LINE Xenesis and Crypto.com Unite Efforts to Explore Global Blockchain Business Opportunities

Intella X Teams Up with Web3 Comm Protocol to Boost Game ExperienceSouth Korean gaming company Neowiz announced on Tuesday that its blockchain gaming platform, Intella X, has forged a partnership with DMTP, a developer of Web3 communication protocols.The partnership aims to bolster the capabilities of Intella X services and nurture a robust ecosystem around the platform.Photo by Andrey Metelev on UnsplashOn Polygon networkIntella X, currently under development by Neowiz, will operate on the Polygon network. The platform is designed to be user-centric, offering a range of services beyond gaming. These include its own decentralized exchange (DEX), an NFT launchpad, and an NFT exchange.Messages between wallet addressesDMTP has developed a communication tool named after itself, which enables message exchange between Web3 wallet addresses. Encrypted user messages are securely stored on the blockchain and managed in a decentralized, distributed manner. This ensures data preservation in case of unforeseen circumstances, such as service termination.The two companies will discuss introducing DMTP to the Intella X Wallet. Having recently soft launched the Android and web versions of Intella X Wallet, Neowiz plans to coordinate with DMTP to expedite technological development and marketing efforts to enrich user experience.

Audit Finds Excessive Pay Features on China’s e-CNY ProjectChina’s Digital Currency Research Institute, responsible for developing the digital yuan, has come under scrutiny for its excessive pay rises, which exceeded the typical limit for central government departments by eight times, according to a recent audit report. The report, released by the National Audit Office, sheds light on the inner workings of the institute, which oversees China’s widely used central bank digital currency (CBDC).Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash28 percent pay risesIn 2020, employees at the institute received an average salary increase of around 28%, a significant bump compared to the typical government limit. Despite its influential role, the Digital Currency Research Institute maintains a low profile, lacking an official website and public disclosure of its payroll size, budget, and organizational structure.Since the substantial pay increases in 2020, the institute’s growth appears to have accelerated. Job postings indicate that the institute embarked on a hiring spree in the past year, with positions ranging from Beijing-based software engineers for Google’s Android mobile operating system to cloud platform engineers in Suzhou and blockchain experts in Shenzhen.While the Digital Currency Research Institute is among several government agencies flagged for financial irregularities in the audit report, it is essential to note that the institute plays a crucial role in advancing China’s digital yuan project.Ongoing trialsOver the past four years, trials of the digital yuan, known as e-CNY, have rapidly expanded. Currently, there are 26 pilot cities and 5.6 million merchants accepting the CBDC, accessible through official apps and third-party payment systems such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.Despite the progress made in trial deployments, there is no official timeline for the official launch of the digital yuan. The e-CNY has already demonstrated its utility in various contexts. For instance, in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu, subway riders can utilize e-CNY as a payment option through local transport apps. Moreover, passengers in eastern Zhejiang province can now use the official e-CNY wallet app to pay for the metro, even without an internet connection.While some cities have started exploring the use of e-CNY for bank loan and utility bill payments, the overall adoption of the digital yuan remains relatively slow. The amount spent using e-CNY is still a fraction of the massive 500 trillion yuan in mobile payments made in China last year. Consumers perceive little difference between e-CNY and traditional payment channels when using popular mobile payment apps.Jiangsu Province is establishing use of the digital yuan within its education system. Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Changshu, local administrators are starting to pay civil servants in e-CNY. To encourage wider acceptance and adoption, it will be crucial to further develop the infrastructure and address the concerns of businesses and consumers.As trials continue, it is expected that the digital yuan will play an increasingly significant role in China’s financial landscape, offering new opportunities while transforming the way transactions are conducted.

Blockchain Tech Enhances Korean Meat Industry’s Trading SystemThe Korean meat industry is leveraging blockchain technology to optimize its meat trading system.©Pexels/mali maederOn Tuesday, the MOOxMOO Foundation, a Korean blockchain-driven supply chain management provider, announced its strategic partnership with meat processing company PMD, according to the Maeil Business Newspaper.Inefficient distributionThe partnership aims to enhance the transparency of the meat trading system and address issues of inefficient intermediary distribution, particularly regarding payments, settlements, and deliveries. This goal will be achieved through the foundation’s meat trading platform MOOxDEAL, which will utilize soulbound tokens (SBTs) to verify identities of supply chain participants.Rising meat demandThe OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022–2031 stated that in 2021, world meat imports are estimated to have reached 40 million metric tons (Mt), with poultry imports leading the way. Brazil, the European Union and the United States were among the top meat exporting countries, meeting a significant portion of the increased import demand.Meat consumption is projected to grow by 15% by 2031, driven by an expected 11% increase in the global population. Global meat supply is projected to reach 377 Mt by 2031, though growth will not be as rapid as the previous decade.The amount of protein available from poultry, pork, and beef is expected to increase globally by 16%, 17%, and 8%, respectively, by 2031, with poultry being the main contributor to overall meat production growth. The majority of meat production growth is set to occur in developing regions.Costs onto consumersDespite increasing global meat production, the unsuitable distribution structure in Korea may shift costs onto consumers.Through the partnership, the MOOxMOO Foundation looks forward to addressing the inefficiencies of intermediary distribution and benefiting consumers. The foundation also envisions its platform contributing to the Korean meat industry by optimizing both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) trading.