HashKey OTC scores in-principle approval in Singapore

SkyArk Chronicles, a Singapore-based Triple-A gaming platform, recently announced the completion of a $15 million funding round that it suggested was led by Binance Labs, the venture arm of the leading global crypto platform. Binance has subsequently moved to clarify that it is not involved in the latest funding initiative.Photo by Laurin Steffens on UnsplashBacked by Binance since 2021The gaming ecosystem, which has enjoyed the backing of Binance since 2021, expressed excitement about the successful completion of the funding round. On Jan. 12, SkyArk posted on social media platform X, suggesting that Binance led the recent funding round but the project has since deleted that post. The post mentioned the participation of more than 40 institutions in the funding round, including Vividthree Productions, a Singapore-based company. It didn’t disclose the amount it claimed was invested by Binance Labs at that time. The announcement also highlighted contributions from other notable entities in the NFT and gaming space, such as GuildFi Global, Jambo Technology and BreederDAO. Additionally, individual investors like LayerZero CEO Bryan Pellegrino, Tangent Ventures Co-Founder Wangarian and Story Protocol CEO S.Y. Lee were all claimed by the project to have made noteworthy contributions to SkyArk's funding initiative. Binance Labs denialHowever, recent developments have introduced an element of uncertainty. Binance Labs, in an X post on Monday, distanced itself from SkyArk Chronicles' latest funding round. Contrary to the earlier announcement, Binance Labs clarified that it did not participate in SkyArk's $15 million funding round earlier this month. The venture arm reiterated its sole investment in SkyArk during the Incubation Season 3 program in 2021. This clarification from Binance Labs raised concerns about the accuracy of SkyArk Chronicles' earlier announcement, leading to SkyArk posting to confirm the information supplied by Binance. That post states: “We are very sorry for the miscommunication and appreciate the clarification from Binance Labs. We remain focused on making SkyArk a success and will continue working hard to achieve our vision.” Community reactionThe saga has caused some concern within the community, underscoring the need for transparency in the cryptocurrency and gaming industries. Web3 and NFT consultancy firm Vader Research commented on the development, stating:”SkyArk didn’t raise a new private round at all. They circulated the 2021 funding round announcement as if it recently occurred and used that to raise $11m from the public.” In a subsequent post, Vader added that Binance still has considerable leverage where SkyArk is concerned, as it retains the right to decide whether to list the SkyArk token on the platform. SkyArk Chronicles had a history of collaboration with Binance, dating back to 2021 when Binance selected SkyArk Studio for its prestigious Incubator Program Season 3. Out of over 1,000 applicants, SkyArk Studio was one of the nine teams chosen, emphasizing its potential in the blockchain and gaming space. In a follow-up post on Monday, SkyArk co-founder Kelvin Chua expressed his gratitude to Binance for its support over the past three years. The gaming platform, led by seasoned professionals in traditional mobile games, aspires to revolutionize the gaming sector worldwide. Their focus on launching Fully-On-Chain and Only-Assets-On-Chain games sets them apart, with a commitment to incorporating NFTs seamlessly into various gameplay styles. 

