3 UAE-based firms sign $3B tokenized real estate deal

China to Pay State Employees in Digital YuanChina is making its biggest push yet to facilitate greater use of its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan (e-CNY).©Pexels/RODNAE ProductionsThe eastern city of Changshu is gearing up to commence paying state employees in the city in e-CNY. According to an announcement made by the city’s finance bureau on Sunday, the civil servants will start to receive e-CNY as payment in May. The measure will also impact journalists working for state media, medical staff, technicians and schoolteachers.Advancing a cashless societyThrough a proliferation in the use of digital money such as that offered via WeChat Pay and AliPay, China is already well on its way towards being a cashless society. However, this latest move with the e-CNY is another major step in that direction.In a separate announcement on Sunday, the administrators of the city of Xuzhou, which like Changshu is also located within Jiangsu province, said that Xuzhou is in the process of publishing a pilot scheme which will set out a means for promoting China’s e-CNY digital currency. Meanwhile another Jiangsu province city, Suzhou, was one of the first locations in China to run a digital yuan pilot scheme in April 2020.Previously local government authorities in cities like Shenzhen and Beijing have experimented with using the currency, offering free digital yuan to citizens to spend, in an effort to popularize the digital currency.Changshu had already been using the currency for the best part of a year to make overtime payments to 4,900 state enterprise employees. Additionally, the city administrators had introduced it to pay subsidies, including payments to tech companies, payments related to housing and transport for local government workers. While there’s every likelihood that this latest measure could be applied on a province-wide basis, there has as yet been no direct confirmation of such an eventuality.Privacy concernsThe Chinese government maintains that further introduction of the e-CNY will lead to an improvement for citizens in terms of privacy. Beijing maintains that the large tech platforms like WeChat Pay and AliPay will have no access to the transaction data of individuals and companies. However, that data will find itself directly in the hands of the Chinese government. Given the totalitarian nature of governance in China, it’s hard to imagine how that could be a positive outcome for Chinese society.International currencyOriginally known as DCEP, work on the digital currency began in China in 2014. The Chinese are among a growing list of countries that are understood to be unhappy with the need to use US dollars for international trade given that the dollar is the global reserve currency.That discontent has grown further as a direct response to greater use of sanctions by the United States, and particularly the seizure of Russian sovereign funds held in dollars. Furthermore, the weaponization of the SWIFT payments system exemplified through the exclusion of countries like Russia and Iran is also believed to have been a catalyst for greater development of the e-CNY.

Terraform Money Trail Leads to Swiss BankAuthorities in both South Korea and the United States continue to advance their investigations into Terraform Labs, the Singapore-based company behind collapsed algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD (TUSD) and its South Korean CEO, Do Kwon, with the latest developments involving transfers made to a Swiss bank.©Pexels/Robert StokoeFollowing the moneyIn a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States in February, the Commission claimed that Do Kwon and his company Terraform Labs transferred 10,000 Bitcoin to a Swiss bank. It now appears that the bank in question is digital asset banking specialist, Sygnum Bank.It’s understood that Do Kwon converted a large proportion of that Bitcoin into cash. According to Finbold, the Financial Securities Crime Joint Investigation Division at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office has disclosed that it is following the digital asset trail to Switzerland in an effort to secure associated funds.LFG fundsThe funds are believed to have belonged to the LUNA Foundation Guard (LFG), an entity that was established with the objective of building reserves and safeguarding the USD peg of the Terra USD algorithmic stablecoin during volatile market conditions.Roughly 130 billion won, or $100 million, is being pursued, between digital assets and cash held within various Sygnum accounts. South Korean authorities had previously indicated that they were investigating transfers made by Do Kwon to a prominent Korean law firm. Earlier this week, they charged ten individuals connected to Terraform Labs with various offenses.During the press conference in which those charges were brought, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office stated:”We have also confirmed that $100 million has been used in several places, not left in the Sygnum account as it is, and some transfers have been made to the Kim & Chang law firm account (at the attorney’s expense) and the remaining amount is about billions of won.”International complexityThis recent phase in the investigation is revealing the international nature of the case and the complexity that brings with it. Authorities in the United States and South Korea have submitted requests to have certain Sygnum Bank accounts frozen. Do Kwon and Terraform Labs are trying through the courts to have the SECs involvement dismissed on the basis that Terraform was a Singaporean company and Do Kwon a South Korean national, and on that basis they claim that the SEC lacks jurisdiction.Sygnum, being a Swiss entity will have to abide by what Swiss authorities instruct it to do relative to the Terraform-related funds held in accounts with the bank. Sygnum told Finbold that it couldn’t comment on whether it had received requests to freeze assets.The bank stated: “We can communicate that after the collapse of Terra in May 2022, on the basis of an official court order, Sygnum transferred more than 70% of the Bitcoin-sale FIAT proceeds into the escrow account of an international and to other reputable law firms.” It added that no Swiss or foreign authority has accused Sygnum of any wrongdoing.

Shanghai Embraces Blockchain, AI, and Digital Yuan with New GuidelinesIn a bid to stay at the forefront of technological advancements, the government of China’s largest and most populous city, Shanghai, has issued a set of guidelines aimed at promoting the widespread adoption of blockchain, the metaverse, and the digital yuan.Photo by Edward He on UnsplashIntegrating blockchain technologyThe objective of the measure is to further the use of these technologies across various industries within the city. Leading enterprises across a range of industry sectors, such as automotive, commodity trading, and e-commerce, are now required to look to incorporate these technologies into their operations.The guidelines, which were published last Tuesday, outline the government’s commitment to providing support for platforms that seek to enhance digitalization in production, operations, and management processes. Additionally, they emphasize the development of information technology services centered around big data, blockchain, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and the mobile Internet.Bolstering commodity tradingA key focus for the government is the establishment of a robust internet system to bolster its local commodity trading service. This move is driven by a reliance on “the national financial factor market,” which aims to upgrade the over-the-counter derivatives platform for bulk commodities and strengthen the linkages between futures and cash.Furthermore, the guidelines pave the way for expanding e-commerce service platforms for industrial products, setting up a digital transformation service platform, and fostering the development and application of data resources.Shanghai’s status as China’s financial hub makes it an ideal testing ground for innovative technologies like blockchain and AI. However, China’s approach to cryptocurrency is more complex. It involves support for blockchain technology while at the same time applying strict measures against crypto trading and mining.Aligning with central government policyThe Chinese government’s support for blockchain technology stems from its recognition of blockchain as the underlying foundation of cryptocurrencies. Judging by the blockchain initiatives forwarded by the central government and regional Chinese administrations in recent months, it’s clear that China is keen to develop leadership in the use of blockchain across various sectors. It takes a different view, however, when it comes to projects related to decentralized cryptocurrencies and crypto trading.In recent years, China has cracked down on cryptocurrency activities. In 2013, the government banned initial coin offerings (ICOs), a fundraising method used for cryptocurrency projects. Subsequently, cryptocurrency exchanges were banned in 2017, followed by a prohibition on cryptocurrency mining in 2021.Several factors contribute to the Chinese government’s cautious approach to cryptocurrency. One major concern is financial stability, as crypto can be exploited for illicit activities like money laundering. According to a recent report, Chinese authorities are redoubling their efforts in pushing back against the use of crypto as they’re finding that it is being used to exploit capital control loopholes.These recent guidelines from Shanghai’s administrators aim to capitalize on the transformative potential of emerging technologies while ensuring prudent regulation and control over cryptocurrency-related activities in line with current central government policy emanating from Beijing.