Socket Protocol Raises $5M in Strategic Partnership

Audius Achieves Token Listing On India’s CoinSwitchAudius, a decentralized music streaming platform which is attempting to cut intermediaries out of the music business, took a major leap forward in the Asian market on Wednesday, scoring a listing of its native $AUDIO token on Indian crypto exchange, CoinSwitch.Photo by Studio Art Smile on PexelsIn announcing the token going live on the platform CoinSwitch encouraged platform users to “trade $AUDIO today and support independent artists worldwide.” Founded in the United States in 2018 by Stanford University graduates Forrest Browning and Roneil Rumberg, the project launched its $AUDIO token in 2020.The token commenced trading on top tier global crypto exchanges shortly afterwards. In terms of listings on Asian exchanges, $AUDIO can be traded on DigitFinex Global, Bitrue and BingX in Singapore, HitBTC and Hotbit in Hong Kong and Tokocrypto and INDODAX in Indonesia. While it is already listed on WazirX, India’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, the project will welcome another Indian listing via CoinSwitch given a market that ranks sixth in the world in terms of crypto ownership, with a backdrop of a population of 1.4 billion.Web3 with a Web2 UXAudius has taken a different approach than most other crypto projects. From the outset, its founders have focused on giving the platform the look and feel of a Web2 streaming service. Audius decided to embed its non-custodial wallet Hedgehog into the user login process.The strategy has been to make the UX as customer friendly and intuitive as possible in order to aid user on-boarding. There have been trade-offs in taking this approach and with that, the project advises users to keep only a small amount of the $AUDIO token within the Hedgehog wallet. When Hedgehog was launched in 2019, a project blog post proclaimed that “decentralization doesn’t have to come at the expense of user experience.”TikTok integrationEarlier this year, the Web3 streaming service integrated TikTok, allowing platform users to create accounts simply by linking their TikTok profiles. Additionally, the integration meant that users could share their Audius songs in the TikTok videos they produced.In late January, the $AUDIO token jumped 70% in a matter of hours once it became known that Coinbase planned to list the token on January 26. While a CoinSwitch listing is a significant milestone for the project in the Indian market, naturally it doesn’t compare with the volume that a global exchange listing on Coinbase can bring. At the time of publication, the $AUDIO token was trading at $0.29.For its part, CoinSwitch has experienced many of the ups and downs that this nascent industry could possibly deliver. In August 2022, five properties associated with the crypto exchange were searched by India’s Enforcement Directorate on the grounds of suspected contravention of India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).Founded in 2017 by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni and Vimal Sagar Tiwari, the firm has attracted investment and backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global Management and Paradigm.

Japan’s FSA Joins Project Guardian of Singapore’s MAS to Explore Digital Asset ApplicationsThe Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Japan has announced its participation in “Project Guardian,” an initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), as part of their ongoing cooperation framework established in 2017 to boost fintech linkages. The FSA will be an observer in the project, which aims to explore the potential of digital assets.Photo by Joshua Miranda on PexelsExploring fintechProject Guardian, initiated by MAS in May 2022, aims to engage the financial industry in exploring the feasibility of incorporating asset tokenization, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other financial technologies. Together, the MAS and the participants of this endeavor aim to execute pilot projects, shape pertinent policies, and establish technical standards.For pilot projects, the MAS works with traditional financial institutions and fintech firms in Singapore and other jurisdictions to understand potential benefits and risks associated with digital assets. For policy development, the project participants strive to develop rulebooks and governance models, as well as to review the legal and regulatory frameworks that govern tokenized assets. These collaborations also seek to establish technical standards concerning trust anchors, which are qualified third-party authentication service providers; open networks; and institutional-grade DeFi protocols.Comments from officialsExpressing enthusiasm about the collaboration, Leong Sing Chiong, Deputy Managing Director of the MAS, stated, “We welcome FSA’s participation in Project Guardian. We look forward to greater public-private collaboration with FSA to support global efforts in developing a responsible and innovative digital asset ecosystem.”Mamoru Yanase, Deputy Director-General of the Strategy Development and Management Bureau at the FSA, also expressed delight at joining Project Guardian. He said, “We are delighted to join the Project Guardian. Decentralized financial ecosystem continues to develop in complexity, and it is important to address emerging risks. Blockchain technology including web3 has a potential to become a strong driver of innovation. We look forward to working with MAS, traditional financial institutions and FinTech firms to further enhance our knowledge in this area.”By participating in Project Guardian, the FSA and MAS are reinforcing their commitment to exploring the potential of digital assets while addressing regulatory considerations. This collaborative effort is poised to contribute to the responsible and innovative development of the global digital asset ecosystem.

Shots Fired in New OKX Ad CampaignGlobal crypto spot and derivatives exchange OKX has launched a daring ad campaign that sets US-based rival exchange Coinbase firmly in its cross hairs.The formerly Chinese and now Seychelles-based exchange has pushed out a global ad campaign along the following theme: “The system doesn’t need an upgrade; it needs a rewrite.” The ads were launched on Tuesday, pointing out the ills of the traditional, centralized financial system.Photo by Merakist on UnsplashCrypto exchange rivalryThe advert doesn’t explicitly call out its rival, Coinbase. However, it is nuanced in taking a subtle dig at the US-based exchange. Exactly two months prior, on March 9, Coinbase released its own ad campaign. Coinbase claimed in its ad that “it’s time to update the system,” with OKX’s subsequent commercial having been carefully worded to poke fun at the Coinbase commercial.With a number of high profile epic failures of crypto businesses over the past twelve months, including the fall of FTX, the remaining exchanges in the business have been tripping over themselves in an effort to convince the alternative asset-investing public that theirs is the safest platform upon which they can securely trade.In its sixty second commercial, OKX poses the question “why don’t we change everything?”, set up by its claim that the conventional finance system is broken.The last of the big spendersThere’s been a notable change of strategy in the marketing activities of crypto businesses since the height of the last crypto bull run. Gone are the marketing excesses exemplified most by the now bankrupt FTX exchange.FTX demonstrated itself to be a profligate spender on all manner and means of marketing, particularly during 2021 and 2022. It paid Wall Street investor and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary $15 million to be a spokesperson for the company. Similar deals were struck with a range of celebrities including former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, NFL stars such as former New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, and a host of others.At the height of its marketing opulence, the fraudulently run firm signed a $135 million sponsorship deal that provided it with the naming rights to the home stadium of the NBA’s Miami Heat. 2022's Super Bowl, one of the world’s largest single marketing opportunities, saw FTX and others pay out big on advertising spend.By contrast, this year’s Super Bowl was almost a complete washout as far as crypto business participation was concerned. Meanwhile, all of the celebrities that featured in FTX’s marketing activities have found themselves the subject of multi-million dollar class action lawsuits filed by FTX creditors.A more sobering marketing strategyDespite the reputational damage that crypto has suffered due to these high profile failures, firms like OKX and Coinbase have continued to maintain a responsible level of advertising and marketing activity.That’s best exemplified by OKX’s ongoing marketing relationships with McLaren’s Formula One racing team and Manchester City Football Club. In March, US-based crypto exchange Kraken announced a marketing partnership with the Williams Formula One racing team.Crypto.com is probably the only crypto firm that spent excessively during the last bull run yet has continued to maintain a relatively high level of marketing activity. Much of that may have been due to commitments it had made during a more buoyant market. Notwithstanding that, the firm did fall foul of the UK advertising regulator, who banned its NFT promotion in December 2022.