Seoul Labs to build layer 2 blockchain mainnet using SASEUL

Crypto.com Halts Institutional Exchange Service in the USCrypto.com, the Singapore-headquartered cryptocurrency trading platform, has announced the suspension of its institutional exchange service in the United States starting from June 21.Photo by Carl Revell on UnsplashResponding to market conditionsThe decision to halt the service is primarily attributed to limited demand from institutional clients, exacerbated by the challenging market conditions prevailing at present. According to a statement released by Crypto.com, advanced notice was provided to the platform’s institutional users regarding the suspension of the service.However, it is important to note that Crypto.com’s retail mobile application and platform will continue to operate normally in the US. “We recently made a business decision to suspend the institutional offering of the Crypto.com exchange in the US as of 11:59 pm EDT June 21, 2023, due to limited demand from institutions in the US in the current market landscape. Impacted institutional users were given advance notice to support a smooth transition,” the statement clarified.Despite the cessation of institutional services, American retail users can still access CFTC-regulated cryptocurrency derivatives trading offered by Crypto.com. Additionally, the UpDown Options feature remains available, enabling users to open long or short trading positions on the future movements of various cryptocurrencies.Crypto.com has expressed openness to the possibility of relaunching its institutional exchange in the United States in the future, indicating that the suspension is not necessarily permanent.CoinRoute integrationIn more positive news, on Thursday the firm announced that it had entered into a collaboration with smart order routing and trade execution service provider CoinRoute to integrate its service with the platform. Crypto.com Managing Director, Giuseppe Giuliani, said that “the integration aligns perfectly with our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to cryptocurrency by providing institutional-grade solutions that enhance the liquidity environment for cryptocurrencies.”CoinRoute’s algorithmic crypto trading technology is already live on the Crypto.com platform.While Crypto.com adjusts its offerings in the US market, it recently received a major payment institution (MPI) license for digital payment token (DPT) services from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This regulatory approval allows Crypto.com to continue providing its services in Singapore.Further evidence that the exchange business continues to find ways to propel itself forward includes its recent move to update its service offering to include the use of artificial intelligence-based technology. Additionally, last month it set out plans to list the euro as a trading option, leveraging the liquidity of the European currency while allowing it to be traded against leading digital assets such as bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT.The month of June 2023 has been a turbulent one for cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the United States. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated legal proceedings against both Binance.US and Coinbase, accusing them of various securities laws violations. The actions of the SEC have drawn criticism from the broader cryptocurrency community, as the regulatory crackdown in the US appears to be intensifying nearly eight months after the collapse of Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.As the cryptocurrency industry continues to navigate evolving regulatory landscapes, market participants are closely observing developments in the US and other jurisdictions, which could have far-reaching implications for the future of digital assets.

XPLA and PERPLAY join forces to bolster rewarding mechanism to Web3 gamesSouth Korean gaming corporation Com2uS Group’s layer 1 blockchain XPLA has entered a business agreement with the mobile Game and Earn (G&E) platform PERPLAY to boost the sustainability of its ecosystem and take Web3 gaming to new heights, according to an official announcement on Thursday (KST).Photo by ROBIN WORRALL on UnsplashXPLA’s vision“XPLA is a project working towards promoting new levels of fun in Web3 gaming and building an ecosystem based on a fair system of sharing rewards with users,” said Paul Kim, Team Leader at XPLA. “Through this partnership with PERPLAY, we are one step closer to fulfilling our Web3 philosophy, which is centered around the participants in our ecosystem.”Rewards for everyoneThe PERPLAY app runs on a Proof of Play (POP) algorithm that employs a rewarding mechanism that distributes tokens to users based on their game playtime and collection of tiered NFTs. PERPLAY users can earn $XPER and $PER token rewards by playing any mobile game — existing or newly downloaded — that they have registered in the PERPLAY app.XPLA hopes to integrate this algorithm into its ecosystem to add a rewarding layer to various games on its mainnet, offering a unique and elevated gaming experience. The first of these games will be Com2uS Holdings’ popular mobile role-playing game (RPG) The Walking Dead: All-Stars.“We see this partnership with XPLA as an opportunity to further strengthen the PERPLAY user ecosystem,” said Lim Jae-chung, CEO of PERPLAY. “Starting with The Walking Dead: All-Stars, we will bring the PERPLAY experience to various Web3 games on XPLA.”In a related development, XPLA has partnered with Google Cloud, which will serve as a Volunteer Validator for its blockchain protocol. The collaboration with the cloud computing platform is expected to enhance the integrity of the XPLA network.

Crypto Winter Halves Korean Bank Fee ProfitsLast year, Korean banks collected only half the amount in fees from crypto exchanges compared to the previous year, according to Korean news agency News1.©Pexels/PixabayDeclining bank fee profitsFiles submitted by the Korean Financial Services Commission to Yun Chang-hyun, a member of the ruling People Power Party, revealed that the five major Korean crypto exchanges paid 20.4 billion KRW (~$15.6 million) in fees to banks last year, which is a 49.4% decrease from the previous year’s 40.3 billion KRW (~$30.7 million). These exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax) have established agreements with banks to hold real-name bank accounts, which is a legal requirement for exchanges that wish to conduct trades in Korean won.Banks that have provided real-name accounts to crypto exchanges saw an increase in fee profits from 2019 to 2021. However, due to a decline in market sentiment last year, trade volume decreased, resulting in a reduction of bank fees. Last year’s crypto winter is attributable to various factors, including uncertainties in the global economy and collapses of crypto enterprises such as Terraform Labs and FTX.Fees by exchangesIn terms of fees paid to banks by exchanges last year, the largest exchange, Upbit, paid 13.9 billion KRW (~$10.6 million) in fees to Kbank, a mobile banking service provider. Bithumb and Coinone paid 4.9 billion KRW (~$3.7 million) and 989 million KRW (~$750,000) in fees to NH Bank, respectively. It is worth noting that Coinone switched its bank from NH Bank to Kakao Bank last November, paying 72 million KRW (~$55,000) to Kakao Bank in the fourth quarter. Korbit paid 486 million KRW (~$370,000) and 19 million KRW (~$14,500) to Shinhan Bank and Jeonbuk Bank, respectively. Gopax partnered with Jeonbuk Bank to obtain its real-name accounts in April last year.Lawmaker Yun said it was apparent that partnerships were being forged between only a handful of banks and crypto enterprises. Current regulations have to be reviewed to encourage more banks to participate in various blockchain businesses, he added.