Planetarium Labs’ blockchain MMORPG Nine Chronicles M launches worldwide

Japan’s largest bank, MUFG, has teamed up with KlimaDAO Japan, the provider of a digital reserve currency backed by carbon credits, to explore the use of the JPYC stablecoin for settling tokenized carbon credit transactions on the Progmat blockchain platform. Settlement on ProgmatProgmat provides the infrastructure to enable the issuance of various stablecoins. Last September, MUFG announced a collaboration with Binance geared towards stablecoin issuance. The JPYC stablecoin, operational since 2021, functions as a prepaid money instrument, similar to a prepaid card, due to its existence before Japan’s stablecoin legislation. Under new regulations, JPYC can either obtain a money transmitter license or issue a trust-style stablecoin with a bank like MUFG acting as the trustee for the stablecoin's reserves. Last year, JPYC formed a partnership with MUFG implicating the use of the Progmat platform.  This partnership, along with the involvement of Kansai Electric subsidiary Optage as the integration partner, sets the stage for the KlimaDAO stablecoin experiments. Optage will provide the corporate infrastructure required to manage the carbon credits added to the blockchain and provide a means for funds settlement to be achieved via bank transfer. Through the use of various local stablecoins for the purpose of settlement, it’s hoped that improved liquidity on a global basis may be achieved.Photo by Dan Meyers on UnsplashInitially recognized for making tokenized carbon credits accessible on public blockchains, KlimaDAO's functionality extends beyond this. The organization also offers the capability to retire credits. Last year, KlimaDAO expanded its reach by launching Carbonmark, an enterprise-focused marketplace.  This platform, which utilizes blockchain technology, namely Polygon, and smart contracts, offers a user-friendly experience by integrating traditional payment methods like bank transfers and SAP integration.  J-CreditsJapan operates a national scheme known as J-credits, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange has introduced a secondary market for these credits. J-credits are designed to certify the amount by which greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced through the use of carbon sinks in Japan. However, the volume of J-credit transactions remains low, reflecting the broader state of Japan's voluntary carbon market.  KlimaDAO aims to address this by launching the KlimaDAO Japan Market, simplifying the process for domestic companies to purchase and utilize carbon credits. This initiative will involve tokenizing J-credits, referred to as D-Carbons.  Andrew Bonneau, KlimaDAO co-founder, outlined on X that “@KlimaDAO is in a unique position to facilitate an efficient J-Credit market on chain, while serving as the base infrastructure for integrating these assets with 3rd party services.” While the initial phase will use traditional bank payments, the ultimate goal is to transition to using stablecoins, particularly the JPYC stablecoin. Norbert Gehrke, an observer of developments within the Japanese fintech scene, outlined on Medium that the Japanese carbon credit market is likely to reach three trillion yen ($19.15 billion) by 2030. Meanwhile, the global carbon credit market has a current value of 39 trillion yen ($249 billion). KlimaDAO Japan has mentioned the use of a permissionless blockchain for this initiative but has fallen short of confirming that the Polygon network will be relied upon. Japan has several homegrown blockchains, which might be considered for this project.  At the time of writing, the KLIMA token had risen 31% over the course of the previous 24 hours, with a unit price of $3.53 according to CoinGecko. 

