BeInCrypto’s Asia Crypto Roundup dives into the area’s most important updates and developments. Overlaying key markets like China, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, our roundup affords insights into Asia’s regulatory shifts, blockchain improvements, main undertaking launches, and market developments.
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 Companion to Enhance UAE’s Crypto Entry
On August 19, Bitpanda Know-how Options (BTS) and The Nationwide Financial institution of Ras Al Khaimah (RAKBANK) finalized an settlement to boost digital asset entry within the UAE. This collaboration will allow UAE residents to handle varied digital belongings securely. The partnership is a strategic transfer that permits banks to take part within the digital asset economic system with out creating in-house capabilities.
On this initiative, Bitpanda Dealer MENA DMCC’s operational approval and licensing by the Digital Belongings Regulatory Authority (VARA) are essential. Equally, RAKBANK should receive approval from the Central Financial institution of the UAE (CBUAE).
Learn extra: Prime 9 Most secure Crypto Exchanges in 2024
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 traders 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 gives 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 believe that all intellectual and creative works can fall under the category of IP, and all of them are going to face dramatic changes in this new age of AI. […] Story is trying to solve a problem of how IP will be monetized when the entire internet is being scraped by these AI models,” Jason Zhao, Chief Protocol Officer and co-founder of the PIP Labs, mentioned.
Zhao, a former product supervisor at Google’s AI lab DeepMind, co-founded PIP Labs with Lee Seung-Yoon, a South Korean entrepreneur who offered his cell fiction platform, Radish, for $374 million in 2021. Collectively, they bring about 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 change into a cornerstone for future web content material creation and monetization.
Dubai Acknowledges Crypto as Respectable Wage Fee
The Dubai Courtroom of First Occasion has not too long ago acknowledged cryptocurrency funds for salaries underneath employment contracts. The ruling was based mostly 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, supplied they align with public coverage and legislation.
This ruling contrasts with a earlier resolution in 2023, the place an identical declare was denied as a result of plaintiff’s failure to offer 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 cost 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 cost in EcoWatt tokens relatively 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 price roughly $452,500. The machines, seized throughout enforcement operations from 2022 to April 2023, had 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 had been detained individually final week, together with three native residents and 4 international nationals.
Sepang District Police Chief ACP Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof said that these people had no prior prison information, however their unlawful actions had prompted 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 because of electrical energy theft linked to Bitcoin mining.
Deputy Vitality Transition and Water Transformation Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir highlighted the rising prevalence of this challenge. He emphasised the detrimental impression of electrical energy theft for crypto mining on Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) and the nation.
“The theft of electricity by those who mine cryptocurrency occurs because they believe this activity cannot be detected due to the absence of meters on their premises. However, energy supply companies have various methods to detect unusual energy consumption in an area,” Nasir mentioned.
Learn extra: How A lot Electrical energy Does Bitcoin Mining Use?
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 gives a dependable digital forex that mirrors one of many world’s most secure currencies. Furthermore, it might doubtlessly play a pivotal function in enhancing enterprise operations and increasing development alternatives within the digital age.
Backed by Phoenix Group and Tether’s monetary power and technical experience, this stablecoin can 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 power and stability.
Disclaimer
In adherence to the Belief Venture tips, BeInCrypto is dedicated to unbiased, clear reporting. This information article goals to offer correct, well timed data. Nonetheless, readers are suggested to confirm details independently and seek the advice of with an expert earlier than making any selections based mostly on this content material. Please be aware that our Phrases and Situations, Privateness Coverage, and Disclaimers have been up to date.
