Chinese state publication calls for crackdown on crypto

Symbiotic, a shared security protocol project that seeks to create a marketplace for blockchain network economic security, has raised $29 million in a Series A funding round.The funding round related to the Dubai-headquartered project was led by American venture capital and hedge fund firm Pantera Capital. Other funding round participants included Coinbase Ventures and a long list of angel investors, including Aave CEO Stani Kulechov, 1inch co-founder Anton Bukov, Conduit founder Andrew Huang and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashBuilding out ‘universal staking’Announcing the Series A funding on social media, the project stated that it is building “universal staking” and with that, transforming “how blockchains implement security and economic alignment.”Symbiotic started out as an Ethereum-centric restaking project. It announced last August that its staking infrastructure had been deployed across 14 blockchain networks. Symbiotic co-founder Misha Putiatin told Blockworks that in now working towards building out a universal staking framework, it's going to double the number of supported blockchain networks. He stated: “This isn’t a pivot, it’s an expansion — a natural progression of the vision we started with.” In a press release publicizing the funding round, Pantera Capital Managing Partner Paul Veradittakit described universal staking as “the next step in blockchain infrastructure.” Describing Symbiotic’s business proposition, he said that the firm “unlocks economic coordination between assets and networks that were previously impossible,” allowing these assets “to easily serve as economic security while enabling entirely new use cases across DeFi.” Team & product expansionThe funding will also be used to expand the project’s current team. It will also expand its product offering beyond restaking, putting support in place for other staking activities. Symbiotic stated that beyond blockchain network security, the protocol supports other use cases, including insurance and other financial products.Putiatin told CoinDesk that the company is building infrastructure, and that its task going forward “is to improve on that by a huge margin.” The Symbiotic co-founder added that the company is catering to the needs of market participants who don’t want to share their security. He added: “They want to build their own security vertical and their own alignment, just using us.” Symbiotic emerged in June 2024 with backing from Konstantin Lomashuk and Vasiliy Shapovalov, co-founders of the Lido liquid staking protocol. At that time, the project attracted $5.8 million in seed funding, with the funding round having been led by crypto investment firm Paradigm and tech-oriented investment company cyber•Fund. It initially introduced a devnet on the Ethereum Holesky testnet. Following a considerable period of development, the project eventually launched on the Ethereum mainnet in January. The same month, the firm added customizable slashing capabilities to its restaking system. Slashing refers to a penalty system imposed on validators of proof-of-stake (PoS)-based networks.Symbiotic was introduced to the market as an alternative to EigenLayer, the restaking protocol with the largest share of total value locked (TVL). It differs from the market leader insofar as Symbiotic’s users can deposit any ERC-20 token into the protocol, whereas EigenLayer only facilitates ETH.

Wemade Releases Sustainability Report to Demonstrate Commitment to TransparencyWemade, a leading South Korean blockchain gaming company, has published its 2022 sustainability report, demonstrating its commitment to transparency and effective communication with shareholders and investors.Photo by Ash from Modern Afflatus on UnsplashThree ESG objectivesIn the report, Wemade CEO Henry Chang outlined three key objectives focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. These objectives are strengthening the company’s eco-friendly practices, nurturing future minds in the blockchain industry, and establishing a transparent governance framework.Wemade’s WEMIX 3.0 ecosystem is built on three main pillars: the global blockchain gaming platform WEMIX PLAY, the DAO-based NFT platform NILE, and the decentralized finance service WEMIX.Fi. These platforms are supported by the WEMIX token and WEMIX Dollar (WEMIX$), which are key currencies within the ecosystem. WEMIX$ is fully backed by USD Coin (USDC).The WEMIX token is listed on more than 17 cryptocurrency exchanges, including KuCoin, Gate.io, and Bybit, according to CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, WEMIX$ can be traded on WEMIX.Fi and centralized exchange BitMart.Transparency initiativesThe report highlights various transparency initiatives undertaken by the company. Wemade has partnered with crypto data platform Xangle, intending to enable users to monitor the real-time circulation of the WEMIX token. The company has also established a protocol investment committee of five members to review and approve diverse projects. Furthermore, the report mentions that all of the undistributed WEMIX tokens are held by institutional custodian Ceffu (formerly known as Binance Custody) to ensure WEMIX’s stability.According to the report, Wemade is committed to effective communication with stakeholders worldwide, including shareholders, token investors, and gamers. CEO Chang’s quarterly conferences play a significant role in unveiling the platform’s policies and answering stakeholders’ questions. Additionally, the company ensures the dissemination of information in multiple languages (Korean, English, Chinese, Spanish, and Indonesian), catering to global WEMIX token holders.CEO Chang underlined the company’s dedication to enhancing corporate transparency and fulfilling its social responsibilities. These measures are aimed at facilitating the sustainable growth of the blockchain company.

