Singapore grants Coinbase and Ripple full licences; Kraken to acquire BCM; Nomura’s ‘Crypto Desk’ opens Tokyo office; Red Acre Ventures rebrands as Deus X Capital; Bitfinex Securities to aid Mikro Kapital tokenisation

Here are the week’s most important crypto-industry headlines.

Singapore regulator grants Coinbase and Ripple full major-payment-institution licences

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued Coinbase and Ripple licences as major payment-institution licences after prior approval of their activities.

For the exchange, MAS registration opens the Singapore unit’s ability to offer a broad range of digital payment-token services to both retail and institutional clients, as well as strengthen ties with local institutions.

The Ripple licence enables it to continue providing services related to digital payment tokens. According to representatives of the California fintech company, 90% of its business is conducted outside the United States.

Kraken to acquire Dutch crypto broker BCM

Kraken announced its intention to acquire the Netherlands-based crypto broker Coin Meester B.V. (BCM).

The latter provides buying, selling and staking of assets, including access to more than 170 cryptocurrencies and local payment solutions. The deal will enable Kraken to strengthen its presence in the European market ahead of the MiCA regulation taking effect in December 2024.

Earlier Kraken received VASP licences in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy and Spain. Company representatives said they are pursuing registration in other EU markets.

Nomura’s ‘Crypto Desk’ opens Tokyo office

Laser Digital Asset Management — the Japanese investment-banking subsidiary of Nomura — opened a new office in Tokyo. It will be led by Hideaki Kudo, CEO of another group entity within the holding — Digital Company.

Previously the executive led strategy in digital assets, including projects such as the development of security tokens for Nomura and the launch of Japan’s first offering of such assets in the real estate sector.

Laser Digital’s headquarters are in Switzerland. The company also has offices in London and Dubai.

In September the group launched a fund to give institutional clients access to digital assets.

Red Acre Ventures rebrands as Deus X Capital, led by former Galaxy Digital top executive

Red Acre Ventures, a digital-asset-focused investment firm, will continue operating under the Deus X Capital brand. Its assets exceed $1 billion. Funds will go toward direct-investment deals, venture capital, and the creation of venture funds.

The structure is led by Tim Grant, head of Galaxy Digital’s EMEA division. The executive is also known for his work at SIX Digital Exchange and R3 Lab.

Deus X Capital invests globally, with offices in Malta, London, and the UAE.

Bitfinex Securities to help Mikro Kapital implement security tokens in microfinancing

Partners will explore tokenization, listing and trading of tokens, as well as the use of USDT and EURT to attract capital for Mikro Kapital’s microfinancing activities.

Mikro Kapital’s portfolio totals €1.35 billion, with 300,000 borrowers across 14 countries. Bitfinex Securities is registered with Astana Financial Services Authority (Kazakhstan) and the National Commission on Digital Assets of El Salvador (El Salvador).

Also on ForkLog:

• Decline in Binance’s share of spot trading continued for the seventh month in a row.
• The MEXC cryptocurrency exchange will support the transformation of TON into a ‘Web3 super-app’.
• The trial of the former Celsius head has been scheduled for September 2024.
• The regional director of CommEX disclosed details of Binance user migrations.
• The court rejected the SEC’s appeal in the Ripple case.
• The successor to Celsius will receive $450 million if the reorganization is approved.
• Chainalysis laid off 15% of staff, with reductions reported by Chia Network and Ledger.

What to read this weekend?

Forbes published an investigation into Binance’s rise—from a nearly failed ICO in 2017 to its substantial digital-asset reserves.

WSJ found that months ahead of FTX’s collapse, a group of employees detected a backdoor in the exchange’s code that allowed Alameda Research to run a negative balance of $65 billion.

ForkLog also covered the early days of the trial of FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.