CMCC Global Launches $100 Million Fund for Asian Blockchain Startups

Dunamu Pushes for Biodiversity Conservation Through NFT ProjectDunamu, the fintech company operating South Korea’s leading crypto exchange Upbit, said Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute (KoAGI) and the Korea Green Foundation (KFG) to drive a non-fungible token (NFT) biodiversity project over the course of three years. This comes as part of efforts to ramp up biodiversity conservation efforts.Photo by Eelco Böhtlingk on UnsplashThe MOU was signed at Dunamu’s headquarters in Gangnam, southern Seoul, with Dunamu CEO Lee Sirgoo, Director Ryu Kwang-soo of the KoAGI, and Lee Mi-kyung, Head of the KFG, in attendance.“This partnership serves as a starting point for Dunamu to actively utilize our technology to conserve biological resources — especially trees — and collaborate with various communities,” said Lee Sirgoo, CEO of Dunamu.Conservation meets NFTsThe project will involve creating NFTs from images of plant seeds stored in the Seed Vault — a conservation facility managed by KoAGI — which will then be issued through Upbit NFT, the exchange’s NFT trading platform. Owners of these NFTs will have the opportunity to engage in various events such as quizzes, Dunamu said, thereby promoting biodiversity conservation and fostering awareness about the importance of forests.Additionally, certain plant species that have been issued as NFTs will be selected to be placed in plant conservation facilities built in collaboration with botanical gardens located near the plants’ natural habitats.“Given the irreplaceability of both NFTs and flora and fauna, we will continue to do our utmost to fulfill our environmental responsibilities,” CEO Lee emphasized.The involved parties are also looking to establish an online community where they could directly gather the NFT owners’ opinions through methods such as polling to help plan for more upcoming projects. This integration of online projects with offline conservation activities is expected to contribute to local development and biodiversity.Boosting ESG effortsAs a key part of its ESG strategy, Dunamu has been focusing on trees while leading efforts for environmental protection and forest restoration. Earlier this year, the company teamed up with KoAGI to issue NFTs and contributed its entire sum of sales proceeds and transaction fees of around KRW 20 million (approximately $14,800) to establish an endangered plant protection fund.The company also held a campaign back in March with the Korea Forest Service and the Korea Forest Welfare Institute called “2nd foRest,” dedicated to restoring forests affected by fires. For every virtual tree planted in Dunamu’s metaverse, 2ndblock, two real trees were planted.The following month, Dunamu donated KRW 500 million in aid for the recovery of areas hit by the large-scale forest fires in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. The company also established virtual reality healing gardens at the Geumcheon Fire Station and Seoul Rehabilitation Hospital.

CarrieVerse Token CVTX Listed on BingXBlockchain-based Web3 metaverse platform CarrieVerse has recently listed its native token CVTX on the cryptocurrency exchange BingX.Photo by m. on UnsplashMultipurpose tokenBuilt on Polygon, CVTX is integrated into the tokenomics ecosystem of CarrieVerse and its card strategy role-playing game (RPG) SuperKola Tactics. It is also the governance token for the CarrieVerse blockchain gaming platform Cling. It is currently tradable on other international exchanges in addition to BingX, such as Gate.io, MEXC Global, BitMart, and ProBit Global, as well as the Korean exchange GOPAX. CVTX can be traded for USDT on all of the above exchanges except for GOPAX, which offers a CVTX/KRW pair. KRW stands for Korean won.“CVTX has expanded its global presence one step further. We will continue to strive for market expansion through listings on leading exchanges, building on the excitement inspired by gaming and staking,” said David Yoon, CEO of CarrieVerse.About BingXFounded in 2018, BingX is a Singapore-based digital asset exchange that offers spot derivatives, copy trading, and grid trading services to over five million users across 100 countries worldwide. Its spot trading volume over the past 24 hours at the time of publication, according to recent data from CoinMarketCap, stands at $602 million. Notably, it allows for easy transfer of assets between Korean exchanges Bithumb and Coinone, having passed their Travel Rules requirements last year.

Incheon City to leverage blockchain for construction transparencyIn response to growing concerns among Koreans over recent apartment complexes built with missing reinforcing bars and unauthorized materials, the city of Incheon is turning to blockchain technology to tackle these issues.Incheon City revealed on Thursday (local time) that it has submitted proposals for public sector blockchain projects offered by the Ministry of Science and ICT. This move aligns with the city’s goal of establishing itself as a blockchain hub. By partnering with both the public and private sectors, the city aims to provide beneficial services for its citizens.This year, the Ministry of Science and ICT will gauge interest across government agencies, municipalities and public institutions for six projects, with a combined budget of KRW 10 billion ($7.5 million). In 2024, they plan to select project implementers through a bidding process. The goal is to identify public service projects where the application of blockchain technology can offer significant benefits.Photo by C Dustin on UnsplashBlockchain-driven construction oversightIn October, Incheon submitted proposals for two blockchain projects. First, it introduced a “safety certification” service to promote transparency at construction sites. This service will harness blockchain-driven integrated control technology to transparently manage apartment complex constructions. It will utilize technologies like closed-circuit television (CCTV), Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) to oversee the presence of authorized personnel and track the use of approved materials.The city felt the need for this service after observing the prevalent issues with missing reinforcing bars in newly constructed flat-plate structure apartment complexes and incidents of forgery and counterfeiting of material certificates.Blockchain and eco-friendly membershipAnother project Incheon has proposed is an integrated membership service centered on eco-friendly practices, with the goal of encouraging resource recycling.Incheon City currently runs recycling shops and automated recycling machines across its counties and districts to foster recycling habits. However, with different locations necessitating different apps, the city is aiming to consolidate these into a single platform. Additionally, it intends to leverage blockchain technology to enable citizens to verify their environmental contributions.Lee Nam-joo, Head of Incheon’s Future Industry Bureau, said that how technology should be used is self-evident. He emphasized the city’s dedication to introducing tangible services that address societal challenges and enhance public safety and convenience through the application of digital technology in public services and industrial sites.