Institutional interest in cryptocurrencies is rising as the industry continues to mature. And now, a long-established exchange has announced that it's launching a dedicated service to cater to this growing market — as well as high net worth individuals. Coinhako says trading volumes among institutional investors have surged on its platform — and in the first six months of 2022, they were 300% higher than the same period last year. Despite the volatility that has engulfed cryptocurrencies and equities alike over the summer, the company has also seen a 50% increase in average trade amounts. Coinhako Treasures will aim to …

Teneo, the liquidation firm in charge of the Three Arrows Capital (3AC) bankruptcy process, confirmed in a statement to Cointelegraph on Oct. 5 that it has custody of the NFTs moved from the addresses related to Starry Night Capital, a fund launched by the co-founders of the now-bankrupt hedge fund. According to the firm, the collection move was part of the liquidators' duty of identifying assets and maximizing recoveries on behalf of all creditors. A report from Bloomberg estimated that the Starry Night Capital collection’s total value sits at around $35 million. It represents only a tiny fraction of the …

Anchorage Digital co-founder and president Diogo Mónica believe there is immense opportunity in Asia’s institutional investors, with the digital asset infrastructure provider on Oct. 5 announcing a “major expansion” of its platform into the region. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Mónica said the company chose Singapore as a “jump point” into the wider Asia market as the country has become a hub for crypto companies and has a strong regulatory environment. Anchorage is currently undertaking the application process with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state's central bank. “It’s about being in a regime that’s friendly towards crypto and that businesses …

Singapore's largest bank, DBS has announced another move to expand its crypto services, while remaining cautious to comply with the financial authorities' view that crypto assets are not suitable for retail investors in the country. On Friday, the bank disclosed its decision to expand crypto trading services on its digital exchange (DDEx) to approximately 100,000 "wealth clients who are accredited investors." Investors who are considered accredited must meet certain criteria regarding their income, net worth, qualifications, and understanding of the financial markets. Caroline Malcolm, head of International Public Policy and Research at Chainalysis, noted: "Singapore has long indicated that it …

South Korean prosecutors have reportedly requested Interpol intervene in their case against Terra co-founder Do Kwon by issuing a 'Red Notice' — suggesting global law enforcement agencies may attempt to find and detain him. According to a Monday report from the Financial Times, the Seoul Southern District prosecutors’ office said it had “begun the procedure” to place Kwon on Interpol’s Red Notice list following steps to revoke the Terra co-founder’s passport while he was in Singapore. Interpol’s website states that a Red Notice requested authorities “locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action,” but the …

A recent report from technology research and advisory firm Technavio predicts that the Metaverse will hit a market share value of $50.37 billion by the year 2026. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the trillion-dollar fashion industry has started taking a major interest in the Metaverse. While most luxury labels and brands remain focused on creating nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to replicate physical items, a handful of projects have started bringing their communities into the Metaverse. For example, on Sept. 5, Vogue Singapore launched a fashion-first Web3 community known as “Vogue Singapore’s New World.” While Vogue Singapore has previously …

Do Kwon, the co-founder of the Terra ecosystem, took to Twitter on Saturday asserting he’s “not ‘on the run’ or anything similar” after the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said Kwon wasn’t in the city-state. On Sept. 14, South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for Kwon and five other associates for alleged violations of the country’s capital markets laws. All were known to be in Singapore at the time, with prosecutors also attempting to revoke their passports a day later on Sept. 15. “For any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we …

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, or MAS, has granted SBI Digital Markets, a subsidiary of the digital asset arm of Japan-based financial giant SBI Holdings, a license to conduct certain regulated activities in the country. In a Thursday announcement, MAS said it had awarded SBI Digital Markets a Capital Markets Services license following the firm receiving in-principle approval in May. The firm, whose parent company offers digital asset custody and trading, will be providing custodial services, capital markets products, and corporate finance advisory services in Singapore as a regulated business, and also planned to launch a digital asset securities platform. …

The court drama behind the acquisition of South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has been going on for several years, but in an unexpected development, a Singapore court has made a ruling against Kim Byung-gun, who has originally accused the owner of Bithumb, Lee Jung-hoon, in defrauding him. According to the South Korean publication Aju Daily, on Aug. 26, after three years of proceedings, a court in Singapore found Kim guilty of selling BXA coins without the permission of his partner Lee and ordered him to return the proceeds gained from the sale of coins to Singapore-based consortium BTHMB. The decision …

The venture capital market of the cryptocurrency industry is holding strong despite the crypto winter as major government-linked firms reportedly continue betting on big industry players. Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek is joining a $100 million funding round for the blockchain and venture studio Animoca Brands, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. According to the report, Temasek will lead Animoca's financing round through convertible bonds. Both Animoca and Temasek are known for investing in major crypto firms. In March 2022, both companies participated in a $200 million funding round for the Australian nonfungible token (NFT) platform Immutable. Temasek is a major crypto-related …

Singapore-based crypto lending firm Hodlnaut was placed under interim judicial management, a form of creditor protection program, by the Singapore court on Aug. 29. The court orders came three weeks after Hodlnaut froze all trading activities and withdrawals on its platform citing a liquidity crisis. In an official blog post on Aug. 30, the crypto lending platform notified its users that Ee Meng Yen Angela and Aaron Loh Cheng Lee, care of EY Corporate Advisors, were appointed as interim judicial managers. The blog post read: “The Court has delivered judgment on 29 August 2022, and has been confirmed that Hodlnaut …

The head of JPMorgan’s digital assets unit Umar Farooq has suggestedthat most of the crypto assets on the market are “junk” and that real crypto use cases are yet to fully present themselves. During a panel discussion at the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Green Shoots Seminar on Aug. 29, Farooq stated that regulation is yet to catch up to the burgeoning industry which is holding back many traditional financial (TradFi) institutions from getting involved. He also opined that with the exception of a few, utility for most crypto assets is lacking: “Most of crypto is still junk actually, I mean …