LINE Xenesis and Crypto.com Unite Efforts to Explore Global Blockchain Business Opportunities

Klasha, a leading global cross-border payment company based in Africa, has officially announced its partnership with Singapore-headquartered FOMO Pay, a digital payment, banking and digital assets solutions provider in the Asian market. Streamlining collections and paymentsIn a press release published on Wednesday, the two companies outlined the nature of the partnership. Through this collaboration, FOMO Pay will optimize collections for its corporate clients by leveraging Klasha’s platform. This synergy enables businesses to receive payments in various local African currencies and methods, with the added flexibility of receiving payouts in their preferred currencies.Photo by George Bakos on UnsplashUnlocking growth opportunitiesThe duo also envision the unlocking of growth opportunities for Asian businesses looking to expand into new markets within Africa. By facilitating seamless cross-border payments, Klasha and FOMO Pay believe that they can help businesses diversify and broaden their customer base. In the joint statement, the management teams of Klasha and FOMO Pay expressed their enthusiasm for the collaboration. Jess Anuna, CEO of Klasha, shared her insights, stating:"With combined efforts, we will continue to enable merchants in Asia to collect payments from the continent more seamlessly through our payment rails and our unique ability to terminate payments in greater Asia." Africa has been undergoing a transformation from the perspective of trade relationships while Asia is emerging as a pivotal trading partner, contributing to over 40% of both exports and imports for the continent. It is with that in mind that Klasha and FOMO Pay have united to introduce a platform aimed at enhancing cross-border payment capabilities for businesses and merchants across Africa and Asia. Crypto credentialsFOMO Pay claims to be Asia’s first licensed gateway connecting fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. The firm was established in 2015 and is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to conduct cross-border money transfer services, domestic money transfer services, digital payment token services and merchant acquisition services. In 2022 FOMO Pay announced a partnership with enterprise blockchain firm Ripple, which resulted in the fledgling company using Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) offering, a product that revolves around the use of Ripple’s XRP in moving value globally, without the need for correspondent banking relationships. In July of last year, FOMO partnered with crypto compliance and blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. That partnership is aimed at building out a payment ecosystem in Asia that offers seamless interoperability between fiat currency and cryptocurrency. With that same goal in mind, last September FOMO Pay initiated a collaboration with crypto sector decision making specialist, Notabene, who are helping the company optimize in terms of know-your-transaction capabilities. Zack Yang, co-founder of FOMO Pay, emphasized the partnership's significance, stating:"In this era of globalization, the synergy between FOMO Pay and Klasha marks a significant milestone in increasing financial connectivity between Africa and Asia. Our partnership is more than just a business collaboration; it's a commitment to fostering seamless payments and economic growth across continents. This collaboration not only opens up new avenues for African and Asian merchants, facilitating market expansion and easing entry into new territories, but also provides greater opportunity for merchants in those regions to fully benefit from day-to-day use of digital assets in international trade.

