OKX launches exchange and Web3 wallet in Brazil; Circle expands in Japan, and other crypto industry developments

We round up the week’s most important crypto-industry news.

OKX launches exchange and Web3 wallet in Brazil

Bitcoin exchange OKX launched a trading platform and Web3-wallet with MPC-technology and account abstraction. Local users also gained access to fiat-to-digital-asset conversion services.

«We expect innovations to grow with Web3 and the crypto economy and millions of users as the market develops in Brazil», — said OKX President Hong Fang.

In November the exchange announced the launch of the L2 network X1 in partnership with Polygon.

Copper unveils platform for trading security tokens, Binance – tri-party banking agreement

The copper asset custody provider Copper will launch in Abu Dhabi (UAE) a platform for trading security tokens. The initiative will require approval from FSRA.

Copper Securities is designed for the firm’s UAE clients and combines trading and custody services. In the future the platform will include financial and payments apps; it will be integrated with Copper’s custodial partners and will provide access to financial instruments from more than 90 markets worldwide.

Representatives said the new platform would boost efficiency and cut operating costs of traditional market infrastructure.

«Clients will benefit from automated processing of corporate orders, settlements, deposits and rebalancings», — according to the press release.

Binance signed a tri-party crypto banking agreement with a third-party banking partner. The arrangement demonstrates that institutional investors can custody collateral off-exchange with a third-party bank.

The agreement mirrors a structure common in TradFi, which allows investors to allocate their crypto assets proportional to their risk tolerance.

The press release states this is the first-of-its-kind deal. The initiative is being implemented as part of a series of pilots focused on institutional investors.

SBI Holdings will help Circle expand USDC in Japan

SBI Holdings agreed with Circle to collaborate on circulating USDC, establish banking relationships and promote Circle Web3 Services in Japan.

According to the press release, SBI VC Trade aims to obtain registration as an electronic payment instrument service to distribute USDC in Japan. The SBI Shinsei Bank, part of the group, will begin providing Circle with banking services.

The SBI Group will also deploy Circle Web3 Services such as programmable wallets, blockchain infrastructure, and smart-contract management tools.

According to Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, the partnership with SBI Holdings “is an important milestone in Circle’s plans to expand in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.”

Paxos and eToro received licenses from Abu Dhabi regulator

Blockchain infrastructure company Paxos and investment platform eToro have received approval from Abu Dhabi’s FSRA to operate in the emirate.

The Paxos license provides in-principle approval to issue stablecoins pegged to the US dollar and other currencies, as well as to provide brokerage and custodial services in digital assets from two regulated ADGM entities.

In November Paxos received in-principle approval from MAS to issue a new dollar-denominated stablecoin.

eToro was authorised to operate as a broker for securities, derivatives and crypto-assets.

MIPT will launch a public blockchain network

MIPT and other leading Russian universities and research institutions announced the launch of Russia’s first public blockchain network, to be used by non-profit and for-profit projects.

Independent validators will be sought from universities and research centers with qualified IT specialists. An independent DAO will be created to govern the network. The network will be accessible to both non-profit and commercial Russian organizations.

Also in ForkLog:

• Circle denied allegations of links to Justin Sun.
• MicroStrategy additionally acquired bitcoins worth $593 million.
• DCG will pay $620 million to settle the Genesis lawsuit.
• Changpeng Zhao stepped down from the Binance.US board.
• Philippine regulator accused Binance of operating without registration.
• The court allowed FTX to liquidate Grayscale and Bitwise shares worth $744 million.
• Media reports emerged of an investigation into crypto platform Hounax.

What to read this weekend?

Former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao is to remain at large until the court’s verdict but must not leave the United States due to “flight risk.” Under a new motion by authorities, he could face up to ten years’ imprisonment.

The new CEO Richard Tengu will have to ensure the exchange’s competitiveness under pressure from US authorities. He has already promised to implement a traditional corporate structure and start disclosing information.

Given the scale of Binance’s operations, the outcome of the proceedings will undoubtedly affect the entire crypto industry. ForkLog discussed the situation with experts.