Today in Crypto: Shinhan Bank Tests Stablecoin Payments on Hedera Network, Marathon Shareholders File Lawsuit Against CEO & Top Execs, Cronos Partners with Ubisoft

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Stablecoin news

• South Korea’s Shinhan Bank completed a feasibility test for stablecoin remittance payments using Hedera‘s distributed ledger technology. The press release said that the stablecoin remittance proof-of-concept (PoC) pilot achieved real-time settlement and real-time foreign exchange (FX) rate integration across the Thai Baht (THB), New Taiwan dollar (NTD), and South Korean won (KRW) in a test environment that aligns to current production capabilities. The PoC is EVM-compatible, meaning that any EVM-based stablecoin issuers can participate using the framework going forward, it said.

Legal news

• Shareholders of the US-based crypto mining company Marathon Digital filed a complaint against CEO Fred Thiel and nine other top executives, alleging violations of the US Securities Exchange Act, a breach of fiduciary duties, unjust enrichment, and wasting corporate assets. The plaintiffs are asking for a potential contribution from Thiel, Merrick Okamoto, Simeon Salzman, and Hugh Gallagher for wrongful acts resulting in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint against the company. The shareholders’ lawyers didn’t request a specific sum so the compensation is up to the court to decide.

Blockchain news

• Cronos, a blockchain that interoperates with Ethereum and Cosmos ecosystems, announced a new partnership with Ubisoft, a video game creator and publisher. By joining the Cronos ecosystem as a node validator, Ubisoft will contribute to the governance of the blockchain and the approval of network updates, the announcement said. It is joining a pool of 27 other node operators to contribute to the stability and security of the network. With this move, Ubisoft “continues its exploration of blockchain technology through its Strategic Innovation Lab, whose mission is to anticipate the future and to help Ubisoft get ready for it by exploring the opportunities offered by innovative technologies,” it said.
• NEAR Foundation signed up to the Ethereum Climate Platform in “a major demonstration of […] continued commitment to Web3 sustainability,” said the press release. At COP27, ConsenSys and climate tech firm Allinfra announced the Ethereum Climate Alliance (ECA), a group of technology companies working to accelerate decarbonization and scale climate action. Inspired by the Ethereum Merge, ECA is launching the Ethereum Climate Platform (ECP), which is an initiative designed to collaboratively build a blockchain-based technology platform that will engage a decentralized community to accelerate climate finance at scale. “The ECP is committed to redress and counteract the historical Ethereum-based carbon footprint, dating back to the network’s launch in 2015, as well as to accelerate the launch partners’ own decarbonization strategies,” the announcement stated.

Exchange news

• Bitget released its quarterly Transparency Report, highlighting a trading volume above $60 billion for spot trading and $606 billion for futures trading. The platform said it outperformed most centralized exchanges as the accumulated spot trading volume dropped 44.8% and the derivative decreased 14.6%. Per a TokenInsight Q2 report, the exchange said, Bitget ranked among the Top 4 exchanges, collectively accounting for over 85% of the total market. In the spot market, Bitget doubled its market share to 6% in Q2, while in the derivative market, it saw a 12.5% increase in open interest compared to the previous quarter, reaching $27 billion by the end of Q2. 

Gaming news

• Crucible announced the launch of Emergence SDK for game developers on Unreal Engine. The software development kit, developed with the Open Meta Association, has already been downloaded over 33,000 times and adopted by 3% of total active Unreal developers, said an announcement. Emergence SDK enables developers to quickly build game experiences on any EVM-compatible chain, providing features such as interoperable avatars, easy-to-use smart contracts, integrated wallets, and on-chain inventory services, it said. Users own in-game items such as avatars and inventory, with these being interoperable between worlds. 

Payments news

• Payments technology company ConnexPay announced the launch of British Pounds (GBP) and Euros (EUR) currencies. According to the press release, the company already has a number of international customers who can now transact in GBP and EUR. While the company has operated for years in the European market, it said, this release allows European companies the flexibility to receive and send payments in their native currencies. ConnexPay currently processes billions in volume and recently received a $110 million growth equity investment led by sector-focused investor FTV Capital, the company added.