Report by Xangle and Tiger Research Explores Indonesia’s Web3 Potential

Conflux Network, a layer-1, regulatory-compliant Chinese blockchain focused on borderless transactions, has announced the upcoming launch of the Conflux 3.0 mainnet together with an offshore yuan-pegged stablecoin, resulting in its native CFX token surging.Photo by Eric Prouzet on UnsplashPartnershipA notice published on the website of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government on July 20 reported on the Conflux Tree Graph Technology and Ecological Development Conference, which was held in Shanghai over three days from July 18 to July 20. Over the course of the three-day event, the project announced a partnership with AnchorX, a Hong Kong-based fintech firm specializing in stablecoins, and Shenzhen-based Eastcompeace Technology.  The purpose of the initiative is to develop a stablecoin pegged to the offshore yuan (CNH), the version of China’s currency that circulates outside the mainland. The report outlined that in recent years, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) have come to global attention.  Belt & Road InitiativeGiven this backdrop, it was outlined that “creating an independent and controllable high-performance public chain system” could be of great benefit to China and its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which sets out to develop infrastructure across 150 countries to facilitate trade with China. This is not the first point at which AnchorX has collaborated with Conflux. Back in February, the company received in-principle approval from the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) in Kazakhstan to issue CNH-pegged stablecoins. Growing bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and China was cited as the rationale behind the license, given the need for cross-border payments. At the time, it was outlined that the AxCNH yuan-pegged stablecoin would be issued on the Conflux blockchain. It’s unclear if this same stablecoin is the focus of this latest development or whether an entirely new yuan-pegged stablecoin will be issued.AnchorX collaborated with Conflux in 2024 to bring about the issuance of AxHKD, a Hong Kong dollar-pegged stablecoin. The stablecoin runs on the Conflux blockchain, with the stablecoin issuer using OKLink Trust as its custodian. TokenPocket, a multi-chain crypto wallet project, also outlined on X on July 21 that it too is involved in the partnership with Conflux and AnchorX. The project outlined that it will support the growth of stablecoin adoption, the development of cross-border payment solutions and the promotion of tokenized RWAs in international markets through the collaboration.  Pilot projectsTokenPocket went on to explain that the companies plan to launch pilot projects in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and other regions, building “a compliant, secure, and innovative fintech framework to boost the role of the Conflux ecosystem as critical infrastructure for cross-border trade.” It was revealed at the conference that the mainnet release of Conflux 3.0 will occur in August. With the implementation of further optimized execution modules, the project expects 3.0 to result in a network throughput of 15,000 transactions per second (TPS).  These developments over the course of the weekend have had an impact on the unit price of Conflux’s native token, CFX. On July 19, the token was trading at around $0.1043. According to CoinMarketCap data, at the time of writing, it’s trading at $0.2232, a 2.58% increase over the past day. 

Chinese Nationals Detained in Crypto Mining Clampdown in LibyaAuthorities in Libya have detained 50 Chinese nationals suspected of involvement in an illicit crypto mining operation in Zliten, a city located 160 kilometers east of the Libyan capital of Tripoli.The attorney general’s office in Libya made the announcement on Friday, revealing that the individuals were caught operating a cryptocurrency mining farm within an abandoned iron factory.Photo by Dmitry Demidko on UnsplashMining operation dismantledPhotos and videos released by the office of Attorney General Siddiq Al-Sour showcased the dismantling process of the extensive mining systems discovered in Zliten.This is not the first instance of Chinese miners being detained for crypto mining activities in the North African country. The development follows the recent arrest of ten other Chinese nationals in the city of Misrata on the Mediterranean coast, as well as at two sites within the capital, Tripoli. The individuals were apprehended on Wednesday while being caught “red-handed” with numerous powerful equipment used for intricate proof of work (PoW) mining calculations. The mining rigs were subsequently confiscated by the attorney general’s office.Mining banDespite the official ban on cryptocurrency mining in the country, Libya has witnessed a high prevalence of such activities, with the nation recording the highest percentage of cryptocurrency mining across the African continent in 2021. It is estimated that Libya accounted for approximately 0.6 percent of global Bitcoin production during that year.Libya’s appeal as a destination for cryptocurrency mining stems from its low electricity costs, which stand at a remarkably low rate of $0.004 per kilowatt hour. This cost is approximately 40 times cheaper than in the United States, making Libya an attractive location for miners.While energy may be cheap, the increased demand for electricity that crypto mining brings puts a strain on what was an already vulnerable power grid in the country. That has resulted in frequent and lengthy power blackouts, particularly during the summer months.A lack of oversight has also encouraged an influx of Chinese miners, albeit with these recent arrests, it appears that the Libyan authorities are stepping up the level of oversight and enforcement. The vast majority of Bitcoin miners were based in China up until a mining ban was enforced in 2021.Global issueThat event led to an exodus of miners internationally. Some established themselves legally in the United States and elsewhere. The first casualty of illegal mining was Kazakhstan. The sudden arrival of miners led to its power grid coming under pressure. As a consequence, the Central Asian country clamped down on the activity, and later regulated it.In response to these illegal activities, Libyan authorities have intensified their efforts to combat cryptocurrency mining operations. They are conducting investigations into alleged mining sites in Tripoli and Misrata, aiming to curtail these activities and mitigate the strain on the country’s electricity infrastructure.The recent arrests highlight the ongoing challenges associated with illegal mining activities in jurisdictions globally where cheap energy can be exploited, giving rise to the need for enhanced regulatory measures to address these issues.

South Korea’s one of the leading crypto exchanges, Bithumb, has launched a new service dubbed Benefit Zone. Here, users can participate in the platform’s promotional events and earn in-app points, local media outlet Digital Today reported. These rewarded points can be traded for crypto assets through an in-app point shop. The event missions are available either on its mobile app or on PC. Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashOne of these event missions involves participants predicting Bitcoin prices – BTC Up? Down? – where users can make a bet on whether Bitcoin’s price will rise or fall compared to its closing price of the previous day. The mission is available daily from 10:00 to 22:00 (KST). Winners of the bet are provided with a reward of 100 points and double that amount if they are newly signed-up users of the given month. If the Bitcoin price remains unchanged, all participants are rewarded points.  More promotional events to comeAside from the Benefit Zone, Bithumb is hosting another event targeting new members who joined the platform in March. Those who deposit funds in Korean won into Bithumb deposit accounts are eligible for Bithumb Cash worth around KRW 20,000, or approximately $15. Bithumb’s Service General Manager Moon Seon-il stated that the exchange platform is conducting various promotional events to offer more perks and benefits to users, showing the company’s commitment to introducing more user-friendly services and events in the future.