Korea’s crypto exchanges resume charging fees, shifting market shares

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) plans to roll out a new structure for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) operations, moving the digital yuan into a deposit-based role within the commercial banking system beginning Jan. 1, 2026. Lu Lei, a deputy governor of the PBOC, announced the update, marking a new direction after nearly a decade of pilot programs. According to a report by FTChinese, the move fits into Beijing’s broader economic planning, as authorities seek to reinforce China’s role in global finance while containing risks tied to loosely regulated digital activity. The deputy governor said China will continue to run the digital yuan under a two-tier system, with the central bank responsible for rules and infrastructure, while commercial banks manage wallets, payments, and compliance. He added that the arrangement is designed to prevent banks from being sidelined and to limit shadow banking risks associated with digital payment platforms outside the regulated system.Photo by Eric Prouzet on UnsplashDigital yuan transactions top $2.3TThe announcement comes as use of the digital yuan, known as the e-CNY, continues to rise. By late November 2025, the system had handled 3.48 billion transactions with a total value of 16.7 trillion yuan ($2.3 trillion). There are about 230 million personal wallets and 18.84 million corporate wallets. Beyond domestic use, the e-CNY is being positioned for international trade. Lu pointed to progress on mBridge, a cross-border payments project involving multiple central banks. The platform has processed 4,047 transactions worth the equivalent of 387.2 billion yuan ($55.3 billion), with the digital yuan accounting for about 95.3% of the settlement value. The deputy governor also sounded a note of caution on private-sector innovation, saying the rapid growth of digital assets and stablecoins could complicate the conduct of monetary policy. He said central banks need to ensure that new payment tools do not undermine macroeconomic stability or allow money to circulate beyond regulated channels. Hong Kong to license crypto dealers, custodiansAs Beijing moves to strengthen its state-backed currency framework, Hong Kong is also tightening oversight of the crypto market. On Dec. 24, the city’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) released their conclusions on proposed legislation to regulate virtual asset dealing and custodial services. Following the implementation of the Stablecoins Ordinance in August, regulators are now moving to require firms offering crypto dealing or custody services in Hong Kong to obtain licenses and operate under regulatory supervision. They also began seeking feedback on whether to extend oversight to virtual asset advisory and management providers, with the proposed framework modeled on existing securities market rules. In a separate development underscoring the contrast between state-backed and decentralized digital currencies in the region, reports this month pointed to a sharp drop in Bitcoin network activity linked to mainland China. BTC hashrate drop seen amid China mining changesKong Jianping, CEO of Nasdaq-listed Web3 infrastructure firm Nano Labs, said on the social media platform X that the global Bitcoin network’s hashrate fell by about 100 exahashes per second, or roughly 8%, around Dec. 15. He attributed the decline to the shutdown of an estimated 400,000 mining rigs, mainly in Xinjiang. A lower hashrate means less computing power is securing the network, reducing competition among miners that validate transactions. China has maintained a broad ban on crypto trading and mining since 2021. Industry outlet Wu Blockchain said the reasons for the latest shutdowns were unclear. 

