Korean pro female golfers to compete in WEMIX golf tournament this weekend

UAE Emirate Launches Digital Asset Oasis Free ZoneRas Al Khaimah (RAK), one of the seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has launched the RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO), a free zone tailored exclusively for digital and virtual asset enterprises.Photo by Mostafa Ashraf Mostafa on UnsplashFrom conception to launchThe Emirate has been working on the RAK DAO project for some time, having enacted a law to establish the free zone in March of this year. In July it emerged that RAK Digital Assets Oasis had partnered with the HBAR Foundation, the project team behind the Hedera public ledger, with HBAR extending funding and resources to fuel the growth of free zone members.Having put in the hard yards to establish the free zone, RAK DAO, under the patronage of RAK Emirate ruler His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, had its launch event on Thursday. The event included a range of industry speakers including Ledger Chairman and CEO Pascal Gauthier, Animoca Brands Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Yat Siu, DFINITY Founder Dominic Williams, and TON Foundation President Steve Yun, among others.During the event, DAO creation and governance platform DeXe DAO Studio announced its partnership with RAK DAO.With an eye towards keeping the RAK Emirate ahead of the technological curve, RAK DAO aims for the digital assets oasis to become the world’s first free zone dedicated solely to digital and virtual asset companies. While RAK DAO is initially expected to focus on non-financial activities, it holds the potential to introduce financial activities at a later stage.Nurturing Web3 innovationThe mandate of RAK DAO is to provide robust support to companies engaged in cutting-edge technologies. This includes but is not limited to ventures in the metaverse, blockchain, utility tokens, virtual asset wallets, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), decentralized applications (DApps), and various other Web3-related businesses.Entrepreneurs who establish their presence within the confines of this free zone will be granted the privilege of retaining 100% ownership of their enterprises. Moreover, they will benefit from innovative tax schemes and a regulatory framework that is tailored to the unique demands of the digital asset industry.Progressive approach to Web3The UAE, as a nation, has actively pursued and courted crypto and blockchain firms by cultivating a progressive regulatory environment. Dubai led the charge by introducing a virtual assets law and establishing the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority.RAK is not the first Emirate to establish a free zone that caters to crypto and Web3 business within the UAE. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has established the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) while the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) established its own financial regulator in Dubai, paving the way for attractive free zones for digital asset businesses. The Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) even took its commitment a step further by inaugurating its headquarters in The Sandbox in May 2022.Dubai has issued operational licenses to several crypto firms, including prominent names like Binance, Crypto.com, and Nomura’s Laser Digital and digital asset custodian Komainu. These licenses have further solidified the UAE’s position as a preferred destination for crypto, blockchain, and Web3 enterprises.

Well-known crypto exchange HTX and its decentralized autonomous organization (HTX DAO) have restored services following a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The attack, which occurred late last week, briefly disrupted operations. However, HTX swiftly addressed the issue, highlighting the robust security protocols in place. The Seychelles-incorporated exchange confirmed the outage on social media last Friday, only to post an update shortly afterwards to confirm that service had been restored.Photo by Tekton on Unsplash‘Funds are SAFU!’Key industry figure and HTX advisor Justin Sun also took to social media to announce the recovery and express gratitude to the user community for their support. He reassured users that all funds remained secure, underscoring the exchange's dedication to safeguarding user assets. Sun borrowed a phrase first coined by Binance founder Changpeng Zhou (CZ), stating:”All funds are SAFU!” Latest in a string of incidentsThis DDoS attack adds to a series of challenges faced by HTX. In September, the same month in which the company rebranded from Huobi to HTX, hackers exploited the exchange, resulting in a loss of approximately 4,999 ether (ETH) valued at $7.9 million. In November, two Sun-linked protocols, HTX and Heco Bridge, experienced a combined $100 million hack. Despite these incidents, prompt measures, including statements from Justin Sun, ensured the protection of user assets. Having originated in 2013, HTX has evolved into a comprehensive blockchain ecosystem, encompassing digital asset trading, financial derivatives, wallets and various other blockchain-related services. The firm maintains offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and the United States. Its South Korean branch is set to close its operations on Jan. 29. Since 2018 the business has been a publicly listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). HTX DAOOnly hours before experiencing this DDoS attack, the firm had launched HTX DAO. The DAO allows users to actively participate in the exchange's operations. Users can contribute to decision-making processes through voting, engaging in community discussions and selecting representatives. The DAO’s whitepaper outlines that governance will be conducted through the use of HTX tokens. The HTX DAO website alludes to various privileges that HTX token holders can benefit from on both the DAO and the HTX exchange. However, it remains unclear as to the specific nature of these privileges as yet. In a bid to strengthen its security infrastructure, HTX DAO recently underwent a comprehensive security audit conducted by ChainSecurity. This integration of the exchange business into the HTX DAO ecosystem reflects a broader trend within the cryptocurrency sector towards decentralization. In a long post on the X social media platform on Thursday, Justin Sun suggested that through HTX DAO, the HTX exchange would become “The People’s Exchange.” Sun added:”HTX currency holders should eventually become the owners of the platform.” Despite the high hopes and aspirations, Sun continues to have his perennial detractors. Travis Kling, founder of Ikigai Asset Management, posted on X on the very same day, stating:”We may be getting close to showtime here. We need [Justin Sun] gone. He’s a cancer.” 

XPLA joins hands with EDUM to bring Study-to-Earn services to learnersSouth Korean gaming corporation Com2uS Group’s layer 1 blockchain XPLA has established its newest partnership with EDUM, a Study-to-Earn (S2E) project operated by Dream Ladders, a blockchain subsidiary of educational and career services provider Jinhak, according to an official announcement on Monday (KST). Together, they plan to bring blockchain to education, helping students benefit from a new, innovative approach to learning and proving that blockchain can be useful in any environment.Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on UnsplashOptimizing the learning experience with Web3EDUM is set to leverage Web3 technology to provide students with access to affordable, high-quality educational services for everyone, no matter their economic background. Users will be able to earn rewards in the form of EDUM or EDUMP tokens when using different functions on the EDUM mobile application. EDUM is the project’s market-based utility token that can be cashed through external exchanges or even swapped with EDUMP, which has a fixed value and can only be used within the EDUM ecosystem. EDUMP tokens can also be used for purchasing NFTs or lectures on the EDUM platform.The project will also incorporate NFT technology as a key mechanism. Learners on EDUM can record their achievements as NFTs through certification performed by a Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP). The platform offers benefits to instructors as well, whose content such as lectures, exams and textbooks can be protected and compensated by being minted as NFTs.Going beyond gamingBy working with EDUM, XPLA aims to venture into the realm of education, which is outside of its usual gaming focus, helping the platform revolutionize S2E services and creating more real-world use cases for blockchain technology.