Busan to Merge Blockchain and Coffee through Smart Logistics Platform

Bank of Korea Explores Jeju, Busan, and Incheon for Citizen-Centric CBDC Pilot TestThe Bank of Korea (BOK) is reportedly reviewing three potential locations for a pilot test of a citizen-centric payment system utilizing the Korean Won central bank digital currency (CBDC). Instead of choosing Seoul, the nation’s capital city, the BOK is considering Jeju, Busan, and Incheon for the pilot. That’s according to local tech news outlet IT Chosun.The three cities have been selected as possible testbeds, and discussions with commercial banks are ongoing to move the project forward. Once a city is chosen, the BOK will collaborate with local retailers, including hypermarkets, to test the CBDC payment and distribution system.Photo by Ethan Brooke on UnsplashRegional currency modelThe CBDC test will be limited to a specific area, operating similarly to regional currencies issued by municipal governments to stimulate local economies. The CBDC wallet app will be available to all citizens, but its usage will be restricted to retailers in the designated area. Presently, Jeju, Busan, and Incheon already have their own regional currencies managed by local banks and financial institutions.However, implementing the CBDC system poses technical challenges. In remote tests last year, the BOK discovered that transaction speeds for small transfers were slower compared to traditional payment processing providers in regions outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area.Against this backdrop, the BOK seeks to recruit an unusually large number of tech experts in order to build a large-scale system for small payments. The bank has been actively hiring individuals for this purpose since the beginning of the year.CBDC test next yearWith the test scheduled for next year, the BOK aims to promptly select the test destination based on the system’s expected performance, estimated user numbers, and potential economic impact.While Busan is more or less shunned due to its large population, Jeju is emerging as a preferred choice. However, the final decision has been tentatively postponed due to internal issues within the BOK.Following the pilot test results, the BOK may gradually broaden the scope of the CBDC system. Meanwhile, in a similar development, China began its CBDC pilots in 2020 and has now expanded its CBDC use to 26 cities across 17 provinces.According to a BOK official, the Korean central bank is making seamless preparation for the test and engaging in discussions with commercial banks to explore their operating models and devise effective implementation strategies.

CoinGecko Report Points to Q3 Market ContractionThe third quarter of 2023 was marked by a significant market downturn and market cap contraction. That’s one of a number of findings in a Q3 crypto industry report compiled by Malaysian cryptocurrency ranking platform CoinGecko.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashMarket cap contractionThe company released its latest research on Tuesday. In mid-August, Bitcoin (BTC) witnessed a sudden drop from approximately $29,000 to around $26,000, leading to a dip in the total cryptocurrency market capitalization from $1.2 trillion to $1.1 trillion.The total crypto market capitalization recorded a nearly 10% decline, amounting to a drop of $119.1 billion. Since reaching its local peak on April 17, the total market capitalization has experienced a decline of 16.3%.Notable shifts in the top 30 cryptocurrencies include Solana (SOL) climbing to #7, TrueUSD (TUSD) rising to #19, Litecoin (LTC) falling to #14, Avalanche (AVAX) dropping to #22, and Binance USD (BUSD) sliding to #27.Stablecoin shrinkageThe top 15 stablecoins saw a 3.8% decrease in market capitalization during Q3 2023, reaching $121.3 billion. Tether (USDT) maintained its market cap during this period. USD Coin (USDC) experienced the largest absolute loss at -$2.26 billion (-8.3%), while Binance USD (BUSD) faced the most significant percentage decline of -45.3%, amounting to a drop of -$1.87 billion. TrueUSD (TUSD) was the sole gainer among the top 5, with a 12.8% increase in market cap.NFT trading volume cut in halfTrading volume for NFTs declined by 55.6%, dropping from $3.67 billion in Q2 to $1.63 billion in Q3. Ethereum maintained its dominance, accounting for 83.2% of the NFT market during Q3. ImmutableX NFTs, driven by trading card game Gods Unchained, experienced a strong Q3, with a market share increase from 2.1% in Q2 to 3.9% in Q3.Continued growth for RWAsThe Real World Asset (RWA) sector has continued to grow in 2023, with tokenized US treasury bills gaining popularity. The market cap for these tokenized T-bills increased from $114.0 million in January 2023 to $665.0 million by the end of September, marking a 5.84x gain. Traditional financial institutions led the way, with American asset manager Franklin Templeton controlling almost half of the overall market share, followed by Ondo Finance at 27%. Ethereum held 49% of the market cap share, while Stellar followed closely behind with 48%.Spot DEX and CEX trading volume downIn Q3, spot trading volume on the top 10 decentralized exchanges (DEX) totaled $105 billion, a 31.2% drop from Q2. THORchain experienced a significant gain in volume, though this was partially attributed to illicit transfers.Spot trading volume on the top 10 centralized crypto exchanges (CEX) amounted to $1.12 trillion, a decrease of 20.1% compared to Q2. Binance’s market share dropped to 44%, facing regulatory pressures and significant executive departures. Among the Asian exchange platforms, HTX, previously known as Huobi, secured the third spot with an 8% market share. Only Upbit and Bybit saw gains, while Kucoin was edged out of the top 10.While Q3 may not have been the most positive industry quarter recently, things are looking a lot more promising as Q4 develops, with Singapore-based digital assets financial services platform Matrixport predicting a bitcoin unit price of $45,000 by year end.

Netmarble F&C, a subsidiary of South Korean game developer Netmarble, has taken action to lay off employees by notifying all 70 workers under its Metaverse World project to resign, according to industry sources on Friday (KST). Metaverse World, which had begun developing an IP-based metaverse platform, will be abandoned during an upcoming corporate reorganization process. Photo by julien Tromeur on UnsplashA brief journey from ambition to abandonmentMetaverse World was launched by Netmarble in 2022 by acquiring blockchain gaming platform ITAM Games and Web3 wallet developer Bono Technologies. It had been scheduled to hold a closed beta test last year, but no news of the development has resurfaced since then.  However, it was revealed today that the project will be abandoned during the corporate reorganization process. "We have been looking for a sustainable direction to take the project, but business conditions and market changes have pushed us to make the difficult decision to terminate the Metaverse World corporation, which was developing a metaverse platform,” a representative from the company disclosed. Fluctuating trendsThe metaverse first gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, when gatherings were limited to online spaces. Since then, the industry and other related technologies like Web3, blockchain and NFTs also garnered significant attention, with various companies snagging investments to fund their projects. However, as the attention of tech and investment firms has shifted to AI, these companies have increasingly found themselves in difficult positions. Last September, Com2Verse, the metaverse arm of content provider Com2uS Holdings', also began streamlining its workforce, organizing voluntary retirement and transition arrangements for its employees.