Eggverse and Weracle team up to bolster NFT gaming ecosystem

Bitpowr, a digital asset custody and blockchain wallet provider that concentrates on the African market, is looking to expand in Asia having achieved a recent crypto transaction milestone. $200 million in total transactionsThe company has exceeded $200 million in total transactions processed since its launch in January 2022. The milestone demonstrates the firm’s efforts in furthering its mission to democratize finance with accessibility for all through crypto. The achievement was outlined recently in a report by TechCabal, a pan-African publication that covers innovation and tech developments across Africa. Bitpowr provides a modular ecosystem of Web3 and blockchain infrastructure to aid enterprises in building out blockchain-powered solutions.Photo by Kyle Glenn on UnsplashAsian clientele on the ascendancyIn a recent interview, Toby Oyetoke, the co-founder of Bitpowr, disclosed a noteworthy shift in customer demographics, with Asian clientele now surpassing their African counterparts in contributing to the company's $200 million transaction milestone. The Bitpowr co-founder believes that this signals a growing demand in the Asian market for accessible blockchain tools and infrastructure which are necessary for financial institutions seeking to launch and scale their products and services, relative to Web3. Oyetoke shared insights into Bitpowr's financial performance, stating:“Currently, we do up to $20 million per month in terms of traction volume processed, and that is from April 2022 till now. We now generate more revenue than we spend. We are cash flow positive.” There have been signs that inter-regional trade between the African and Asian regions is growing where crypto-related payment gateways and solutions are concerned. At the end of last month, Klasha, an Africa-based cross-border payments company, partnered with Singapore-headquartered digital payments firm FOMO Pay with a view towards better enabling Asian merchants to trade with African businesses over crypto-enabled payment rails. A recent Chainalysis report revealed Asia as the largest cryptocurrency market globally. Its crypto adoption index prominently featured Asian nations such as India, Thailand and Vietnam among the top grouping of nations where adoption of the digital asset innovation is concerned. Bitpowr co-founder Amarachi Amaechi is equally enthused about Asian market growth opportunities. She stated: “There is a good demand from Asia right now. We are seeing increasing representation in transaction volume which also translates to an increase in revenue for us.”   Amaechi outlined that the firm intends to hire people from Asian countries in order to market the company’s service offering in those markets. Focus on Southeast AsiaLooking ahead, Bitpowr is setting its sights on expanding further into the Asian market, particularly in Southeast Asia, while maintaining its operations in Africa. The company aims to establish its ledger and wallet infrastructure during this strategic expansion. Bitpowr has also announced that it has achieved SOC 2 compliance, meaning that it follows strict information security policies and procedures. It has also initiated the implementation of the ISO 27001 audit process through its partnership with New York-headquartered compliance specialist Thoropass. The company's expansion into the Asian market is anticipated to not only accelerate its own growth but also offer customers in the region access to innovative digital asset solutions, supporting them in achieving their financial goals.   

Singaporean regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has awarded cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp a Major Payment Institution (MPI) trading license.Photo by Julien de Salaberry on UnsplashExpanding into APACIn a blog post published on July 3, Bitstamp proclaimed that it is “globally trusted & now licensed in Singapore.” The company described the acquisition of the license as a milestone that “marks the start of [its] expansion into the APAC region.” It emerged in June 2024 that Bitstamp had been acquired by American trading platform Robinhood. The $200 million acquisition was finally completed last month. Bitstamp signaled last September that it planned to expand its institutional business across Australia and Asia. Earlier this year, parent company Robinhood outlined that it would use Bitstamp to crypto offerings in Singapore in 2025.Acquiring licensesAt that time, Johann Kerbrat, vice-president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto, said that “part of the reason why Bitstamp was attractive was because of their licenses with Singapore, in addition to its institutional business.” This latest license award strengthens the company’s efforts in gaining more traction in Asia. Licensing is all the more relevant given the recent actions of the Singaporean regulator. Last month, MAS set a June 30 deadline for unlicensed crypto firms operating out of the city-state and serving overseas customers to cease offering such services. Over recent years, Singapore has been striving towards establishing itself as a global hub for crypto startups. It has been successful in that endeavor insofar as a whole host of international crypto businesses have established a presence there.  However, its recent move to curb unlicensed firms working out of Singapore in providing services internationally has been interpreted as a much more cautious approach being taken by the Singaporean authorities. The regulator clarified its concerns recently:”MAS has set the bar high for licensing and will generally not issue a licence. The money laundering risks are higher in such business models and if their substantive regulated activity is outside of Singapore, MAS is unable to effectively supervise such persons. Without a licence, such DTSPs [Digital Token Service Providers] will have to cease their regulated activities.”Caution in Singapore to benefit Hong KongSingapore has been competing with cities like Hong Kong to develop and maintain that crypto hub status. Some commentators have expressed the view that Hong Kong will benefit from this latest move in Singapore.  Joshua Chu, a lawyer who co-chairs the Hong Kong Web3 Association, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) recently that “this is likely to attract quality projects [to Hong Kong] looking for a compliant, liquid, and globally connected base.” In addition to licensing achieved in Asia, Bitstamp has acquired licensing in a number of European countries such as Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands. Last month, Robinhood launched the trading of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for users resident within the European Union (EU). It also revealed that it is in the process of building out a layer-2 network on top of the Arbitrum blockchain with a view towards using it to host tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).

South Korean Job Seekers to Benefit from Digital Badges for License CredentialsSouth Korean job seekers will soon be able to enjoy the convenience of proving their license credentials with digital badges based on non-fungible tokens (NFTs).The South Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor has announced that its affiliate, the Human Resources Development Service of Korea (HRDK), plans to create a mobile application that supports virtual asset wallets. These wallets will allow citizens to conveniently store their HRDK-issued licenses in the form of digital badges.Photo by Gül Işık on PexelsNFT-based digital badgesThese digital badges, which are based on NFTs, will also serve as proof of certification for HRDK’s education and training courses. Decentralized identifiers (DIDs) based on blockchain technology will prevent forgery and counterfeiting and improve personal information protection. The incorporation of gaming elements within NFTs is expected to motivate citizens to engage in continuous learning.Chosen as this year’s state-led blockchain initiative last December, the digital badge project is supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA). HRDK aims to complete the transformation of its 18.5 million issued licenses into digital badges by the end of this year. The project also involves digitizing vocational training certificates issued by the Korea Employment Information Services (KEIS), which has an average annual issuance of 3.6 million certificates. Access to these badges will also be facilitated through not only state-managed mobile ID wallets but also private platform wallets.In the context of employment and career management, individuals have traditionally received paper certificates and had to deliver them to relevant organizations. This process often involved inconvenience, as it required in-person visits, mailing, or scanning. Moreover, individuals faced the hassle of repeatedly obtaining the same certificate due to expiration dates and storage concerns.Seamless certificate managementWith the introduction of the digital badge service, users will be able to download a mobile application on their smart devices. This app will enable them to access their national certificates, allowing them to view their qualification and training completion information at any time. Additionally, users will gain the convenience of instantly submitting or verifying their certificates remotely through their mobile devices whenever necessary.HRDK will further enhance its services through strategic partnerships with credentialing organizations from both the public and private sectors.Kim Young-joong, the Acting President of HRDK, emphasized the significance of national licenses and training certificates as objective measures of individuals’ performance and skills, underscoring their importance in the employment landscape. He further expressed HRDK’s commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction by leveraging cutting-edge technology and efficient data management practices to drive innovation in public services.