Palau proceeds with Ripple to Phase 2 of PSC currency program launch

The Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan is planning to establish a pilot project that will enable the use of crypto as a means of exchange for goods and services within a specific zone. That’s according to a statement published on Akorda.kz, the official website of the President of Kazakhstan. The statement incorporates the text of a keynote speech delivered by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Astana International Forum. Tokayev stated: “We are planning to create a pioneering pilot zone called CryptoCity where cryptocurrencies might be used for purchasing goods, services, and even beyond.”Photo by Engin Akyurt on PexelsWorking towards digital transformationThe initiative forms part of Kazakhstan’s efforts to make progress in terms of digital transformation, as well as an aspiration to become an IT hub within the Eurasia region.  For the purposes of the pilot program, the use of cryptocurrencies for the payment of goods and services has been authorized by the government within a pre-defined sandbox environment. Alatau City, an urban development located north of the Kazakhstani city of Almaty, has been chosen for the pilot scheme. Alatau has been established as a special economic zone and planned to become a hub for new technology and knowledge, alongside global tourism. It hosts the Innovation Technology Park together with the Kazakhstan National Nuclear Center, Institute of Nuclear Physics and the Physics & Technology Institute.It’s envisaged that the existing technology and knowledge base within Alatau will support its expansion into the area of crypto payments and blockchain development. In addition to crypto payments, other blockchain-based technologies related to taxation systems, investment and decentralized identity systems will be nurtured and encouraged within the Alatau special economic zone. Potential Eurasian crypto hubIn a recent opinion piece published by the Russian-language government-backed newspaper Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, Kanysh Tuleushin, Kazakhstan’s vice minister of digital development, suggested that the Central Asian republic has the potential to position itself as the region’s leading crypto hub.  Tuleushin also suggested that crypto mining operators could help to modernize the country’s energy sector, playing a role in stabilizing the country’s power grid, while making use of surplus electricity. Kazakhstan had proven to be a popular destination for Bitcoin miners in the past. However, the sudden influx of miners following a ban on the activity in China in 2021 was unplanned for.  The surge in electricity demand put the country’s electricity grid under pressure, leading to blackouts in some cases. In 2023 President Tokayev signed legislation into law that limited the energy use of domestic crypto miners. Despite that negative experience, it appears that Tuleushin has seen the benefits that the activity can bring when regulated and planned for. Back in March, it emerged that lawmakers in Kazakhstan had proposed the creation of a crypto bank. One obstacle to the creation of the bank is a lack of a crypto regulatory framework. According to a report published earlier this month, the National Bank of Kazakhstan is now in the process of preparing a regulatory framework for digital assets.

AhnLab Blockchain Company to integrate digital wallet into Sogang University’s education metaverseSouth Korean cybersecurity firm AhnLab’s blockchain arm, AhnLab Blockchain Company (ABC), is poised to collaborate with Sogang University’s Graduate School of Metaverse, according to Korean news outlet Money Today on Wednesday (KST). The entities will work on the development of Metawon Campus, a metaverse education platform currently in the works at Sogang University.Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash“This cooperation lays the foundation for Metawon Campus to establish itself as a practical university education platform. Through the integration of ABC Wallet, we will strive to build it into a global education metaverse based on the fundamental standards of stability, convenience and scalability,” said Hyun Dae-won, Dean of Sogang University’s Graduate School of Metaverse.Advancing security and accessibilityThis project mainly entails the integration of AhnLab Blockchain Company’s digital ABC Wallet within the platform. As a non-custodial wallet, this service uses multi-party computation to support multiple blockchain networks including Ethereum, Polygon and Klaytn. This integration has the potential to enhance the security and usability of Metawon Campus, encouraging international students to participate. To further boost security, the platform will also utilize non-transferrable SoulBound tokens (SBTs) issued by ABC Wallet. By providing services in multiple languages, the platform will be available to a wider user base as well.Comprehensive cooperationIn addition to technological collaborations, the two parties agreed to work on R&D and marketing as well as content creation aimed at enhancing participant engagement and accessibility to education.Kang Suk-kyun, CEO of AhnLab Blockchain Company, emphasized the role that ABC Wallet would play in helping international students experience a more secure and liberal virtual environment on Metawon Campus. He went on to reaffirm the company’s efforts to contribute to the popularization of the metaverse and the advancement of blockchain technology.

Crypto Features in India-UK Markets DialogueAccording to a press release published by HM Treasury, the 2nd India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue meeting held on Wednesday featured six key themes with crypto featuring among them.©Pexels/SkitterphotoThe event brought officials from both nations together in the first in-person financial dialogue since 2017. While the meeting considered banking, insurance and reinsurance, capital markets, asset management and sustainable finance, it also allotted time to discuss payments and crypto-assets.CBDC knowledge sharingBoth sets of officials discussed the scope for augmenting knowledge on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) by way of mutual learning. The officials agreed on the importance of robust global approaches relative to the emergence and development of crypto-assets internationally. The joint statement issued following the meeting revealed that progress relative to the G20 roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments was a matter which was discussed. It’s an item that could have major implications for the use of cryptocurrency in cross border transactions.Global collaborationThe meeting marks another move towards greater global collaboration on policy and regulation relative to digital payment systems and crypto assets. Earlier this month, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the introduction of any new regulations on digital assets needs to be coordinated on a global basis. “The G20 and its members agree that it’s not going to be possible to have an independent, standalone country dealing with crypto assets”, Sitharaman stated at a news conference following a meeting of central bank governors and G20 finance ministers.There’s a growing recognition among politicians, government and central bank officials that decentralized money doesn’t end at a territory’s borders due to its inherently decentralized properties.Taking steps to regulate cryptoWhile on the one hand strategizing as to how digital assets can be best controlled on a global level, India is also taking its own individual steps towards national regulatory action. Recently, it expanded its Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to include consideration of digital assets. The newly amended PMLA will now deal with the exchange of digital assets for fiat money and vice versa. It also considers safekeeping, transfer and administration relative to cryptocurrency. Furthermore, its broadened scope deals with financial services offered related to virtual or digital assets.Rajagopal Menon, the VP of India’s leading cryptocurrency exchange WazirX, has said that “regulations levied by India have been baby steps toward institutional participation in the crypto exchange.” While market participants in the digital assets space are apprehensive about the regulatory measures that governments and state regulators choose to adopt, so long as the objective isn’t to regulate the innovation out of existence, such developments can have a profoundly positive effect on the digital assets market.There’s no doubt that in line with Menon’s point relative to the Indian context, the same scenario can play out in all digital markets given the application of the right regulatory approach. Institutional investment for the most part has eluded crypto despite many already heralding its arrival in recent years. Institutions move slowly and the only way in which they will be comfortable in working with digital assets is with complete regulatory clarity having been set out.So while some in crypto may be concerned at the mention of global regulatory coordination in respect of digital assets, so long as it doesn’t go too far, greater work towards improved regulatory clarity in the digital assets market can be a catalyst for further adoption and growth in India, the UK and further afield.