Weekly Update: 02 Feb 2023
1) Hong Kong is set to demand mandatory licensing for stablecoin issuers and won’t allow algorithmic stablecoins [CoinDesk]
– To start with, the HKMA plans to supervise the governance, issuance and stabilization of fiat-backed stablecoins, for which issuers must maintain reserves matching the amount of the crypto in circulation.
2) Securitize tokenized Hamilton Lane’s $2.1B Flagship Direct Equity Fund [Hamilton Lane]
– Individual investors can now access the fund through a new Securitize feeder fund tokenized on Polygon.
3) Arbitrum-based DEX Vest comes out of stealth with seed round from Jane Street, others [The Block]
– Vest is an upcoming decentralized perpetual futures exchange on the Arbitrum network which has closed a seed round from Jane Street, QCP Capital and others.
4) DeFi protocol Aave V3 goes live on Ethereum mainnet [crypto.news]
– Aave has announced the successful launch of Aave V3 on the Ethereum mainnet, which comes with several improvements, including gas fee optimization and more.
5) Hackers breach Azuki’s Twitter account, stealing $758K in 30 minutes [Cointelegraph]
– Most of the funds stolen were from a single wallet, with $751,321.80 in USDC drained from the malicious link.
6) Indonesia’s regulatory switch could see crypto classed as securities, not commodities [CoinDesk]
– A new law in Indonesia not only changes the crypto regulatory environment, it could also broaden the industry’s development in the country.
7) Panama’s Supreme Court to rule on cryptocurrency legislation [Cointelegraph]
– The high court will now decide whether to declare the “crypto bill” unenforceable or to approve it with modifications.
8) QuickNode raises $60M Series B round to further fuel blockchain adoption [PR Newswire]
– Funds will be used to fuel QuickNode’s next phase of growth and development.
9) South Korea to deploy cryptocurrency tracking system in 2023 [Cointelegraph]
– The “Virtual Currency Tracking System” will be used to monitor transaction history, extract information related to transactions and check the source of funds before and after the remittance.
10) Sam Bankman-Fried seeks right to transfer FTX’s crypto [CoinDesk]
– Lawyers for the bankrupt crypto exchange’s founder said there was no evidence for restricting his access to crypto held by FTX as part of bail conditions in a fraud trial.
