Japanese Banking Giant Joins Tech Firms to Build Cross-Chain Stablecoin Infrastructure

Dominik Schiener, the co-founder of distributed ledger technology (DLT) project IOTA, outlined on X on Dec. 12 that he had met with Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, Secretary of Trade of the Philippines. Commenting further, Schiener wrote: “We are looking forward to expand IOTA and our trade infrastructure TWIN across South East Asia in 2025.” Photo by iSawRed on UnsplashCutting through trade barriersTWIN refers to IOTA’s Trade Worldwide Information Network, a continuation of another longstanding IOTA project, the Trade and Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP). The objective of TWIN is to cut through trade barriers and improve connections between disparate national trading systems. In rolling out the network, IOTA has formed a consortium which includes organizations such as TradeMark Africa, the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade. TWIN seeks to optimize trade processes by merging physical goods with digital infrastructure, eliminating inefficiencies and boosting transparency. Schiener anticipates that once participants place data on the network, they will ultimately tokenize assets on it. In turn, this will result in utility for the IOTA token, once TWIN is released on the IOTA mainnet. The TWIN project is currently staffed by 28 people but Schiener believes that this will grow to 100 people over the course of the next two years. The project originally emerged in Germany, with the IOTA Foundation having its headquarters in Berlin. Initially, IOTA concerned itself with European blockchain initiatives in trying to find its place in the industry. Earlier this year, its Web3 identity authentication solution was chosen by the European Commission for inclusion within the European Blockchain Sandbox Initiative (EBSI). In August, the IOTA Foundation completed the final stage of the European Union’s blockchain pre-commercial procurement (PCP) program. Strategic expansionHowever, over the course of the past year, the project has expanded towards searching for product market fit within emerging markets. In November 2023, the project established the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) financial center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This marked the first DLT foundation to have established itself within the ADGM.  $100 million in funding was provided with the objective of nurturing the IOTA ecosystem and accelerating the growth of the IOTA protocol. Since then, the TON Foundation and the Aptos Foundation have moved to register under the ADGM’s DLT Foundations framework. East Africa has been ground zero for IOTA’s attempts to enhance cross-border processes related to trade documentation, where it has been working with TradeMark Africa and local regulators. In Singapore, the IOTA Foundation has collaborated with global innovation ecosystem Tenity to establish the IOTA Accelerator, a 12-week initiative aimed at assisting early-stage startups concerned with real-world asset (RWA) tokenization within the IOTA ecosystem. Schiener’s meeting in the Philippines would suggest that the project is making greater efforts still in terms of bringing about the adoption of the technology in Southeast Asia. In his X post, Schiener wrote: “Let's connect the world with sovereign digital infrastructure.”

Tongli Han, the CEO and CIO of Harvest Global, has expressed openness to the possibility of applying to offer Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to mainland Chinese investors through the Stock Connect program. This consideration is contingent on favorable developments in the next two years. Harvest Global, along with China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) and Bosera HashKey, recently launched Asia's first spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, aligning with Hong Kong's ambition to establish itself as a global cryptocurrency hub. Han's remarks were delivered during the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong, underscoring the potential for expansion into the mainland Chinese market.Photo by Jimmy Chan on PexelsUncertain regulatory landscape and growth prospectsDespite the introduction of spot crypto ETFs in Hong Kong, uncertainty looms over mainland Chinese investors' access to such products through the Stock Connect program. China's regulatory stance towards the cryptocurrency industry remains stringent, with most commercial crypto activities prohibited on the mainland. While there is speculation regarding the potential inclusion of crypto ETFs in the eligible securities list of the Stock Connect program, approval remains uncertain. The debut of Hong Kong's spot crypto ETFs recorded modest trading volumes compared to their U.S. counterparts, signaling a cautious start. However, Han anticipates the potential for growth in the Asia region, envisioning the Hong Kong ETFs to potentially double the size of their U.S. counterparts. Despite differing opinions on growth prospects, market observers highlight challenges such as the relatively small size of the Hong Kong ETF market and restrictions on mainland Chinese investors' participation, underscoring the complexities facing the expansion of crypto ETFs in the region. 

DWF Labs Enters Into Strategic Partnership with TRONDWF Labs, a Singapore-headquartered global digital asset market maker and Web3 investment firm, has announced a strategic partnership with TRON, the leading blockchain network focused on decentralizing the Internet through decentralized applications (dApps).Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on PexelsProviding liquidityThe partnership was announced via a press release published on Tuesday. As part of this collaboration, DWF Labs has become a liquidity provider for TRON, aiming to strengthen the ecosystem support of the blockchain.Andrei Grachev, the Managing Partner of DWF Labs, expressed confidence in the TRON ecosystem, highlighting its impressive adoption in the Web3 space. Grachev stated: “TRON stands as one of the fastest-growing dApps ecosystems in the space at the moment, and the consistent rollout of innovative tools and services proves that TRON has a leading role in paving the trail in blockchain.” He further emphasized DWF Labs’ commitment to supporting the ecosystem through additional investments in the near future.DWF Labs, known for its active support and investments in Web3 protocols, had previously allocated $15 million to the Web3 Industry Recovery Initiative, led by Binance Labs, to aid struggling protocols in the industry’s recovery. The company has also formed strategic partnerships with other prominent players in the crypto industry.Global market makerDWF Labs, as a global digital asset market maker and multi-stage Web3 investment firm, supports portfolio companies throughout various stages, from token listing to market making to OTC trading solutions. With offices in multiple locations worldwide, including Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong, South Korea, and the British Virgin Islands (BVI), DWF operates as an affiliate of Digital Wave Finance (DWF), known for its proprietary technology in high-frequency trading and consistently ranking among the top 5 trading entities by volume in the cryptocurrency world.The firm has been on a spending spree in recent months. In April, it invested $10 million into Singapore-based payments provider Alchemy Pay. In the same month, it led a Series A funding round into Crypto GPT, an AI-powered blockchain platform. A $60 million investment in layer one blockchain EOS followed.A spokesperson for TRON expressed delight in partnering with DWF Labs, acknowledging their expertise and excellence in further strengthening the TRON ecosystem. Together, the aim is to advance TRON’s vision of a decentralized future, empowering decentralized commerce and community for every individual worldwide.By joining TRON as a liquidity provider, DWF Labs intends to contribute to the growth and development of the TRON ecosystem. This partnership aims to enhance the accessibility of the blockchain network for all TRON users and community members.TRON, founded in September 2017 by Justin Sun, has achieved significant milestones since the launch of its Mainnet in May 2018. Notably, the integration of BitTorrent, a decentralized Web3 services pioneer with over 100 million monthly active users, into the TRON ecosystem in July 2018. TRON has gained significant traction, with over 166.5 million total user accounts, more than 5.85 billion total transactions, and over $11.52 billion in total value locked (TVL) as of June 2023, according to TRONSCAN.