Malaysian exchange Hata raises $4.2M

QCP Trading, the trading arm of Singaporean crypto market maker and broker dealer QCP Group, has taken a significant step towards full licensing in Singapore, having been awarded in-principle approval (IPA) for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license by local regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Regulated spot tradingIn a press release published by PR Newswire on behalf of QCP Trading Pte. Ltd. on Nov. 11, the company outlined further details on the receipt of the preliminary license. The company confirmed that the IPA represents an “essential step towards full licensing,” enabling it to prepare to offer regulated spot trading service facilities relative to digital payment tokens. QCP Trading is geared towards facilitating a broad range of crypto spot trading, including the trading of stablecoins and major digital asset tokens. The company offers on/off ramps into and out of cryptocurrency positions via multiple fiat currencies. Photo by Guo Xin Goh on UnsplashOperational expansionDarius Sit, founder of QCP Trading, commented on the development, stating that as the firm continues its pursuit of a full trading license, the focus remains on supporting Singapore’s reputation as a leader in digital asset regulation. Sit added that the company is proud of its “ability to remain agile and responsive to both global and local market conditions,” suggesting that this approach is the key to success in the rapidly evolving crypto sector. QCP Trading intends to continue to build a local team in Singapore and with that it is hiring in order to enable operational expansion. Melvin Deng, the company’s CEO, said that the firm is aiming “to champion robust governance frameworks,” and that its “early recognition of the critical role of regulation has proven to be a strategic foresight." Global expansionThe QCP Group appears to be pursuing a global expansion strategy as back in May, group company QCP Capital received IPA for regulated digital asset trading activities from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the regulator within the Abu Dhabi Global Markets economic zone in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In doing so, it became the first Singapore-headquartered crypto broker and market maker to receive preliminary approval within the Middle East region. At that point, QCP had 70 employees, with plans to relocate some of them to Abu Dhabi. In the lead-up to that IPA licensing award in Abu Dhabi, QCP had partnered with Further Ventures as part of its efforts in expanding into the Middle Eastern market. On Nov. 11, QCP Capital put out a warning via its Telegram channel, informing market participants that given the rise in the unit price of Bitcoin in recent days, it is necessary to be mindful of the risk of pullbacks, which will be required in order to account for the use of leverage within the market. In recent weeks, Fly Wing Technologies, a subsidiary of cryptocurrency service provider Matrixport, and the Singaporean subsidiary of American crypto exchange Gemini have received IPA approval with respect to MPI licensing in Singapore. At the beginning of September, crypto exchange OKX received full MPI approval. 

Bitget Launches Crypto Loans ProductBitget, the Seychelles-based platform known for its crypto derivatives and copy trading services, is venturing into the cryptocurrency loan market with the introduction of its Crypto Loans product.The move, which the company announced via a press release published on Tuesday, is aimed at attracting users who are seeking alternative funding solutions backed by digital assets, as an option beyond traditional credit institutions.Photo by Traxer on UnsplashDual coin approachThe Crypto Loans product employs a dual-coin approach, allowing users to stake one digital asset as collateral and borrow an equivalent amount in another asset. Bitget believes that crypto loans have been gaining popularity in recent years, with the overall digital lending sector surpassing $8.5 billion in 2022 and experiencing a compound annual growth rate of 20.5%, as reported by Global Market Insights.Despite the overall growth in the digital lending area, the crypto loan sector faced significant setbacks in 2022, particularly with the troubles surrounding centralized crypto lending services. Major firms like Celsius, BlockFi, and Voyager Digital suffered collapses and bankruptcy, raising concerns about the trustworthiness of such services in the future.Bitget, however, is confident in its Crypto Loans product, emphasizing that it has streamlined the loan process to ease user onboarding. The amount users can borrow is determined by the market value of the collateral staked, and the loan is automatically disbursed with a specific interest rate. Borrowers have the flexibility to utilize the funds as needed and adjust the collateral based on their requirements.Swift loans processIt also has the option to repay the loan before or at the predetermined deadline. To further encourage user adoption, Bitget promises support for withdrawals and a swift review process for loan applications. The feature is expected to provide added convenience and ease of use for users.Bitget’s Managing Director, Gracy Chen, highlighted the advantages of the Crypto Loans product, noting that users can now stake less-demanded coins and obtain loans in more liquid assets for investment purposes. The platform’s flexible borrowing and repayment mechanism is designed to accommodate the needs of all users, ensuring convenience and accessibility.Notably, Bitget has been expanding its presence in the crypto market. In March, the platform acquired a controlling stake in BitKeep, a crypto wallet that has been rebranded as Bitget Wallet. Additionally, Bitget unveiled a $100 million venture fund in April, following a $10 million investment from Dragonfly Capital. In May, it announced the launch of its Blockchain4Youth program, recognizing the importance of the younger demographic in achieving crypto mass adoption.As Bitget ventures into the crypto loan market, it’s aiming to go one further than previous crypto lending providers who have largely failed, to provide a secure and user-friendly platform for borrowing and lending digital assets. The success of the product will depend on user trust and confidence, especially given the setbacks experienced by those other players in the sector in the past. Nonetheless, with its growing user base and strategic investments, Bitget is certainly showing some potential relative to making a mark in the cryptocurrency loan market.

Daehong and Animoca Brands Partner to Leverage NFTs in Expanding Web3 ProjectsDaehong Communications, the marketing solutions arm of South Korean industrial conglomerate Lotte Group, has recently inked a partnership with Animoca Brands, a blockchain gaming company headquartered in Hong Kong.Animoca Brands gained attention earlier this year by raising $5.5 million through the sale of its Mocaverse NFTs. Mocaverse is the membership NFT collection for the Animoca Brands ecosystem. The Hong Kong-based publisher is also the owner of the renowned metaverse gaming platform, The Sandbox.Photo by Shubham’s Web3 on UnsplashConnecting two worlds of NFTsThis collaboration between Daehong Communications and Animoca Brands is intended to expand their respective Web3 projects, focusing on domains like games, communities, and tickets. As a move under this collaboration, Daehong’s Bellygom and Bellyland NFTs will see integration with Mocaverse. Daehong oversees the Bellygom NFT project, while the pink bear character of the project is a promotional tool for Lotte Homeshopping, a media commerce arm of Lotte Group.Moreover, holders of Mocaverse NFTs are set to experience a variety of games, missions, and rewarding systems introduced by Bellyland — Daehong’s second collection of the Bellygom NFT project.Bellygom’s expansion effortsIn recent times, Daehong has been actively driving the growth of the Bellygom NFT project by revealing the project’s details on GitBook in both Korean and English. Furthermore, Daehong has forged alliances with several burgeoning Web3 projects, including decentralized wellness ecosystem Yogapetz, Web3 social media platform Phaver, and Web3 social network CyberConnect.This partnership marks a strategic confluence of marketing solutions and blockchain gaming, aiming to spearhead innovations in a variety of Web3 projects, especially those related to gaming and community building. These efforts are poised to contribute to broadening the horizon of decentralized technologies.