Chainlink partners with Abu Dhabi’s ADGM on tokenization framework development

The global cryptocurrency market is poised for unprecedented growth, potentially reaching $200 trillion within a decade, according to Yat Siu, co-founder of Animoca Brands, a prominent Hong Kong-based Web3 game software company and venture capital firm. 2-3x within 18 monthsCurrently valued at approximately $2.7 trillion according to data from crypto aggregator CoinGecko, the cryptocurrency market is set to double or triple in the near term, Siu predicted on The Valr Podcast on May 28. “In the near term — within 12 to 18 months — we can conceive of a doubling or tripling of the space,” he stated, expressing strong confidence in the industry's future milestones. Siu elaborated on his bold forecast, suggesting that over a five to ten-year period, the market could accelerate by 100 to 200 times, potentially reaching a valuation of $200 trillion or even higher. In conversation with Farzam Ehsani, the co-founder of Valr, a platform that allows users to buy, sell, store and transfer crypto assets, Siu said:“I think we could reach that kind of number within a decade.” This explosive growth, according to Siu, will be driven by billions of people becoming digital property owners within the Web3 ecosystem. Siu stated: “It is entirely conceivable that we’re going to have a billion property owners because we’re going to have a billion token holders. This is not possible in the physical world.”Photo by Pierre Borthiry - Peiobty on UnsplashAsia fastest growing marketSiu also pointed out the regional dynamics within the Web3 space, noting that Asia has emerged as the fastest-growing market. “Right now, the leading force in Web3 is clearly Asia,” he argued, citing robust adoption rates in regions such as Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Japan. In contrast, jurisdictions like the United States are lagging behind, primarily due to regulatory uncertainties. Siu pointed out that historically, the United States has tended to take a leadership role where new technology is concerned. Web3 is turning out to be the exception to that rule. With that, he thinks that it is Asia that will lead the way and that it will continue to lead for the foreseeable future where Web3 is concerned. Bullish on BitcoinHis optimism about the Web3 market's potential aligns with his bullish stance on Bitcoin, currently standing at a market capitalization of $1.3 trillion. Siu made another bold prediction recently, expressing confidence that Bitcoin would eventually reach $1 million. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $68,346. While that’s far from his $1 million unit price prediction, he did state at Web Summit Rio in April that it would do so “over time.”  That bullishness from the Animoca founder has also manifested itself within the company itself. In early May, the company announced its entry into the Bitcoin ecosystem by endorsing the Opal Foundation, a Bitcoin-centric protocol. At the time, Siu suggested that Bitcoin is now primed for Web3. Siu's projections reflect a broader optimism in the cryptocurrency industry, where rapid technological advancements and increasing adoption rates are expected to drive significant growth. As more individuals and institutions embrace digital assets, the potential for exponential market expansion becomes increasingly plausible.

Korean Lawmakers Complete First Rough Draft of Virtual Asset User Protection BillKorean lawmakers have completed the first rough draft of the virtual asset user protection bill at a National Policy Committee meeting held later last month.©Pexels/Matthias ZomerAgreeing on term usage ‘virtual assets’So far, 18 bills have been proposed to regulate cryptocurrencies, and the lawmakers and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) agreed to use the term “virtual assets” to encompass similar terms such as digital assets and crypto assets.Phased enactment of billsThe bills are likely to be reviewed under the title “Virtual Asset User Protection Act.” The bipartisan group agreed to enact the bills in phases, introducing the user protection bill in the first phase and the virtual asset listing and issuance bill in the second phase.Meanwhile, there were mixed opinions on the content of the bills. In particular, there was debate over whether the bills should stipulate that the central bank digital currency (CBDC) is excluded from virtual assets, and whether the bills should include a standard for determining if a virtual asset is a security.Debate over stipulating CBDC’s statusThe stipulation of excluding CBDC from virtual assets was the most divisive topic since it would lead to defining the conditions for other assets such as non-fungible tokens. Moreover, the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, which currently regulates virtual asset service providers (VASPs), does not contain any stipulation on CBDC. Some raised concerns that such discrepancies could later cause confusion. In the end, assembly members decided to discuss the matter again in April after consulting with the Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Government Legislation.Criteria for classifying virtual assets as securitiesRegarding whether to include criteria for classifying virtual assets as securities, the lawmakers and financial regulators took different sides.Lee Yong-woo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, underlined that a clear statement of the relationship between the issuer and the recipient of virtual assets in a whitepaper can determine their security status. He added that such provisions should be included in the bills.Park Min-woo, an FSC official, on the other hand, commented on a cautious note that in case virtual assets fall under the category of securities, they may not be applicable to the virtual asset act. He explained that VASPs might deal with both securities and virtual assets, and in such cases, there could be a misunderstanding that VASPs are not subject to the virtual asset act simply because they trade securities.

