China advances digital yuan adoption in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong

OKX Strengthens Partnership with Manchester City Football ClubSeychelles-based crypto exchange OKX has announced the expansion of its sponsorship deal with Manchester City Football Club, the treble-winning English Premier League soccer champions.The announcement was made through a virtual reveal video featuring player avatars, presented at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium. News of the deal was also posted on the English club’s website on Friday.While the valuation of the deal remains undisclosed, the collaboration signifies a significant milestone for both parties. The new agreement, which spans multiple years, establishes OKX as the official sleeve partner on both the men’s and women’s first-team playing kits.Photo by Giero Saaski on UnsplashExtended partnershipUnder this extended partnership, the OKX logo will be prominently displayed on the sleeves of Manchester City’s playing kits, solidifying its position as a key sponsor. Additionally, OKX will retain its presence on the club’s training kit sleeve.City Football Group, the holding company that owns Manchester City and other soccer teams like New York City FC and Melbourne City FC, oversees the management and operations of the club.OKX initially became Manchester City’s official cryptocurrency exchange partner in March 2022. Subsequently, in July of the same year, the exchange secured a sponsorship deal to feature its logo on the front of the club’s training kit throughout the 2022/2023 season. At the time, the agreement was reported to be valued at over $12 million.OKX CollectiveIn February, OKX launched the “OKX Collective” alongside Manchester City players Jack Grealish, Rúben Dias, Ilkay Gündoğan, and Alex Greenwood. This immersive metaverse fan experience offered exclusive content and rewards, allowing fans to engage with the club in a unique way.OKX’s CMO Haider Rafique expressed satisfaction with the evolving partnership, stating: “Manchester City was our first official global brand partnership, and in just a year and a half, we have come a long way. We always intended to integrate with the sport and help the club lead on leaning into Web3. Fast forward fifteen months, we now have a metaverse, an NFT initiative, and a number of other new projects that we are excited about.”Additional sports sponsorshipsBesides Manchester City, OKX has also established partnerships with other prominent sports brands and athletes, including McLaren Formula 1, the Tribeca Festival, Olympian Scotty James, and F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.While OKX’s partnership with Manchester City strengthens its global fan base, it’s worth noting that the sale of crypto derivatives, a product offered by OKX, was effectively banned by the UK’s financial regulator in January 2021. Consequently, OKX and other crypto exchanges have refrained from advertising such services in the country.As the Premier League clubs have collectively agreed to restrict gambling sponsorships on team shirts, there are concerns that similar restrictions may be imposed on crypto company sponsorships. However, any such developments are expected to be some years away, as the changes regarding gambling sponsorships are scheduled to take effect in the 2026/2027 soccer season.Marketing spend by crypto firms has sobered up quite a bit since the heady heights of the last bull run. However, OKX remains one entity which has been fairly consistent in continuing its marketing efforts regardless of market conditions.