A Korean Lawmaker’s Crypto Holdings Worth $4.5M Spark ControversySouth Korean lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk, a member of the opposition party Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has recently come under scrutiny due to his reported possession of 800,000 WEMIX tokens from January to February last year, as reported by the Maeil Business Newspaper. These tokens were worth approximately 6 billion KRW or $4.5 million at the time. While Korean lawmakers are obligated to disclose their wealth, virtual assets are an exception. The disclosure of Kim’s ownership of these tokens has ignited controversy, as it unveiled a wealth magnitude significantly greater than previously understood.Photo by Karolina Grabowska on PexelsTravel Rule regulationA central issue in the unfolding dispute is the source of Kim’s investment in the WEMIX tokens. It has been reported that he purchased a significant amount of these tokens between January and February last year and withdrew the entire sum between February and March before the crypto exchange implemented measures to comply with the Travel Rule regulation. This rule requires that financial authorities be informed of transactions over 10 million KRW ($7,500). After the crypto exchange reported the transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Financial Services Commission, the government agency requested a warrant to search Kim’s account due to the transactions’ abnormality. However, the court dismissed the request.Jeonse deposit to LG Display sharesIn response to the controversy, Kim took to a YouTube channel on Tuesday to explain his WEMIX token investments. He stated that he had retrieved 600 million KRW ($450,000) after his jeonse contract expired and used the money to purchase LG Display shares. Jeonse a housing rental system in Korea where tenants put up a lump-sum refundable deposit on a rental space for a two-year stay. Kim claims that these LG Display shares later rose in value to 985.7 million KRW ($744,000) in January 2021 and that he used this sum to purchase the tokens.Account balance and WEMIX tokensDespite his explanation, there are still questions surrounding Kim’s sudden increase in his bank account balance. His account balance reportedly increased from 100 million KRW ($76,000) at the end of 2020 to 1.12 billion KRW ($850,000) by the end of 2021, which raised suspicions. If Kim had directed all the money withdrawn from the LG Display shares to WEMIX tokens, it is unclear where the additional $774,000 in his account came from. Kim has reportedly explained to his party’s leadership that he retrieved the principal amount of his investment due to the increase in the WEMIX token price. However, this explanation has not satisfied some critics.Insufficient explanationIn an attempt to address these concerns, Kim shared part of his bank transaction records on Monday. However, this disclosure has fallen short of addressing all the questions that have been raised, such as the precise amount invested in the tokens and their purchase prices. There is still significant public scrutiny and skepticism surrounding Kim’s explanation for his crypto holdings, and it remains to be seen if further disclosures will be made.Kim apologized to the Korean public via Facebook for any disappointment caused, especially amid challenging economic conditions. However, he denied accusations of using undisclosed information or unlawfully acquiring wealth. Kim maintained that all transactions were transparently made using only his own wallets through his real-name bank accounts.Potential insider trading and conflict of interestNevertheless, the public’s acceptance of his explanation is yet to be seen, as questions about his $4.5 million virtual assets persist, particularly given his reported total wealth of around $1.1 million. There are concerns surrounding the possibility of insider trading. Furthermore, Kim’s participation in proposing a bill to defer tax implementation on digital assets has triggered suspicions of a potential conflict of interest.Call for an impartial third partyRecent updates indicate that the prosecution is considering requesting a warrant against Kim in relation to the controversy surrounding his crypto holdings. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission is also examining if his participation in proposing the bill constitutes a conflict of interest. It is evident that an impartial third party will need to investigate and analyze all relevant information to resolve this dispute. Until a thorough and unbiased investigation takes place, the public’s concerns and questions are likely to continue.