South Korean FSC prohibits domestic securities firms from brokering spot bitcoin ETF

Korean Web3 Enabler Participates in NFT.NYC 2023The Moon Labs, a Korean Web3 enabler, participated in NFT.NYC 2023 that took place in New York from April 12 to 14, according to Maeil Business Newspaper.Photo by Luca Bravo on UnsplashCollaborations with SuperchiefIn collaboration with New York-based underground artist supporter Superchief Gallery NFT, the Moon Labs advertised its decentralized autonomous organization project LeisureMetaverse on Time Square’s digital screen. Previously, the Moon Labs co-hosted NFT Korea Festival 2023 with Superchief Gallery NFT.A2E incentivization modelThe Moon Labs boasts the web 3.0 community LM Nova, the NFT marketplace PlayNomm, and its native wallet, LM Wallet. In particular, LM Nova has adopted an act-to-earn (A2E) model to provide incentives to users.About NFT.NYCNFT.NYC, one of the world’s largest NFT events, has been held annually since 2018. The show attracted not only crypto entrepreneurs but also artists, investors, and influencers. More than 500 brands took part in the event, and over 1,500 speakers delivered their talks at the conference.The Moon Labs CEO Moon Seong-eok said the company will seize this opportunity to expand global partnerships and further commit to the growth of the NFT ecosystem.

Credit Saison, one of the largest credit card issuers in Japan, is accelerating its global venture strategy with the creation of Onigiri Capital, a new fund targeting early-stage startups building on blockchain technology. Set up in Singapore last month through Credit Saison’s corporate venture arm, Saison Capital, the vehicle is aiming for up to $50 million in commitments and will run for 10 years, with an optional two-year extension. The fund has already secured $35 million toward its target.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashBuilding on a fintech track recordThe initiative is part of Credit Saison’s broader plan to expand in emerging markets and spur innovation in financial services, drawing on Saison Capital’s track record. Established in 2019, the venture arm has backed fintech startups across Asia and, since 2021, has increasingly focused on blockchain-based finance, investing in more than 40 companies. The firm said those investments laid the groundwork for Onigiri Capital, which will also enable other financial institutions to invest alongside Credit Saison in promising blockchain ventures. Onigiri Capital will concentrate on five areas: stablecoins, payments, asset tokenization, decentralized finance (DeFi), and financial infrastructure. The fund will invest primarily at the seed and early stages, with an emphasis on long-term growth. Managing the fund are Qin En Looi, a partner at Saison Capital involved in over 40 blockchain investments, and Hans de Back, a venture investor with more than two decades of experience. Cross-border stablecoin pilotThe launch comes as Japan steps up efforts in digital assets beyond investment alone. According to Electronic Times, the first phase of “Project Pax,” a cross-border stablecoin remittance pilot involving financial institutions in Japan and South Korea, concluded successfully last week. Participants were Progmat—a tokenization platform backed by a consortium of major institutions, including MUFG—along with Datachain and Shoko Chukin Bank from Japan, and Shinhan Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, and Kbank from South Korea. Fair Square Lab and Korea Digital Asset Custody helped develop an application programming interface (API) for the trial. The pilot demonstrated the feasibility of a network that converts fiat currency into stablecoins for on-chain transfers and then back into local currency at the destination, an approach expected to reduce the time and cost of cross-border payments. The results add momentum to Japan’s bid to modernize financial infrastructure, a backdrop that Onigiri Capital aims to capitalize on as it deploys capital into the sector. 

Hana TI Partners with BitGo for Web3 Digital Asset Custody SolutionsHana TI, Hana Financial Group’s financial information technology (IT) arm, announced that it will work with US-based digital asset trust company BitGo on technological collaborations related to Web3-based virtual asset custody services.BitGo has been taking steps to enter the Korean market, starting with the establishment of its Korean branch and its new joint venture for digital asset custody services with Hana Bank. Following this announcement, the company said that it would delve deeper into cooperation with Hana TI.Photo by Medienstürmer on UnsplashCharting the course for digital asset custody in KoreaMike Belshe, Co-Founder and CEO of BitGo, recently visited Hana Financial Group’s Integrated Data Center in Incheon’s Cheongna district, which serves as a digital finance facility for the group. He was accompanied by Park Geun-young, CEO of Hana TI, on a tour through the integrated security control center and server rooms.The two CEOs also discussed various cooperative strategies to expand the Korean market for digital asset custody services, including security measures such as obtaining Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification. In addition, Belshe emphasized the significance of a secure and transparent custody infrastructure for facilitating the issuance and distribution of institutional security tokens. To that end, he expressed BitGo’s commitment to consumer protection and enhancing transparency and security within the Korean digital asset industry together with Hana Bank and Hana TI.“We hope that this collaboration will have a positive impact on enhancing trust and stability in the local digital asset ecosystem,” Park added.Along with security cooperation, Belshe and Park agreed that building up the technical capabilities of Web3-based digital asset platforms is equally important in expediting the growth of the market.Belshe and Park also visited the Hana Global Campus in Cheongna — a hub for cultivating talent — as well as the group’s future headquarters, set to be completed in 2025. Hana TI representatives shared their vision for the Hana Dream Town project currently under development in Cheongna.Commitment to advancing Web3 technologyHana TI is currently concentrating efforts on strengthening its capabilities to internalize Web3-based blockchain technology. The company thereby established a division dedicated to Web3 endeavors in June of last year. It has since been actively engaged in research and development for technologies involved in blockchain infrastructure, digital assets, and security tokens.