SK C&C to Spearhead Establishment of Korea’s First Alternative Trading System

TON Foundation $250M Accelerator Fund LaunchThe team behind The Open Network (TON) layer one blockchain has launched a $250 million fund to promote and incentivize development on the network.The Dubai-headquartered TON Foundation, the community managing the TON/Open Network blockchain project, provided details of the program via social media on Monday.Photo by Ibrahim Boran on UnsplashBoosting ecosystem projectsThe $250 million fund is aiming to boost key TON ecosystem projects, with a particular focus on DeFi. The TON Foundation is already canvassing projects to participate and apply for funding.Successful applicants will be offered between $50,000 and $250,000. The scheme goes beyond funding. Projects will also get to avail of mentorship from partners like GotBit, a consulting service targeted at blockchain start-ups. Growth advisory firm Web3Port will also be available to successful candidates in that mentorship role.UAE-based multi-strategy crypto investment firm Cypher Capital will also be at the disposal of the TON-based start-ups, while they will also have the ability to access the Tonstarter launchpad. Additionally, the scheme features participation from East Asia, with South Korea-based Boom Labs, an incubator for Web3 developers, lending its support.Justin Hyun, Head of Incubation and Growth at the TON Foundation, had this to say about the development:“This is the beginning of many different incubators which will be supported in the future. Funding forms part of our local hubs rollout strategy and our ecosystem will work to attract new developers as well as successful repeat founders, based across a variety of key global locations.”$25M funding in first yearFunding will be allocated from the TONcoin.Fund, a $250 million TON syndicate which invests in teams and projects that build on The Open Network. In the first year of the program, $25 million will be allocated.Bill Qian, Chairman of Cypher Capital, said that the program “is unique within the Web3 universe today.” “TON Accelerator Program is taking the well-known incubator principle from the Web2 ecosystem, refining it, and evolving it by incorporating the best practices of Web3 protocols and methodologies,” he added.DoraHacks Hack-a-TONxIn its announcement the TON Foundation outlined its intention to select the first successful projects from those who took part in the DoraHacks Hack-a-TONx. Hack-a-TONx was a two-month-long hackathon, put together by the TON Foundation in coordination with global hackathon organizer and multi-chain Web3 developer community, DoraHacks.Submissions are being accepted by the TON Foundation from projects that have built on TON, who already have a minimum viable product (MVP). Although originally promoted by the makers of the Telegram messaging app, since 2020, TON has harnessed the TON Foundation to develop the project as a community-run and community-led open source initiative.The African nations of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of Congo have all expressed an interest in adopting the TON blockchain. Earlier this month, the TON Foundation entered into a partnership with the Seychelles-based BIT crypto exchange. That collaboration will see BIT accepting TON tokens from its users for the payment of trading fees, with discounts offered to the exchange users who opt to pay using TON.

