Japanese auto-parts maker Ikuyo invests in crypto firm for stablecoin settlements

FTX Opts Out of Plan to Sell off FTX JapanThe FTX Debtor that was brought in to manage the bankrupt estate of the failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange has decided to not follow through with a plan to sell off the Japanese business.That’s according to a report by Nikkei on Thursday. In November 2022 a new management team was brought in to restructure the FTX business immediately following the business having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the courts in Delaware in the United States.Photo by Jezael Melgoza on UnsplashOptimizing value for creditorsThe original plan was to look to sell off subsidiary companies within the group such as FTX Japan, FTX Turkey, and FTX Europe. Those plans have now at the very least been delayed. Nikkei cited an FTX executive who claimed that it’s not so much that plans have been delayed but rather that the FTX Debtor has identified another approach that will likely optimize value for creditors.“They hope to increase the price by selling the entire group, rather than selling subsidiaries in various regions,” Nikkei’s FTX source stated.Rebooting the exchangeThe response from creditors to this news has been largely positive. While the notion of a rebooted FTX business has proven to be controversial within the crypto space, most creditors recognize that the business can provide much greater value for them if it is restarted internationally.Global investment banking firm Perella Weinberg Partners (PWP) was brought in by the FTX Debtor in November 2022 to carry out a strategic review of the assets held by the FTX group. In a recent bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware, one of its partners stated that they are currently in the process of inviting bids from interested parties.At that time, PWP indicated that the Debtor was looking to revive the international FTX business. That would likely mean an entity headquartered outside the United States. It remains to be seen what will happen in the case of the FTX US business. Due to an unwelcoming regulatory approach in the US right now, setting up a crypto business there is seen as having additional risk factors.Asian interestA number of weeks ago, the Debtor filed a list of interested parties. The list included a number of high-profile Asian companies, although it’s not clear if their interest lies in the business in its entirety or specific FTX assets.Among them was Japanese telecoms firm Docomo. Tokyo-headquartered global financial services company Nomura also featured. Japan’s largest Ecommerce company, Rakuten, also signed a letter of intent in expressing its interest. FTX Japan had attracted 41 bidders. It’s being speculated that some of these Japanese entities will now bid on the entire business or join consortiums who will do so.FTX Japan solventCreditors of FTX Japan have fared much better than their international counterparts. In the wake of the collapse of the Mt.Gox cryptocurrency exchange in 2014, the Japanese authorities set to work on providing greater protections for customers. As a consequence, FTX Japan was required to ring-fence customer funds. For that reason, Japanese customers have already been given access to their funds.In a recent exchange on Twitter, well-known American investor Mark Cuban pointed out that Japanese regulators had been successful in protecting FTX investors in Japan. Cuban made the point to former US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulator John Reed Stark, underscoring the failure of US regulators in doing so.

AliExpress Partners With ‘The Moment3!’ NFT ProjectAliExpress, the renowned global e-commerce platform and subsidiary of China’s Alibaba Group, is making its entry into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through a newly announced partnership with The Moment3!, a Web3 project. The collaboration aims to release a collection of 5,555 NFTs later this month.Photo by Andrey Metelev on UnsplashWhat is ‘The Moment3!’?Oddly, we know very little about the project. Its Telegram channel has just been established, it doesn’t have a website, while its Discord and Twitter channels are also recently established with modest followings. Anonymity is a feature in Web3 and perhaps that’s the approach this project is taking. Whatever the background, it has to be said that there must be some talent behind the project for it to secure the backing of an entity like AliExpress by way of this partnership.This recent announcement was initially made on AliExpress’ official Twitter account but that tweet has since been removed. The project itself tweeted out news of the partnership on Thursday. The Moment3!’s mission, as stated in its Twitter bio, revolves around utilizing NFTs to immortalize special moments on the blockchain.According to the project’s Discord channel, The Moment3! aims to connect with real-world businesses and provide NFT owners with benefits and exclusive rights beyond the collectible value.NFT debutThis marks AliExpress’ initial venture into the NFT market, although its parent company, Alibaba, has previously explored the Web3 space. In September 2022, Alibaba’s luxury shopping platform, Tmall Luxury Pavilion, introduced an immersive shopping metaverse experience and introduced the Meta Pass, granting users free access to virtual experiences.Alibaba-Centric Web3 projectsThere have been several other Web3-related investments and developments related to Alibaba Group companies in recent months.Last month, Alibaba Cloud, one of the world’s largest cloud computing companies, joined forces with the Avalanche layer one blockchain project to introduce “Cloudverse,” a launchpad facilitating the creation of personalized spaces within the metaverse for businesses.In April Alibaba Cloud was the co-organizer of the Web3 Festival, an event held in Hong Kong to showcase the autonomous Chinese territory for the development of the Web3 sector. The four-day event attracted 10,000 attendees.In early May, Artifact Labs, a Hong Kong-based start-up company that specializes in metaverse and Web3 product offerings, raised $3.25 million in a funding round led by Blue Pool Capital. The investment firm is the personal investment vehicle of Alibaba founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai.NFT warningAliExpress, owned by Alibaba Group, is a global e-commerce platform that does not cater to customers in mainland China, despite being headquartered in China. The Chinese government prohibited all cryptocurrency transactions in September 2021. NFTs remained legal although authorities recently issued a warning on their use, together with some guidelines.With its new collaboration, AliExpress is expanding its reach into the Web3 space and exploring the potential of NFTs. As the release date approaches, anticipation grows to witness the specific features and benefits offered by the 5,555 NFTs that will soon be available to the public.

Wemade Signs Contracts with Game Developers to Expand WEMIX PLAY’s LineupSouth Korean gaming company Wemade has signed contracts with global game developers to bring three new games to its blockchain gaming platform, WEMIX PLAY.Photo by Riho Kroll on UnsplashThree gamesOne of these developers is Cfire Network, based in Singapore, which is working on a strategic card game called Magic Card Duel. In this game, players collect heroes and build decks of cards to challenge each other in battle.Dubai’s Project SEED is also part of the initiative, preparing to release a fantasy action role-playing game (RPG) called Outland Odyssey in the third quarter of this year.Korean company SpaceProbe is contributing to the lineup with Raid of Legends, a mobile action RPG where players can develop characters to explore dungeons, join raids, and engage in combat against each other.WEMIX PLAY’s expansive reachWEMIX PLAY boasts a user base of 9 million and has already added more than 100 blockchain games to its platform, spanning various genres like massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), shooters, and social network games. The platform’s standout feature is its inter-game economy, allowing players to transfer currencies between different games seamlessly.Wemade’s upcoming showcase of its blockchain gaming vision and WEMIX PLAY’s ecosystem will take place at G-STAR 2023, a global game exhibition happening from November 16 to 19 in Busan, Korea.