Straddling Digital and Traditional Finance: Zodia Custody’s Expansion and the Regulatory Dance

“Zodia Custody, a subsidiary of Standard Chartered, now offers digital asset custody services in Singapore, anticipating growing investment as regulations evolve. This move, along with its current registrations in U.K., Ireland, Luxembourg, and a pending application in Japan, signifies its global ambitions in the cryptocurrency sphere. Balancing regulatory respect, innovation, and stakeholder interests is crucial.”

The Ongoing Evolution: Blockchain’s Intriguing Trajectory and Information Overwhelm Challenge

“Prominent firms SOMA Finance, MANTRA, and Tritaurian Capital are set to launch the first legally issued digital security for global and U.S retail investors via their SOMA token. Meanwhile, Bitget introduced “Snowball”, a tool for structuring investments, offering both principal protection and up to 24.5% APR. In other news, Microsoft has released four AI compilers aimed at optimizing AI models’ performance.”

First Uncleared Crypto Options Trade: Groundbreaking Risk Management Techniques

Singapore-based QCP Capital and Japan-based SBI Alpha Trading executed the first-ever crypto options trade without a clearing house, using bitcoin as collateral on the UK-based Clear Market. The groundbreaking transaction utilized multi-custodian collateral network and innovative risk management techniques to mitigate counterparty risks, aligning with the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s requirements for uncleared derivatives.