Crypto.com Gets AI Upgrade

Colt Technology Partners With Singapore’s AsiaNextColt Technology Services, an established player in the digital infrastructure sector, has unveiled a strategic partnership with AsiaNext, an emerging name in the crypto exchange domain.News of the collaboration emerged on Thursday, with the partnership designed to harness the strengths of Colt’s secure and high-performance digital infrastructure solutions to foster high-frequency trading of various digital securities and crypto derivatives on the AsiaNext platform.AsiaNext is a joint venture between Japan’s SBI Digital Asset Holdings and Swiss digital infrastructure firm, SIX Group. The entities behind the venture identified similarities in the regulatory approach taken in Switzerland and Singapore, and for that reason, AsiaNext was developed to grow the business in the city-state.Photo by Julien de Salaberry on UnsplashAccessing Multicast Market DataThe partnership will see AsiaNext leverage Colt’s Multicast Market Data in the Cloud. This service facilitates seamless connectivity between buyers and sellers, bridging the divide between mainstream finance and the secure realm of digital assets trading. The move takes on greater significance against the backdrop of Asia’s rapid ascent in digital asset trading and its central role in shaping global cryptocurrency regulations.AsiaNext has been targeting institutional investors and aims to offer a comprehensive suite of services encompassing listing, trading, and post-trade functions for digital assets. The exchange is attempting to provide institutional investors with a secure platform for trading digital assets, bolstering the crypto derivatives market in the region.Alongside Colt’s Multicast Market Data product, AsiaNext will also benefit from access to Colt’s PrizmNet, which enables low latencies for global delivery of data, software, content, and financial services.Commenting on the deal, Russell Toop, Colt’s Team Lead, Capital Markets Asia, remarked: “Our partnership with AsiaNext demonstrates our firm commitment to capital markets in Asia and across the world, and we’re excited to be part of its journey at the earliest stages as it sets out to bring digital assets to the mainstream.”Yuen Keng Yin, Chief Technology Officer of AsiaNext, echoed the sentiment by highlighting the transformative potential of Colt’s solutions for institutional investors, stating:“Their solutions support our investors in securing their position in this rapidly-growing market, so they can optimize their digital assets trading strategies and open up exciting new opportunities for their clients.”Working towards a full CMS licenseAsiaNext has been making progress within the Singaporean market. In June, the local regulator and central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), granted the institutional grade exchange regulatory approval in principle.That Capital Markets Services (CMS) license is now on the cusp of full license approval from MAS. Furthermore, the firm is also working towards obtaining a Recognised Market Operator license.These regulatory milestones all feed into AsiaNext’s overall goal, which is to offer a service which can bridge the gap between traditional finance and the digital assets space. In building out that offering, Marek Socha, Head of Corporate Development at SIX Group, said in an interview last year that important partnerships would be established by AsiaNext. No doubt accessing Colt’s service offering with this latest partnership is another step for the firm in reaching its objective.

Hong Kong’s Development as Crypto Hub May Soften Chinese Stance on CryptoHong Kong is making waves in the crypto sector that could potentially signal a shift in China’s attitude toward digital assets. That’s a theory that has been given consideration by crypto analytics firm Chainalysis in a recently released report highlighting Hong Kong’s crypto transformation and suggesting a growing tolerance for crypto within China’s corridors of power.Photo by farfar on UnsplashOTC trade showing resilienceDespite China’s stringent regulations and the ongoing crypto market downturn, Hong Kong’s over-the-counter (OTC) crypto market has demonstrated remarkable resilience, with a transaction volume of $64 billion in the past year. While this is slightly less than China’s $86.4 billion, it’s a noteworthy achievement considering Hong Kong’s smaller population and the challenges facing the crypto industry.The close relationship between China and Hong Kong has led some industry commentators to speculate that Hong Kong’s rise as a crypto hub could indicate a shift in China’s stance on digital assets.The crypto-friendly environment in Hong Kong has not gone unnoticed. Merton Lam of Crypto HK, an OTC digital asset trading center in the city, notes that cryptocurrencies have become an integral part of investment portfolios for banks, private equity firms, and high-net-worth individuals in the region. Even Chinese state-owned businesses are launching cryptocurrency-focused investment funds.Hong Kong cornering institutional tradeWhat sets Hong Kong apart in the crypto landscape is its proficiency in large institutional crypto transactions, with 46.8% of its annual crypto trades exceeding $10 million. In contrast, retail trades under $10,000 accounted for just 4% of the city’s crypto volume, slightly below the global average of 4.7%. This institutional dominance distinguishes Hong Kong from other Asian regions.For comparison, South Korea heavily relies on retail trading on centralized exchanges, while Japan maintains a transaction breakdown that aligns closely with global trends, balancing centralized exchanges with DeFi protocols.A cautionary noteHowever, Dave Chapman of OSL Digital Securities offers a note of caution, suggesting that Hong Kong’s promotion as a crypto hub might be more exploratory, aimed at gaining a better understanding of digital assets without significantly loosening mainland policies.Despite the uncertainties, Markus Thielen, Head of Research and Strategy at Singapore’s Matrixport, believes that Hong Kong is acting as a “testing ground” for broader cryptocurrency adoption in China. The city’s unique position makes it an attractive destination for the crypto asset management industry, setting it apart from other jurisdictions that often view crypto firms as service providers rather than end-users.Hong Kong’s progress is particularly noteworthy when considering the broader context of East Asia’s crypto market. Chainalysis analysis reveals that East Asia’s share of crypto transaction value dropped from around 30% in 2019 to less than 10% by the second quarter of 2022 due to China’s crypto bans. Hong Kong’s recent surge could potentially act as a “tailwind” to reignite crypto activity in the region.The evolving relationship between the mainland and the autonomous territory of Hong Kong may hold the key to understanding the future of cryptocurrency in the region.