Upbit Launches Campaign for Recovery of Mistakenly Transferred AssetsUpbit, the cryptocurrency exchange operated by Dunamu, announced on Tuesday (local time) that it is launching a campaign where users can get back the digital assets that they have transferred mistakenly as part of heightened efforts to protect investors and minimize their losses due to such errors.Photo by Luis Villasmil on UnsplashRole of secondary identifiersAmong the virtual assets that Upbit allows users to deposit, some require users to accurately input their unique identifiers — like a Destination Tag (D.tag) or Memo — in order to properly process a deposit. A D.tag or Memo is an additional address used to identify a transaction recipient beyond a wallet address, which is often required when trading altcoins like Ripple (XRP) and Monero (XMR). In the case of XRP, both the exchange address and the D.tag must be entered accurately for deposits to be processed properly.Enhancing investor convenienceHowever, misdirected transfers caused by incorrect or missing secondary deposit addresses occur quite frequently. Many users also remain unaware when their virtual assets have been mistakenly transferred.In response to this issue, Dunamu has organized its latest campaign to make it easier for Upbit users to recover the virtual assets that they mistakenly sent. A user can access the campaign page on the official Upbit website and search for the transaction ID (TXID) of the deposit where the secondary address was either not entered or entered incorrectly. If a matching deposit is found, they can click “Apply for Recovery” to submit a one-on-one inquiry.Previously, users were required to manually enter information such as the name and quantity of the cryptocurrency, as well as the TXID in the one-on-one inquiry. Now, this information is automatically filled in through the TXID search, boosting user convenience.In an effort to encourage campaign participation, Dunamu also said that it will waive all fees for the recovery of mistakenly transferred assets until the end of the year.As of July, the exchange has successfully processed over 99.5% of the total 45,474 recovery requests that it has received over the past five years by leveraging its industry-leading technical expertise.“Upbit will continue its efforts to protect user assets and provide convenient services,” Dunamu said.Global recognitionMeanwhile, Upbit has secured 9th place in the Kaiko Exchange Ranking for the third quarter of 2023, ranking first among Korean exchanges. Kaiko is a crypto market data company with offices in Paris, London, New York, and Singapore.The ranking evaluates exchanges based on the following criteria: governance (30%), security (20%), liquidity (15%), business (15%), technology (10%), and data quality (10%). Upbit earned a score of 76 points.Coming in first overall on the list was Coinbase with 90 points, directly followed by Bitstamp and Kraken with 86 and 82 points, respectively. Among Korean exchanges, Korbit ranked 15th worldwide with 72 points, followed by Bithumb in 17th with 72 points, then Coinone in 27th with 59 points.

Leading crypto exchange OKX has announced the seamless integration of Uniswap Labs' application programming interface (API) into its decentralized exchange (DEX). The objective of the Uniswap addition is to usher in an era of gas-free trading through its innovative feature called "Snap” for OKX service users. Snap trading modeThe company made the announcement by way of a PR Newswire press release on Feb. 29. OKX asserts that Uniswap is one of the most trusted names in DeFi. As part of the integration, the Snap trading mode will be included as a feature on OKX DEX, with the objective of aggregating Uniswap’s liquidity.The feature operates directly on the OKX DEX interface by way of the UniswapX protocol. UniswapX is an immutable smart contract built with the intention to be fully permissionless. The contract cannot be modified or paused by anyone, including Uniswap Labs. Liquidity providers pay the feeIn explaining away the technology, Jason Lau, the chief innovation officer at OKX told Cointelegraph the mechanics behind the no-fee swaps. Lau unveiled a novel model wherein liquidity providers absorb transaction fees on behalf of users. He asserted that this approach not only enhances convenience but also facilitates cost savings for traders. Lau elaborated further, stating: “By agreeing to a price and signing a transaction off-chain, then settling the transaction on-chain, users end up paying no gas fees because the liquidity providers will pay the fee on the user’s behalf.”Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashGoing beyond trading fee reductionAnticipating a positive response from DeFi enthusiasts, Lau highlighted additional features that go beyond transaction fee savings. These include the elimination of slippages, maximum extractable value (MEV) bot attacks and transaction failures, addressing prevalent concerns within the DeFi space.In tandem with the gas-free trading initiative, OKX announced a seamless integration for its wallet users within the Uniswap interface, courtesy of the Multi-Injected Provider Discovery upgrade on Ethereum, based on Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP)-6963. This enhancement extends to all browser extension wallets, enabling OKX wallet users to seamlessly connect with Uniswap, facilitating activities such as cryptocurrency swapping, NFT trading, liquidity pool participation and decentralized application (dApp) development. Positioning this integration as a pivotal addition to their ecosystem, Lau reiterated OKX's commitment to broadening user access to diverse on-chain use cases. He expressed enthusiasm for ongoing development initiatives and urged users to actively contribute feedback for further enhancements. The crypto exchange platform achieved further technical progress recently, with the addition of support for atomicals, runes, doginals and stamps to its Web3 wallet. Providing further detail on these additions last month, the company said that they were part of a "first-to-market" initiative relative to Bitcoin NFTs. Alongside technical advancements like these, earlier this week it emerged that the company was further advancing its market expansion strategy, through the launch of OKX TR, its Turkish platform. With OKX pioneering gas-free trading and bolstering user accessibility to decentralized finance, the convergence of traditional finance and blockchain technology accelerates, indicating an ongoing transformative shift in the crypto space.