Do Kwon, a South Korean national and the central figure in the 2022 collapse of the Terra blockchain ecosystem, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Dec. 11, capping a federal case that exposed a multibillion-dollar scheme built on false promises and secret market manipulation. According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer handed down the sentence in Manhattan federal court, finding that the 34-year-old orchestrated a scheme that inflicted substantial losses on both retail and institutional investors.Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash"This was a fraud on an epic, generational scale. In the history of federal prosecutions, there are few frauds that have caused as much harm as you have, Mr. Kwon," Engelmayer said, according to Reuters. Kwon, who was extradited to the U.S. in December 2024 following his arrest in Montenegro, pleaded guilty in August. Addressing the court, he acknowledged the devastation caused by the collapse. "All of their stories were harrowing and reminded me again of the great losses that I’ve caused. I want to tell these victims that I am sorry," Kwon said. A house of cardsAccording to court filings, Kwon’s deception ran from 2018 through 2022, misleading investors regarding the stability of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), the LUNA token, and the independence of the Luna Foundation Guard. Prosecutors outlined a pattern of fabrication across Terraform’s products. When UST lost its $1 peg in May 2021, Kwon claimed an automated "Terra Protocol" restored balance. In reality, investigators found the company secretly utilized a high-frequency trading firm to prop up the price, creating a "false impression" of the system’s resilience. The fraud extended to Terraform’s partnerships and applications. Investigators said Kwon lied about the South Korean payments platform Chai, claiming its transactions were settled on the Terra blockchain. Instead, Chai used traditional payment networks, with Terraform simply copying data to the blockchain to feign integration. Similarly, Kwon allegedly manipulated the Mirror Protocol, a platform for synthetic stock trading. While touting it as decentralized, prosecutors said he used bots, funded by stablecoins he created, to inflate volume and manipulate asset prices. The collapse and captureBy spring 2022, the ecosystem’s value exceeded $50 billion. However, when UST broke its peg again in May 2022, Terraform could not artificially restore it. The resulting crash erased at least $40 billion in value and triggered a contagion across digital-asset markets. While Kwon publicly claimed cooperation with authorities during the fallout, prosecutors introduced recordings suggesting he privately explored seeking political protection to avoid accountability. He was eventually arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for traveling on a fraudulent passport. In addition to the prison term, Judge Engelmayer ordered Kwon to forfeit over $19 million, including interests in Terraform and its digital assets. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with assistance from Montenegrin and South Korean authorities. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a separate civil action. Global crackdown widensWhile the U.S. concludes the Kwon case, scrutiny of the crypto sector is intensifying abroad. DL News, citing the Belarusian outlet Onliner, reported that Belarusian authorities have blocked access to digital asset trading platforms Bybit, Bitget, and OKX. The Ministry of Information cited the Mass Media Act for the decision, though KuCoin and Binance remain accessible. The step contrasts with President Alexander Lukashenko’s earlier support for developing a national crypto reserve and mining sector. Meanwhile, the Belarusian arm of Russia’s Sputnik reported that State Control Committee chairman Vasily Gerasimov recently put in place a record system identifying wallets authorities suspect are used for criminal money laundering.