BeInCrypto’s Asia Crypto Roundup dives into the area’s most important updates and developments. Masking key markets like China, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, our roundup gives insights into Asia’s regulatory shifts, blockchain improvements, main mission launches, and market traits.
Final week’s notable occasions embrace Story Protocol’s profitable $80 million sequence B funding spherical and Dubai’s authorized ruling that acknowledges cryptocurrency funds for salaries.
Bitpanda and RAKBANK Accomplice to Increase UAE’s Crypto Entry
On August 19, Bitpanda Expertise Options (BTS) and The Nationwide Financial institution of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK) finalized an settlement to reinforce digital asset entry within the UAE. This collaboration will allow UAE residents to handle varied digital property securely. The partnership is a strategic transfer that permits banks to take part within the digital asset financial system with out creating in-house capabilities.
On this initiative, Bitpanda Dealer MENA DMCC’s operational approval and licensing by the Digital Property Regulatory Authority (VARA) are essential. Equally, RAKBANK should get hold of approval from the Central Financial institution of the UAE (CBUAE).
Korean Founder Secures $80 Million from Andreessen Horowitz
On August 21, enterprise capitalist Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) introduced main an $80 million sequence B funding spherical for PIP Labs, the developer of Story Protocol. The funding additionally noticed participation from Polychain Capital and notable buyers like HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk and Paris Hilton. This funding propels PIP Labs’ valuation at over $2.2 billion.
Story Protocol is a blockchain startup that helps creators defend their mental property (IP). It goals to generate sustainable income in an period the place AI-driven copyright theft is turning into more and more prevalent.
Moreover, it supplies creators with a platform to register their IP, set utilization phrases, and obtain compensation for his or her work. These will successfully defend their creations from unauthorized AI utilization.
“We imagine that every one mental and artistic works can fall underneath the class of IP, and all of them are going to face dramatic modifications on this new age of AI. […] Story is attempting to unravel an issue of how IP will probably be monetized when your entire web is being scraped by these AI fashions,” Jason Zhao, Chief Protocol Officer and co-founder of the PIP Labs, stated.
Zhao, a former product supervisor at Google’s AI lab DeepMind, co-founded PIP Labs with Lee Seung-Yoon, a South Korean entrepreneur who bought his cell fiction platform, Radish, for $374 million in 2021. Collectively, they create deep experience within the tech and artistic industries to Story Protocol.
The agency has already attracted over 200 entities to register over 20 million mental properties on the platform. Story Protocol is gearing up for its mainnet launch to develop into a cornerstone for future web content material creation and monetization.
Dubai Acknowledges Crypto as Legit Wage Fee
The Dubai Court docket of First Occasion has just lately acknowledged cryptocurrency funds for salaries underneath employment contracts. The ruling was primarily based on Article 912 of the UAE Civil Transactions Regulation and the Federal Decree-Regulation No. (33) of 2021. It emphasizes the significance of upholding clear contractual agreements, offered they align with public coverage and legislation.
This ruling contrasts with a earlier resolution in 2023, the place an analogous declare was denied as a result of plaintiff’s failure to supply a exact valuation of the digital forex concerned.
The latest case concerned a wrongful termination and unpaid wages declare. The plaintiff’s employment contract stipulated a wage in fiat forex and extra fee in EcoWatt tokens, a type of cryptocurrency.
The employer argued that the crypto funds weren’t legally enforceable. Nonetheless, the court docket dominated in favor of the worker. It validated the fee in EcoWatt tokens slightly than changing them into fiat forex.
Malaysia Cracks Down on Unlawful Bitcoin Mining
Following a court docket order, on August 19, Malaysian authorities destroyed 985 Bitcoin mining machines value roughly $452,500. The machines, seized throughout enforcement operations from 2022 to April 2023, have been crushed with a steamroller within the Perak Tengah district.
This motion got here after the arrest of seven people concerned in unlawful Bitcoin mining operations that allegedly stole electrical energy to energy their actions. The suspects have been detained individually final week, together with three native residents and 4 international nationals.
Sepang District Police Chief ACP Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof acknowledged that these people had no prior prison information, however their unlawful actions had brought on vital losses to the nation. The authorities estimate Malaysia misplaced as a lot as 3.4 billion Malaysian ringgits ($757 million) between 2018 and 2023 resulting from electrical energy theft linked to Bitcoin mining.
Unlawful Bitcoin Mining Rigs Seized by Malaysian Authorities. Supply: MalayMail
Deputy Power Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir highlighted the rising prevalence of this problem. He emphasised the detrimental impression of electrical energy theft for crypto mining on Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the nation.
“The theft of electrical energy by those that mine cryptocurrency happens as a result of they imagine this exercise can’t be detected as a result of absence of meters on their premises. Nevertheless, power provide firms have varied strategies to detect uncommon power consumption in an space,” Nasir stated.
Tether Unveils UAE’s First Dirham-Pegged Stablecoin
On August 21, Phoenix Group PLC, a holding firm listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Trade (ADX), unveiled a strategic partnership with Tether, a number one issuer of stablecoins, to introduce a stablecoin linked to the UAE dirham. Inexperienced Acorn Investments Ltd. helps this initiative, which goals to revolutionize the digital asset sector.
By merging the UAE dirham’s reliability with blockchain’s technological benefits, this stablecoin supplies a dependable digital forex that mirrors one of many world’s most secure currencies. Furthermore, it might probably play a pivotal position in enhancing enterprise operations and increasing development alternatives within the digital age.
Backed by Phoenix Group and Tether’s monetary energy and technical experience, this stablecoin will probably be ruled by strict regulatory compliance procedures that align with the UAE’s regulatory framework. The introduction of this stablecoin is predicted to be globally accessible, with deep roots within the UAE’s financial energy and stability.
