HashKey & Bosera launch world’s first tokenized money market ETFs

Yes24 Teams Up with KPC to Establish Digital Content Distribution EcosystemSouth Korean culture and arts content platform Yes24 announced on Thursday that it has signed a business agreement with digital content aggregator Korea Publishing Contents (KPC) to build a digital content distribution ecosystem based on blockchain technology to protect the rights of copyright holders and users alike.Photo by Hal Gatewood on UnsplashYes24 CEO Choi Sera and KPC CEO Lee Joong-ho attended the signing ceremony for the agreement last Tuesday.Collaboration on multiple frontsUnder the new partnership, both parties plan to explore various business models and collaborate on marketing efforts to establish and operate the digital content ecosystem. They also intend to cooperate by leveraging their human resources, technological capabilities, and market networks.“We will do our best to create a secure and fair digital content distribution environment that both protects and grants more rights to copyright holders and users,” Yes24 said in a statement, adding that it would also strive to contribute to the acceleration of the digital content market.Fueling creativity and content consumptionAs a major online book retailer, Yes24 provides a range of services, which include selling books as well as tickets for various concerts and events. KPC is a joint venture established by 65 Korean publishers with the collective aim of discovering sustainable growth drivers for the publishing industry. Currently, the company distributes over 1,000 e-books and audiobooks from various publishers to local and international e-book stores and libraries.

India’s CoinSwitch Trims Workforce Amid Market DownturnIn the wake of an extended cryptocurrency market downturn, India’s CoinSwitch, a crypto investing app, has become the latest platform to downsize its staff, as reported by local news agency Moneycontrol on Monday.Photo by Kelli McClintock on UnsplashCustomer support cutsThe exchange has reportedly let 44 employees go from its customer support division this month, attributing the move to redundant roles caused by the bear market’s decline in customer queries.In a statement, CoinSwitch explained: “We continuously evaluate our business to stay competitive, prioritizing innovation, value, and service for our customers. To that end, we right-sized our customer support team to align with the present volume of customer queries on our platform.”The company noted that this decision led to the voluntary resignation of 44 members from its support team, following detailed discussions with their managers. The 44 employees represent a significant portion — approximately 8% — of CoinSwitch’s total workforce. The company’s LinkedIn profile currently indicates that it has 519 employees.Following local industry trendCoinSwitch’s staff reduction news emerged barely a week after another prominent local exchange, CoinDCX, downsized its workforce by 12%, based on an overall headcount of around 730 employees (according to LinkedIn data).The fact that both businesses have taken the decision to cut staffing is indicative of an overall market downtrend currently. That said, CoinSwitch had onboarded 60 people since April, which would imply that the firm is expanding in other areas despite these customer service-related layoffs.This may reflect the company’s plan to change strategic direction. Going forward, CoinSwitch intends to diversify its product offering and transition towards becoming a wealth tech platform.CoinDCX layoffsCoinDCX’s Co-Founders, Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, stated last week that they were making what was a very difficult decision to reduce the size of the team by 12% and that they regretted that talented team members would be moving on from the organization. The founders attributed the decision to market challenges and also pointed out the impact of the 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) applied to local crypto exchanges. They clarified:“These factors had a significant impact on our volumes and thus revenues. To adapt, we undertook several proactive measures, including direct cost optimization and investment in automation to drive efficiency and productivity.”According to the announcement, the affected CoinDCX employees will receive a support package including severance pay equivalent to their full notice period, an additional month of salary, extension of health insurance, and other forms of assistance.CoinSwitch was founded by Ashish Singhal, Govind Soni, and Vimal Sagar Tiwari in 2017. The company received the backing of leading venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, and Ribbit Capital. In 2021 it was recognized as India’s second crypto firm to reach unicorn status, following a $260 million Series C funding round that saw the company reach a valuation of $1.9 billion.In 2022 India introduced a 30% tax on cryptocurrency gains, resulting in the exodus of numerous cryptocurrency service providers and a steep decline in crypto trading activity. The country has also implemented a 1% TDS for crypto exchanges, mandating that exchanges pay 1% on all crypto asset transfers.

Bybit Powers Trading Tools via ChatGPT IntegrationDubai-headquartered crypto spot and derivatives trading platform Bybit is set to revolutionize the trading experience for its users with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) through ChatGPT. By leveraging OpenAI’s renowned chatbot, Bybit aims to provide innovative trading tools and metrics to cryptocurrency traders.Photo by Markus Spiske on UnsplashToolsGPTThe newly introduced ToolsGPT by Bybit combines the machine learning capabilities of ChatGPT with the exchange’s market data, offering users a comprehensive set of features. Traders will now have access to technical analysis, price data, and metrics, all generated through AI technology. ToolsGPT will also provide personalized responses to individual inquiries, catering to the unique needs of each trader.Bybit’s AI-powered offering is designed to provide insights and predictions for various cryptocurrency trading scenarios. By analyzing market data for multiple cryptocurrencies, ToolsGPT can identify price trends and utilize technical indicators to forecast future market movements. This service is accessible to traders of all experience levels, allowing them to make more informed decisions based on historical and real-time market data.Bybit announced the availability of the AI-powered trading tools via a blog post published to its website on Thursday and via Twitter. Ben Zhou, CEO of Bybit, emphasized the innovative integration of ChatGPT and its role in empowering traders with advanced tools and insights. By leveraging historical and real-time market data, as well as AI-generated advice, traders can gain a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics to make better-informed decisions.Exchange AI integrationsBybit joins other cryptocurrency exchanges in exploring the potential of ChatGPT. Crypto.com introduced its own user assistant powered by ChatGPT, named Amy, in May. Binance also integrated OpenAI’s chatbot into its Binance Academy platform, providing users with responses sourced from a database of articles and information on the broader Web3 ecosystem.Additionally, OKX has integrated EndoTech’s AI tools to analyze market volatility and identify trading opportunities. This move reflects the growing recognition within the cryptocurrency industry of AI’s potential to enhance trading strategies and improve overall user experiences.Solana Labs also joined the AI revolution by launching a ChatGPT-powered plugin. This plugin enables users to check wallet balances, conduct transfers of Solana-native tokens, and trade non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seamlessly.It’s been a busy couple of months for the company. Last month, Bybit announced the extension of its service offering to include crypto lending. Also in May, it achieved “in principle” approval from the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) in Kazakhstan to trade in the country. In April, it publicized that it had chosen Dubai as the company’s global headquarters. In an effort to further establish roots in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), earlier this month it founded a blockchain scholarship program in conjunction with the American University of Sharjah (AUS).As the cryptocurrency industry continues to evolve, the integration of AI technology holds great promise for enabling more effective and informed trading strategies. That’s something that Bybit Advisor Anndy Lian underscored at the Brand Launchpad Event held in Vietnam last month. With Bybit’s integration of ChatGPT, traders can expect an enhanced trading experience through the use of AI-powered tools and insights.