Korbit relists blockchain gaming token WEMIX

A Cambodia-headquartered financial group recently cut off from the U.S. financial system is suspected of having operated in South Korea, raising fresh questions about cross-border crypto and currency flows tied to the group. According to the Dong-A Ilbo, which cited data from the Korea Customs Service (KCS), Huione Group—now sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)—appears to have run a currency exchange in Seoul from 2018 to July 2024. The outlet reported that a banner on the premises displayed a logo identical to Huione’s, prompting suspicions about its ownership and control.Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on PexelsTies to North Korean hackersThe exchange reported conducting roughly $20,000 in annual currency conversions during that period, excluding cryptocurrency transactions. The timeline overlaps with a period in which Huione Group reportedly received $150,000 in cryptocurrency from the North Korean hacking group Lazarus.  Connections also extend to Cambodia. Panda Bank—a local lender that shares a building with Huione subsidiaries—supports USDT transactions originating from South Korea. Panda Bank director He Yanming is listed as the owner of Huione Crypto, a virtual asset service provider (VASP), suggesting potential links between operations in Seoul and Phnom Penh. These developments come against the backdrop of a U.S. investigation disclosed in May, in which FinCEN said Huione’s business networks, including payments arm Huione Pay, collectively laundered at least $4 billion in illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025. Crypto used in $2.6B illegal conversionsMeanwhile, recent KCS data also shows a rise in illegal currency conversions involving cryptocurrency by foreign nationals. The Korea Economic Daily reported conversions totaling 432 billion won ($302 million) in 2021, climbing to 836 billion won ($584.5 million) in 2023 and 956 billion won ($668.4 million) last year. Over the past eight years, the total amount involved in such cases reached 3.7 trillion won ($2.59 billion) across 28 instances. By value, Chinese nationals accounted for 84.1% of the total, followed by Australians (11.1%), Vietnamese (3.2%), and Russians (1.6%). The growing prevalence of cryptocurrency in illicit activity parallels a broader surge in crypto investment within the country. Many South Koreans have turned to digital assets, often with home ownership as a long-term goal. Trading on local exchanges, Bloomberg reported, is heavily skewed toward more volatile altcoins, which make up more than 80% of total volume.  That stands in contrast to global markets, where investors largely focus on Bitcoin and Ethereum, which together make up more than half of overall trading. The momentum in local crypto investment intensified after Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential victory, with crypto trading in Korea reaching $27 billion in December 2024, about 80% of turnover on the KOSPI stock index. The investigation underscores the growing challenge for regulators in tracking and containing cross-border financial networks that rely on cryptocurrency and informal money transfers. As crypto adoption deepens in South Korea and scrutiny widens abroad, authorities find themselves navigating an increasingly intricate intersection of financial opportunity, enforcement, and risk. 

