Korean Firms Join Forces to Expand the Security Token Market

Korean Pharma and Running App Employ NFTs to Promote Fatigue ReliefDaewoong Pharmaceutical recently announced its collaboration with D-Run, an NFT-based running app, to employ non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in marketing a fatigue relief product to millennials and Generation Z.©Pexels/Anna ShvetsUnique NFT IllustrationsFor the project, two unique NFT illustrations have been designed, showcasing a brown bear and a red heart with arms and legs. The bear, named Uri, represents Daewoong’s fatigue relief product UR-Shot, and the heart serves as D-Run’s mascot DZ. In one NFT edition, Uri and DZ are depicted running across a bridge, while the other shows them lying down on a grassy lawn under a tree.Each edition will have 100 NFTs available for purchase on Klip Drops, an NFT marketplace operated by Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary Ground X, from April 26 to May 9. NFT buyers will receive 20 tablets of UR-Shot and D-Run merchandise.Millennial and Gen Z runnersDaewoong’s partnership with D-Run, a platform operated by online media outlet dongA.com, a subsidiary of the nation’s leading newspaper Donga Ilbo, aims to connect with the digital-savvy millennial and Gen Z runners. This collaboration promotes UR-Shot as a healthy energy booster. In November last year, Daewoong introduced NFTs featuring Uri to attract millennials and Gen Z consumers.NFTs as marketing strategyNFTs are tokens that utilize blockchain technology to prove ownership of virtual assets. Due to their scarcity and irreplaceability, NFTs have recently become increasingly influential in the digital art sphere such as paintings and videos. In particular, young consumers often use NFTs as a tool to have fun and express themselves.Park Eun-kyung, the head of the consumer healthcare marketing team at Daewoong, said that this NFT collaboration to reach out to young consumers is the first marketing initiative of its kind in the pharmaceutical industry. Daewoong will continue to keep an eye on the consumption culture of younger generations and conduct various digital marketing programs to alleviate customers’ daily fatigue, she added

Chinese tech firm pours $15 million into Bitcoin fundLinekong Interactive, a Beijing-based gaming and film production company listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX), has made a strategic move by earmarking $15 million for investment in projects designed to build on the Bitcoin network.Photo by Dmytro Demidko on UnsplashThe ‘BTC Next’ fundWang Fang, the founder of Linekong, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday to announce the establishment of the “BTC Next” fund. The fund’s primary goal is to fast-track the development of emerging projects within the Bitcoin ecosystem, spanning a wide range of areas, including asset issuance protocols, trading markets, expansion initiatives, virtual machines, NFT’s real-world asset (RWA) and GameFi.As part of its initial efforts, Linekong Interactive plans to actively engage in research and investment activities within the Bitcoin network’s ecological assets. The firm will also make its investment portfolios publicly available, enabling transparent visibility into its chosen projects within the Bitcoin ecosystem.Building on BitcoinThe idea of building out Web3 offerings on the Bitcoin network is one that has attracted considerable debate in recent years. Traditionally, Bitcoin has been recognized for its limited programmability in comparison to newer blockchains like Ethereum.Many see that as a feature and benefit. For the most part, Bitcoin has remained largely unchanged since its inception in 2008. A myriad of alternative blockchain projects started to emerge due to the frustrations of developers in wanting to have greater programmability options.However, the past year has seen significant developments within the Bitcoin ecosystem, thanks to the introduction of novel data storage methods known as Ordinals, Inscriptions and BRC-20 Bitcoin tokens modeled on Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard.Growing momentumIn May, Singapore’s OmniBOLT, a project that develops solutions on Bitcoin’s layer-2 network environment, outlined that it will support BRC-20 tokens on Lightning Network. In the same month, crypto exchange OKX announced its support for Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens.Established in 2007 as an online gaming company in Beijing, Linekong Interactive made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2014. Wang Fang, prior to founding Linekong, served as the Vice President of Software Development at Kingsoft Software, a prominent Chinese information technology conglomerate.In 2018, Wang Fang stepped down as CEO of Linekong to dedicate his focus to blockchain technology. During this period, he initiated multiple projects implicating NFTs, DeFi and Bitcoin mining. In 2022, following an invitation from Linekong’s board of directors, he returned as CEO with the objective of achieving a more seamless integration of Linekong products with the emerging world of Web3.One community member provided a nuanced take on why there has been less development on Bitcoin on X today, stating:“It turns out you can actually do a lot of cool things within the constraints of #bitcoin’s code, but VCs [venture capitalists] weren’t interested in funding these things because they couldn’t cash out on the sale of unregistered security tokens. Fiat incentives at work.”Linekong Interactive’s $15 million investment in the Bitcoin ecosystem reflects a growing trend of interest in expanding the capabilities and applications of the Bitcoin network in spite of the incentives that venture capital firms may have followed in the overarching crypto space in the past.

Having made significant strides in undertaking testing of the digital yuan in recent times, Hong Kong is expanding its e-CNY pilot testing while at the same time crafting its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), dubbed the e-HKD.Photo by Simon Zhu on UnsplashIntegrating e-CNY with FPSDuring a recent budget speech Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan unveiled plans to empower Hong Kong residents to bolster their digital yuan wallets through the local “Faster Payment System” (FPS), marking another move forward in bolstering cross-border payment efficiency.FPS is a real-time payment settlement system which enables the user to complete payments across banks through the use of recipient mobile phone numbers and email addresses. The move dovetails with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA) successful completion of the inaugural phase of its e-HKD pilot, propelling it into the second phase. The e-HKD pilot is focusing on retail applications such as programmable payments, offline transactions and tokenized deposits. At the same time as the e-CNY garners momentum, the HKMA is progressing the e-HKD in terms of unlocking the full potential of CBDCs in everyday financial transactions. This consists of the exploration of retail applications in the initial phase, coupled with the transition towards more intricate functionalities in the subsequent phase, underscoring Hong Kong's intent towards driving ever greater CBDC innovation within the Chinese autonomous territory. Streamlining transactionsThe integration of the e-CNY with Hong Kong's FPS promises to streamline transactions and elevate the fluidity of cross-border payments between Hong Kong and mainland China. This initiative follows on from an announcement back in September of last year to expand the e-CNY pilot program in Hong Kong. Financial Secretary Paul Chan aims to forge a bridge between mainland China and international markets, potentially setting a global precedent for CBDC interoperability and utilization. Furthermore, Hong Kong's issuance of the world's premier multi-currency tokenized bond, followed by a subsequent batch of tokenized green bonds, signifies the city's leadership in fusing digital finance with sustainable investment strategies, drawing significant interest from global institutional investors. mBridge initiativeThe collaborative efforts of the HKMA with the Bank for International Settlements and other central banks on the mBridge CBDC project further demonstrate Hong Kong's proactive stance in shaping the trajectory of international finance. Last month, authorities in China outlined yet another initiative that is designed to bring about cross-border use of the e-CNY with Hong Kong. The mBridge initiative, a multi-CBDC platform to support cross-border payments is being harnessed to bring about greater trade using digital currency across various jurisdictions. The project involves the central banks of China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Thailand. This concerted endeavor, coupled with Hong Kong’s array of digital currency ventures, positions the city at the forefront of CBDC innovation. All of this development comes as China has established new milestones recently, with the completion of an international oil deal using the digital yuan together with similar deals involving gold and iron ore.