Busan signs MOU with BDX Consortium to launch Busan Digital Asset Exchange

Asiastar Entertainment and Codus to Develop Casual P2E Game with NFT RewardsAsiastar Entertainment, a Korean company specializing in animation, food products, and toys, revealed plans last Friday to work with its business partner, software and blockchain development firm Codus, to develop a casual play-to-earn (P2E) game that rewards players with NFTs.Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on UnsplashTokenized in-game assets and coin rewardsSpecifically, multiple in-game characters and backgrounds will be tokenized as NFTs for trading. As players progress through the game, they can also earn rewards in the form of TBC — the official tradeable coin issued by TurboChain Foundation, a subsidiary of Asiastar Entertainment. These rewards can be exchanged for gift vouchers and various merchandise, the company said.The two companies plan to leverage Asiastar Entertainment’s Great Q-Bot animation model — a model originally aimed at providing animated educational content for children — to create the P2E game.Watch-to-earn, short-form videosMeanwhile, TurboChain Foundation is gearing up to launch its Turbo Playhouse platform in the latter half of the year. This watch-to-earn, short-form video platform links offline products and online videos with QR codes to allow users to receive TBCs.Asiastar Entertainment also added that it is currently focusing on expanding its business through blockchain-related ventures by taking advantage of its core competencies in this emerging field.

Ninety Eight launches web3 startup fundNinety Eight, a dynamic ecosystem of Web3 innovators, has unveiled its latest venture, a $25 million ecosystem fund.The company is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with the objective of founding and funding blockchain companies that make Web3 accessible to everyone. The firm was founded by Le Thanh, alongside co-founder and CEO Nguyen Vinh.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashFocus on AsiaThe announcement, made via a blog post to the company’s website on Tuesday, indicates that the fund will support the development of Web3 startups within the Asian region.The project’s primary objective is to nurture the growth and advancement of Web3 startups within a crypto and blockchain sector in Asia that continues to progress and evolve. Ninety Eight takes an approach that encompasses both financial backing and strategic guidance for handpicked startups, with a dedicated team working in tandem to provide insights and facilitate access to its extensive network of industry collaborators.Leveraging ecosystem infrastructureNinety Eight maintains that entrepreneurs can harness its infrastructure and draw upon the depth of its ecosystem. One of the key components of that ecosystem is Viction, formerly known as Tomochain.Viction is a layer-1 blockchain boasting zero-gas transactions and cutting-edge security features. The project claims that Viction creates the ideal conditions for projects to broaden their horizons and enhance their prospects of success.C98 tokenA defining feature of the ecosystem fund is its emphasis on promoting the utility of its native token, C98. Originally conceived as a wallet token, C98 has since transformed into an instrument for propelling Web3 innovation. With its versatile applications, Ninety Eight claims C98 holds the potential to revolutionize the way Web3 applications are conceived, deployed and utilized. Through the ecosystem fund, the company mission is to bolster startups capable of harnessing C98 to craft inventive and impactful solutions.Ninety Eight has incorporated Arche Fund within its offering, with it assuming the role of fund custodian. It also plays a part in overseeing the fund and closely collaborating with selected startups to unlock their full potential. Arche Fund offers value-added programs while equipping partnering businesses with essential tools, resources and invaluable networks.By propelling their pioneering vision, we empower our partners to transform their aspirations into reality. CEO Thanh Le articulated the firm’s mission, stating:“Our path forward is guided by one principle — we are builders backing builders. Thanks to the incredible community that has brought us to where we are today, we are determined to give back. We believe that by supporting talented builders and providing them with the necessary resources, we can drive the adoption of Web3 technologies and shape the future of the decentralized internet.”The firm previously launched its Vietnam Future Fund earlier this year, with a view towards concentrating on propelling Vietnamese Web3 startups forward.Prospective startups considering applying for funding from the Ninety Eight ecosystem fund are being encouraged to submit their applications via the Arch Fund’s submission form.

SafePal Delves Into Korean Market Through Klaytn PartnershipThe Seychelles-based team behind non-custodial digital asset wallet provider, SafePal, has made its first attempt at conquering the Korean market through a partnership with South Korean enterprise blockchain, Klaytn.The collaboration will see the wallet provider support digital assets native to the Klaytn blockchain network. For Klaytn ecosystem users, it also means that they can access in excess of one hundred blockchains, which are already supported by SafePal’s non-custodial wallet. Both entities articulated their thoughts relative to the partnership, with SafePal doing so via a blog post published late last week. Meanwhile, the Klaytn project team expanded on the development in a post to its website on Tuesday.Photo by Mathew Schwartz on UnsplashKorean expansionKlaytn-native digital assets will be supported via SafePal’s mobile app, hardware wallet and its browser extension-based wallet. SafePal acknowledges the leading position that the Klaytn network takes in Korea, relative to the metaverse, blockchain gaming and other Web3 verticals. While SafePal already has 10 million users, this move demonstrates that it has plans on expanding that user-base to incorporate millions more, in this case Korea-based Klaytn network users.Alluding to that Korean expansion, Veronica Wong, Co-Founder and CEO of SafePal stated: “Klaytn is a leading blockchain in Korea for Web3 and DeFi, so this partnership made perfect sense, as we want users to access exciting opportunities in all established ecosystems globally.”Bringing Klaytn dApps to SafePal usersThe Klaytn project team is viewing the hook-up in the same manner. In its announcement it outlines that the collaboration can serve its purpose in “bringing in Klaytn’s next 10 million users with SafePal.” The partnership also serves to bring leading Klaytn dApps to that new user-base of 10 million. That includes on-chain instant swap protocol, Klayswap, blockchain play-to-earn game DeFi Kingdoms, Korean NFT marketplace Pala, leveraged yield farming project, Kleva Protocol and DEX aggregator Swapscanner.Conceived by the dominant messaging app provider in Korea, KAKAO, in 2018, the development of the Klaytn blockchain is now guided by the Klaytn Foundation. The project has set out a governance roadmap that will see the project achieve decentralization later this year.SafePal growth trajectorySafePal has been hitting its numbers when it comes to expanding its user base. Over the course of the past year, it has grown its user-base from 8 to 10 million. Its support for 100 blockchains results in overall support for in excess of 200,000 token types, including NFTs. That growth strategy belies further comments that Wong made relative to this latest collaboration:“While the self-custody offered by Web3 and DeFi is increasingly important amidst growing concerns about traditional financial systems, adoption is still hindered by language and geographical barriers. Klaytn is a leading blockchain in Korea for Web3 and DeFi, so this partnership made perfect sense, as we want users to access exciting opportunities in all established ecosystems globally.”With no let up in its growth strategy, SafePal followed up on Friday with an announcement that it had integrated the recently launched low latency, high throughput layer one SUI network and its native token, $SUI.