the company’s excitement about propelling blockchain-related capital markets products and investments further into the mainstream. This move is expected to open new possibilities for institutional and accredited investors in Singapore.Hong Kong presenceHashKey Capital falls under the overarching umbrella of Hong Kong-headquartered parent company HashKey Group. Company colleagues in Hong Kong have been busy in 2023, with a number of milestones having been achieved during the year.HashKey and OSL became the first digital asset exchange platforms to be licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) as part of a new regulatory approach that allowed such platforms to offer their services to retail investors from June 1 onwards.A few months on from that and the company has been working towards increasing platform liquidity and trading volumes through a token rewards program and partnerships with market makers.At the end of October, the firm launched an exchange app, having received approval for the product from the local regulator. The firm has also bolstered customer deposit protection by way of a deal struck with fintech firm OneDegree to provide insurance cover for digital assets held on the platform.In April, a separate entity, HashKey Wealth, was formed, offering a wealth management service to both institutional and individual investors looking for exposure to digital assets.HashKey Singapore, inclusive of HashKey Capital Singapore, boasts a team of approximately 40 professionals covering various areas such as venture capital investment, fund management and over-the-counter trading of digital assets. The development follows HashKey Capital’s successful conclusion of a $500 million funding round, reinforcing its position as one of the largest crypto asset managers.Founded in 2015, HashKey Capital has played a pioneering role as an institutional investor in Ethereum, managing over $1 billion in client assets and making investments in more than 500 projects across infrastructure, tools and applications.During a funding round which the HashKey Group pursued earlier this year, it emerged that the company was being valued at $1 billion.

Bank of Korea and Samsung Team Up for Offline CBDC ResearchIn a move aimed at advancing central bank digital currency (CBDC) technology, the Bank of Korea (BOK) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Samsung Electronics on Monday, according to a press release. The agreement was sealed during a signing ceremony attended by Lee Seung-heon, BOK’s Senior Deputy Governor, and Choi Won-joon, Executive Vice President and Head of Development in the Mobile Experience (MX) Division at Samsung Electronics.Under the terms of the MoU, both parties have committed to ongoing research on CBDC issued by the Bank of Korea, with a specific focus on collaboration in the offline payment sector. Samsung Electronics had previously participated in the second phase of the CBDC simulation study conducted by the BOK last year.Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on PexelsCBDC without InternetThe company’s efforts have led to the development of an offline CBDC technology that facilitates transfers and payments via near-field communication (NFC) between devices without requiring an internet connection. These transactions are conducted within the embedded secure element (eSE) chip of Samsung Electronics’ mobile devices, which holds one of the highest levels of security certification, CC EAL 6+.The Evaluation Assurance Level (EAL) is a numeric grading system that measures the security level of tech products and systems according to the Common Criteria (CC) security standard. It ranges from EAL0 to EAL7, with EAL7 representing the highest level of security.Leveraging this technology, the BOK and Samsung will continue their joint research to enhance security in offline payments using Samsung Galaxy smartphones and watches. Additionally, they aim to provide support for stable payments in situations where network connectivity is disrupted, such as during disasters.Growing interest in CBDCsGiven the global interest in CBDCs, with central banks worldwide exploring their potential, the research collaboration between the BOK and Samsung assumes great significance. The results of this partnership will guide further cooperative efforts to develop the international CBDC ecosystem.BOK Senior Deputy Governor Lee Seung-heon emphasized the significance of the joint achievement, expressing optimism that the partnership would keep Korea at the forefront of offline CBDC technology.Samsung’s Executive Vice President Choi Won-joon underscored that the company’s collaboration with the Korean central bank allowed Samsung to utilize its advanced security technology in digital currency. He expected their combined efforts would considerably contribute to the global development of CBDC technology.