India’s NPCI Looks to Recruit Blockchain TalentIndia’s National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a collaborative initiative led by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in partnership with 247 Indian financial services companies, is actively seeking an experienced blockchain technologist to spearhead efforts in exploring the potential applications of blockchain technology within contemporary payment systems.The NPCI, responsible for operating India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a domestically developed instant payment system, plays a pivotal role in facilitating inter-bank peer-to-peer and person-to-merchant transactions across the country. The organization has recently posted a job listing for a Head of Blockchain on LinkedIn, demonstrating its interest in harnessing the power of blockchain technology.Photo by Siddharth K Rao on UnsplashIdentifying blockchain use casesThe ideal candidate for this critical role should be a seasoned technologist with a minimum of six years of hands-on experience in the development and implementation of blockchain solutions. Their primary responsibility will be to identify and evaluate potential use cases for blockchain-driven solutions within the payments ecosystem.Additionally, the senior leadership position demands a profound technical grasp of various blockchain platforms and a track record of involvement in at least two pilot blockchain projects.UPI has been a remarkable success in bolstering India’s payment infrastructure, so much so that other countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Nepal, and the UK have expressed interest in adopting the UPI payment system to varying degrees.Potential blockchain integrationDespite UPI's runaway success, it’s likely that the NCPI foresees more change coming down the tracks with a need to respond appropriately. Recently, Indian billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani suggested that his company, multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL), would delve further into the use of blockchain technology, particularly where central bank digital currency (CBDC) is concerned.V Subramanian, Managing Director of one of Ambani’s companies, Reliance Retail, stated that India’s digital rupee CBDC would eventually outperform UPI. Incorporating blockchain elements into UPI could potentially introduce blockchain technology to millions of users, instantly validating its transformative capabilities.The NPCI’s job posting for a blockchain leader has already garnered significant attention, with over 600 applicants expressing their interest at the time of publication. It is anticipated that the NPCI’s recruitment drive for blockchain expertise will expand in the near future as promising blockchain use cases are uncovered and developed.The NPCI has been paying attention to the development of blockchain technology over a number of years already. In 2020, it launched a project to build a blockchain-based payments platform called Vajra, albeit that it looked to implement a permissioned blockchain model to ensure that only authorized parties could access the network. Truly decentralized networks can’t control who chooses to use such networks.The blockchain is designed such that the NPCI acts as a Clearing House Node, with overall admin rights over the network. Its Notary Node level features Aadhaar authentication, with a view to securing the network. Participant Nodes feature authorized banks and payment services providers, who have the requisite permissions to read and write transactions on the blockchain.

South Korean Firms Combine Strengths to Draw Hobbyists into the MetaverseCom2Verse, the metaverse subsidiary of South Korean game developer Com2uS, has formed a partnership with Somssidang, a leading hobby sharing platform, and Hana Bank, a prominent financial institution, to attract hobbyists to the metaverse.That’s according to a report by local news agency Newsis. This collaboration aims to create an infrastructure within Com2Verse’s metaverse that offers hobby classes and extends financial support to class providers.Photo by Steve Johnson on UnsplashSeminars and classes in metaverseThrough the combined expertise of the partnering companies, they strive to deliver engaging seminars and interactive classes in the metaverse, while actively promoting and expanding its ecosystem.Com2Verse plans to enable its metaverse users to partake in virtual as well as face-to-face courses offered by Somssidang. This will establish an environment conducive to the growth of hobby-related businesses, effectively bridging the gap between the physical and virtual realms. Somssidang, on its part, aims to expand its operations by providing high-quality content materials, such as classes by distinguished experts, to Com2Verse.Somssidang, boasting a user base of 1.2 million, stands as Korea’s largest hobby platform. The platform is currently offering a wide range of hobby classes, both online and in-person, across the nation. In addition to organizing lectures, Somssidang sells a wide range of do-it-yourself kits, as well as tickets for concerts, exhibitions, and tours. Furthermore, Somssidang provides specialized hobby workshops that are specifically tailored to meet the needs and preferences of business customers.Financial groundworkHana Bank, in collaboration with Com2Verse, will lay the financial groundwork necessary to support the metaverse. This partnership includes extending financial assistance to small business participants within the metaverse and promoting recreational activities for socially marginalized groups.CEO statementsCom2Verse CEO Lee Kyoung-Il expressed his conviction that the company’s metaverse will go beyond the traditional realm of online classes, offering educational courses that exceed expectations. He also emphasized the metaverse’s capacity to provide a diverse range of services, enabling users not only to enjoy their hobbies but also to achieve personal fulfillment. Somssidang CEO Jeong Myeong-won affirmed the platform’s commitment to developing content and services tailored specifically to the metaverse.Kim So-jung, Deputy President of Hana Bank, said this opportunity would converge cultural and financial sectors to realize our daily lives onto the metaverse. Kim added that Hana Bank is committed to ongoing strategic cooperation with the other two partners to deliver innovative financial services and fulfill its social responsibilities.