Dtcpay Looks to Extend Crypto Payment Services to Hong KongDtcpay, a Singapore-based payment processor catering to both fiat and cryptocurrencies, has set its sights on expanding into Hong Kong by the end of this year. The company also has plans to establish an office in Dubai, another prominent crypto hub, by 2024.Photo by Jonas Leupe on UnsplashNorth Asia potentialIn an interview with Tech in Asia, Kanny Lee, the group CEO of Dtcpay, expressed optimism about the North Asia market, citing clear regulations and rules for digital assets and the recent opening up to retail participants. Lee believes that the region holds significant potential for growth over the course of the coming years.Dtcpay generates revenue through crypto conversion rates on transactions and has already acquired approximately 12 merchants. The company aims to onboard up to 100 merchants by the end of 2023. Since the beginning of this year, the firm has experienced a fourfold increase in transaction volume.Seamless regional paymentsLee acknowledged that most consumers view tokens primarily as investments. Dtcpay’s objective is to unify various payment methods across different countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, and Singapore, providing a seamless experience for both merchants and consumers.As an example, Dtcpay enables users to purchase cars using cryptocurrencies, significantly reducing transaction fees from approximately 4% to just 0.5% compared to cash payments. Notable partnerships in Singapore include Cars and Coffee and DM Autohaus.In June, Dtcpay secured a pre-series A funding round, raising $16.5 million from Kwee Liong Tek. Tek, the chairperson of the Pontiac Land Group, which owns renowned hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton and Conrad Hotels in Singapore, has enabled Dtcpay to target the hospitality sector. At the time Lee said that there are an increasing number of businesses expressing interest in collaborating with regulated entities in the digital assets space and combined with an increase in the adoption of digital payments, that’s turbocharging DTCpay’s business.RebrandThat focus on digital payments led to the company rebranding back in April from Digital Treasures Center to Dtcpay. It appears that Hong Kong was already on the company’s radar back then as Lee stated at the time that “in Asia, particularly the key tier 1 financial capitals such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo, [they] have experienced a rapid rate of digital adoption primarily due to transparent regulatory frameworks for digital financial inclusion.”Additionally, Dtcpay obtained a major payment institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore in August 2022. The company plans to launch a debit card in Q4 2023. That product will allow cardholders to convert their cryptocurrencies into multiple currencies without incurring foreign exchange fees.The company was co-founded in 2019 by Sam Lin, Band Zhao, and Alice Liu, with Lee joining the company earlier this year with a view towards expanding its area of operations beyond Singapore.With its expansion plans into Hong Kong and its focus on innovation, Dtcpay is certainly aiming to establish itself as a leading player in the crypto payment services industry, catering to the evolving needs of merchants and consumers alike.

An industry advocacy body for crypto and Web3 in India had urged the Indian government to take action against nine offshore exchanges, prompting the government to issue show cause notices and block URLs recently. Native industry pushbackAccording to CoinDesk, the publication has seen a copy of a letter that was sent in mid-December by the Bharat Web3 Association (BWA), addressed to the Indian Finance Ministry’s Department of Revenue Secretary, Sanjay Malhotra. The letter was penned by BWA Chairman Dilip Chenoy. Chenoy has been in the role since March of last year having a number of years of leadership experience within Indian industry bodies under his belt, with time spent previously as Secretary General of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and as Chairman of the board of Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology. According to its LinkedIn profile, the BWA seeks to “advocate for the collaboration between the regulatory bodies and the Industry for creating awareness about the new age technology and the emerging [Web3/crypto] asset class.” ‘Show cause’ noticesIt emerged last week that India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had issued “compliance show-cause” notices to a number of overseas crypto platforms who have otherwise been active within the Indian market. The FIU is a national body tasked with liaising with and providing information to enforcement agencies where suspected illicit transactions are concerned. The offshore exchanges, including Binance, KuCoin, Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global and Bitfinex, have been given a two-week deadline to respond to the show cause notice. This notice questions why regulatory actions should not be taken against them, aiming to ensure compliance with the country's financial regulations. It’s understood that the BWA's letter requested a one-month grace period for offshore exchanges to register with the FIU. It remains unclear whether the government's actions were solely prompted by the BWA's letter or if it would have taken place independently. Notably, the BWA's letter aligns with the government's earlier mandate in March, requiring crypto businesses to register with the FIU and adhere to anti-money laundering processes under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Since then, 31 domestic entities have registered with the FIU. Photo by Peter Glaser on UnsplashEnsuring a fair gameThe BWA's letter also proposes that offshore exchanges establish an Indian subsidiary, deposit the applicable tax deducted at source (TDS) from July 1, 2022 and face restrictions, including potential access blocks on mobile app stores and IP addresses, for non-compliance. While it's unclear if all these requests feature in the show cause notices, the BWA emphasizes the need for fair competition. Rajagopal Menon, Vice President of leading Indian crypto exchange WazirX, stressed that “all we are asking for is a level playing field." The BWA's letter also urges the government to grant Indian retailers a 30-day window to withdraw assets before implementing any restrictions. The fledgling BWA industry body recently celebrated its first anniversary with its founding member, CoinSwitch founder Ashish Singhal, stating that he got involved with the BWA “to help build an effective regulatory framework for Web3 and digital assets in India.” Singhal added that the BWA’s mission is “to help India realize its vision to be the leading digital economy.”