Coins.ph banks on cryptoverse even as storm clouds gather

More: Binance’s acquisition of Tokocrypto and a US$1.5 billion pledge from VCs to back Vietnamese startups. [Read from your browser]( Daily Newsletter --------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to Tech in Asia's free Daily Newsletter! Get full access to our subscribers-only Daily Newsletter and other insightful analysis on the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community by [registering here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} “Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here.” Corporate restructuring expert John Ray III said this in November when he became CEO of FTX, the crypto exchange that went bust. Coming from someone who has over 40 years of experience in overseeing the clean-up of bankrupt companies like US energy giant Enron, that’s quite the statement. The spectacular crash of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire shattered investor confidence in the cryptoverse, which was already crumbling after the Terra debacle and a host of other halted withdrawals and missing funds this year. More than a million people lost a total of several billion dollars in the FTX fiasco, which has raised more questions about the cryptoverse. That said, it remains to be seen if this catastrophe will be the final nail in the coffin or the dawn of a new era for the crypto space. As regulators scramble to sort out the FTX mess, calls to boost protection for crypto investors via regulation - in a manner similar to that of the stock and bond market - are getting louder. Wei Zhou, CEO of fintech firm Coins.ph, might be a proponent of such a measure. In today’s featured piece, the former Binance CFO says while he doesn’t believe that regulatory compliance is a “key selling point,” it’s important to let users know that their money is being sent to a regulated financial institution. He also discussed his plans to relaunch Coins Pro, the Philippines' first digital currency exchange, despite the far-from-ideal timing and charted Coins.ph's decentralized finance (DeFi) wallet ambitions. -- Shravanth P.S.: If you’re an entrepreneur looking for funding, [fill out this form]( to get your company featured on our list of fundraising startups.  ---------------------------------------------------------------  THE BIG STORY [Coins.ph CEO relaunches Philippine crypto exchange, unveils DeFi wallet ambitions]( Wei Zhou, the former Binance CFO who acquired [Coins.ph]( in April, is relaunching the Coins Pro exchange. --------------------------------------------------------------- TRENDING NEWS [VCs pledge to invest $1.5b in Vietnam startups]( Apart from Vietnam, the participating firms come from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, and the US. [South Korean fintech firm bags $405m series G]( Toss operator Viva Republica’s valuation has risen by 7% to US$7 billion since its last funding round in June 2021, TechCrunch reported. [Ninja Van taps Indonesian airline for inter-island delivery]( A Boeing 737-300 plane from Trigana Air will help the logistics firm deliver packages from Jakarta to Sulawesi, Kalimantan, and Sumatra. [Ex-Grab, Traveloka exec’s social commerce firm bags seed funding]( Founded in 2021 as a quick commerce service called Radius, Bakool pivoted to a social commerce model in the last five months. [Binance officially acquires Indonesia’s Tokocrypto]( Tokocrypto co-founder Pang Xue Kai will step down from the role of CEO, Coindesk Indonesia reported. [Bangladeshi transportation firm fuels up with $1.5m from South Asia Tech, others]( Shuttle’s service can bring up to 11 people going to a similar destination in a single vehicle. ---------------------------------------------------------------  WHO'S HIRING You can post a job [here]( or search for jobs [here](. - [QAQC Manager]( at Flash Express Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - [Community Lead]( at Refocus Jakarta, Indonesia - [Senior Social Media Manager]( at Ematic Solutions Singapore, Singapore - [Senior Python Developer (0xplain)]( at Female Daily Network Jakarta, Indonesia - [VP/Head Marketing Payment Gateway WInpay]( at PT Bimasakti Multi Sinergi Sidoarjo, Indonesia - [Legal (Risk & Compliance) Officer]( at AKAR INTI ENTERPRISE Jakarta, Indonesia [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  ---------------------------------------------------------------  Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894