Shinhan Bank to issue NFTs at 2023 Blockchain Grand Week in Seoul

In a move to enhance the oversight of cross-border wire transfers involving virtual assets, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, is fortifying the implementation of regulations relative to crypto transfers.Photo by C Bueza on UnsplashTravel rule clarificationsLocal news outlet, the English language newspaper The Philippine Star reported that central bank memorandum 2023-042 provides clarifications on the travel rule for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The travel rule requires financial institutions to pass on information to the next institution where a transaction takes place. The BSP aims to bring greater clarity to several aspects, including the applicability of the P50,000 transaction threshold and expectations regarding transactions involving jurisdictions without travel rules. Additionally, further interpretation is being provided concerning the extension of the Philippine travel rule to non-custodial VASPs and regulatory expectations surrounding transactions with unhosted wallets or crypto wallets controlled directly by their owners, rather than managed by third-party service providers. FATF compliance ambitionThis regulatory move is in response to the directives from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In 2021 the Philippines came under greater scrutiny from the intergovernmental organization, when it was included on its "gray list," making it a candidate for increased monitoring. The FATF has called upon the Philippines to establish guidelines for the travel rule to prevent terrorists and criminals from exploiting virtual asset transfers for the unrestricted movement of their assets and to detect and prevent misuse effectively.BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) are now mandated to scrutinize specific details of virtual asset transfers, including the originator's name, account number used in the transaction, originator's physical address or national identity and the beneficiary's name and account number. International moves towards complianceThis latest move by the Philippine central bank is not unusual. In recent months, a plethora of similarly motivated central banks around the world have tightened up on crypto regulation as it relates to the FATF directives. Being on the FATF's "gray list" is bad for a country’s reputation. It has the potential to result in loss of investor confidence and lead to higher compliance costs and greater monitoring. Additionally, it may have an impact on trade relations and damage a country’s ability to access international finance.  Turkey has also found itself on the organization’s gray list. Working towards repairing that situation, Turkey is in the process of establishing a crypto regulatory framework that will be FATF compliant.In May, Pakistan went a step further in banning cryptocurrency. At the time, its Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, Aisha Ghaus Pasha, stated that the ban had been a requirement for Pakistan’s removal from the FATF gray list. A tightening of crypto regulations has also occurred in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and in Hong Kong more recently, as those territories work towards ensuring FATF compliance. The BSP emphasizes that transactions not surpassing the P50,000 threshold or its equivalent in foreign currency must include the names and account numbers of both the originator and beneficiary. Both originating and beneficiary VASPs are required to establish and adhere to robust sanction screening procedures, ensuring compliance with sanctions lists and preventing transactions involving sanctioned individuals, entities, or jurisdictions.

Miracle Play and HG Ventures to lead global Web3 e-sports gaming industryWeb3 e-sports tournament platform Miracle Play has forged a partnership with Hangang (HG) Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to accelerating blockchain and Web3 projects, according to an official announcement on Miracle Play’s Medium page on Wednesday (KST). Miracle Play stated that it plans to go global to lead the Web3 e-sports market by leveraging HG Ventures’ global network and vast experience in project acceleration.Photo by ELLA DON on Unsplash“This partnership lays the foundation for us to become a global leader in the Web3 e-sports tournament market. We’re excited to leverage HG Ventures’ experience and global network to conquer the global market together,” said Miracle Play CEO Kim Hyun.Transforming gamingMiracle Play uses smart contract technology to ensure that anyone and everyone can hold various types of gaming tournaments in the form of PC, mobile, console and Web3 games. It is currently in the open beta phase, with a cumulative participation rate of about 30,000 players. Although it is only supported on Polygon as of now, it will eventually be available on a total of nine major networks including Avalanche, XPLA, Solana and more, to facilitate cross-network gaming tournaments that players from all over the world can participate in.The company also recently teamed up with interchain platform HAVAH to build a joint ecosystem.HG Ventures’ endeavorsHG Ventures is one of the largest blockchain VCs in Korea, with a portfolio consisting of multiple Play-to-Earn (P2E), NFT and Game-Fi startups. The company also serves as a bridgehead to help Korean companies go global and overseas companies enter Korea. Notably, the firm recently secured a conditional equity investment worth about KRW 130 billion from Mindfulness Capital Management.“Miracle Play, as a frontrunner in the Web3-based e-sports tournament platform, has immense potential in the global market, grounded in its core values of fairness and transparency. We’re committed to actively supporting their growth and global expansion,” said Sang-Woo Jeong, CEO of HG Ventures.

Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer Technologies Group is finally set to go public on the Nasdaq this Friday after a series of delays. The Singapore-based firm, which offers cloud mining services, has been in a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger process with Blue Safari Group. Drawn-out merger processBlue Safari Group filed for three extensions within six months last year, the last extension being a year long. The deal was originally expected to close in November 2021. The stopping block for the latest extension was insufficient time to get shareholder approval. However, Bitdeer Technologies Group revealed in a statement that shareholder approval has now been filed with the SEC.The merger was finally approved at an extraordinary general meeting of Blue Safari’s shareholders on April 11. The results of the vote will be included in a current report on Form 8-K to be filed by Blue Safari with the SEC. The deal is expected to close on April 13, 2023. Upon closing, Bitdeer Technologies Group will remain as the combined company, and its shares will begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “BTDR” on April 14.Bitdeer CEO Linghui Kong said, “Today marks a significant milestone for Bitdeer, leaving us poised to list on the Nasdaq and equipped to seize the growth opportunities ahead of us. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved so far and look forward to embarking on the next chapter of our journey.” The firm operates six mining data centers globally, with an aggregate electricity capacity of 775MW at the end of 2022. Surviving crypto winterBitdeer Technologies Group, backed by Bitmain founder Jihan Wu, offers cloud mining services, and is participating in a market that has been impacted by market volatility. However, miners that have survived are doubling down on expansion efforts. Yesterday, for example, the U.S. mining firm CleanSpark announced the purchase of 45,000 new mining machines for $144.9 million.Bitdeer will be part of a growing list of Bitcoin mining firms listed on Nasdaq, joining the likes of Riot Blockchain, Marathon Digital, and Canaan. Green miningRecently, the cryptocurrency mining industry has witnessed significant growth in green mining efforts. Terawulf, a US-based company, recently announced that its nuclear-powered mining facility, Nautilus, will come online soon. When fully operational, Nautilus is expected to have a hash rate of 1.6 exahashes per second (EH/s). The facility will run on nuclear power, which will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the mining operations.The energy-use of crypto mining has been coming under scrutiny relative to its carbon footprint and the demands it places on the power grid. In what many in the crypto space have called a “hit piece” targeting mining, the New York Times took aim at the industry on Monday. Bitdeer took to Twitter to call out false claims made by the publication relative to its use of energy during a 2021 winter storm.Bitdeer’s journey to becoming a publicly-traded company has been fraught with delays, but with shareholder approval in place, the company is ready to enter the public markets.