Assemble Protocol’s Native Token Now Supported by Ceffu’s Custody Solution

Thai Central Bank Collaborates With Singapore’s 2C2P on CBDC PilotThe Bank of Thailand is set to commence a pilot project for a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) within a regulatory sandbox later this month.Three participating fintech firmsThat’s according to local media, with reports suggesting that three payment providers will participate in the project, which is expected to involve up to 10,000 users and run until August.The scheme will involve two Thai banks, Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), Thailand’s fifth largest bank, and Siam Commercial Bank. Singapore-based payments service provider 2C2P will also collaborate with the Thai central bank on the CBDC initiative. 2C2P is a global payments platform which helps businesses to accept payments securely online, on mobile, and in-store. Each organization has developed an app exclusively available to selected users, encompassing a digital wallet and a QR code scanner.Krungsri plans to engage up to 2,000 staff members and approximately 100 merchants in the project, focusing on locations around the bank’s headquarters. Furthermore, the project will expand to include the Ploenchit branch.Photo by Florian Wehde on UnsplashMaintaining relevanceBanks are having to embrace the need to adapt to the eventuality of developments like CBDCs as, depending upon how they’re implemented, they could render some banking products obsolete. Sam Tanskul, the Managing Director of Krungsri Finnovate, a division of the Thai banking business that focuses on strategic investments, expressed the need for the bank to establish a distinct strategy for differentiating the retail CBDC from its existing PromptPay mobile payments service.Siam Commercial Bank’s pilot project will operate in a similar manner to Krungsri’s, involving staff members and nearby merchants as participants. The Bank of Thailand has emphasized that the project aims to facilitate learning rather than serve as an official pilot launch. At present, the central bank has not disclosed any official plans to implement a CBDC.Wholesale and retail CBDCsThe Bank of Thailand commenced the development of a wholesale CBDC back in 2018. It has actively participated in various projects such as the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) mBridge cross-border payment initiative and the Project Inthanon-Lion Rock collaboration with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).In a move to foster the growth of the digital token market, Thailand waived corporate income tax and value-added tax for companies issuing investment tokens in March. While this decision is expected to result in an approximate loss of $1 billion in revenue for the country, it is projected that investment tokens will generate $3.7 billion over the next two years, as stated by a government spokesperson.The Bank of Thailand’s forthcoming retail CBDC pilot project is one of a plethora of such projects being pursued throughout the Asia-Pacific region. In Japan, the Bank of Japan recently completed the second phase of a proof of concept project relative to its CBDC, with the project now progressing to phase three. Last month, it emerged that the Bank of Korea is collaborating with Samsung Electronics relative to its CBDC project. Meanwhile, India is progressing further in trialing its CBDC, while China is further along the development curve than all others in that respect.

KOTEC and Busan Techno Park Join Hands to Boost Technological Growth of Busan EnterprisesThe Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) announced that it signed a cooperative agreement with Busan Techno Park on Monday at Busan Techno Park’s headquarters to support the growth of enterprises and offer financing for technological development. Under the agreement, KOTEC and Busan Techno Park have established a mutually beneficial system to jointly nurture and support tech companies based in Busan that are striving to commercialize data and blockchain technologies.Photo by Christopher Lee on UnsplashFostering tech innovation in BusanKOTEC is a non-profit government-affiliated institution aimed at financing innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for technology development. It offers services like credit guarantees, technology appraisal, equity investments, and technology transfers. Busan Techno Park is a regional industrial innovation institution for the southern port city of Busan, which operates a cooperative system among industrial, academic, and governmental agencies for the technological advancement of local companies.The two entities have committed to sharing information about companies that require financing for technological advancement — such as technological challenges that they may face — and promote joint projects related to technology investment and financing. They also aim to gather data resources for technology transfer, evaluation, and commercialization.KOTEC has marked Busan as a regulation-free special zone for companies that reside there. The demarcation of regulation-free special zones aims to foster the innovative and strategic development of a certain region. It is also operating a system under a regulatory sandbox preferential guarantee, which aims to facilitate accelerated market entry for businesses specializing in blockchain technology, maritime mobility, ammonia energy, and more.Empowering financing for technological advancementThe regulatory sandbox is a system run by the Korean government that exempts or suspends existing regulations for a designated amount of time for companies releasing new products and services and regulates them post-mortem if there is a problem. Under the sandbox policy, preferential guarantees refer to a technology guarantee fund that provides guarantees up to KRW 2 billion (approximately $1.5 million) for loans of facility funds to companies subjected to temporary approval and decreases the guarantee rate by up to 0.5%.In March, KOTEC was designated as a data appraisal agency by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Since then, the corporation has been implementing the data value plus guarantee — a product that determines the economic value of data and provides guarantees accordingly.“We will actively contribute to the government’s national tasks, including providing prioritized support for the cutting-edge future strategy industry. We will make even greater efforts to contribute to job creation and regional economic development,” said Kim Se-hyun, Head of KOTEC’s Busan-Gyeongnam Regional Office.

Foblgate adds D’CENT and Trust as supported external walletsSouth Korean cryptocurrency exchange Foblgate will allow users to register the external digital wallets D’CENT and Trust on their accounts, offering more options for managing and trading crypto assets, according to local news site Etoday on Tuesday (KST).Photo by Shubham’s Web3 on UnsplashD’CENT is a hardware wallet that safeguards users’ assets through a robust security system employing biometric technology, encrypted storage, firmware authentication and security certification. It supports some 3,000 cryptocurrencies and allows users to create up to 80 addresses in a single wallet. Trust, on the other hand, is a one-stop Web3 wallet where holders can trade and swap crypto, earn rewards, manage NFTs and enjoy various decentralized applications (dApps). Like D’CENT, it is known for securing customer assets and privacy.“By providing support for external wallets, we are striving to enhance user convenience, respond to various demands and create a safe and convenient trading environment on Foblgate,” Ahn Hyun-jun, CEO of Foblgate, emphasized.Travel Rule requirementsAs per the Travel Rule under Korea’s Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information, any user who wants to transfer cryptocurrencies worth more than KRW 1 million (approximately $775) via a personal wallet must register that wallet beforehand. The Travel Rule refers to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) Recommendation #16, which outlines that VASPs must share certain personal information about customers — including names and account numbers — when facilitating crypto transactions that exceed a certain amount. This is aimed at preventing money laundering and other illicit activities.Expanded optionsFoblgate currently supports several other external wallets as well, including MetaMask, Blockchain.com, MyEtherWallet, Klip and Burrito Wallet, which was added at the end of last month. The two newest additions, D’CENT and Trust, bring the total number of supported wallets to seven. The exchange has also uploaded a guide on its website on how to add external wallets.