First spot bitcoin ETF filed in Hong Kong

DWF Labs, a Singapore-based crypto sector investment firm and market maker, has decided to move its headquarters to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Alongside its current offices and headquarters in Singapore, the company has established offices in Dubai, Hong Kong, Switzerland, South Korea and the British Virgin Islands (BVI).Photo by Adnan Uddin on PexelsFocusing on MENA growthIn an X post published on Dec. 2, DWF Labs Co-Founder Andrei Grachev announced the change of headquarters location from Singapore to Abu Dhabi, stating: “In order to build a strong presence in the Middle East and run more RWA [Real World Assets] and financial services there, @DWFLabs is moving the headquarter to Abu Dhabi.” Grachev added that more news in this regard will be announced soon, advising stakeholders to stay tuned regarding the matter. In the past, the DWF Labs founder has highlighted the significance of the Middle Eastern market.  Earlier this year, he suggested that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market is “one of the fastest growing markets in the world,” while commenting on the firm’s partnership with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), a Dubai-based ecosystem for blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.  That isn’t the firm’s only partnership within the UAE. In September, it emerged that it had partnered with Abu Dhabi-based Web3 venture capital firm Klumi Ventures. The firms intend to collaborate in relation to the offering of strategic crypto advisory services in the UAE, investments and market making, market education and in the facilitation of over-the-counter (OTC) deals and crypto asset options. Strategic positioningAt the time, Grachev said that the two firms were “strategically positioned to drive the digital transformation in the UAE,” with the ability to empower both new market entrants and established institutions to succeed within the digital assets arena. It appears that Grachev has been spending a significant amount of time in Abu Dhabi of late. On Sept. 25, he posted on X that he had arrived in Abu Dhabi and was “cooking something special for the industry.” He followed up on that more recently, posting a selfie on X on Nov. 25 with the caption “Chef cooking in Abu Dhabi.” The authorities in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as Singapore, have all been working towards attracting crypto startups to their cities. All of them have had some success in that regard, although DWF Labs’ move away from Singapore indicates how competitive this environment is and how mobile crypto startups are. ADGM crypto hubIn the case of Abu Dhabi, most crypto sector activity has happened within the city’s international financial centre (ADGM), which has attracted projects such as the Kaia DLT Foundation, stablecoin issuer Paxos, blockchain infrastructure firm Blockdaemon, crypto custodian Liminal, crypto venture capital fund Token Bay Capital and many others. DWF Labs was first founded in Singapore in 2022. It has established ecosystem funds and grants relative to projects such as EOS, Floki, Gala Chain, Klaytn and TON. Additionally, the firm has just announced the launch of a $20 million fund focused on meme coin projects.

