㊍ Wow, China Mobile to sell NFTs on OpenSea
Token2049 Singapore, an escape and mental break from U.S. regulatory challenges
October 9, 2023
Hello, Coco again.
In September, I had initially intended to attend the Permissionless conference in Austin, TX. However, I changed my plans and embarked on a 28-hour journey to Singapore for Token2049. I'm very glad I made that decision. The trip was a much-needed mental break from the regulatory challenges and unfriendly climate I have been experiencing for some time in the U.S.
While in Singapore, I had the opportunity to attend some well-organized private events such as “HashKey Space Homerun (click to watch the replay)” hosted by HashKey Capital. I also had the chance to connect with a group of Berkeley alumni who are startup founders and industry practitioners. Two themes recurred most in my conversations - RWA (real-world-assets) and Vietnam, which stands out as one of the most robust countries in Southeast Asia for grassroots adoption of Web3.
Singapore Token2049 attracted a staggering 10,000 official attendees and countless thousands more from all over the world who attended 400+ additional events during the week. People seemed to have forgotten that 3AC and Do Kwon’s TerraForm Labs were Singapore-based companies. Their names rarely came up in conversations, unless specifically inquired about. I also heard that 3AC's two partners had declined to cooperate with bankruptcy procedures. On a positive note, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) remains committed to growing the industry, evidenced by the recent full licenses granted to Coinbase and Ripple to operate in Singapore.
Developments in U.S. crypto regulations both interested and concerned people. I encountered startup founders from Asia and Europe who expressed their hesitancy about considering the U.S. as a base, at least for the time being.
During my time in Singapore, I became aware of the challenges faced by some U.S. founders who had been enticed by financial incentives from Hong Kong regulators to relocate to the city. For example, they encountered difficulties in opening bank accounts with local financial institutions.
Other noteworthy observations include the prominent presence of women within the Asian blockchain industry and the relatively U.S.-centric focus of U.S. venture funds in this sector compared to their Asian counterparts.
During private conversations with attendees from Mainland China, I discovered something astonishing: despite China's outright crypto ban, people are still actively and extensively engaged in the crypto space.
To learn more about the feedback of Token2049, I recommend the summary by Ken and Anju.
Next, my picks of new investments and product launches lately:
Titan Fund, CMCC Global
Blockchain technology-focused venture fund CMCC Global with offices in Hong Kong, Toronto, and Berlin, announced its first close of $100M for a new fund dubbed Titan Fund.
As stated on its website, “Titan Fund is focused on early-stage start-up investments along the three key verticals of Infrastructure, Fintech, and Consumer applications such as gaming, metaverse and NFTs. The fund has a global investment mandate with a focus on Asia Pacific leveraging its regional roots.”
LPs of the Titan Fund include Block.one, Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li’s Pacific Century Group, Winklevoss Capital, Jebsen Capital, and Animoca Brands founder Yat Siu. Bloomberg
UBS pilot tokenized money market fund on Ethereum
As part of the collaborative project Project Guardian with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), an initiative to test the feasibility of applications in asset tokenization and DeFi while managing risks to financial stability and integrity, UBS Asset Management introduced a pilot tokenized money market fund on Ethereum.
UBS’s tokenization platform UBS Tokenize has facilitated some other projects including helping the Bank of China Investment issue $28M worth of tokenized structured notes on the Ethereum public chain in June 2023. Late last year UBS issued $50M debt securities on the public chain. Ledger insights
Japan regulators to remove restrictions for Japanese VCs
Three restrictions on Japanese VCs are to be removed and changed hopefully in 2024. These restrictions are: Japanese VCs cannot accept cryptocurrency tokens from startups, unrealized value of crypto assets will be taxed, and local VCs cannot invest more than 50% of their capital in foreign startups. Nikkei Asia
Singapore ride-hailing and delivery company Grab adding Web3 services
Image: FintechNews.sg
Grab adds a Polygon-powered Web3 wallet to its app. The first project is to support the promotion of digital vouchers issued by some Singapore government agencies. Each NFT voucher is unique coming with a certain amount of stablecoins backed 1:1 to Singapore dollar. Circle is one of its partners. Ledger Insights
China Mobile to sell NFT “Meelier” on OpenSea on Oct. 12
Though China bans cryptocurrency and NFT trading, one of the largest State-Owned-Enterprises China Mobile is going to launch its first NFTs Meelier on OpenSea starting Oct. 12.
Zodia Custody expanding to Singapore
Days after London-based Zodia Custody, the bank-owned custodian of digital assets for institutions, launched in Singapore, it announced a partnership with Singapore company OpenEden to facilitate institutional access to off-chain yield potential for their on-chain assets. Zodia website
RWA Protocol Helix $2M Pre-seed
Helix, a real-world-asset protocol raised an over-subscribed $2M led by Saison Capital and Superscrypt. It is an institutional marketplace that enables blockchain-based lending to real-world businesses in Southeast Asia and other emerging economies. Helix Medium
Conferences and Events
Future Blockchain Summit, Dubai
Thank you for reading! Until the next one.
Coco
About the Author
I am Coco Kee, Co-founder of Kee Global Advisors and author of Blockchain Asia. More than 3 years ago, I started following innovations and developments in Asia’s blockchain, digital & crypto assets with the belief that this industry is inherently global and Asia is the other side of the coin. Blockchain Asia serves as a valuable resource, keeping readers stay informed of the latest developments and opportunities in Asia. It aims to be a platform for showcasing emerging Asian startups and investors.
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The curated content is selective and serves as information and contains personal views only, not investment advice.