dtcpay forges strategic partnership in launch of crypto payments system

Having made significant strides in undertaking testing of the digital yuan in recent times, Hong Kong is expanding its e-CNY pilot testing while at the same time crafting its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), dubbed the e-HKD.Photo by Simon Zhu on UnsplashIntegrating e-CNY with FPSDuring a recent budget speech Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan unveiled plans to empower Hong Kong residents to bolster their digital yuan wallets through the local “Faster Payment System” (FPS), marking another move forward in bolstering cross-border payment efficiency.FPS is a real-time payment settlement system which enables the user to complete payments across banks through the use of recipient mobile phone numbers and email addresses. The move dovetails with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) successful completion of the inaugural phase of its e-HKD pilot, propelling it into the second phase. The e-HKD pilot is focusing on retail applications such as programmable payments, offline transactions and tokenized deposits. At the same time as the e-CNY garners momentum, the HKMA is progressing the e-HKD in terms of unlocking the full potential of CBDCs in everyday financial transactions. This consists of the exploration of retail applications in the initial phase, coupled with the transition towards more intricate functionalities in the subsequent phase, underscoring Hong Kong's intent towards driving ever greater CBDC innovation within the Chinese autonomous territory. Streamlining transactionsThe integration of the e-CNY with Hong Kong's FPS promises to streamline transactions and elevate the fluidity of cross-border payments between Hong Kong and mainland China. This initiative follows on from an announcement back in September of last year to expand the e-CNY pilot program in Hong Kong. Financial Secretary Paul Chan aims to forge a bridge between mainland China and international markets, potentially setting a global precedent for CBDC interoperability and utilization. Furthermore, Hong Kong's issuance of the world's premier multi-currency tokenized bond, followed by a subsequent batch of tokenized green bonds, signifies the city's leadership in fusing digital finance with sustainable investment strategies, drawing significant interest from global institutional investors. mBridge initiativeThe collaborative efforts of the HKMA with the Bank for International Settlements and other central banks on the mBridge CBDC project further demonstrate Hong Kong's proactive stance in shaping the trajectory of international finance. Last month, authorities in China outlined yet another initiative that is designed to bring about cross-border use of the e-CNY with Hong Kong. The mBridge initiative, a multi-CBDC platform to support cross-border payments is being harnessed to bring about greater trade using digital currency across various jurisdictions. The project involves the central banks of China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Thailand. This concerted endeavor, coupled with Hong Kong’s array of digital currency ventures, positions the city at the forefront of CBDC innovation. All of this development comes as China has established new milestones recently, with the completion of an international oil deal using the digital yuan together with similar deals involving gold and iron ore. 

Ministry of Science and ICT to hold conference to explore future of Web3The Korean Ministry of Science and ICT is set to host the Next-Generation Web Conference next Monday (local time) at the Science and Technology Convention Center in Seoul. Jointly organized by the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA), the Web 3.0 Convergence Technology Forum and the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Korean office, the event aims to explore Web3’s role in heralding a new era. Experts and attendees will gather to share insights on current Web3 technology trends and industry developments as well as future prospects.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashWeb3’s promising opportunitiesTouted as the future of the internet, Web3 is recognized for its ability to address current issues with the internet such as platform monopolies and data concentration. As one of the most anticipated emerging industries, it is expected to lead economic and societal transformation through convergence between technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence and big data.“The growth of new technologies such as big data and blockchain, coupled with the integration of intelligent web technologies, is accelerating the transition to the new Web3 era,” said President Lee Won-tae of the KISA. Regarding the KISA’s role in facilitating this transition, he added, “The KISA will strive to foster a secure and convenient internet environment based on Web3 technologies, promoting the discovery of new services.”Event detailsThe conference will feature two keynote speeches, titled “The Current State of Web3 and Our Readiness” and “Web 3.0 from W3C perspective, and the future of Web.” This will be followed by four sessions, which will delve into various topics such as blockchain business strategies, tokenized securities and Web3 service development.Pre-registration for the conference is open until Sunday, with a chance to win various prizes available for those who register to attend in person. The event will also be livestreamed on YouTube.

NEOPIN Partners with Lena Network for NFT-Fi Service DevelopmentNEOPIN, the global CeDeFi platform of South Korean investment holding company Neowiz Holdings, announced on Tuesday that it is teaming up with Lena Network, a Japanese developer of non-fungible token finance (NFT-Fi) services.Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on UnsplashFostering NFT-Fi and DeFi synergyIn this collaboration, the companies plan to promote NFT-Fi usage by onboarding NEOPIN onto Lena’s service framework and by launching NEOPIN as a decentralized finance (DeFi) product based on Lena’s governance token $LENA. They will also strengthen cooperative ventures by channeling NEOPIN and Lena Network’s NFT-Fi products. Both companies’ worldwide partners will also receive collective support as part of this agreement.“This partnership is meaningful in many ways. We have been able to secure an important Web3 partner in Japan, expand our global DeFi products, and grow our NFT-Fi business,” explained Ethan Kim, CEO of NEOPIN.This comes as part of NEOPIN’s bigger efforts to broaden its global user demographic by launching DeFi products associated with global projects, the first of which is the latest collaboration with Lena. This move will create a strong base for the entry of NEOPIN’s Web3 projects into the Japanese market.“We will continue to strengthen our partnerships with outstanding Japanese Web3 projects such as Lena Network, and establish a foundation for our success in the Japanese market,” CEO Kim added.Innovation at Lena NetworkLena Network is operated by professionals who formerly worked at institutions like SBI Holdings and JP Morgan. It plans to officially launch its new service, LENA, in the third quarter of this year, which offers loans in Ethereum or stablecoins against collaterals such as NFTs, tokens, and real-world assets (RWA).Key partners for this service include NFT collections such as Monkey Kingdom — the first Asian NFT collection and one of Solana’s chart-toppers — and Trekki, a collaborative travel-themed collection made by Polygon and Trip.com.“By onboarding NEOPIN, we aim to provide a seamless NFT-Fi adoption and launch DeFi products based on LENA tokens,” said Casper Cheng, CSO of Lena Network. “Following NFT-Fi, Lena Network’s next product will be RWA-Fi. Together with NEOPIN, we will continue to drive innovation in the Web3 space and explore new possibilities for NFT utilization.”The current NFT market capitalization is approximately $4.9 billion as of today, according to insights from the NFT analysis site NFTGo. While these assets have historically been liquidated through trading, NFT-Fi opens up various methods of liquidation, thereby expanding access to ownership of these assets.