Hong Kong’s GSBN Takes Lead in Blockchain Logistics

As the South Korean capital market eyes the burgeoning potential of security token offering (STO) businesses, Koscom, a financial IT company, is increasingly coming into focus among securities firms for its dedicated STO platform. With four securities companies already in partnership, Koscom is actively seeking to expand its collaboration network further. Koscom is a technology subsidiary of Korea Exchange, the country’s only securities exchange operator.More partnerships with securities firmsAccording to its press release published a few weeks ago, Koscom inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Yuanta Securities Korea, the South Korean branch of the Taiwanese retail broker. Through the partnership, the two entities pledged to collaborate on developing blockchain platforms and discovering new STO projects.  The MOU between Koscom and Yuanta is the fourth STO-related partnership Koscom has inked with a securities company. Koscom's other three brokerage partners are Kiwoom Securities, Daishin Securities and IBK Securities. With over four decades of experience in managing ledgers for brokerages, Koscom is highly skilled in constructing technical infrastructure for the capital market. As the operator of its own blockchain platform, this fintech company has been developing blockchain technology and acquiring relevant expertise.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashSecurity token issuance and distributionThe necessity for blockchain-based STO platforms provided by companies like Koscom for brokerages stems from regulations set forth by the Korean financial authority. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) mandates that the issuance and distribution of security tokens must be carried out by separate entities. This regulatory framework necessitates a platform that enables securities firms to connect and interact with each other. Koscom offers a joint STO platform designed to streamline transactions between brokerages, improving cost-effectiveness. In light of this, the financial IT company concentrates on developing such platforms with the aim of laying a solid foundation for the emerging STO market. According to local media outlet Etnews, Koscom has set its sights on completing the platform development within the first quarter, with plans to address additional requirements from brokerages subsequently. Striving to expand its network of partnerships to include companies both large and small, Koscom recognizes that a more diverse array of participating firms can enhance the efficiency of token issuance and distribution, which would in turn accelerate the adoption of STOs. Koscom’s strategy offers its partners an opportunity to test its STO infrastructure before the relevant legislation governing the management of security tokens is passed at the National Assembly. Regarding this development, Kim Sung-hwan, Head of the Digital Business Division at Koscom, said, “Koscom’s joint STO platform is emerging as an alternative method for brokerage firms to venture into the security token business. Factors such as costs and workforce requirements have made it difficult for many firms to proceed independently.” He added, “We will provide full technical support for our platform users, allowing them to focus on identifying reliable underlying assets for security tokens.” 

With reports of American exchange platform Coinbase having been in talks with regulators to re-enter the Indian market emerging last month, the firm has made further progress with those efforts, registering with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). In a blog post published to the Coinbase website on March 11, the company confirmed that it had successfully registered with the FIU, a national agency which is responsible for gathering, processing, analyzing and circulating data related to suspicious financial transactions.Photo by Big G Media on UnsplashOffering retail services in 2025As a consequence of this registration, the company intends to commence trading activity in India once more, with plans to offer retail services to Indian investors later this year. Commenting on the development, John O'Loghlen, Regional Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region at Coinbase, stated that the company is committed to building its business in markets where potential exists for crypto and on-chain innovation. He added: “India represents one of the most exciting market opportunities in the world today, and we’re proud to deepen our investment here in full compliance with local regulations.” News of this development has been interpreted as a positive for the crypto sector. Taking to X, Suraj Chawla, founder and CEO of GPU.net, a decentralized network of GPUs, suggested that the registration was indicative of a softening in the regulatory approach taken to crypto in India. He believes that the Trump administration in the U.S., which is pro-crypto, is collaborating with India’s government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He added: “This is extremely positive news with countries like UAE, IND, RUS, USA adopting mainstream crypto and working on critical infra like exchanges, ETF and stablecoins.” Taking this development as a sign of a crypto awakening in India, Chawla suggested that we could see major Indian corporations like Reliance, Tata and Adani going into mainstream crypto infrastructure. ‘Informal pressure’Coinbase was forced to disable UPI payments on its platform in India back in 2022 due to what Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong described at the time as “informal pressure” from India’s central bank, the Royal Bank of India (RBI). Armstrong offered the following take on the status of crypto in India at that time:“India is a unique market in the sense that the Supreme Court has ruled that they can't ban crypto, but there are elements in the government there, including at the Reserve Bank of India, who don't seem to be as positive on it.” In 2023 the company disabled new user sign-ups on its platform.  India’s central bank has leaned against crypto over the last few years. In January of last year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, said that there was no place in India for “crypto mania,” following the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. He said at that time that "the way we look at crypto remains unchanged, irrespective of who does what."  While taking what has been at best an ambiguous approach to cryptocurrencies, the RBI has advocated for the adoption of blockchain technology by India’s banks.

Asia has taken the lead, surpassing North America, in terms of being a crypto developer hub according to a recent report. Electric Capital, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley in the United States, recently compiled a report centered upon global crypto developer data. Its analysis of the data has led to some interesting findings. Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashNorth America loses its leadElectric Capital General Partner Maria Shen took to the X social media platform on Oct. 30 to provide further details on some key takeaways. In the first instance, Shen points out that North America has lost its lead in terms of crypto developer share, with Asia emerging as the leading region in this respect. Shen stated that “for the first time, Asia is the #1 continent for crypto talent.” Underpinning that claim, she provided data that identifies a drop in North America’s share of crypto developers from 44% in 2015 to 24% in 2024. Within the same timeframe, Asia’s share of crypto developer talent has increased from 13% to 32%. Teasing the data out further, the United States still remains the number one country for crypto devs on a country-by-country basis. It leads this particular metric with 18.8% of the developer talent pool, followed by India with 11.8% and the United Kingdom with 4.2%. A consequence of U.S. regulatory uncertaintyRegulatory uncertainty in the United States has been identified as a contributing factor by some crypto community commentators. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the U.S. has engaged in regulation by enforcement rather than establishing a bespoke regulatory framework for crypto.  This approach has led to SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda calling crypto regulation in the U.S. “a disaster” earlier this month. Others, like Nic Carter, a partner at Castle Island Ventures, have gone further, describing the approach of the Biden Administration to crypto as “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” suggesting that there is an active plan being implemented to suppress the industry. This negative approach has led many U.S.-headquartered crypto firms to pursue growth opportunities overseas, particularly within centers in Asia and the Middle East such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Singapore. All of these centers have taken the opposite approach, deliberately working towards putting purpose-made regulatory frameworks in place over the course of the past two years, in order to get crypto innovation started on the right footing. Shen underscored the issue from a U.S. perspective, by pointing out that 81% of crypto devs, who are actively playing their part in shaping the future of digital money, live outside the U.S. She highlighted the significance of this, stating: “This is a national security issue & innovation drain for the US.” In a subsequent post, she questioned whether this had come about due to a negative regulatory environment, adding that “the US needs clear crypto policy to maintain its country lead.”