Korean FSS Governor meets U.S. SEC Chair Gensler to cooperate on crypto regulations

Web3 chatting app Beoble launches beta version with 50,000 usersWeb3 social messaging app Beoble has secured over 50,000 users in just one day since the beta version of the app was released on Saturday (KST), according to a post on its official X account. This comes after pre-registration applications closed on Nov. 30, which saw over 100,000 sign-ups.Photo by Andrej Lišakov on UnsplashEmpowering Web3 connectivityBeoble is a Web3-based social messenger platform that employs a decentralized encryption network called the Communication Delivery Graph. It allows users to engage in end-to-end encrypted chatting between their digital wallets and offers a communication toolkit for integrating decentralized applications (dApps). The app currently supports all EVM-compatible blockchains like Ethereum and Polygon and plans to add others like Solana, Aptos and Sui in the future.“Beoble is essentially the first Web3 messaging app with the complete user experience,” said Cho Sung-min, CEO of Beoble.In particular, Beoble has gained attention for having a low barrier to entry due to its user-friendly user interface and experience (UI/UX). Notably, the platform facilitates direct communication between Web3 wallet owners and allows them to conduct non-fungible token (NFT) and peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions.Incentivizing community engagementThe Beoble team explained that the ongoing beta test will be an opportunity to incorporate user feedback and improve services. It will also be a period during which users can receive rewards based on their chat room engagement.“The more active users are in the community, the higher their rewards. Rewards can be obtained through activities like completing quests, following others, reacting to messages and logging in,” the firm explained. The Beoble rewards system distributes “cat points” to users based on their participation and contribution to the ecosystem, which are then used to determine their eligibility for rewards like token airdrops.Beoble also previously raised $2 million in pre-seed funding, backed by investors like Digital Currency Group, HashKey Capital and Genesis Blockchain Ventures. The platform’s public launch is scheduled for Q1 2024.

South Korean financial regulators have decided, at least for the time being, to maintain the current policy requiring cryptocurrency exchanges to partner with only one bank, according to a report from the Seoul Economic Daily.Photo by POURIA 🦋 on UnsplashDominance and money laundering concernsA government official cited concerns that allowing multiple banking relationships could potentially strengthen market dominance by leading platforms and increase money laundering risks. Regulators plan to revisit the issue after monitoring new developments following upcoming regulations that will permit institutional participation in the crypto market. This decision runs counter to a recent proposal put forward by the People Power Party (PPP) ahead of the presidential election that seeks to eliminate the one-bank-per-exchange requirement. Bizwatch reported that while the crypto industry initially supported the removal of this restriction unanimously, opinions have recently diverged among market participants. Divided industryMajor exchanges offering Korean won-based trading are mostly against the potential policy change. Except for Upbit, the country's largest platform, competitors express concern that modifying the rules could weaken their existing banking relationships if more financial institutions choose to partner with the market leader. Conversely, crypto-only exchanges, which cannot offer Korean won trading services, generally favor eliminating banking restrictions. These platforms believe relaxed regulations could create more opportunities to establish banking partnerships. Under current rules, virtual asset service providers must secure real-name accounts from a local bank to offer Korean won trading, placing those without such accounts at a competitive disadvantage. Banks also want changeKorean commercial banks align with crypto-only exchanges in supporting the easing of banking regulations. Jung Jin-wan, CEO of key financial institution Woori Bank, recently called for allowing multiple banks to serve individual crypto exchanges. He argues that the current one-bank-per-exchange system not only undermines systemic stability but also limits customer choice. While an official from a crypto-to-fiat exchange acknowledged the need for eventual reform of the one-bank-per-exchange system to improve customer options and market development, they also pointed out that industry stakeholders hold different views depending on their position in the market. The official said that dominant platforms perceive minimal practical benefits from permitting multiple banking relationships. 

Alchemy Pay, a Singapore-based platform that supports fiat to crypto purchases across 173 countries using Visa, Mastercard, regional mobile wallets and domestic transfers, has announced that it now provides a rupee-denominated on-ramp using India’s UPI real-time payments system.Photo by rupixen.com on UnsplashIn a recent blog post, the fiat to crypto payments solutions provider outlined that it now has the capacity to more effectively on-ramp India’s 1.4 billion citizens by enabling domestic transfer payments to effect crypto purchases through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a popular instant payments system in India. Processing domestic transactionsThe move means that Indian citizens can interact with the platform by way of simple, real-time domestic transfers, with a minimum purchase value of 1250 INR. First introduced in 2016, UPI has been wildly successful. In September 2022, the system recorded a monthly transaction volume of 6.7 billion transactions, representing a movement of $140 billion.The platform has partnered with 358 banks and continues to grow and expand its network. In Alchemy Pay’s home territory of Singapore, UPI has recently secured an integration with PayNow, a Singaporean secure funds transfer service. Referring to the PayNow/UPI integration in its blog post, Alchemy Pay is likely to be extending its UPI-based transfer service as a direct consequence.The payments facilitator claims that its plugin is “now being used by many wallets, DeFi, gaming and NFT marketplaces, as well as exchanges like OKX and LBank.”The Alchemy Pay platform has focused in particular on emerging regional real-time payments platforms. Within emerging markets it supports similar systems such as Pix, SPEI, GCash, Dana and OVO. As the Singaporean start-up puts it, ”simplifying the on-boarding process is crucial for the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies and by enabling local payment options, Alchemy Pay makes the adoption by a growing number of users possible.”Off the back of this expanded service offering, the company is currently inviting developers of Web3 platforms and dApps to get in touch so as to enable them in adding its plugin and integrating its API. Importance of bridging crypto with fiatIn another blog post on Monday, Alchemy Pay underscored the importance of an ability to on/off ramp to and from the crypto ecosystem. The company points out that in its recent history, the crypto space has been a complex and intimidating environment to enter or exit to/from the conventional world. It claims to be playing its part in changing this.According to the firm, its available options of transferring fiat currency to a user’s credit card, savings card or bank account via SWIFT, IBAN or local bank transfer is far more seamless than what has been offered to crypto space participants up until now. These transfers can be effected in minutes, with the platform supporting 22 currencies and payouts facilitated in over 60 countries.The digital assets space doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Current generations were all born into fiat-based monetary systems and naturally enough, the overwhelming majority of wealth is tied up within traditional systems.While digital assets have garnered quite a bit of attention over the course of the past few years, the overall market capitalization of crypto, which stands at $1.2 trillion at the time of publication according to cryptocurrency data aggregator CoinGecko, is only a drop in the bucket by comparison with the wealth that exists within the conventional system. More seamless bridging in line with what Alchemy Pay is offering will be necessary for this space to have a realistic chance of conquering mass market adoption.