Klaytn Foundation Denies Embezzlement Allegations Involving KLAY

A spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF) is set to debut in Hong Kong next week, according to the South China Morning Post. Managed by ChinaAMC (HK), the Hong Kong subsidiary of Chinese financial services company China Asset Management, the product will begin trading on Oct. 27 and will be available against both Hong Kong and U.S. dollars. The Hong Kong listing comes amid growing global interest in Solana-based investment products. While this marks a first for the city, the first country to trade a spot Solana ETF was Canada, where four products from 3iQ, Purpose, Evolve, and CI Financial went live on the Toronto Stock Exchange in April 2025.Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on UnsplashU.S. institutions await regulatory approvalIn the U.S., institutional interest is also high, though a product has yet to be approved. According to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, 23 separate ETP filings for Solana have been submitted in the U.S. This matches Bitcoin, with both assets having the highest number of filings among 35 cryptocurrencies tracked, out of a total of 155 crypto ETP filings overall. The push for exchange-traded products mirrors rising institutional investment in the Solana ecosystem itself. Several firms have recently established corporate SOL treasuries. Forward Industries spent $1.6 billion on its treasury and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $4 billion from share sales to acquire more SOL. Similarly, Sharps Technology announced a collaboration with Coinbase Global to expand its reserve strategy, and an SEC filing showed that Citadel and its affiliates hold a portion of the outstanding shares in DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV), another SOL treasury firm. Uniswap expands to Solana networkSolana's platform has also seen wider technical integration. On Oct. 16, the decentralized exchange Uniswap began supporting the network, allowing its users to connect Solana wallets and swap SOL tokens. Uniswap stated the move helps address fragmentation issues by supporting both Solana and Ethereum, the two largest DeFi ecosystems. According to DefiLlama data, SOL currently boasts $10.88 billion in total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance, while ETH TVL amounts to $83 billion. Separately, the Solana team recently promoted the network's technical resilience. Following a recent Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage, the team shared an analysis on X indicating a 97.6 resilience index, noting that only 77 of its 1,295 nodes were affected, suggesting a 6% dependency on AWS. Market performance lags despite growthDespite these developments, the price of SOL, the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has not reflected the positive sentiment in the short term. Trading at roughly $186, SOL is down 13.74% over the past month, according to Kraken data. The asset remains 36.49% below its all-time high of $293.31, which was reached on Jan. 19, 2025.

Piggycell, a blockchain decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) startup, recently announced that it has successfully closed its seed investment round for $10 million. Piggycell will mainly use the funds raised from the investment round to expand its charging infrastructure and ecosystem further.Piggycell is improving the ownership and management of charging infrastructures through DePINs and real-world assets (RWAs). By integrating blockchain technology with physical assets, Piggycell aims to empower users through decentralized ownership, transparent profit-sharing models and enhanced community engagement. Since its establishment in 2020, Piggycell has made advancements in developing its infrastructure. It currently has over 13,000 charging hubs with over 100,000 batteries across all cities in South Korea. As a key player in the country's portable battery rental industry, Piggycell boasts nearly four million users and commands over 90% of the market share. One of the notable investors in the round is Animoca Brands, a Web3 company that uses blockchain technology to provide digital property rights to consumers worldwide, supporting the development of the open metaverse. Animoca Brands is one of the most active investors in Web3, with a portfolio of over 540 investments. Another key investor in this round is Internet Computer (ICP), a third-generation blockchain developed by the DFINITY Foundation that enables full end-to-end decentralization without the use of cloud computing. With its cryptographic methods, ICP supports fully on-chain applications, including complex web services.The investment from Animoca Brands, ICP and other investors further endorses Piggycell as a DePIN platform that bridges traditional Web2 services with the Web3 ecosystem. Having received backing from Web3 investors, Piggycell is now working to accelerate its decentralized infrastructure network with next-generation blockchain capabilities. Piggycell plans to launch its DePIN platform in the first half of 2025.  About PiggycellPiggycell is an RWA and DeFIN project that merges blockchain with real-world utility, offering a Charge-to-Earn experience. Its power bank-sharing infrastructure rewards users for charging their devices, bridging digital incentives with real-world convenience. By combining hub-based charging stations with blockchain technology, the project seeks to enhance transparency and efficiency through a digital twin strategy. Beyond charging, Piggycell integrates a social app-tech gaming platform, fostering interaction, gamification and community-driven growth.

China Unveils Offline SIM Card Wallet for Digital Yuan PaymentsThe People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has announced a new offline SIM card-based solution for its digital yuan, enabling users to make payments even with their phones switched off.Photo by Sumeet Singh on UnsplashEmbedded hardwareThe innovative initiative was revealed via a social media post on Monday. It aims to reach users with 2G phones who were previously unable to access digital currency.Currently, this feature is only available for Android phone users with NFC functionality, as no details have been given for iOS users or 2G phone owners. This innovation is part of the central bank’s efforts to expand the reach and usage of its digital currency, especially for users with 2G phones who were previously unable to access it.Earlier this year, the PBoC launched a similar solution for smartphone users, using near-field communication (NFC) technology. However, the latest solution relies on hardware embedded in SIM cards, which can act as a “hard” (offline) central bank digital currency (CBDC) wallet.Partnership with telecoms giantsThe central bank’s partners relative to this particular project include major telecom operators China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom, as well as state-owned commercial banks Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China, who have also introduced SIM card-based “hard wallet products.” These developments are expected to significantly improve the payment capabilities and network-free functionality of the digital yuan.To use this feature, citizens have to get a “super SIM card” from their carriers. After they have replaced their existing SIM cards and opened the digital yuan app on their phones, they will see an option to “open a SIM card hard wallet.” This will enable them to make touch-based payments to merchants even when their devices are powered off or lack network connectivity.SIM-based wallets are likely to be particularly useful for those using 2G devices or smartphones without NFC capabilities. Considering that about 20% of Chinese mobile users still use 2G phones, it would make sense for the PBoC to continue working in this direction with future updates.Driving adoptionThe ultimate plan of the PBoC regarding SIM-based wallets is not clear yet. However, recent developments, such as the pilot project in Qingdao where CBDC payments were tested on the metro system without electricity or network, indicate a strong push toward increasing the accessibility and adoption of the digital yuan.Frankly, moves to bring about adoption of the e-CNY have been nothing short of relentless. These measures have varied from paying state employees in e-CNY in Changshu, collaborating with French bank BNP Paribas so that its corporate clients start to use the digital yuan and enabling e-CNY bus fare payments on public transport in Jinan.China’s Jiangsu Province has integrated the digital yuan into its education system, while the resort city of Sanya recently introduced e-CNY ATM machines so that foreign tourists have a means through which they can access the digital currency. These developments demonstrate a clear commitment by the Chinese authorities in advancing the rollout of its central bank digital currency.