In a statement published to Vietnam.vn on Oct. 23, a website run by the Office of Foreign Information Service under Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam revealed its official National Blockchain Strategy. Key objectives In announcing its National Blockchain Strategy, the Vietnamese government articulated several key objectives that it feels will lead to Vietnam eventually taking a leadership role in blockchain development within the region.  These key objectives include an emphasis on research relative to the further roll-out of blockchain innovation. The Vietnamese authorities intend to promote blockchain research, innovation and international cooperation. Another specific action area has been identified as perfecting the legal environment with respect to blockchain development.  The development of infrastructure has been cited as a key objective, with the Ministry proposing that this should incorporate the formation of a blockchain industrial ecosystem. Additionally, the statement highlighted the need to focus on developing human resources in respect of blockchain, while also pointing to an overall need to promote blockchain development generally and the application of the technology. A number of branches of the Vietnamese government have been tasked with achieving these key objectives, including the Government Cipher Committee, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as the Ministry of Information and Communications.Photo by Hugo Heimendinger on PexelsPositive reaction The plan has been broadly welcomed by Vietnam-based crypto stakeholders. Jenny Nguyen, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ho Chi Minh City-based crypto venture fund Kyros Ventures, suggested the development was bullish. She wrote: “This is the most bullish policy on blockchain from the Vietnam Government in history, which not only acknowledges the importance of blockchain, but also defines clear expectations for the development of this technology sector in the years to come.“ Nguyen also pointed out that regulations on digital assets are currently being discussed within Vietnam’s National Assembly, with legislators working towards a 2025 completion date. On the basis of these two developments, she believes that “the future for blockchain and crypto in Vietnam is looking brighter and brighter day by day.” KardiaChain, a hybrid blockchain infrastructure provider to governments in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, outlined on social media that it had been a key contributor in shaping the strategy. The project believes that the strategy “will enable us as builders more opportunities to impact the country's blockchain development, and further accomplish our mission of mass adoption that we set out on day one.” Laura Nguyen, head of Vietnam at Ava Labs, said that the strategy was forward-thinking and that consequently Vietnam is “primed to become a blockchain powerhouse, pushing the boundaries of technological innovation and fostering global collaboration.” As part of the strategy, the Vietnamese government plans to bring about the development of 20 blockchain brands for platforms, products and services. Additionally, the strategy aims to put in place three testing centers located in major Vietnamese urban centers as part of an effort to create a national blockchain network. 

Gate Ventures, the investment arm of Gate.io, a global cryptocurrency exchange with its origins in China, has gotten together with Thailand’s Boon Ventures and Movement Labs, to launch a $20 million fund aimed at supporting projects that utilize the Move programming language, as well as interoperability with the Ethereum ecosystem.  Accelerating Move-based blockchain adoptionMovement Labs is a developer of modular Move-based blockchains. A press release published on PR Newswire on Oct. 13 outlined that the firms intend to direct the fund towards a number of key areas. Firstly, its objective will be to accelerate the adoption of Move-based blockchain solutions. Secondly, the fund will be directed towards supporting projects which enhance security and performance in decentralized networks. A further objective is the extension of support to projects which bridge Move and Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) ecosystems. The final key objective has been set out to drive innovation in Web3 infrastructure and applications. Gate Ventures Managing Partner Kevin Yang claimed that the $20 million fund “marks a significant milestone in [the company’s] mission to drive forward-thinking solutions in the Web3 ecosystem.” Yang added that in collaborating with Movement Labs and other forward-thinking entities within the Web3 sector, the company is “paving the way for the future of decentralized technology.”Photo by Nino Steffen on UnsplashMentorship & hackathonsWeb3 startups supported by the fund will be given access to a mentorship program, while hackathon events will also be organized. Furthermore, there will be an opportunity for selected startups to participate in a research grant program relative to blockchain interoperability. Gate Ventures garnered attention within the industry recently, with the announcement in August that it had entered into a partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Blockchain Center. That collaboration has led to the establishment of Falcon Gate Ventures, a $100 million Web3 innovation fund.Last month, the company participated in the Series A funding round of Kroma, an Ethereum layer-2 network project. While interoperability is singled out as a key objective of this fund, Movement Labs has been working towards that goal recently. Last week, the firm appointed an omnichain interoperability protocol project, LayerZero, as an interoperability provider. It’s envisaged that the partnership will enable developers using the Move programming language to create decentralized applications that can run across various blockchain networks, including EVM. While Facebook parent company Meta developed the Move programming language, Movement Labs has worked towards developing its use further. Earlier in the year, Movement partnered with Aptos Labs, a firm that was founded by ex-Meta employees that has built out a network based on Move, in another effort to bring about blockchain interoperability relative to EVM and non-EVM networks. A spokesperson for Movement Labs told Cointelegraph that “the ultimate goal is to create an integrated blockchain environment where developers can build across platforms without sacrificing security or performance.” Back in April, Movement raised $38 million in a Series A financing round which was led by Polychain Capital. At the time, Movement Labs Co-Founder Rushi Manche said that he and his co-founders “started building Movement to increase the velocity of innovation in crypto where the next Facebook can be built on-chain by developers who do not have the resources for large development teams and expensive auditors.”