Singapore-based decentralized liquidity infrastructure and on-chain funding project Solv Protocol has raised $11 million in funding, bringing its total inward investment to date to $25 million. Taking to Medium on Oct. 14, the project outlined that in this most recent funding round, $11 million had been raised with participation from Nomura subsidiary Laser Digital, Blockchain Capital, gumi Cryptos Capital, OKX Ventures and CMT Digital. Angel investors associated with a number of blockchain projects such as Berachain, Ethena, Mezo, Core, GMX, Curve and EigenLayer also invested. $200 million valuationThis latest funding round was carried out while placing a $200 million valuation on the company. Going forward, the company plans to roll out additional products over the course of the next few weeks, with a view towards further expanding yield opportunities for Bitcoin (BTC) holders. Solv Protocol’s leading product, SolvBTC, was introduced to the market last March as the world’s first-ever yield-bearing Bitcoin. The protocol initially ran on Ethereum, Arbitrum, BNB Chain and Merlin Chain. Since launch, it has been expanded across 10 blockchain networks. The product claims to enable BTC holders to earn additional BTC all the while maintaining Bitcoin exposure. In excess of 20,000 BTC is currently staked within Solv Protocol’s SolvBTC product, accounting for around $1.3 billion in value. The project claims to have 400,000 users, with 80% of their assets allocated to yield-generating strategies.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashMarket opportunitySolv Protocol’s Co-Founder Ryan Chow spoke to the market opportunity that Bitcoin staking presents. Chow stated: “With a market cap of over $1.2 trillion, Bitcoin holds immense growth potential, Bitcoin’s staking rate is currently much lower than Ethereum’s 28%. If we can unlock similar levels of participation, Bitcoin staking could unlock $330 billion in value. We believe BTCFi will drive the next wave of innovation in the blockchain space.” In a series of X posts published on Oct. 14, the project pointed out that the lack of a native yield, limited integrations with core DeFi primitives and fragmented BTC liquidity relative to DeFi are key challenges for Bitcoin, which Solv claims to have resolved. Staking Abstraction Layer (SAL)Earlier this month, Solv, alongside BNB Chain, Ceffu and Chainlink, launched the Staking Abstraction Layer (SAL). SAL is a framework which has been designed to simplify and standardize Bitcoin staking across a number of blockchain networks. Key SAL features include cross-chain compatibility with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible chains, support for liquidity staking tokens (LSTs) and a focus on security and custody with the involvement of crypto custodian Ceffu deemed to ensure that the user’s underlying Bitcoin is secure. Solv has launched three LSTs. These include SolvBTC.BBN, an LST representing staked Bitcoin on Babylon, another Bitcoin staking platform. SolvBTC.ENA is a trading strategy involving Ethena’s basis trading. Meanwhile, SolvBTC.CORE focuses on providing Bitcoin liquidity on CoreDAO, a Bitcoin-aligned EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain. Bitcoin staking is a more recent development which appears to have considerable potential. As Solv pointed out on X, Ethereum has a 28% staking rate right now, with Bitcoin not coming anywhere close to this figure. Staking platforms on Ethereum like Lido has $23.7 billion in total value locked (TVL) while EigenLayer weighs in at $10.9 billion.