HSBC and Ant Group advance blockchain-based tokenized deposit system

Finger Labs to leverage Web3 services for Dream Ladders’ college entrance briefingFinger Labs, a subsidiary of digital marketing company FSN, announced on Tuesday (local time) that it is set to introduce its Web3 services, Xclusive and Favorlet, at an informational college admissions briefing hosted by Dream Ladders, a blockchain subsidiary of educational and career services provider Jinhak.Photo by Unseen Studio on UnsplashXclusive is Finger Labs’ Web3 content distribution hub that uses blockchain technology to connect content creators and consumers, facilitating the distribution of various content like movies and performances and the creation of profitable business models. Favorlet, on the other hand, is an NFT wallet that allows users to view, manage and store their NFTs safely in one place.Innovative ticketingThe upcoming briefing, organized by Dream Ladders’ EDUM project, is set to share insights regarding college entrance exams and applications. Attendees will be able to submit questions in advance and receive exclusive benefits. It is scheduled for Dec. 22 to 23, hosting 50 select individuals each day.Tickets for the event will be issued and sold as NFTs, which are available for purchase on Xclusive until Dec. 21. Attendees can purchase the tickets and store them in their Favorlet wallets, which will allow them to easily verify their tickets on-site at the briefing. This ticketing process will serve to show users the convenience that Web3 technology offers.“Contributing our Web3 services to this opportunity offers promising outlooks,” said Kim Dong-hoon, CEO of Finger Labs.Showcasing Web3 solutionsFinger Labs has previously tailored solutions for major corporations like SK Planet, Lotte Homeshopping and SK Networks. In particular, the company also introduced Xclusive and Favorlet at this year’s Blockchain Grand Week — a large-scale blockchain event hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and jointly organized by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA), the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) and the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP).

HKX management has advised Hong Kong resident users of the platform to withdraw assets following the company’s decision to halt operations in Hong Kong.  The company publicized its decision on July 18, making the following statement on its website: “We would like to inform you that our management team has, after careful consideration, decided to withdraw our application for the Type 1 and Type 7 licenses under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) and the virtual asset service provider license under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (Cap. 615).”Photo by Zhe ZHANG on UnsplashCompliance strugglesHKX’s exit from Hong Kong is the latest in a series of crypto exchange withdrawals from the Chinese autonomous territory. Other exchanges such as OKX, KuCoin, Gate.io and Binance had all bowed out back in May.  HKX initially applied for a Hong Kong license in February. However, like many others, the exchange failed to comply with Hong Kong’s regulatory requirements. While Hong Kong has been making a concerted effort to establish a regulatory framework and licensing system in order to create the conditions for it to become a crypto hub, it has also been grappling with making regulations strict enough to stamp out fraud in the wake of the JPEX exchange scandal. With that, it appears that many exchanges are finding the regulatory requirements difficult to live with. Originally, 24 exchanges had applied for a virtual asset trading platform (VATP) license. As it stands today, 12 of those original applicants have dropped out, with one more having its application returned with no clarity emerging as to the reason why. HKX has suspended new user registrations. The company’s management has not suggested that they will reapply for a license and reboot the service at a later stage. The company had flagged its intentions back in May, suspending trading and deposit services on May 29. OKX announced on May 24 that it was withdrawing from the Hong Kong market, citing a review of its business strategy. Around the same timeframe, Gate.io withdrew from the market in Hong Kong having failed to achieve compliance in accordance with the new licensing requirements.  Notwithstanding that outcome, the firm suggested that it planned to revamp its platform in line with the Chinese autonomous territory’s licensing requirements, and return to the market once that had been achieved. In a notice posted to its website on May 22, it stated: “Gate.HK is actively working on the aforementioned overhaul. We plan to resume our business in Hong Kong in the future and contribute to the virtual asset ecosystem after obtaining the relevant licenses.” That overhaul has yet to be completed as right now, the platform only allows the withdrawal of funds by its previous Hong Kong-based customers. Back in May 2023, Eddie Yue, the CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, suggested that there would be no light touch regulation in Hong Kong. HashKey Exchange, alongside OSL, was the first business to secure licensing under the new framework. In April, HasKey CEO Livio Weng told the Financial Times that these regulations block access to overseas investors while the local market in Hong Kong isn’t very big. It emerged in recent weeks that Hong Kong regulators are reviewing whether crypto regulation is “excessively stringent.” 

Zettai Pte Ltd., the Singapore-based holding company that controls Indian crypto exchange WazirX through its subsidiary Zanmai India, has filed an application for a moratorium with the Singaporean High Court, under section 64 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018. Six months requestedIn the filing (HC/OA 861/2024), the company has pleaded with the court to be granted a six-month moratorium, which would give the firm the space and time needed to restructure its liabilities. The company laid out details of its moratorium application in a blog post published to its website on August 28. The firm outlined that a moratorium represents “ the most efficient way to address users’ cryptocurrency balances on the Platform and facilitate recovery for users.” An automatic moratorium of 30 days has effectively been granted as a consequence of the application itself, and it is up to the court if it approves the six-month moratorium that is being sought. A date for the hearing of that matter has yet to be scheduled.Photo by Palu Malerba on Pexels$234 million hack falloutWazirX has been dealing with the fallout from a $234 million hack which occurred in July. One key entity that is owed funds is Indian crypto app CoinSwitch. In an effort to get its funds back, the company has sued WazirX. Taking to the X social media platform, CoinSwitch outlined why it felt the need to take legal action. It stated: "From the day of the incident, we have tried to be in constant touch with the WazirX team, seeking recovery of the funds that are stuck on their exchange. However, our efforts have not come to fruition." In a follow-up tweet, CoinSwitch assured its own users that its exposure to WazirX has no impact on user balances. The company has WazirX exposure that amounts to 2% of its overall user funds. That exposure is reduced further if WazirX’ claim that only ERC-20 tokens were affected is taken on board, accounting for 1% of CoinSwitch user deposits. White KnightWazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty spoke to the notion of a “white knight” in an affidavit submitted under the Zettai name to support the application. He outlined that WazirX is in talks with 11 crypto exchanges and has signed three non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The company has also received offers for financing and for partnering with Zettai, the WazirX parent company. WazirX has outlined that it has set aside $12 million in digital assets to cover legal and associated costs that the company anticipates incurring as part of its restructuring efforts. Matters are further compounded by the fact that a cloud hangs over the ownership of the company. Shetty has claimed that he is no longer an owner of the exchange. In 2022, he wrote that Binance had acquired WazirX. Around the same time frame, Binance’s Changpeng Zhao (CZ) outlined that Binance didn’t control WazirX systems.  India’s economic intelligence agency, the Enforcement Directorate, has claimed in the past that Shetty has gone out of his way to obscure the ownership structure by way of a complex chain of companies in Singapore.