Worldcoin Faces Scrutiny in South Korea, Indian Investors Access BTC-ETF, and Other Crypto Developments

We have compiled the most important news from the crypto industry over the past two weeks.

OKX and Bitstamp Secure Licenses from Singapore Regulator

Bitcoin exchanges OKX and Bitstamp have received in-principle approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) as major payment institutions in the city-state.

Previously, MAS granted full licenses to several cryptocurrency service providers, including Blockchain.com, Circle, Coinbase, and Ripple. The in-principle approval is the penultimate step in the registration process.

Investment Platform to Offer Indian Clients Spot Bitcoin ETFs

Y-Combinator-backed investment platform Mudrex will add spot Bitcoin ETFs from BlackRock, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton to its list of available instruments for institutional and retail investors in India.

The service will be offered by the local subsidiary of the California-based organization. The firm is registered with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

CEO and co-founder Edul Patel explained to CoinDesk that the product operates like a security. Thus, there should be no obstacles from the Reserve Bank of India, which is strongly opposed to cryptocurrencies.

On March 13, it was also reported that Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission allowed investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs. This opportunity is available to local wealthy private and institutional clients.

Revolut and MetaMask Announce Partnership

Revolut will launch the Revolut Ramp feature, enabling users to top up their MetaMask wallets from the neobank’s fiat account.

The initiative aims to simplify the purchase of digital assets for clients. The service will be available to residents of the UK and the European Union.

Revolut plans to launch a Bitcoin exchange for experienced traders with deep market analytics and an expanded range of services, according to CoinDesk.

The publication also reported on developers testing a non-custodial crypto wallet with an on-chain payment card issued by Baanx and Mastercard.

The joint product will become the “first truly decentralized payment Web3 solution in history,” according to the release.

South Korea Investigates Worldcoin

South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission announced an investigation into Worldcoin following reports of the project collecting sensitive information.

The regulator will take action against the project if it finds any violation of local laws.

Previously, Spain’s Data Protection Agency (AEPD) demanded that Worldcoin immediately cease collecting personal information in the country and using previously obtained data.

The agency explained its decision by complaints about insufficient disclosure of service information, data collection from minors, and the inability to withdraw consent for data provision.

The project’s main product, the World ID protocol, is based on zero-knowledge proofs. It is a tool that allows people to verify their identity using biometric data or a phone number.

Since the project’s launch, authorities in the UK, France, Germany, Kenya, and Argentina have shown interest in its activities.

Bitget Wallet Announces BWB Utility Token Launch

Developers of the non-custodial wallet Bitget Wallet will launch the BWB utility token.

The team intends to use the asset in strategic “vampire attacks” against major competitors like MetaMask to strengthen its industry position.

In March 2023, the platform invested $30 million in the BitKeep wallet at a $300 million valuation, becoming its controlling shareholder.

BitKeep supports over 80 networks. The partnership with the service is part of Bitget’s strategy to create an ecosystem of centralized and decentralized financial products.

It was also revealed that Bitget is participating in a global initiative to create an emoji for the first cryptocurrency. More than 20 leading crypto companies, including BTC Inc, Bitget, Brink, Chainalysis, Hacken, Nansen, and Unstoppable Domains, have joined the “Bitcoin Deserves an Emoji” movement initiated by Nexo.

Participants aim to achieve the implementation of a digital gold emoji on all digital keyboards, highlighting the triple identity of cryptocurrency as money, technology, and a cultural phenomenon in modern society.

Key DeFi Segment Metrics

The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols increased to $98.4 billion. Lido remains the leader with $33.9 billion. EigenLayer secured the second spot with $11.56 billion. Aave retained third place with $11.09 billion.

TVL in Ethereum applications remained nearly unchanged, amounting to $52.5 billion. 

Trading volume on decentralized exchanges (DEX) over the past 30 days surged to $141.5 billion. Uniswap continues to dominate, accounting for 51.4% of the total turnover (two weeks ago — 57.1%). The second DEX by trading volume, PancakeSwap, increased its market share from 17.5% to 27.4%.

Also on ForkLog:

• Hong Kong regulator labeled Bybit as “suspicious.”
• BNB Chain introduced Rollup-as-a-Service solution.
• MakerDAO to begin transformation under the Endgame plan this summer.
• MicroStrategy acquired 12,000 BTC through an $800 million bond issuance and will issue a new $500 million offering for further deals.
• Nigeria requested Binance’s transaction history for the past six months after the latter ceased providing services with the local currency.
• Court ordered former Binance CEO to surrender passport until sentencing.
• London Stock Exchange to open trading of Bitcoin ETN.
• Grayscale and Coinbase discussed with SEC the conversion of ETHE to a spot ETH-ETF.
• Coinbase to raise $1 billion through convertible bonds.
• PancakeSwap announced the launch of the fourth version of its protocol.
• BlockFi settled claims against FTX and Alameda Research for $874.5 million.
• Spain temporarily banned Worldcoin’s activities.
• Binance.US reported a 75% revenue drop following SEC lawsuit.
• Deutsche Börse launched a crypto exchange focused on institutional clients.
• Coinbase resolved another platform outage.
• Analysts calculated the number of Bitcoins held by SpaceX and Tesla.
• Bitget’s user base exceeded 25 million.

Weekend Reading Suggestions

On March 13, the Ethereum team successfully activated the Dencun (Deneb-Cancun) upgrade on the mainnet.

One of the main components of the upgrade is EIP-4844. It includes the Proto-Danksharding option, designed to scale the network by creating a new type of transaction for large binary data arrays (BLOB). 

The upgrade significantly reduced gas fees in second-layer networks.

According to Grayscale experts, the launch of Dencun will help Ethereum “mature,” increasing the network’s scalability.