Shares in Moon Inc. surge following 1 BTC purchase

Legislation geared towards regulating stablecoins has reached the Legislative Council stage in the Chinese autonomous territory of Hong Kong.  The bill, which extends to a 285 page document, has been formulated following “extensive consultations” with industry stakeholders, according to Eddie Yue, CEO of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).  This latest development moves the Chinese autonomous territory one step closer to having a comprehensive regulatory framework in place for stablecoins. The bill’s arrival at the Legislative Council follows its publication on Dec. 6 in Hong Kong’s Gazette. Subsequently, on Dec. 18, it made its preliminary entry at the Legislative Council by way of a first reading. The legislation will deem a digital asset a stablecoin if it is operated on a distributed ledger, is expressed as a unit of account and maintains an equivalent value relative to another asset that it references. Digital assets issued by governments or central banks will be excluded from that stablecoin definition.Photo by Laurentiu Morariu on UnsplashThree readings requiredBefore the bill can be enacted into law, it is required to go through a series of three readings. Allied to that process is a requirement for a series of debates, with the bill coming under the scrutiny of lawmakers. Depending upon the issues raised, this process may also require the introduction of amendments to the proposed legislation. If passed following the third reading, it will then be forwarded to the autonomous territory’s chief executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, to be signed into law. Once signed into law, stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong will then be required to obtain a license from the city's central bank, HKMA. That licensing process would implicate the HKMA scrutinizing the applicant with an emphasis on the evaluation of the issuer, its resources, the use of reserve assets and the means through which the stablecoin’s value will be rendered stable. Stablecoin optimismThis latest milestone has provoked a cause for optimism among some commentators. Sean Lee, co-founder of Hong Kong-based Web3 firm IDA, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that “the applications of stablecoin will be numerous.” Lee outlined that stablecoins can be used for payments, settlements, payrolls and financing, while adding that “new products will spring up, and transactions will be faster, instant, 24/7 – and at a lower cost.” Dominic Maffei, Standard Chartered’s head of digital asset and fintech for Hong Kong, is similarly encouraged. Maffei stated: “As of today, we think that stablecoins are the best available tool for connecting traditional finance and Web3 markets and have proven use cases and business models to support that belief.” Once enacted, the bill is likely to have a significant impact on the stablecoin market in Hong Kong. In Europe, the application of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation is having such an impact. It has led to a growth in Euro-denominated stablecoin trading while leading U.S. dollar stablecoin Tether (USDT) is being delisted by many platforms due to its non-compliance with these regulations.

Coinone reports decline in customer inquiries due to improved user convenienceKorean crypto exchange Coinone revealed on Tuesday (local time) that the number of customer inquiries sent to its support center has nearly halved since it began introducing various updates to boost user convenience in the second quarter of this year. The exchange explained that it has been consistently collecting and analyzing customer feedback and then applying these insights to enhance its products and services.Photo by Petr Macháček on UnsplashTaking initiative to improve user experienceA recent analysis of voice of the customer (VOC) data collected by the support center up until this year’s third quarter showed that the overall volume of inquiries began to decrease in Q2, and the total number of inquiries in Q3 subsequently decreased by 24.7% compared to Q2. Notably, in September, the inquiries decreased by a whopping 45.5% compared to April. This translates to an average monthly decrease of about 11%.This trend can be attributed to ramped-up efforts for product convenience starting in Q2, which has had a positive impact on reducing customer inquiries. Earlier in May, during a short period of transition when Coinone changed its affiliated bank from Nonghyup Bank to KakaoBank, the exchange released notices with relevant information regarding transactions, deposits and withdrawals that made it easier for customers to navigate the transition. The number of related inquiries subsequently decreased by 86%.Furthermore, in June, queries regarding password recovery and mobile device authentication reset decreased by 58% and 65%, respectively, after Coinone provided simple guidelines for inactive customers to reset their passwords without having to contact the support center. Submissions to the support center for assistance with fiat deposits and withdrawals also dropped after the exchange added Naver as a channel for two-factor authentication (2FA) to its account setup system.Additional updatesOther noteworthy updates include the Coinone app version 3.0, which came with a new updated interface with five tabs — transactions, trading prices, charts, market prices and other information — for users to explore.

Recent weeks have seen a positive policy shift in Pakistan with regard to digital assets and blockchain and that initiative has gathered further momentum with the appointment of a special assistant on blockchain and crypto to the Pakistani prime minister and the allocation of 2,000 MW of surplus electricity to Bitcoin mining and AI data centers.Photo by Abuzar Xheikh on UnsplashOn May 26, the Pakistan Observer, an English language daily newspaper, reported that Bilal bin Saqib has been appointed to serve as a special assistant on blockchain and crypto matters to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Forbes ‘30 under 30’ social entrepreneurIn this role, Saqib assumes the status of a minister of state under Rule 4(6) of the Rules of Business, 1973, with the appointment effective immediately. Saqib had been featured by Forbes through its “30 under 30” list of social entrepreneurs in Asia in 2020. He is the founder of Tayaba.org, a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on the provision of clean drinking water to vulnerable communities in Pakistan. Saqib came to prominence in the crypto sector earlier this year when he was appointed CEO of the newly formed Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), an agency established to promote blockchain technology and digital assets within the South Asian country. In April he was added by World Liberty Financial, a crypto project connected with the family of U.S. President Donald Trump, as an advisor. Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance gave the go-ahead for the establishment of the Pakistan Digital Assets Authority (PDAA), a body that will be responsible for the implementation of regulations governing the crypto and blockchain sector.  Utilizing surplus energyAt the time, one area of focus that had been highlighted in the announcement of the establishment of the PDAA was a desire to make better use of Pakistan’s surplus energy. The country runs an annual average surplus of 4,000 megawatts. A report by 24 Digital on May 25 indicated that action has already been taken in this regard. It outlined that Pakistan has allocated 2,000 megawatts of surplus electricity for the exclusive use of operators of AI data centers and Bitcoin mining facilities.  This plan is being rolled out in phases. The first phase makes surplus energy available to these operators. Phase 2 will focus on enabling crypto mining operators to avail of renewable energy to power their facilities, in an effort to develop the sector in Pakistan in an environmentally responsible manner. According to the Ministry of Finance, interest has already been expressed by international operators in the crypto mining and AI data center sectors. A number of international firms are understood to have visited the country in an effort to explore potential collaboration opportunities.  Earlier this month, Saqib claimed on social media that Pakistan “is moving at crypto speed.” He made the case that the country is a breeding ground for crypto innovation, citing the opportunity to exploit surplus electricity via crypto mining and the potential for crypto adoption given a $36 billion remittance market, millions of unbanked citizens and 64% of the population under 30.