AliExpress Partners With ‘The Moment3!’ NFT Project

The Stacks Asia DLT Foundation, an organization associated with the Stacks Bitcoin layer-2 network, has become the first Bitcoin-based foundation to establish itself within, and be recognized by, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). ADGM is a free zone and international financial centre located on Al Maryah Island within the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a press release published on April 28, the foundation set out that it has established itself within the ADGM in an effort to further grow the adoption of the Bitcoin layer-2 network within Asia and the Middle East, while leveraging the positive regulatory environment that has been established by the ADGM with regard to distributed ledger technology (DLT).Photo by Joshua Woroniecki on UnsplashAttracting DLT foundationsThe ADGM has played a significant role in positioning the UAE as a go-to location for crypto startups and projects. The Berlin-based IOTA Foundation, developer of the IOTA DLT project, was among the first to establish a foundation within the ADGM to promote use of its network in the Middle East region back in November 2023.Since then, others have followed. In 2024 DLT foundations were established related to blockchain projects such as Kaia, Aptos and Beam. Last month DeFi protocol project NEOPIN announced that it had established a DLT foundation within the ADGM.  The free zone has proven popular not just among DLT foundations, but among crypto startups too. Projects such as Polygon Labs, Chainlink Labs and TON have established a presence there. Regulatory frameworkThe ADGM has its own regulator, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), and it established a framework for blockchain foundations in 2023. In establishing the Stacks Asia Foundation within the ADGM, the project would have had to register as a DLT Foundation, while meeting all local legal and regulatory requirements.Kyle Ellicott, interim Executive Director of the Stacks Asia DLT Foundation, commented on the development, providing an insight into why the ADGM was chosen:”We chose to establish our presence in ADGM because of its unparalleled commitment to fostering innovation in the blockchain space. Their forward-thinking approach to policy-making aligns perfectly with the Stacks ecosystem’s history of creating pathways for Bitcoin builders.”  Bitcoin programmabilityThe foundation asserts that it will play a “pivotal role” in forging the future of Bitcoin programmability and its adoption in that respect within Asia and the Middle East.  Referring to Bitcoin while speaking at the Abu Dhabi Digital Assets Forum, Ellicott said that “the once sleepy asset, seen only as a store of value, is now yielding with Layer 2s," through Stacks Bitcoin (sBTC), a 1:1 Bitcoin-backed asset hosted on the Stacks blockchain network. Stacks believes that the next wave of growth for Bitcoin will come through Bitcoin layer-2s. The project claims that unlike wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), sBTC doesn’t rely on centralized intermediaries. The asset has been designed to extend Bitcoin’s utility, enabling Bitcoin-adjacent DeFi applications and smart contracts. While the project highlights the importance of Bitcoin layer-2 going forward, back in February, Stacks co-founder Muneeb Ali forecast that a shakeout of Bitcoin layer-2 projects will occur, with only a handful of such projects surviving over the course of the next three years.

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.

Fingerlabs launches Web3 solution to help partners build membership NFTsFingerlabs, a subsidiary of digital marketing company FSN, has launched its participatory Web3 membership platform dubbed “Bling” in an effort to foray into the evolving digital landscape, according to an official press release.Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on UnsplashCustomizable characters and collaborative benefitsBling is an all-in-one marketing solution that allows businesses to conveniently create and manage NFTs that offer membership benefits. Users can create customizable characters on Favorlet, Fingerlabs’ NFT wallet and customer management service, using clothing or accessories called “parts.” These parts are linked to benefits offered by Fingerlabs’ partner firms, usually in the form of coupons that can be used both online and offline — thus touting the name “parts NFTs.” This can help boost brand exposure as Fingerlabs will be able to share its customer base with its partners.“Bling will prove to be a novel attempt in demonstrating that Web3 technology is not exclusive but for everyone to use. It will significantly reduce the risks associated with directly operating NFT projects and support any brand in effortlessly utilizing Web3 technology as an all-in-one solution for development and operations,” explained Fingerlabs CEO Kim Dong-hoon.Partner firms can construct their parts NFTs through Favorlet, and users can store theirs on their Favorlet wallet. Notably, parts NFTs can also be traded on NFT is Life Evolution (NILE), a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and NFT platform built on blockchain gaming publisher Wemade’s WEMIX3.0 mainnet.Bringing a classic to Web3Fingerlabs also announced that it is working with the K Museum of Contemporary Art, located in Seoul, as Bling’s first official partner. Users can customize their Bling characters with Great Gatsby-themed parts in line with the museum’s newest exhibit based on the classic novel. Passes to the exhibit will also be minted as NFTs. The K Museum of Contemporary Art previously worked with Fingerlabs in August on a project where exhibit poster cards were minted as reward-yielding NFTs.