Many Countries Are Welcoming Traditional Financial Institutions Into Crypto — When Will Korea…

Bitget Launches Blockchain4Youth ProjectSeychelles-headquartered crypto derivatives trading platform, Bitget, announced on Thursday the launch of a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) project. The initiative seizes upon an opportunity to execute on a public good while at the same time, benefiting the future prospects of the business itself alongside the overarching crypto space.Blockchain4Youth is a new initiative from the crypto business with the objective of “empowering and inspiring younger generations to use Web3 and crypto tools to create and engage in a decentralized space. ” With this goal, the trading platform believes that a blockchain future can be created.Photo by Jill Wellington on PexelYouth key to crypto adoptionWhile this is a CSR project, it’s easy to interpret it as a win/win. The future success of crypto lies with the younger demographic. They are the ones who are digitally native. They’re the ones that can more easily identify with truly digital money and digitally decentralized systems.Bitget seems to get this according to the statement it issued: “Bitget believes that a blockchain-based future is essential to building better products and tools to help people advance crypto adoption. The platform will be relying on the young generation to promote such ideas and will help them become proactive leaders.”This is telling as it demonstrates firstly that the Seychelles-based platform understands that the younger demographic represents its future customers. But it also clarifies that Bitget understands that future products need to be purpose built to meet the specific needs of that younger demographic.46% of millennials own cryptoIt appears that Bitget’s initiative is further motivated off the back of recent research it carried out. Released last month, that research study reveals that 46% of Millennial respondents said they owned cryptocurrencies, compared to 25% of Gen X-ers, 21% of Gen Z, and just 8% of Baby Boomers.The depth of the study extended to 255,000 survey responses received from respondents distributed across 26 countries, including places as diverse as the United States, Japan, China, Nigeria, Germany, Indonesia, and elsewhere. The study achieved responses per country of at least 10,000 respondents.The research also uncovered that “related statistics compiled on attitudes towards the regulation of digital assets indicate that each successive generation is more likely to factor in the attitudes of electoral candidates towards crypto regulation when casting their vote.”One of the study’s key findings is the following: “By 2030, all Gen Z members will be adults and the spread of blockchain technology by that time could lead to an increase in the percentage of cryptocurrency adopters across all generations. As such, the chances of the growth in acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the coming years are very high.”Broader industry involvementBitget intends to extend involvement in its Blockchain4Youth project beyond the company, with participation coming from other blockchain firms. The press release sets out that “the platform will also collaborate with other leading blockchain firms to incubate innovative projects by young entrepreneurs and host U30 (Under the age of 30) hackathons to identify the most promising ones.”The crypto derivatives platform is kicking things off later this month through a series of campus lectures in Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan covering the topic of Web3. As well as being open to collaborating with industry peers, the company also wants educators to take an active role in the initiative.

