Circle and SBI Holdings join forces to propel USDC growth in Japan

Recent statements by figures well placed in the crypto space and within the Vietnamese government point to increased potential for greater adoption of XRP, the payments solution token first developed by Ripple Labs.Photo by Silver Ringvee on Unsplash‘XRP will be big in Vietnam’Yasin Mobarak is a prominent figure within the XRP community. He’s also the founder and managing member of Dizer Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm that specializes in blockchain, internet of things (IoT) and clean energy projects. On Saturday, Mobarak tweeted out: "$XRP will be big in Vietnam." While Mobarak didn’t comment further, he did include a link to an X social media post published by XRP community member Kenny Nguyen, relaying the news that Vietnamese Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc had announced that the government is currently working with the Vietnamese Central Bank with a view towards studying and possibly implementing the use of XRP for cross border payments. Central Bank's consideration of XRPVietnam's Central Bank is actively exploring the integration of XRP for cross-border payments, both domestically and internationally. This move aligns with the region's swift adoption of XRP, driven by its promise of faster, cost-effective and secure cross-border payment services. Ripple's recent collaboration with TPB Bank, a major player in Vietnam's banking sector, is set to fortify the entire XRP ecosystem. In September 2023, SBI Remit, a financial service provider and subsidiary company of Japanese financial services conglomerate SBI Group, initiated an XRP-based remittance service covering Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. SBI has a long-standing partnership in place with Ripple aimed at launching international payment services. As part of that announcement, SBI confirmed the participation of Malaysia-based cross-border payments hub Tranglo in the project. Crypto adoption and growthDespite legal constraints, Vietnam emerged as a leader in crypto adoption in Asia in 2023 by claiming the third position in Chainalysis’ 2023 Global Crypto Adoption rankings. The region, still adapting to the global rise of cryptocurrencies, is undergoing a transformation. While centralized exchanges dominate in various countries, regional preferences vary. In the Philippines, a noteworthy 20% of the population engages with crypto sites for gaming and gambling. In contrast, Vietnam and Pakistan distinguish themselves with citizens favoring peer-to-peer exchanges. This approach allows direct trading between individuals, bypassing large corporations. A report produced by Kyros Ventures and Coin68 in conjunction with Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands last year found that 76% of Vietnamese crypto holders determine their investment choices based upon recommendations from friends and people within their peer group. The collaboration between regulatory bodies, financial institutions, government and crypto projects illustrates the growing integration of digital assets into traditional financial systems. This latest example pertaining to Vietnam and XRP certainly offers the potential of a much greater level of adoption in the region. While activity within Vietnam may be a key consideration for XRP investors and stakeholders in 2024, the potential for a Ripple initial public offering (IPO) is also something they’re likely to be watching out for. Over the course of the past six months, a Ripple IPO has been the subject of speculation. That speculative interest has likely increased following Circle, the issuer of U.S. dollar stablecoin USDC, filing for an IPO last week.  

DBS Introduces Metaverse Game to Tackle Global Food WasteDBS, Singapore’s largest bank, has unveiled an innovative concept within the metaverse for its DBS BetterWorld initiative, focusing on the critical issue of global food waste.In a press release which it published on Thursday, the bank revealed that this “gamified adventure” is designed to showcase the strategies that Businesses for Impact are employing to tackle the ever-pressing global food waste challenge. Businesses for Impact are an initiative driven by the DBS Foundation that champions for-profit enterprises that promote innovative solutions to effect positive environmental or social change.Photo by Joshua Hoehne on UnsplashTackling a global issueData from the United Nations suggests that a staggering 1.3 billion tons of food, equivalent to one-third of the world’s total food production, goes to waste each year. Within this conceptual metaverse, players are tasked with a series of engaging activities inspired by five businesses supported by the DBS Foundation. These entities offer unique approaches to curbing food waste.Project collaborationSingapore-headquartered brewery business Brewerkz is focused on up-cycling brewers’ spent grains as part of the project. Breer, a Hong Kong startup transforming surplus bread into craft beer is also participating. The project also sees participation from another Hong Kong-based business, GreenPrice, which specializes in selling food close to or just past their best-before dates.Edible Garden City, a start-up that aims to make urban farming and edible gardening more accessible in cities, and Rooftop Republic, which converts underutilized spaces into urban farms, complete the list of five “Businesses for Impact” relative to this particular project.Metaverse ESG potentialKaren Ngui, Head of Group Strategic Marketing and Communications at DBS and a board member of DBS Foundation, emphasized the metaverse’s potential to enhance awareness and address crucial Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) concerns.Ngui remarked: “With DBS BetterWorld, we have chosen to delve into the challenges of food waste and food resilience, issues that DBS and the DBS Foundation have been championing, in a unique and engaging way.” She added that as metaverse technologies mature, they aspire to bridge virtual initiatives with tangible real-world impacts.Players based in Singapore will be rewarded with exclusive incentives that can be redeemed through special QR codes accessible via DBS PayLah!. This integration of real-world rewards into the metaverse experience adds a new layer of interaction and excitement for participants.Embracing the metaverseThis is not DBS’ first foray into the metaverse. It has collaborated with The Sandbox metaverse platform previously, participating in its Lion City initiative, a virtual metaverse neighborhood modeled on Singapore. Work on BetterWorld has been ongoing in conjunction with The Sandbox development team since last year.DBS’ creative endeavor within the metaverse not only sheds light on the urgent issue of global food waste but also demonstrates how technology and gaming can be harnessed to educate, raise awareness, and drive positive real-world change.As the metaverse continues to evolve, DBS’ initiative will likely serve to inspire other institutions to leverage the metaverse for various initiatives with the objective of achieving real-world impact.

Wemade Partners with Etherscan to Enhance Transparency in WEMIX 3.0 EcosystemWemade, a leading company in the South Korean blockchain gaming industry, announced on Monday a partnership with Etherscan, a renowned block explorer and analytics platform. The objective of this collaboration is to enhance transparency within the WEMIX 3.0 ecosystem.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashNew block explorerAs part of this partnership, both companies will work together to develop a dedicated block explorer for the WEMIX 3.0 mainnet and Kroma, an Ethereum Layer 2 project developed by Lightscale, a subsidiary of Wemade. The new block explorer will provide advanced functionality, enabling users to access a more transparent transaction history. The explorer is expected to be launched in the first half of this year.InteroperabilityKroma is Lightscale’s Ethereum Layer 2 project whose goal is to establish a layer 2 blockchain based on zero-knowledge rollups. Thanks to Kroma’s interoperability, the WEMIX ecosystem is anticipated to extend beyond the WEMIX blockchain, linking to external blockchains.Etherscan, one of major block explorers for Ethereum, is an established platform offering extensive analytics capabilities. It has previously developed and operated various block explorers, including BscScan for Binance Blockchain, PolygonScan for Polygon Blockchain, and Arbiscan for Arbitrum Blockchain.Through this partnership, Wemade continues its commitment to decentralizing the WEMIX 3.0 mainnet and driving innovative advancements of a transparent mega-ecosystem.