Hong Kong strives for crypto hub status through ‘ASPIRe’

XPLA Welcomes Mobile Game Idle Ninja Online on Its MainnetSouth Korean game developer Com2uS has revealed that its blockchain gaming platform, XPLA, will be launching Idle Ninja Online, an AFK MMORPG, on its mainnet. AFK MMORPG is an acronym for away from keyboard massively multiplayer online role-playing game.Photo by Rodion Kutsaiev on UnsplashGameplay and featuresIdle Ninja Online offers players the opportunity to level up their characters by battling monsters that pose a threat to the ninja village. The game’s idle gameplay element ensures accessibility for all players. Its charming graphics, unique dungeons, and various bosses captivate players’ attention. A noteworthy feature is the ability for players to strategically combine tens of thousands of in-game items to create custom decks for engaging in battles. With availability in multiple languages, including English, Japanese, Thai, and Spanish, the game has garnered continued interest from gamers across the globe.P2O system next monthNext month, Idle Ninja Online is set to introduce a play-to-own (P2O) system that will utilize its native token, NINKY, which is compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine. Players will be able to earn NINKY tokens through gameplay, which can then be traded for XPLA, the native token of the XPLA ecosystem.Paul Kim, CEO of XPLA, extended a warm welcome to Puzzle Monsters’ acclaimed Idle Ninja Online as it joins the XPLA ecosystem. He said that the close collaboration between the two entities will showcase creative and entertaining content to Web3 gamers on a global scale.XPLA is a global blockchain mainnet encompassing an NFT marketplace, a metaverse, and various entertainment services. In July, it introduced well-regarded titles like action RPG Summoners War: Chronicles, casual game MiniGame Party, and fishing game Ace Fishing: Wild Catch. The XPLA mainnet has established partnerships with renowned Web3 projects, including Japanese gaming blockchain Oasys, Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming developer Animoca Brands, decentralized gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG), and blockchain infrastructure platform Blockdaemon.

Web3 metaverse and NFT platform CarrieVerse has secured funding from the JB Digital Asset Investment Fund 1 operated by JB Investment, the corporate venture capital arm of JB Financial Group, and Ecrux Venture Partners. The total value of the investment was not disclosed, according to Korean news outlet TechM. "The injection of new capital is a breath of fresh air after a slow crypto winter," said David Yoon, CEO of CarrieVerse. "With aggressive business and marketing tactics, we will bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3, helping to expand and popularize the Web3 market."Photo by Precondo CA on UnsplashThriving Web3 metaverseCarrieVerse is a Web3 metaverse available in various regions, including 15 Asian countries. The platform surpassed one million pre-registrations prior to its launch and also recorded 10,000 visitors in a single day. It was also revealed that it is one of the most popular platforms in Thailand, where it recently launched.  CarrieVerse is also the base hub for the card strategy role-playing game (RPG) SuperKola Tactics and the blockchain gaming platform Cling. Its native governance token, CVTX, has been listed on several exchanges like BingX and Bitget. Notably, CarrieVerse was also recently selected to join the UAE’s Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) to establish a local subsidiary that will serve as a hub to expand the company’s global Web3 ecosystem. Reasons and expectationsJB Investment cited CarrieVerse's global business network and Web3 capabilities as the reason for providing the funding. Ecrux Venture Partners, on the other hand, aims to create synergies between IP companies and the metaverse through CarrieVerse’s projects. Ecrux is a new venture capital firm that focuses on discovering companies that can commercialize content-based IP such as animated characters.  

BOK Staffers Assess Crypto Market Vulnerabilities and Their ImplicationsOn Thursday, the Bank of Korea’s (BOK) staff members published an assessment of the vulnerabilities in the cryptocurrency market and their potential implications. Here is the summary of the report.Photo by D Tan on Unsplash2022 crypto winterThroughout 2022, the worldwide crypto market faced a series of adverse occurrences, such as significant drops in the prices of major crypto-assets and the collapse of prominent crypto companies. These events shed light on the vulnerabilities that had accumulated during the rapid growth of the market.The first major event occurred in May 2022 when the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD experienced a sharp decline, resulting in substantial losses and bankruptcies for numerous retail investors and crypto firms. This incident significantly eroded confidence in the overall crypto market. The subsequent bankruptcies of prominent crypto lender Celsius and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) further highlighted the realization of risks commonly associated with traditional financial markets, such as multiple collateral loans and maturity and liquidity mismatches, within the crypto market.In November 2022, the well-known crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy, demonstrating that the activities of a large crypto company can propagate risks through moral hazard and excessive profit-seeking behavior when it operates outside the realm of regulatory oversight.Similarities with TradFiThese negative events that unfolded in the global crypto market in 2022 share similarities with issues previously observed in financial markets, such as unsustainable business models, liquidity risk, leverage, and lack of transparency in financial conditions. These parallels suggest that if the crypto markets were subjected to comparable levels of regulation as traditional financial markets, it is plausible that the triggering of these risks could have been avoided altogether, or at the very least, the resulting damage could have been mitigated to some extent.Implications for the Korean marketAt present, it is deemed unlikely that events akin to those witnessed in overseas crypto markets will transpire in the Korean market. The Korean crypto-asset market has primarily evolved through exchanges, with limited influence from other enterprises such as crypto issuers and decentralized lending platforms. In addition, Korean crypto exchanges are subject to regulation under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. This mandates the separation of customer deposits from exchange assets and the strict management of custodial crypto-assets through secure wallets. Additionally, Korean exchanges are prohibited from listing their own tokens on their platforms.However, there remains a dearth of information regarding the business structures of crypto companies that offer services similar to those in the traditional financial industry. This lack of information poses challenges in accurately assessing risk and providing adequate investor protection. Meanwhile, there is a potential for a deeper integration between the crypto market and users’ daily lives, particularly through major technology companies, gaming companies, and security tokens.SuggestionsIt is vital to ensure that crypto-assets are regulated based on the principle of “same activity, same risk, same regulation” through the ongoing development of crypto-asset-related legislation. The Financial Stability Board, an international body monitoring the global financial system, explained this principle in a 2022 paper: “Where crypto-assets and intermediaries perform an equivalent economic function to one performed by instruments and intermediaries of the traditional financial sector, they should be subject to equivalent regulation.”Additionally, it is necessary to stay aligned with major countries in terms of the speed and comprehensiveness of regulatory measures to prevent regulatory discrepancies across borders due to the global nature of crypto risks.Enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of regulation requires the establishment and maintenance of a close cooperation system between authorities. This collaborative effort should encompass various aspects, including monitoring, information gathering, and supervision of the crypto-asset market. Notably, the widespread adoption of stablecoins can affect the stability of the overall financial system, including monetary systems and payment and settlement systems. Hence, it is necessary to strengthen the involvement of central banks in the monitoring and supervision framework for crypto-assets, including stablecoins, as demonstrated by legislative approaches adopted by major economies like the EU. Furthermore, imposing disclosure requirements, external audits, and documentation submission obligations on crypto-asset operators is advisable.