Korean Blockchain Firm Proposes Fintech Collaboration in Cambodia

Finblox Launching Tokenized US Treasury BondsHong Kong-based cryptocurrency firm Finblox has unveiled a groundbreaking solution aimed at meeting the growing demand among crypto investors for traditional assets that generate yields. By launching tokenized rights to US Treasury Bills (T-Bills), the company seeks to bridge the gap between the crypto and traditional financial worlds.In a tweet thread posted on Tuesday, the company set out some detail on the product offering it has been working on. In collaboration with smart-contract vault OpenEden, Finblox aims to tap into the trillion-dollar market of Web3 users. Finblox is a crypto app, with the enterprise being backed by leading venture capital firms such as Dragonfly Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Saison Capital. This innovative offering provides crypto investors with access to a highly secure AAA-rated financial asset, leveraging the advantages of blockchain technology.Photo by Karolina Grabowska on PexelsYield generationUnlike stablecoins, which have failed to deliver substantial returns, and crypto lending, which carries notable risks as recent defaults and insolvencies in the digital asset sector have shown, tokenized US T-Bills provide a reliable investment option.By converting the rights to these assets into digital tokens that can be traded and held within the blockchain ecosystem, Finblox enables fractional ownership. This means that users can invest small amounts and still earn proportional yields, opening up investment opportunities to a wider range of individuals.Through the Finblox platform, users can directly benefit from the yield generated by these tokenized T-Bills. Historically, Treasury Bills have been regarded as blue-chip financial assets, offering reliable returns and serving as a benchmark for global financial markets.OpenEden integrationTo ensure transparency and security, Finblox has integrated the T-Bill vault of Singapore-based OpenEden with decentralized blockchain Chainlink. This integration provides on-chain verification, guaranteeing that Finblox’s T-Bill tokens are backed by US Treasury securities, USDC stablecoins, and US dollars on a 1:1 basis.Finblox founder Peter Hoang emphasized the seamless and secure bridge that T-Bills offer between traditional and emerging markets in an interview with Tech in Asia. He stated: “With T-Bills, we are offering users a real-world asset while also benefiting from the custody of a regulated financial institution. It’s a seamless and secure bridge for both traditional and emerging markets, bringing safer yields to a wide range of users.”To access Finblox’s T-Bill tokens, investors need to follow a straightforward process. Initially, they must obtain USDC from a reputable exchange, either through Finblox or other exchanges. Once the know-your-customer (KYC) verification process is completed, users can swap their USDC for T-Bills within the Finblox platform.To enhance transparency, Finblox makes its wallets publicly available, enabling users to track deposits and withdrawals and verify the accuracy of transactions. The company also holds working capital in hot wallets to facilitate withdrawals below 2% of the entire pool, ensuring swift processing within three business days.It’s understood that Finblox will market the product offering to users in the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam, among other jurisdictions within Asia.

Korean Crypto Market Outpaces Stock Exchange Amid Bitcoin ETF OptimismThe anticipation is building around the potential approval of BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. As the world’s largest asset manager is anticipated to obtain a green light, Bitcoin’s price has surged by more than 17% just this week, capturing the keen interest of investors.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashCrypto surpassing stocks in daily trading volumeIt’s worth highlighting the surge in the Korean cryptocurrency market, where the daily trading volume has recently eclipsed that of the Korean Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI).According to local news outlet Maeil Business Newspaper, on October 24, KOSPI recorded a trading volume of KRW 7.83 trillion ($5.8 billion). Yet, in a 24-hour span from 9 a.m. (KST) on October 23 to 9 a.m. on October 24, the combined trading volume of the top five Korean cryptocurrency exchanges reached KRW 8.44 trillion.Breaking it down by exchange, Upbit had a 24-hour trading volume of KRW 6.97 trillion, followed by Bithumb with KRW 1.36 trillion, Coinone with KRW 87.6 billion, Korbit with KRW 18.8 billion, and Gopax with KRW 2.2 billion.Retail investors leaving the stock marketThe surge in the Korean crypto market is largely due to retail investors shifting their focus away from the Korean stock market. This move comes in response to challenges the stock market has been grappling with, such as monetary tightening in the US and increased volatility stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.

Singapore’s largest bank in terms of assets under management (AUM), DBS Bank, has introduced “DBS Token Services,” an offering it describes as “a new suite of banking services that integrate tokenisation and smart contract-enabled capabilities with its award-winning banking services.” The bank announced details of the new service offering via a press release published on its behalf by PR Newswire on Oct. 18. The product caters towards the needs of DBS Bank’s institutional clients, with the objective of unlocking operational efficiencies and transaction banking capabilities.  The product suite includes DBS Treasury Tokens, conditional payments and programmable rewards, with the latter allowing institutions to program and manage the use of funds. The products run on the bank’s permissioned blockchain, while being Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) compatible.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashRunning on permissioned blockchainThe bank pointed out the implications of operating the service over a permissioned blockchain network, stating:”Using a permissioned blockchain provides DBS full control over these services, enabling the bank to harness the benefits of blockchain technology while adhering to compliance standards.” Permissioned networks utilize distributed ledger technology (DLT) but they don’t truly embrace decentralization. They’ve proven popular with traditional financial services companies who want to still maintain ultimate control over the network. Conditional paymentsThe bank’s new product suite integrates tokenization and smart contract capabilities with existing conventional services. Those smart contracting capabilities make programmability an accessible feature for institutions relative to fund governance.  With that, conditional payments are likely to lead to an improvement in payment workflows for institutions. The bank believes that this aspect of its latest offering builds upon a recent pilot project that DBS engaged in alongside Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA). That project involved the utilization of blockchain technology, and in particular smart contracting, for the purpose of distributing government grants. DBS Token Services has been integrated with the bank’s core payment engine and various other banking sector payment infrastructures. Treasury Tokens enable institutional clients to settle multi-currency intra-group transactions across multiple markets instantaneously, 24/7. Back in August DBS partnered with digital payments provider Ant International, an affiliate of Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group, on a pilot project involving blockchain-based treasury and liquidity management using Treasury Tokens. DBS Bank’s Group Head of Global Transaction Services, Lim Soon Chong, claimed that "by leveraging tokenisation and smart contract capabilities, DBS Token Services enables companies and public sector entities to optimise liquidity management, streamline operational workflows, strengthen business resilience, and unlock new opportunities for end-customer or end-user engagement.” Chong added that the new service is a leap forward in transaction banking, demonstrating “how established financial institutions can leverage blockchain technology to deliver new ground-breaking features and experiences.” Embracing blockchainDBS is an outlier in TradFi relative to blockchain and digital assets insofar as it has delved much deeper into the emerging technology by comparison with the majority of its peers. Last month, the company announced that it plans to introduce over-the-counter (OTC) crypto options trading and structured notes for institutional clients during Q4 2024. Earlier in the year, it participated in a proof of concept for FX payment versus payment (PvP) settlement on the blockchain of Singapore-based unified ledger market infrastructure firm Partior.