Korean Police Agency Bolsters Crypto Investigation Skills

Politician Responds as Buterin Questions Hong Kong’s Crypto CredentialsIn a measured response on Friday, Johnny Ng, a member of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, addressed the comments made by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin concerning Hong Kong’s future stance on cryptocurrencies.Photo by Florian Wehde on UnsplashInvitation extendedNg extended an invitation to Buterin to visit Hong Kong, allowing him to gain a more nuanced understanding of the region’s dynamics. Ng also expressed his intent to collaborate with relevant institutions and enterprises to provide Buterin with insights into Hong Kong’s current situation.Vitalik Buterin had voiced his concerns at the Web3 Transition Summit in Singapore on Thursday. Buterin stated:“If any crypto project wants to make Hong Kong their home, they would want to have some confidence — not just that it’s friendly now but that it will continue to be friendly years from now when all kinds of unknown, regulatory and political and other kinds of events are going to happen.”He acknowledged that he did not possess an in-depth understanding of Hong Kong’s intricacies, particularly in light of recent developments in its relationship with mainland China. Buterin emphasized the need for crypto projects to have confidence not only in Hong Kong’s current crypto-friendliness but also in its ability to maintain this stance amidst unforeseen regulatory, political, and other events.In response to Buterin’s remarks, Ng reassured him that Hong Kong’s crypto-related policies were not prone to sudden changes. He highlighted that these policies had been formulated with broad social consensus and underwent comprehensive procedural assessments. Ng asserted: “Therefore, I can tell Mr. Vitalik that Hong Kong’s policies are very stable.”He further elaborated on Hong Kong’s legislative process, emphasizing the stages of government policy drafting, public consultation, discussions within multiple committees of the Legislative Council, and the General Assembly’s review.Best-prepared crypto jurisdictionIn a separate development, Hong Kong has maintained its position as the best-prepared jurisdiction for widespread cryptocurrency adoption in 2023, according to a recently published study. The Chinese autonomous territory secured the top rank for the second consecutive year.This recognition is based on a crypto readiness score (CRS) that takes into account factors such as the presence of crypto ATMs, the regulatory environment, accessibility, and legality.In contrast, the United States slipped to third place, experiencing a 6.5% drop in its CRS score from the previous year. Switzerland emerged as the second-best-prepared jurisdiction, with its CRS score surging by over 9%.The Dutch demonstrated the highest per capita interest in crypto, while Hong Kong stood out for having the most crypto ATMs per square foot due to its smaller landmass. Within the United States, New York became the most crypto-ready state, boasting a CRS of 9.80, owing to a robust legislative environment and a thriving crypto and blockchain industry.Chainalysis crypto adoption reportMeanwhile, India emerged as the global leader in crypto adoption in 2023, according to a recently compiled Chainalysis report. The report also highlighted other lower middle-income nations, such as Nigeria and Thailand, ranking prominently in crypto adoption. India’s crypto market has surged to become the second-largest globally by raw estimated transaction volume.Johnny Ng’s response to Vitalik Buterin’s comments is indicative of the measured and informed approach of Hong Kong’s leadership regarding cryptocurrencies. With a stable and consensus-driven regulatory framework, Hong Kong remains a key player in the evolving landscape of digital currencies.

X-PLANET to Sell NFTs for 35th Anniversary of Choushinsei Flashman’s Korean ReleaseCom2uS Platform, a subsidiary of Korean game developer Com2uS Holdings, announced last Friday that it will launch non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its NFT marketplace X-PLANET to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Japanese television show Choushinsei Flashman’s Korean release.Photo by PJ Gal-Szabo on UnsplashFan-favorite showChoushinsei Flashman is a live-action superhero series that gained immense popularity when it was released in South Korea in 1989. The original series produced by Japan’s Toei Animation captivated fans with its dynamic action sequences and the exploration of deeper themes such as family separation and loneliness.Merging the retro and modern worldsX-PLANET is collaborating with Toei Animation and Korean publishing company Daewon Media to carry out the NFT project. The 35th anniversary NFT will officially drop on November 1 at 9:00 AM (UTC) for $150 each. Buyers will receive a 35th-anniversary merchandise set, which includes a Rolling Vulcan figure lamp, a set of Video Home System-themed photo cards, an acrylic phone pop socket, and an acrylic frame. The Rolling Vulcan figure lamp in particular is gaining the most attention, as it is being officially released for the first time in three decades.The marketplace also opened an official mini website dedicated to the event and announced that it would be airdropping NFTs of Mag, the show’s representative robot mascot, on a first-come, first-served basis from Friday until the end of the month.X-PLANET is also planning to hold a Choushinsei Flashman 35th anniversary fan meeting in Korea early next year, which will invite seven Japanese actors from the show plus a secret guest. The sale of NFT tickets to the fan meeting will open in December, the platform said.

ClearVue Partners-Backed Crypto Startup Fund Closed at $50MThe CVP NoLimit Fund I, a crypto-centric fund established by China’s ClearVue Partners, a private equity specialist, has been closed out, reaching a funding level of $50 million.Photo by micheile henderson on UnsplashFunding target achievedThe closing of the fund was announced recently by No Limit Holdings, an investment partnership specializing in global crypto assets based in Malta. ClearVue had entered into a joint venture with No Limit Holdings in order to establish the fund. No Limit Holdings was founded by former Binance Chief Strategy Officer Gin Chao. Partnering with Chao in that venture is another former Binance executive, Anatoly Kondiyakov, who served as Binance’s Head of APAC Institutional Sales in Singapore for four years.News of the fund first emerged in October 2022, when the fund promoters started to distribute a pitch deck. It’s understood that the fund was targeting investment into layer one blockchains prior to their native tokens going live.Chao made the following statement relative to the closing of the fund:“We are grateful for the confidence and trust that our partners have placed in us for this first fund, particularly given the breadth of industries our LP base represents and the challenging macroeconomic conditions during this period. At the same time, this has created an ideal window to deploy capital into the exciting opportunities that the current market presents.”Web3 “where the Internet was in the late 90s”ClearVue Partners Founder, Harry Hui, said that the firm was “excited to team up with Gin and the NLH team. They have deep sector expertise and an incredible track record of success.” Hui added that “Web3.0 is where the Internet was in the late 90s and as blockchain adoption increases, we believe there will be significant value creation for both for our investors as well as for our consumer and technology portfolio companies.”The CVP NoLimit Fund I has already invested in more than twenty crypto projects located globally. Two of them have been listed on multiple digital asset exchanges. Meanwhile, the fund’s administrators have suggested that it has established a robust pipeline of investible projects, and that it has the expectation to invest in an additional twenty projects over the course of the next twelve months.Seed-stage focusThe fund has been focusing on early-stage projects and strategic funding rounds, with individual investments of between $250,000 and $3 million. Some of the projects it has backed thus far include Binance.US, crypto and blockchain infrastructure firm Mysten Labs, Singapore-based dApp developer Hogwarts Labs, Connext Labs which claims to be the HTTP of Web3, and decentralized digital asset money market, IQ Labs.Venture capital investment into the crypto and Web3 space broke all records during the last crypto bull market. Naturally, it has suffered a huge decline in its wake. However, the closing out of this $50 million fund demonstrates that ultimately new money will return to the sector.This is further exemplified by a recent announcement by Kraken Ventures, the venture investment wing of the well-known crypto exchange business, setting out that it is raising a second $100 million fund, earmarked for investment within the sector.