Coinbase Wallet and TransFi partnership expands crypto accessibility in Asia

Bank of Korea Explores Jeju, Busan, and Incheon for Citizen-Centric CBDC Pilot TestThe Bank of Korea (BOK) is reportedly reviewing three potential locations for a pilot test of a citizen-centric payment system utilizing the Korean Won central bank digital currency (CBDC). Instead of choosing Seoul, the nation’s capital city, the BOK is considering Jeju, Busan, and Incheon for the pilot. That’s according to local tech news outlet IT Chosun.The three cities have been selected as possible testbeds, and discussions with commercial banks are ongoing to move the project forward. Once a city is chosen, the BOK will collaborate with local retailers, including hypermarkets, to test the CBDC payment and distribution system.Photo by Ethan Brooke on UnsplashRegional currency modelThe CBDC test will be limited to a specific area, operating similarly to regional currencies issued by municipal governments to stimulate local economies. The CBDC wallet app will be available to all citizens, but its usage will be restricted to retailers in the designated area. Presently, Jeju, Busan, and Incheon already have their own regional currencies managed by local banks and financial institutions.However, implementing the CBDC system poses technical challenges. In remote tests last year, the BOK discovered that transaction speeds for small transfers were slower compared to traditional payment processing providers in regions outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area.Against this backdrop, the BOK seeks to recruit an unusually large number of tech experts in order to build a large-scale system for small payments. The bank has been actively hiring individuals for this purpose since the beginning of the year.CBDC test next yearWith the test scheduled for next year, the BOK aims to promptly select the test destination based on the system’s expected performance, estimated user numbers, and potential economic impact.While Busan is more or less shunned due to its large population, Jeju is emerging as a preferred choice. However, the final decision has been tentatively postponed due to internal issues within the BOK.Following the pilot test results, the BOK may gradually broaden the scope of the CBDC system. Meanwhile, in a similar development, China began its CBDC pilots in 2020 and has now expanded its CBDC use to 26 cities across 17 provinces.According to a BOK official, the Korean central bank is making seamless preparation for the test and engaging in discussions with commercial banks to explore their operating models and devise effective implementation strategies.

HashKey Group, a Hong Kong-headquartered digital asset financial services firm, has partnered with Bosera Asset Management (International) Co., the Hong Kong subsidiary of Chinese asset management firm Bosera Asset Management, to launch the world’s first tokenized money market exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In a press release published by PR Newswire on behalf of HashKey Group on March 28, HashKey outlined that the two funds are titled “Bosera HKD Money Market ETF (Tokenised Class)” and ”Bosera USD Money Market ETF (Tokenised Class).”While the products were launched last Friday, they won’t officially go live until April. Both products have been approved by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). Photo by Vighnesh Dudani on UnsplashArising out of Project EnsembleThis latest product offering has its origins in Project Ensemble, an initiative launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) back in March 2024. The original aim of Project Ensemble was to support the development of the tokenization market in Hong Kong. The SFC got involved later that year, collaborating with the HKMA in the launch of a regulatory sandbox aimed at advancing the tokenization of assets in various financial sectors. In October 2024 it emerged that HashKey was participating within that sandbox, with these new products arising from those efforts. The company claims that these tokenized products improve upon what’s currently on offer via traditional finance, providing greater transparency and operational efficiency, thanks to the use of blockchain technology.  HashKey Tokenisation, the tokenization arm of the firm, takes care of full-process design and execution for tokenized issuance. Subsequently, these products will be deployed on HashKey Chain, a regulatory-compliant, institutional-grade layer-2 network geared towards bridging the gap between traditional finance and Web3. On that subject, HashKey Group Chairman and CEO Dr. Xiao Feng stated:"Bringing money market ETFs on-chain through blockchain technology is a crucial step for traditional finance to embrace Web3.” Looking towards the future, Feng added that the company expects “more traditional financial institutions to actively enter the crypto finance sector through innovative tokenisation products.”Anna Liu, CEO of HashKey Tokenisation, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that “the biggest advantages of this product are that the underlying assets are mature and high-quality, and it fully considers security and regulatory compliance while reducing investor costs and improving overall liquidity.” Liu added that the firm hopes that this product offering is the first of many, paving the way for subsequent tokenized real-world asset (RWA) offerings. Last month, Hong Kong-based digital asset platform OSL launched a tokenized mutual fund, the ChinaAMC HKD Digital Money Market Fund. The retail tokenized fund has been issued by China Asset Management (Hong Kong), with Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) acting as tokenization agent, digital platform operator and administrator. In the U.S., financial services company Fidelity Investments recently filed documents with the intention of rolling out a tokenized U.S. money market fund. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, launched its tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, last year. The fund is expected to surpass a market cap of $2 billion in the coming weeks.

HashKey Group, the operator of one of Hong Kong's two licensed crypto exchanges, declared its newfound unicorn status on Tuesday, having successfully raised nearly $100 million in a recent funding round.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashSeries A funding roundThe term "unicorn" denotes privately held companies valued at $1 billion or more, reflecting the remarkable achievement for HashKey in the rapidly evolving crypto landscape. With a valuation now surpassing $1.2 billion, HashKey positions itself as a major player in the crypto space within East and Southeast Asia. It’s leveraging its activities that span trading platforms, venture funding, wealth management and asset management in key locations like Hong Kong and Singapore. Its Singapore arm was awarded a capital markets license by the local regulator in December. Undisclosed investorsThe fundraising initiative was first reported in May of last year and later announced by HashKey in August. It attracted contributions from both existing and new investors. While the company refrained from divulging specific investor names, it referred to them as "prominent institutional investors" and "leading Web3 institutions," signaling a mix of established entities and those already at the forefront of Web3 innovation. It was previously disclosed that the company has been backed by the support of OKX Ventures, the investment arm of the well-known OKX digital asset exchange. The funds secured will serve a dual purpose – fostering the development of a robust Web3 ecosystem and supporting licensed products in Hong Kong. HashKey's diverse business arms, including asset management, a blockchain node validation service, a tokenization service, and a Web3 incubation arm, are set to benefit from the fresh capital infusion. The allocation of funds towards these ventures aligns with HashKey's strategic vision to contribute significantly to the evolving crypto ecosystem. Hong Kong hubHong Kong, eager to establish itself as a digital asset hub, has been the backdrop for HashKey's growth. The city's dedicated virtual-asset regulatory framework, introduced in June, aims to attract companies while prioritizing investor protection. Under this framework, retail investors can trade major tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether on licensed exchanges, with HashKey Exchange and BC Technology Group Ltd.’s OSL currently leading the way. Despite the optimism surrounding Hong Kong's potential as a crypto hub, uncertainties linger. The city's ability to support multiple crypto exchanges and the long-term commitment of officials to the sector remain open questions, given its susceptibility to occasional scandals. Since commencing its retail trading service in late August, HashKey Exchange has garnered over 155,000 registered users. The platform's 24-hour spot trading volume is estimated at approximately $11 million, according to CoinMarketCap data as of this writing. While this figure may pale in comparison to Binance, the world's largest crypto platform, HashKey's focus on building a resilient and user-friendly ecosystem positions it as a strong contender in the crypto industry's ongoing evolution. The successful funding round and unicorn status attained by HashKey underscore the renewed optimism in the crypto venture capital landscape. Following a market slump in 2022 and various challenges faced by crypto startups, the recent resurgence in token prices has reignited hopes for a more favorable venture capital outlook.