Dunamu Distributes 4,100 NFTs for Climate Change CampaignDunamu, the operator of the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, announced that it has distributed 4,100 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from the Climate-sensitive Biological Indicator Species (CBIS) list in collaboration with four agencies under the Ministry of Environment — the National Institute of Biological Resources, the Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources, the Honam National Institute of Biological Resources, and the National Institute of Ecology. This comes as part of efforts to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity and habitat protection amid the threat of climate change.Photo by Yiju Cheng on UnsplashThemed NFTs for conservationThe CBIS list outlines species whose seasonal activities, habitat area, and population size are susceptible to being impacted by climate change, thus requiring continuous observation and management by the government.Dunamu, along with the four environmental institutions, minted NFTs representing 15 different species from the list — such as the white eye bird and the camellia tree — to distribute to participants of their Resource Circulation Climate Action Campaign.The latest round of NFT distributions was carried out in collaboration with the Honam National Institute of Biological Resources from May 19 to August 11. It is the first of four to be carried out over the course of the year following their initial announcement to do so in May.Empowering climate action beyond boundariesParticipants showed a positive reaction to the utilization of emerging technologies such as NFTs and the metaverse, which enabled them to contribute to climate change efforts without the limits posed by time and space. By organizing fun missions within the metaverse and gifting NFTs to participants, Dunamu and the environmental agencies were able to highlight the severity of the climate crisis while simultaneously making the concept of resource circulation more accessible and easier to understand. Dunamu reported that during the three-month period of the first campaign, the designated campaign space within Dunamu’s metaverse platform, 2ndblock, also racked up a cumulative visitor count of 73,000 users.The second campaign has also commenced and is running from now until October 2. This time around, Dunamu is working with the Nakdonggang National Institute of Biological Resources to issue 1,000 NFTs of four species: the tree frog, barn swallow, kumgang minnow, and little egret. Noteworthy artists will also contribute to creating the NFTs, including those from the Botanical Artist Society of Korea.In order to partake in the campaign, participants must complete the stamp-collecting mission in the campaign space on 2ndblock. Lucky participants who are chosen to receive NFTs must register their issued gift code on Upbit’s NFT marketplace.“As a result of our deliberation on ways to contribute to the environment and society with our technology and resources, many people have shown interest in our online and in-person climate efforts,” said Lee Sirgoo, CEO of Dunamu. He also expressed hopes for continued participation and support for the remaining NFT distributions and campaigns to promote environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.This collaboration between the private and public sectors which combines online and in-person activities stands out as an innovative method for combatting climate change.

MANTRA, a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization blockchain project headquartered in Hong Kong, has announced that it has been awarded a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a community update published on its website, MANTRA co-founder and CEO John Patrick Mullin outlined that Dubai regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), had awarded the company the VASP license, meaning that the project is now entitled to act as a virtual asset exchange. Additionally, it is authorized to offer broker-dealer and investment management services. Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on PexelsMullin claimed that the milestone is huge for both the company and the broader industry. He stated:”It’s a major step in our objective to bring the world’s financial ecosystem onchain by being the preferred ledger of record for real world assets. It’s a validation of our purpose,which is to provide developers and institutions with a purpose-built RWA Layer 1 Blockchain, that’s capable of adhering to real world regulatory requirements.” Scaling operations in the Middle EastThe project sees the license as a key step in broadening MANTRA’s global footprint and scaling its operations within the Middle East. Mullin outlined that both the UAE and broader Middle East & North Africa (MENA) have become “a progressive global hub and thriving ecosystem for Web3 and virtual assets owing to their regulatory initiatives and frameworks.” Mullin added that the license not only strengthens the project’s presence regionally, but it also “positions us internationally to deliver unique DeFi products that bridge the gap between decentralized finance and traditional finance.”  Shorooq Partners, a Dubai-based venture capital firm and investor in the project, commented on the announcement on X. It said that the license would mean that MANTRA would set a new standard for compliant and secure DeFi solutions. It emphasized the importance of regulatory compliance in enabling institutional DeFi adoption on a global scale. The venture capital firm was the lead investor in an $11 million funding round completed by MANTRA in March 2024. At the time, Shane Shin, founding partner at Shorooq, said that he liked MANTRA’s strategic focus on key markets like Hong Kong and Dubai, adding that the investment implicated a future where digital and traditional assets converge seamlessly. The project intends to launch DeFi-based products that have been formulated to meet investors' needs by combining the benefits of DeFi with the structure and security provided by conventional finance. Token's price performanceThe OM token is a utility and governance token within the MANTRA decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). It was the best-performing layer-1 token as of Feb. 17. At the time of writing, it’s trading at $7.59, according to CoinMarketCap data. The project also announced a $1 billion deal with UAE-based DAMAC Group, a property development company, last month.