Internet-only Kbank offers virtual accounts for fractional art investors

LG Group Hosts Super Start Day to Promote Innovation and Collaboration in Blockchain and MoreSouth Korean conglomerate LG Group recently hosted its open innovation festival at LG Science Park in Seoul from Thursday to Friday. The festival, dubbed Super Start Day, is an annual event dedicated to discovering and supporting promising startups. Since its inception in 2018, it has welcomed more than 260 startups from 26 countries and over 20,000 participants.Photo by Johannes Plenio on UnsplashForging novel technologiesThis year, 40 startups from various fields, including artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, clean technology, and lifestyle, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), showcased their technologies and services while seeking out opportunities for collaboration. Among the participants were companies like Zkrypto, which developed a public blockchain voting system that prevents fraudulent voting; Basgen Bio, which created a drug development platform based on genomic data; and Netspa, which possesses the technology to extract recycled materials from fishing nets.Nine startups supported by LG Group also shared their joint achievements from over the past year. Some noteworthy examples include Ujura Company, which is developing technology to detect and predict the development of diseases in domestic pets based on behavioral data, and We Meet Mobility, which offers AI-based solutions for optimal logistics operations and transportation.Additionally, speakers like Ahn Ikkjin, CEO of Moloco, the first unicorn company in Silicon Valley founded by a Korean, and Kim Dong-Su, CEO of LG Technology Ventures, LG’s corporate venture capital arm in Silicon Valley, shared their insights on global expansion strategies and investment trends.Month-long celebration of innovationLG is set to host more events this month at LG Science Park, including the LG Software Developer Conference from September 14 to 15, aimed at sharing achievements in research and development, as well as Culture Week from September 20 to 22, where LG employees, families, local residents, and industrial experts can interact. These events, along with Super Start Day, are collectively referred to as LG SPARK, which is dedicated to promoting innovation and collaboration across diverse sectors.

Taiwan weighs up CBDC following feasibility study completionTaiwan’s central bank, the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), recently concluded an in-depth feasibility and technology study on the potential implementation of a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC).Photo by Timo Volz on UnsplashGathering feedback and refining designAccording to statements made by Deputy Governor Chu Mei-lie while speaking at an annual event organized for the banking sector by the Financial Information Service Co., an entity that oversees Taiwan’s banking, payment and settlement systems, Chu disclosed that the central bank is now in the process of gathering feedback and refining the design of the CBDC platform.In her keynote speech, Chu underscored the significance of CBDCs in the evolving landscape of digital currencies. She concurred with the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) assertion that conventional payment tools and platforms may not always meet the demands of all-day transactions, smart contracts and automatic settlements facilitating simultaneous and irreversible transfers of assets or funds.Supporting asset tokenizationChu emphasized that a nation’s monetary system should be poised to support tokenized assets. CBDCs, she suggested, could potentially offer comprehensive payment and settlement services, integrating tokenization and a unified ledger that harmonizes CBDCs with traditional currencies.The concept of a unified ledger, as explained by Chu, doesn’t imply a single ledger but rather that tokenized ledgers of each economy could coexist and connect through an application interface.This approach aims to ensure interoperability, minimizing the risk of errors in message transmission. Interoperability is also being worked on by financial messaging service SWIFT. It recently collaborated with central banks in Hong Kong and Kazakhstan with a view towards testing a connector that would enable the integration of SWIFT with CBDCs.Additionally, a unified ledger is anticipated to expedite the clearing process, foster a secure trading environment and ensure the safe, reliable and effective execution of currency and asset transactions.International integration of e-CNYChu acknowledged that foreign central banks are actively exploring the feasibility of issuing CBDCs to establish a unified value for all forms of currency. Of the many early-stage CBDC projects that are out there, China’s e-CNY has gathered the greatest momentum.British bank Standard Chartered has been the most recent entity to join the Chinese CBDC international pilot project. Taiwan’s Fubon Bank has enabled its customers to top up e-CNY via mobile banking. The leading CBDC currency has similar collaborations in place with Hong Kong banks, HSBC and Hang Seng Bank.Fubon has also gotten involved alongside Ripple in a pilot program run by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Through that collaboration, it is supporting an asset tokenization trial that revolves around Hong Kong’s CBDC, the e-HKD.Chu outlined that in the case of Taiwan, the matter of a CBDC is being pursued cautiously, without a predefined timetable for reaching a conclusion. The monetary policymaker plans to engage in discussions with academic and business sectors to inform its stance on CBDCs.Meanwhile, the central bank is committed to enhancing overall planning related to the CBDC platform, focusing on transaction ease, capacity and innovative functionalities. Chu also highlighted the consideration of offline transaction scenarios in this ongoing process.

Audit Finds Excessive Pay Features on China’s e-CNY ProjectChina’s Digital Currency Research Institute, responsible for developing the digital yuan, has come under scrutiny for its excessive pay rises, which exceeded the typical limit for central government departments by eight times, according to a recent audit report. The report, released by the National Audit Office, sheds light on the inner workings of the institute, which oversees China’s widely used central bank digital currency (CBDC).Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash28 percent pay risesIn 2020, employees at the institute received an average salary increase of around 28%, a significant bump compared to the typical government limit. Despite its influential role, the Digital Currency Research Institute maintains a low profile, lacking an official website and public disclosure of its payroll size, budget, and organizational structure.Since the substantial pay increases in 2020, the institute’s growth appears to have accelerated. Job postings indicate that the institute embarked on a hiring spree in the past year, with positions ranging from Beijing-based software engineers for Google’s Android mobile operating system to cloud platform engineers in Suzhou and blockchain experts in Shenzhen.While the Digital Currency Research Institute is among several government agencies flagged for financial irregularities in the audit report, it is essential to note that the institute plays a crucial role in advancing China’s digital yuan project.Ongoing trialsOver the past four years, trials of the digital yuan, known as e-CNY, have rapidly expanded. Currently, there are 26 pilot cities and 5.6 million merchants accepting the CBDC, accessible through official apps and third-party payment systems such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.Despite the progress made in trial deployments, there is no official timeline for the official launch of the digital yuan. The e-CNY has already demonstrated its utility in various contexts. For instance, in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu, subway riders can utilize e-CNY as a payment option through local transport apps. Moreover, passengers in eastern Zhejiang province can now use the official e-CNY wallet app to pay for the metro, even without an internet connection.While some cities have started exploring the use of e-CNY for bank loan and utility bill payments, the overall adoption of the digital yuan remains relatively slow. The amount spent using e-CNY is still a fraction of the massive 500 trillion yuan in mobile payments made in China last year. Consumers perceive little difference between e-CNY and traditional payment channels when using popular mobile payment apps.Jiangsu Province is establishing use of the digital yuan within its education system. Meanwhile, in the eastern city of Changshu, local administrators are starting to pay civil servants in e-CNY. To encourage wider acceptance and adoption, it will be crucial to further develop the infrastructure and address the concerns of businesses and consumers.As trials continue, it is expected that the digital yuan will play an increasingly significant role in China’s financial landscape, offering new opportunities while transforming the way transactions are conducted.