Colt Technology Partners With Singapore’s AsiaNext

CoinNess, the leading crypto media platform in South Korea, announced today that it has become the country’s largest online community platform for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. 100,000 daily active usersThe virtual asset media outlet revealed that during the second week of January, the average daily active user (DAU) count neared 100,000. The platform also experienced a milestone, with the average concurrent user count surpassing 15,000 for the first time, edging out Coinpan, Korea's preeminent cryptocurrency community website. High ranking in app marketsAdditionally, CoinNess achieved the second position in the Top Charts for free iPhone apps in the news category on the Apple App Store in Korea. The top spot is held by the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter. On the Android Play Store, the CoinNess app ranked 82nd in the finance category and is the fourth most popular among crypto-related apps, trailing behind Bithumb, Upbit and Bitget. The significant increase in CoinNess’ user base can be attributed to the recent surge in interest in spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). More and more Korean investors have turned to CoinNess, finding it crucial to stay informed about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approval of spot bitcoin ETFs and to begin participating in the cryptocurrency market.Korean crypto market’s prominenceThe prominence of the Korean market in the world of cryptocurrency is highlighted by the Korean won's leading role in the fiat currency trading of bitcoin. According to a Bloomberg report, in November, the Korean won made up 42.8% of all fiat currencies used in bitcoin transactions, surpassing the U.S. dollar. Regarding this development, Kim Jung-ho, CEO of CoinNess, said, “Korean investors generally commit substantially more funds to cryptocurrency investments than the average seen globally. They are keenly attuned to international news and market trends, demonstrating a propensity for analyzing the market from diverse viewpoints.” Established in 2018, CoinNess is a news platform specializing in live updates on virtual asset investment. The media expanded to include an online community in 2021, creating a more holistic experience for its users. In Korea, CoinNess prides itself on having the largest active user base in the cryptocurrency media and community sector. Furthermore, CoinNess stands out as the only business-to-business (B2B) provider of live cryptocurrency news in Korea. It delivers real-time crypto updates to prominent platforms, including Coinone and Gopax, which are among the nation's five largest fiat-to-crypto exchanges. English service in Q1Moving forward, CoinNess is gearing up to launch a new service in the first quarter, offering live, around-the-clock updates on cryptocurrency markets in English to a global audience. As a key partner with Ness LAB, the blockchain research firm responsible for the NESS token, CoinNess seeks to enhance Ness LAB’s efforts to cultivate an information economy within the cryptocurrency sector. 

Seoul and Baobab Partners Face Controversy Over Unpaid Prize Winnings for SWF2023 HackathonThe city of Seoul has come under public scrutiny for failing to pay the winners of the Seoul Web3 Festival (SWF2023) Hackathon a cash prize worth KRW 150 million (approximately $112,000). The Seoul Metropolitan Government has argued that since it was simply a naming rights sponsor, the responsibility for paying the prizes lies with Baobab Partners, who co-hosted the event. However, critics argue that the city did not properly vet Baobab Partners more rigorously before hosting the event.Photo by okaybuild on PixabayUnpaid prizes lingerThe SWF2023 Hackathon took place from July 31 to August 2 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) and was co-hosted by the city of Seoul, the Seoul Design Foundation, and Baobab Partners. It offered a total prize pool of KRW 150 million attracting 417 participants who made up 115 teams.However, although over two months have passed since then, the winners are yet to be paid their prize money. “Baobab Partners initially proposed the SWF2023 event, and they were responsible for gathering the necessary sponsorship funds to run the event,” said a city representative.According to industry sources on Monday, the company’s CEO, Choi Jin-beom, issued a handwritten apology last Friday regarding the incident. “We promised to pay the winners by today, but we were unable to deliver on that promise. We explored multiple avenues, including investors, new contractors, and other assets, but were ultimately unable to secure the funds to do so,” he said. “The narrative that the funds were diverted elsewhere or invested in cryptocurrencies or stocks is untrue,” he added, clarifying that related information was transparently disclosed to the city of Seoul.Baobab Partners’ swift rise raises industry eyebrowsBaobab Partners had previously participated as an event planner at last year’s Blockchain Week in Busan, which turned out to be a success. “We also spoke with the Busan city government, who gave a positive opinion of the company,” the representative added. It was under this context that Seoul entered into a naming rights agreement with Baobab Partners. The agreement stipulated that the company would be in charge of attracting and managing sponsorships, and the prize money and operational costs would be covered by corporate sponsorship funds.Nevertheless, questions have arisen within the industry about Baobab Partners’ short track record and its successive collaborations with public organizations. Baobab Partners is a startup that was founded in May 2021. In November of the same year, the firm signed memoranda of understanding with three blockchain companies during NFT Busan 2021, a large-scale NFT fair held in the southern port city to share the latest blockchain trends. As a result of its efforts, it was listed alongside prominent companies such as Coinone and Onther despite only six months passing since its establishment. Subsequently, Baobab Partners relocated from Seoul to Busan, and the following year, it participated as an event planner at Blockchain Week in Busan.Accumulating allegationsSpeculation suggests that this success was not solely due to Baobab Partners’s capabilities. The company’s CEO is believed to have political connections, according to an anonymous industry insider. Choi denied such claims and stressed that its technical expertise should not be downplayed, citing the fact that Baobab Partners was the first entity in Korea to develop virtual reality (VR) banking technology and had received a KRW 15 billion investment from Finger, a KOSDAQ-listed company.Baobab Partners has also been mired in controversy over supposedly unpaid wages. In response to a claim made by an industry source that many former employees of Baobab Partners have still not received their due wages, a Seoul representative stated that there is no such dispute according to conversations with company representatives, seeking to dispel the dispute. Choi further explained, “We didn’t have wage disputes until last year. The difficulty in paying wages began in January this year due to the failure to execute promised investment funds.”The city said that it is currently conducting legal examinations and looking into necessary measures for two matters involving Baobab Partners, including the handling of hackathon winnings.

The official token pre-sale for Bit of Mind – a project operated by Singapore-based DAO company investor K Stadium to launch a Web3-based AI mental health platform – sold out in nine hours on K Stadium's LaunchPad on Tuesday (KST), according to an official press release on K Stadium’s Medium page. Photo by Total Shape on UnsplashSupporting mental wellnessBit of Mind is an upcoming mobile decentralized application (dApp) that integrates AI and a combination of Web2 and Web3 technology to provide personalized mental health care services like journal writing, mood tracking, meditation and virtual counseling. In particular, it incorporates an incentivized token reward system where users can earn tokens by participating in the aforementioned self-care practices within the app. Fueling innovationA total of 45,000,000 Bit of Mind (BOM) tokens were available during the pre-sale, with 1 BOM worth 1 KSTA. KSTA is the native token that operates the K Stadium ecosystem. The early sell-out is a testament to the community's strong support and belief in Bit of Mind’s mission to redefine the standard of mental health care, the platform said. It also demonstrates investors’ strong support for and confidence in Bit of Mind's vision.  "Bit of Mind's LaunchPad is a testament to K Stadium's influence in identifying high-potential projects in the blockchain space. The funds raised will play an important role in advancing the development of Bit of Mind's ecosystem, including enhancing AI capabilities, expanding new features and providing opportunities for Web3 paradigm collaborations," K Stadium said. In the future, Bit of Mind is poised to venture into the metaverse as well, merging Web2 and Web3 paradigms and implementing picture-for-profile non-fungible tokens (PFP NFTs).