Author：Lily

Editor：Colin Wu

1. South Korea’s weekly summary

1.1 Upbit announced the addition of MAGIC in the BTC market link

On March 21, Upbit, the largest exchange in South Korea, announced the addition of MAGIC in the BTC market, which only supports deposits from the Arbitrum network. Trading is expected to open at 4 pm on March 21st. MAGIC is a token of Treasure, a gaming platform and ecosystem project built on Arbitrum, and has previously been listed on exchanges such as Binance.

1.2 K-pop singer G-Dragon to sell “Archive of PEACEMINUSONE” NFTs on OpenSea link

On March 21, OpenSea announced that popular K-pop singer G-Dragon will be selling “Archive of PEACEMINUSONE” NFTs on the OpenSea platform, released on the Binance Smart Chain. The first phase will be priced at 0.27 BNB ($88), with a white-listed minting time at 9:00 am on the 22nd and a public sale at 11:00 am, with a total of 13,444 tokens. Following this, there will be a second phase priced at $288 and a third phase priced at $488. The NFT collection was inspired by G-Dragon’s original work “|ARCHIVE 2016'” and is issued by PEACEMINUSONE, a brand owned by G-Dragon.

1.3 Security vulnerability and cold reception for G-Dragon’s NFT link

OpenSea data shows that the NFT “Archive of PEACEMINUSONE” issued by the brand Peaceminusone owned by the Korean wave star G-Dragon encountered a cold reception on March 22. The security audit team, Supremacy, tweeted that the NFT contract issued by the Peaceminusone brand, owned by the Korean wave star G-Dragon, has a common security vulnerability CVE-2022–38217 previously disclosed by Supremacy.

1.4 Wemade teams up with Near protocol to lead Korean Web3 gaming industry link

On March 24, Wemade has announced a strategic partnership with Near Protocol to accelerate web3 adoption in South Korea. The two companies have firmed a multi-faceted partnership that will see them co-host hackathons and scout potential web3 business opportunities among others. Wemade also launched advanced blockchain services through its mainnet ‘WEMIX 3.0’.

1.5 Blockchain version of MapleStory Universe will still be a MMORPG link

On March 24, Korean game developer Nexon announced that the blockchain version of its game MapleStory Universe will still be a MMORPG and will have an NFT-based ecosystem where users can obtain limited NFTs by playing the game and trade them. In addition, they will also release an SDK that enables developers to develop new games on the sandbox for scalability and issue blockchain-based tokens for the game.

2. Taiwan’s weekly summary

2.1 Taiwan to regulate exchanges and cryptocurrencies, following FTX crash losses link

According to CNA, Taiwan will announce at the end of March that exchanges and cryptocurrencies will be managed by the Financial Supervisory Commission. First, the industry will self-regulate, while referring to international norms, and finally establish a special law. Taiwan investors lost heavily in FTX Crash.

2.2 Taiwan’s FSC reveals more details on regulatory scope link

On March 20, Huang Tien-mu, the Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) in Taiwan, stated that the FSC has been instructed by the Executive Yuan to assume responsibility for the regulation of virtual assets in terms of payment and trading, as well as the separation of customer and platform assets, review of product listings, and investor protection in the future. However, other types of virtual assets, such as NFTs, are not within the scope of regulation.

2.3 Taiwanese singer Jay Chou launches music metaverse on Conflux link

On March 21, Conflux announced that Jay Chou recently launched a music metaverse on Conflux and offered a limited-time NFT ticket experience. NFT holders can access Jay Chou’s music metaverse. Previously, Jay Chou collaborated with several NFT projects, including Phanta Bear (Jay Bear) and Tiger Champs co-released with PSG, but they are currently experiencing poor trading volumes and prices falling below their initial listing prices.

3. Hong Kong’s weekly summary

3.1 Hong Kong is working on a regulatory regime for “stablecoins” link

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is working on a regulatory regime for “stablecoins” with an aim to implementing the relevant regulation in 2024. As of the end of February 2023, Invest Hong Kong has received more than 80 related companies interested in setting up business in Hong Kong.

3.2 Crypto firm Animoca Brands cuts target for new fund again link

On March 24, Hong Kong-based blockchain gaming developer Animoca Brands has cut its target for its so-called metaverse fund by 20% to $800 million, people familiar with the matter said, in a further scaling back of its ambitions following volatility in the crypto sector. Animoca Brands said in November that it was working on a new Animoca Capital fund with a target of $2 billion, but then halved that target in January to $1 billion.

4. Crypto.com secures MVP Preparatory License from Dubai’s VARA link

On March 20, Crypto.com confirmed that it has received its MVP Preparatory License from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Once licensed to be operational, Crypto.com will be able to extend its approved suite of duly regulated virtual assets activities spanning a range of crypto exchange services (spot and derivatives), brokerage, margin/leverage trading, and OTC offerings around settlements for institutional investors.

5. Tech giant Fujitsu is actively exploring crypto services offering link

Fujitsu, the Japanese technology giant, has recently made a significant move, filing an application for a broad range of banking, finance, and cryptocurrency-related services. This international technology company has submitted a trademark application that covers a range of financial services, including money exchange, securities trading, insurance brokerage, tax planning, and cryptocurrency trading.

6. 4 Thai immigration officers face arrest for abducting Chinese national, extorting thousands in cryptocurrency link

The Chinese man was kidnapped, along with his female interpreter, and forced to cough up nearly US$30,000 in crypto after falling victim to a scam. Arrest warrants have been issued against the four immigration officers linked to the case, while the Chinese national has fled to his home country.

7. Createra partners with Chinese smartphone brand OPPO link

On March 22, UGC metaverse platform Createra announced a partnership with Chinese smartphone brand OPPO. Createra had previously completed a $10 million Series A financing round led by a16z, and the platform allows creators to build and distribute metaverse games.

8. 33 sentenced for selling virtual currency through MLM scheme in China link

According to the official WeChat account of Xuzhou procuratorate, 33 individuals were sentenced for using MLM schemes to sell the virtual currency “Ubank”, with over 100,000 registered users and over 10 billion yuan in MLM transactions. The case resulted in the recovery of 80 million yuan in stolen funds, and more than 10 contracted companies of “Ubank” were investigated and had their stolen funds confiscated.

9. Partner of A&T Capital Jun YU was accused of “rape” and sexual harassment link

On March 25th, it was reported that Jun YU, founding partner of Ant Group’s cryptocurrency investment fund A&T Capital and former head of investments at OKX, was accused of “rape” and sexual harassment by multiple women, including one of his former subordinates at A&T Capital. A&T Capital sent a letter to investors stating that Mr. Yu had resigned from his position representing one of the investors (presumably Ant Group), and therefore would no longer be involved in any A&T Capital affairs.

10. Binance denies rumors of security breach during maintenance period link

On March 25, the official Chinese channel of Binance Community announced that some people had spread rumors (FUD) in the community. The originators of these rumors claimed that they could take advantage of a vulnerability in the Binance platform during system maintenance today to obtain a large amount of assets. Binance is confident that this is a rumor and such action is not possible. An investigation has been launched into the malicious dissemination of rumors, and necessary action will be taken in accordance with Binance’s terms of service.

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