Saudi Arabia Looks to Diversify Through Web3Saudi Arabia is intensifying its efforts to diversify its economy as part of its ambitious Vision 2030 initiative. In a move away from its traditional reliance on oil, the kingdom is embracing cutting-edge technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) and is delving into the burgeoning gaming industry.That’s the view of Animoca Brands Co-Founder Yat Siu, who, in a recent interview with Cointelegraph, highlighted Saudi Arabia’s keen interest in Web3, emphasizing the country’s partnerships with entities like The Sandbox and Animoca itself.Photo by Hala AlGhanim on UnsplashDriving gaming growthSiu believes that Saudi Arabia is making a concerted effort to explore the possibilities of the new iteration of the internet, particularly in the realm of Web3 gaming and blockchain gaming, where asset ownership is verified on the blockchain. He stated:“I think Saudi [Arabia] understands the principle that Web3 gaming or blockchain gaming — the one that we actually prove the owner assets — is going to be the future of gaming.”While Saudi Arabia has yet to make a significant global impact in game and AI development, experts in the emerging field of Web3 believe that the kingdom’s investments in gaming could have far-reaching implications.The Boston Consulting Group reported that Saudi Arabia accounts for 45% of the region’s gaming sector, with a total value exceeding $1.8 billion. It also boasts one of the highest game revenues in the area, according to Ireland-based gaming content creator, Allcorrect.$38 billion gaming fundSiu is not the only one to believe in the efficacy of Saudi’s Web3 efforts. Poland-based Web3 gaming platform GameSwift also articulated a similar view recently. In a tweet thread published last month, the firm acknowledged the $38 billion gaming fund launched by the Saudi royal family.That initiative involves a Gaming Hub, the first incubator for esports in the world. The objective of the hub is to empower early-stage studios and provide an accelerator program for their growth, with direct investment going to top ten studios.Cryptocurrency uncertaintyDespite its understanding of the high-level concept of Web3, Saudi Arabia faces uncertainties regarding the integration of cryptocurrencies and virtual assets into gaming due to the absence of clear regulations. Siu explained that while Saudi Arabia is proactive in investigating cryptocurrencies, other regions like Hong Kong, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) offer more clarity on what can be done with crypto and Web3.Siu noted that Saudi Arabia is actively seeking information on best practices and strategies from experts like Animoca. To encourage Web3 adoption, financial literacy is key, according to Siu.He emphasized that users must have a certain level of financial literacy to fully embrace Web3, as it goes beyond traditional banking. Understanding the potential value of digital assets and their network effects is crucial for Web3 users.Saudi Arabia is not the only Gulf nation to pivot to Web3. Oman is looking to do likewise based on similar rationale — to diversify away from an oil-based economy. The UAE is also actively working towards creating the right conditions to nurture Web3 startup businesses.

LG Goes Further Down the Web3 Rabbit Hole with NFT PatentSouth Korean consumer electronics behemoth LG has delved deeper into the Web3 world, this time with a patent filing that would make NFTs more available to TV viewers.Enabling NFTs for the mass marketAccording to the filing, which was made with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the electronics giant is seeking to acquire intellectual property protection on a capability to have a smart TV connect with an NFT market server.That ability would allow the user to then send, receive and display digital artwork. Furthermore, the consumer could complete purchases using an associated digital wallet, relative to NFT-based artwork that they would have the ability to browse through on their LG smart TV.While crypto and Web3 continue to garner a lot of attention, it can still seem sometimes that it exists in a bubble all of its own. Moves like this one from an organization as professional as LG are encouraging, as they demonstrate that LG believes that NFTs are going to be a part of the future, and most importantly, that they’re going to enable mass market participation and adoption.Blade WalletThis is not LG’s first venture into the world of NFTs. Last year, the corporation launched its very own NFT marketplace. Known as “LG Art Labs”, it enables users of US LG TVs that run the WebOS 5.0 operating system, to trade digital collectibles.Earlier this year, the firm launched the Blade Wallet, a third party audited, self-custody digital wallet which runs on the Hedera public ledger. That development has come out of a partnership that LG has developed with the Hedera Hashgraph platform much earlier in 2020. Just as with the Blade Wallet, the LG Art Labs NFT marketplace also runs on Hedera. To support these early stage products, LG itself has been a node operator on the Hedera network since 2020.This recent patent filing references an NFT marketplace and a digital wallet. As we’ve established, the corporation has already launched both of them already. All of that points to the electronics giant executing on a well thought through plan which will bring NFTs to the mass market.Broader interestLG isn’t going to have it all to itself. Samsung, yet another South Korean consumer electronics giant, has also dipped its toe in the water where NFTs are concerned. In January 2022, the company released an NFT marketplace on three of its TV models. That initiative was enabled due to its partnership with leading curated NFT marketplace, Nifty Gateway.Neither will the South Koreans have the consumer electronics-enabled NFT market all to themselves. Japanese consumer electronics conglomerate Sony filed a patent in March that will allow players of Sony products to access interactive Web3 gameplay. That application will be centered upon the use of NFTs also.Sony’s attempts to delve into the Web3 arena have been more recent. In February of this year, Sony Network Communications, its internet provider division, partnered with the project team behind the Astar blockchain in order to create an incubation program for companies who are working on NFT-based innovation and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash