Cryptotax secures pre-series A funding from Hashed

Animoca Brands’ Japanese market expansion via strategic partnershipAnimoca Brands Japan, in collaboration with Animoca’s subsidiary KLKTN, a digital experience label, has unveiled a strategic partnership with Cool Cats Group, marking a significant move into the Japanese anime market within the Web3 space.Photo by Yu Kato on UnsplashConquering the Japanese anime marketAs part of this strategic venture which was announced on Tuesday, Animoca Brands Japan has acquired equity shares in Cool Cats Group. Cool Cats is a U.S.-headquartered global character brand. It entails Cool Cats and Cool Pets NFT collections, notable for their distinctive and colorful cat designs.In addition to this, Animoca’s digital experience label, KLKTN, has acquired NFTs from all three of Cool Cats’ collections on the secondary market. Notably, this NFT purchase took place through San FranTokyo, KLKTN’s virtual “decentralized city,” which is known for its focus on licensed anime and Web3 intellectual property.Daisuke Iwase, CEO of Animoca Brands Japan, highlighted that the partnership goes beyond business growth. According to Iwase, it is about cultural exchange, understanding and delving into what makes Japan’s digital and artistic realm globally appealing. He emphasized their commitment to creating more opportunities for the Cool Cats IP’s growth through Animoca Brands Japan and San FranTokyo.Accessing Web3 intellectual propertyRobby Yung, CEO of Animoca Brands, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, telling The Block that it revolves around building Web3 intellectual property. He emphasized the company’s excitement about collaborating with an iconic Web3 IP holder like Cool Cats to explore the potential of Web3 products and traditional Japanese media products, including manga, to engage the community.The partnership also introduced several strategic initiatives that are set to roll out. One of the key initiatives is the creation of a “Cool Cats Manga,” which will blend the world of Cool Cats with Japan’s renowned manga tradition. This manga will be crafted by a Japanese manga artist, promising a unique fusion of creative elements.Japanese Cool Cats brand expansionAnother significant aspect of the partnership involves expanding the Cool Cats brand within Japan. Animoca Japan and San FranTokyo will work collaboratively to promote the Cool Cats IP through various channels. They are also committed to establishing new connections for Cool Cats with prominent organizations in the Japanese entertainment and intellectual property sectors, enhancing the brand’s presence in the country.The narrative of the Cool Cats IP will be seamlessly integrated into the virtual city of San FranTokyo. This initiative will encompass interactive e-figurine drops and align with the marketing efforts of other iconic Japanese IPs, creating a vibrant digital ecosystem within the city.David Taing, Co-Chief Operating Officer of KLKTN, expressed their dedication to Japanese and Web3 IP, emphasizing the importance of forging a path forward in the Web3 space. They are committed to bringing together diverse worlds, styles, ideas, industries and technology to drive collaboration to new heights, shaping the future of web3.The strategic partnership between Animoca Brands Japan, KLKTN and Cool Cats Group represents a significant step toward embracing Web3 in the Japanese anime market, not just in terms of focusing on business growth but also in aiming to bridge cultures, bringing together the rich traditions of Japanese manga and the innovation of Web3.

Korean and Indonesian firms join forces to tokenize shipping assetsCentralized decentralized finance (CeDeFi) platform NEOPIN said Wednesday that it has signed a business agreement with the Klaytn Foundation, South Korean juggernaut Kakao’s Layer 1 public blockchain, and Pelayaran Korindo, the shipping arm of Southeast Asian conglomerate Korindo, to tokenize real-world assets (RWAs).Photo by Andy Li on UnsplashRevolutionizing shipping financeThe three companies will first tokenize shipping-related assets owned by Pelayaran Korindo. This integration of digital assets into the maritime industry — which up until now has been under the umbrella of traditional finance — is expected to increase accessibility to shipping investments not only for institutional investors but also for individual investors.Pelayaran Korindo specializes in comprehensive shipping logistics mainly in Indonesia. Under the newest collaboration, the company plans to enhance the accessibility of its RWAs to Web3 companies as well as share its knowledge on localization and partner networks. It aims to play an essential role in the joint venture by leading the decentralization of traditional finance and promoting the widespread adoption of RWA tokenization.On the other hand, NEOPIN, along with the Klaytn Foundation, plans to leverage its expertise in CeDeFi to help Pelayaran Korindo digitize and liquify their assets while optimizing the plaform’s user inferface.Ushering in an era of RWA tokensThe partnership is also a part of the Klaytn Foundation’s efforts to expand its ecosystem through RWA-related endeavors. By tokenizing RWAs and producing certifications of digital ownership, the enterprise hopes to popularize blockchain and create value through real-world use cases. To achieve this, the foundation will work with RWA tokenization experts both in Korea and overseas to build a business model that is profitable, technologically feasible and regulatory compliant.“The Klaytn blockchain enables the construction of a digital asset trading platform with fast processing speed and low fees that can satisfy both token issuers and also regular users,” explained Seo Sang-min, Representative Director at the Klaytn Foundation. “The foundation has accumulated practical experience in the entire service construction process, from discovering promising RWA tokenization projects to launching real services. Moving forward, we will collaborate with Pelayaran Korindo and NEOPIN to actualize various global RWA tokenization initiatives, starting with maritime finance.”NEOPIN’s CEO Ethan Kim also mentioned the company’s intent to work with Pelayaran Korindo and the Klaytn Foundation to introduce attractive RWA investment products that are easy to navigate and have strong factors of appeal, thus leading the global RWA market in maritime finance.

Bitget works towards goal of Bitcoin ecosystem supportBitget Wallet, a Web3 trading wallet offered by the Bitget Seychelles-based crypto derivatives platform, has unveiled a plan designed to bolster its support for and development within the Bitcoin ecosystem.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashEnhancing user experienceIn an effort to elevate user experience and expand trading options, Bitget Wallet is committing to extensive product research, development initiatives and increased investments. The company plans on offering a wide array of services tailored to the Bitcoin ecosystem.This includes robust support for BTC asset management, cross-chain swaps, on-ramping for externally owned account (EOA)-based wallets, multi-party computation (MPC) wallets, Taproot compatibility and streamlined asset transfers for both BRC-20 tokens and NFTs. In October, Bitget announced that it was taking the route of enhanced security by embarking on integrating MPC.Integrated dApp browserThe platform also provides users with insights into macro and micro market trends through Bitget Swap, enabling interaction with popular projects via its dApp browser.Bitget Wallet’s move has already garnered support from several Bitcoin ecosystem projects, with integrations on official websites such as Unisat, ALEX Lab, LifeRestart and Bitmap Explorer. The integrated dApp browser ensures convenient user access to these projects, fostering increased engagement and accessibility.Looking forward, Bitget Wallet aims to capitalize on the medium to long-term market prospects within the Bitcoin ecosystem. The company is directing its efforts towards enhancing both technological infrastructure and product features, with a specific focus on critical areas such as Lightning Network, Nostr, Taproot Assets, BRC-20 and ARC-20 inscriptions.Facilitating cross-chain transactionsAn important facet of Bitget Wallet’s approach involves supporting multiple address formats, particularly within the Lightning Network. By doing so, the platform aims to improve asset transfer efficiency and introduce asset swaps between the Bitcoin mainnet and the Lightning Network. This move is geared towards facilitating cross-chain transactions between BTC and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) assets on Bitget Swap, providing users with increased opportunities for portfolio diversification.Alvin Kan, the Chief Operating Officer of Bitget Wallet, underscored the significance of Bitcoin as the foundational cornerstone of the crypto industry. He emphasized the platform’s commitment to becoming a key player in the growing Bitcoin ecosystem, providing users with robust and seamless ways to manage and grow their assets.Formerly known as BitKeep, Bitget Wallet stands as Asia’s largest all-in-one Web3 trading wallet, boasting a five-year legacy and over 12 million users worldwide. On a global basis, the non-custodial wallet recently ranked fourth overall in terms of the number of wallet downloads.Bitget acquired the Singaporean startup wallet project in June. Its addition helped the broader Bitget platform to achieve the milestone of 20 million users. The product was rebranded as Bitget Wallet shortly afterwards.The company is keen to support other blockchain networks and ecosystems also. Earlier this month, the company announced an investment into Morph, a layer-2 blockchain that uses zero knowledge roll-up technology in an effort to focus on enhanced consumer experience.Last week, the platform added support for ZKFair, a zero knowledge layer-2 network which is based on the Polygon CDK.