$100M Pyramid Scheme Linked to Prominent Chinese Filecoin ProjectA courtroom showdown currently playing out in the People’s Court of Pingnan County in northeastern Fujian province in China is laying bare an intricate pyramid scheme entwined with one of China’s flagship ventures in the Filecoin ecosystem.The lawsuit thrusts five defendants into the spotlight, alleging their orchestration of an expansive pyramid scheme under the guise of their enterprise, Shenzhen Space-Time Cloud Company. The operation is purported to have siphoned off millions of dollars, leaving in its wake a trail of financial wreckage.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashAggressive project marketingAccording to a local media report published on Monday, the saga began in June 2018 when Lai Mouhang and Lai Moujun established the Space-Time Cloud Company. Subsequently, co-defendants Hu and Liang joined the ranks in the following months. However, it wasn’t until September 2019 that Lai Mouhang escalated the company’s operations, leveraging the ipfs.cn domain to aggressively market and peddle investments linked to distributed storage technology and Filecoin’s intricate economic model.Central to Filecoin’s model is its block reward system, where miners validating new blocks receive Filecoin tokens (FIL) as a reward. In a stunning revelation, the prosecution claims that Lai Mouhang and his accomplices crafted a scheme mirroring this economic structure.Their brainchild, the filpool.io platform, served as a conduit for joint mining, masquerading as a storage server vending operation for FIL mining. This platform, intrinsically linked to Space-Time Cloud Company, allegedly formed the epicenter of the defendants’ fraudulent maneuvers.Almost 60,000 usersThe gravity of the scheme becomes evident when considering the staggering numbers: a reported 57,122 members registered on the filpool.io platform and an additional 143 partners on the bpool.io platform, a sibling project of Space-Time Cloud Company. These platforms collectively amassed a jaw-dropping RMB 607 million ($83 million), alongside RMB 62 million in diverse cryptocurrencies.The modus operandi of the defendants was rooted in enticing participants with rosy prospects of exponential profits. By acquiring a minimum of 8 terabytes of cloud computing power, individuals could attain bronze membership status or higher, unlocking the ability to further recruit participants. Unsurprisingly, the magnitude of returns correlated directly with the size of investments and the recruitment spree — classic hallmarks of a pyramid scheme.The prosecution contends that the defendants exploited these platforms as bait for participants, perpetuating the myth of high returns. This alleged deception led to substantial financial losses for many unsuspecting victims. Furthermore, these actions purportedly sowed discord and upheaval in both economic and social spheres, potentially transgressing criminal law boundaries.As the investigation into this convoluted case unfurls, its implications resonate far beyond China’s territorial confines. The intertwining of cryptocurrency, blockchain, and pyramid schemes punctuates the ever-evolving narrative of financial crime. The case highlights the importance of vigilance and regulatory scrutiny in an innovative industry that has more than its fair share of bad actors.

Crypto Oasis Founder Thinks UAE Set Up For Crypto SuccessAs the dust settles on 2023's Dubai Fintech Summit, which took place last week, one takeaway offered by the Co-Founder of blockchain ecosystem firm Crypto Oasis is that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has set itself up for success where crypto business is concerned.In speaking with crypto publication CoinTelegraph on the fringes of the Dubai Fintech Summit, Crypto Oasis Co-Founder and Managing Partner Saqr Ereiqat suggested that the regulatory infrastructure that the UAE has put in place provides an ideal foundation upon which crypto companies can develop and prosper.Photo by Mo Ismail on PexelsRegulatory infrastructureEreiqat pointed to some key fundamentals that crypto entrepreneurs and start-up founders should look at when deciding on the location that will best meet their needs and help to optimize their route to market and ultimate success. This includes the regulatory infrastructure.The UAE authorities and regulators at a national level, together with their colleagues within the regulatory agencies in the Emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have been doing some heavy lifting in this regard over recent months.They’ve all been working on establishing a workable regulatory framework, and as part of that, a licensing process. In the case of Dubai, its Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has started to issue preliminary or Minimum Viable Product (MVP) license approvals that enable crypto startups to get started, while providing them with a pathway towards obtaining Full Market Product (FMP) licensing at a later stage.Talent poolThe other key requirements that Ereiqat set out were digital infrastructure alongside an ability to attract and provide a pool of talent relative to the crypto assets space. In respect of these key considerations, Ereiqat believes that the UAE hits the target in each case.“The UAE’s regulatory framework is more streamlined and business-friendly compared to the complex and fragmented regulatory environment in the US,” he told the crypto media firm.To enhance these fundamentals, Ereiqat also alluded to a depth of capital that could potentially find its way into UAE-based crypto businesses, easing these start-ups’ efforts in executing on funding rounds as they look to achieve growth.Ereiqat maintains that the interest in the region is already evident, citing a data-point that suggests there are 1,800 Web3-centric businesses already operating in the region, with more than 8,000 people working for those start-up businesses. Speaking to that reality further, he said:“The Dubai FinTech Summit was a significant event that brought together stakeholders from the fintech industry […] The presence of crypto and Web3 leaders and projects at the event is an important indicator of the growing interest and adoption of these technologies in the region.”This enthusiasm and belief in the existence of the right Web3 business environment in the UAE was echoed at that event by both Coinbase Founder and CEO Brian Armstrong and Ripple Founder and CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Both industry figures featured as keynote speakers at the event. Armstrong alluded to the potential of Coinbase establishing a base in Abu Dhabi while Garlinghouse announced the opening of a Ripple office in Dubai.