Singapore’s Whampoa Plans Crypto-Friendly Bank in BahrainSingapore-based privately held investment firm Whampoa Group has announced that it plans to open a crypto-friendly digital bank in the Kingdom of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.Photo by Charles-Adrien Fournier on UnsplashIsland state diversificationThe island state has been looking to diversify from its predominantly oil-based economy into fintech and finance. Whampoa Group CEO Shawn Chan said that the company was “impressed by Bahrain’s solid reputation in the financial services sector, transparent regulatory framework, and ongoing pledge to collaborate and innovate.”Chan added that Whampoa would commit to providing “secure and innovative digital financial solutions in line with global best practices” relative to the proposed digital bank, with an eye towards setting a benchmark for the industry where digitally-native banking is concerned.Persian Gulf crypto hubsThe Persian Gulf is proving to be a crypto-friendly region in recent times. Bahrain is one of a number of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries vying for digital asset-related business. The country’s financial services sector contributes in excess of 17% to Bahraini gross domestic product (GDP). Bahrain has been one of the first in the region to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets, together with a crypto asset licensing system.Its Persian Gulf neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, including the individual emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, have followed a similar path, establishing a workable set of regulatory rules in relation to digital assets, alongside licensing of crypto businesses.CEO of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, Khalid Humaidan welcomed Whompoa’s decision to establish the business in Bahrain, emphasizing the importance of crypto-friendly digital banking to support further development of crypto business in Bahrain, while bolstering the infrastructure available to existing digital asset businesses operating within the Kingdom.Doors open in 2023The bank is scheduled to open later this year, providing integrated financial services covering traditional banking, together with crypto-specific banking activity. That will include digital asset trading and custody, as well as asset management-based products and services.Whompoa’s plan is to gear the bank towards meeting the needs of institutions, innovators and crypto start-up companies and sophisticated global investors. Crypto-friendly banking has been a perennial problem that has stymied the development of the digital assets sector since its emergence.That problem has gotten worse rather than better more recently, with a mixture of banking failures and a crypto sector crackdown leading to the closure of crypto-friendly banks like Silvergate and Signature in the United States in recent months.In East Asia, Hong Kong, while shaping up to compete on the global stage as a crypto-hub, has seen crypto businesses experience difficulty in terms of securing banking within the Chinese autonomous territory. Efforts are being made to alleviate that issue. Furthermore, Hong Kong’s largest virtual bank, ZA Bank, has set out to become the go-to bank for crypto start-up banking in the city.Experiences elsewhere exemplify how crucial banking infrastructure is to the embryonic digital assets sector. It underscores the important role that Whompoa could play in boosting crypto sector business in the island state of Bahrain as digital asset innovation continues to be rolled out.

Singapore’s Terraform Labs, the company founded by incarcerated crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a mechanism to shield itself from potential severe penalties in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) securities fraud lawsuit.Photo by Melinda Gimpel on UnsplashPursuing an appealThe bankruptcy filing, submitted on Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, aims to allow Terraform Labs to pursue an appeal against the SEC's allegations. In the filing, Terraform Labs CEO Chris Amani emphasized the critical nature of the bankruptcy protection for the company's ongoing operations, preservation of value for creditors, including the Terra community, and the pursuit of an appeal against the SEC enforcement action. Amani expressed concerns that, without Chapter 11 protection, the company could face liquidation after the trial, forfeiting its right to appeal and leading to disastrous consequences for its business. Having acted as Terraform’s chief operating officer earlier in 2023, last July Amani was appointed as the firm’s CEO. Protection afforded by Chapter 11The estimated assets and liabilities of Terraform Labs fall between $100 million and $500 million, as disclosed in the firm’s bankruptcy filing earlier this month. Amani highlighted the potential financial strain resulting from a substantial money judgment, indicating that the company might not be able to satisfy such a judgment or post the necessary supersedeas bond for an appeal, a bond that must be provided by a petitioner who attempts to have a judgment set aside, without the protection afforded by Chapter 11. The SEC charged Terraform Labs and former CEO Do Kwon with securities fraud in February 2023, accusing them of orchestrating a "multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud." The Commission claimed the company raised billions from investors through unregistered transactions, offering an interconnected suite of crypto asset securities. Terraform Labs disputes the SEC's summary judgment decision, asserting that the cryptocurrency tokens in question are not securities under the Acts and that the SEC's jurisdiction is not applicable. The potential consequences of liquidation extend beyond the company itself, impacting hundreds of thousands of Luna cryptocurrency holders, the same individuals the SEC purportedly seeks to protect. Luna operates on the Terra blockchain maintained by Terraform Labs. Terraform Labs, known for the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD and its sister cryptocurrency Luna, filed for bankruptcy protection in the wake of the infamous collapse of both in May 2022. The SEC's case stems from that $40 billion collapse of TerraUSD and a previous version of Luna, accusing Terraform Labs and Kwon of misleading investors about the stability of TerraUSD. Kwon was arrested in March of last year in Montenegro for using false documents. He is currently detained in Montenegro, following his attempt to travel to Dubai with a fake Costa Rican passport. The Terraform founder is currently awaiting extradition to either the United States or South Korea. Both Do Kwon and Terraform Labs deny committing fraud, with the SEC trial scheduled to commence in New York in late March.