Haru Invest Considers Server Suspension as Troubles PersistIn the wake of halting withdrawals in June, Haru Invest, a Singapore-headquartered cryptocurrency platform, is contemplating the suspension of its server. This decision is part of the firm’s ongoing efforts to streamline operations and reduce maintenance costs.Photo by David Guenther on UnsplashCost reductionCEO Hugo Lee made the announcement on Monday, underscoring the significant burden of server maintenance costs on the company’s finances. He acknowledged that this cost represents a substantial portion of their fixed expenses and is thus a top priority for the firm.Lee disclosed:“We plan to suspend the service in a few weeks, backing up all member information.”However, he also noted that the company is yet to finalize a concrete plan for the server suspension.The move to shut down the server aligns with Haru Invest’s broader strategy to lower all costs associated with its services. Lee explained:“Some of the current fixed expenditures include the upkeep of Haru Invest services, the cost of workspace like the office, and the cost of communication with our members.”The company is actively seeking ways to reduce these expenses and preserve its assets.Asset distributionAdditionally, Lee assured users that the assets conserved thus far would be included in the distribution to those who have had their funds locked on the platform since June, offering a glimmer of hope to impacted users.Nevertheless, the announcement of the server suspension has raised concerns within the Haru Invest community. Some users have expressed skepticism about the purported high costs of server maintenance, believing the firm’s claim to be exaggerated.One user, voicing this discontent, commented on Haru Invest’s Telegram channel, “Server costs cost nothing.” Another remarked: “Servers are gone soon guys, huge costs, 200 USD a month.” According to industry standards, the maintenance costs for running a server for a small to medium-sized business typically range between $35 to $500 per month.Unhappy platform usersLee’s statement regarding the impending server suspension follows the platform’s earlier decision to terminate deposits and withdrawals in June. This decision was coupled with the closure of Haru Invest’s offices and the dismissal of numerous employees, as reported by local news agencies.Haru Invest attributed these issues to the fraudulent activities of the consignment operator B&S Holdings, formerly known as Aventus. While some investors accused the firm of orchestrating a “rug pull,” Haru Invest denied these allegations and maintained its innocence. One user posted the following claim on X (formerly Twitter) last week: “Rugpull. If justice is served, the scammers will be behind bars.”In a bid to address concerns over its corporate rehabilitation application, Lee appeared in court in September, emphasizing that Haru Invest was actively cooperating with investigating agencies. However, the company has yet to provide a timeline for the recovery of users’ assets as of early October.Lee also addressed the matter in Monday’s statement: “We are also responding to the rehabilitation proceedings that some of our members have filed with the court as mentioned in our previous announcement, in addition to actively cooperating with other authorities’ investigations. ”Haru Invest is reportedly facing a class-action lawsuit with disgruntled investors alleging fraud.

About three years ago, in March 2021, the South Korean financial regulators implemented the Specific Financial Transaction Information Act to ensure that local cryptocurrency exchanges provide safe and sound crypto trading services to investors. It was also a move to prevent exchanges and investors from engaging in illicit money laundering practices.  However, the law has come across as a hassle to many crypto exchanges, as they were required to undergo verification processes to prove their reliability and to receive real-name accounts from banks. These accounts enable their users to trade crypto against the Korean won, helping exchanges stand out in the fiercely competitive crypto market amid surging Bitcoin prices. At the moment, only five crypto exchanges in Korea are qualified to provide such services. Bithumb, one of these few qualified fiat-to-crypto exchanges, has renewed its real-name account contract with NH Nonghyup Bank (NH Bank) for six more months, according to local news media Yonhap News Agency. Photo by Robin Jonathan Deutsch on UnsplashVarious factors in play for relatively short renewalCrypto insiders say that extending the contract for only six months appears to be quite a conservative move, as Bithumb has been making a year-long contract with NH Bank every year since 2018. Experts suggest various factors may have influenced Bithumb's decision, including the volatile crypto market, the Virtual Asset User Protection Act becoming effective in July and the exchange's planned initial public offering (IPO).  Some say the relatively short renewal of the contract comes after a flurry of complaints from Bithumb users about the unfavorable user experience, including the cumbersome process they must go through to increase the deposit limit of their real-name accounts linked to Bithumb. This appeared to have prompted Bithumb to feel reluctant about the 6-year-long collaboration and seek a partnership with another bank such as KB Kookmin Bank or the online-only Kakao Bank, according to local media Bizwatch. One bank official said that the relatively short renewal reflects Bithumb and NH Bank's commitment to addressing the inefficiencies of crypto transaction services, as the two companies plan to enhance their investor experience and marketing efforts over the next six months.  Crypto boom drives partnership between exchanges and banks NH Bank appears to be persuading Bithumb to maintain their partnership, one bank official said, because providing real-name accounts to crypto exchanges not only benefits exchanges but also banks. Having young crypto investors – mostly in their 20s to 40s – open real-name accounts at banks is seen as a significant opportunity to expand their customer base. One crypto insider said the ability to issue real-name accounts usually puts banks in a superior position when entering a partnership with crypto exchanges, but that doesn't seem to be the case in times like this when the crypto market is bullish more than ever.