Komainu Secures FCA Approval in Boost For Crypto Custody in the UK

Netherlands-based mobile wallet Swoo Pay has joined forces with global financial giant Mastercard to target the Southeast Asian market, offering crypto cashback on everyday purchases. Crypto loyalty tokensThe partnership was announced via a press release published on Cointelegraph earlier this week. Through Swoo's platform, users stand to gain crypto rewards, specifically Swoo Loyalty Tokens, for each contactless payment made via the app using digitized Mastercard cards. The partnership marks yet another step forward in the convergence of traditional financial systems with the burgeoning world of cryptocurrency. It reflects a broader trend among major financial institutions and retailers, who increasingly view cryptocurrency integration as a means to revitalize loyalty programs. Once users accrue “Tokenback” in the form of Swoo Loyalty Tokens, they have the flexibility to either exchange their rewards for popular cryptocurrencies like USDT or BTC within the Swoo app or convert them into fiat currency through partnering services. As Swoo continues to refine its crypto rewards platform, it will incorporate more Web3 features, further enhancing the utility and value of loyalty tokens within its ecosystem.Photo by Markus Winkler on UnsplashTargeting emerging marketsSwoo Pay is targeting emerging markets. Alongside Southeast Asia, that also brings the Middle East region and Africa within the scope of its marketing efforts for this product offering. Emerging markets have long been seen as ideal markets within which to bring about crypto adoption more generally. The significance of this announcement wasn’t lost on Nicki Sanders, chief technology officer (CTO) with tokenized real estate enterprise, Realio. Taking to social media, Sanders cited crypto adoption as one of three main reasons as to why this partnership could be a game-changer.   Sanders feels that the nature of the offering will result in crypto adoption as daily crypto use will be boosted. In turn, that will bring digital currencies into the realm of mainstream acceptability.She also feels that the product offering will be significant in terms of financial inclusion as it’s very accessible to underserved communities. Additionally, Sanders identifies the inherent innovation as being likely to result in mass adoption. “Focusing on Android and Huawei users, Swoo Pay navigates around Google service sanctions, offering a fresh pathway to digital payments,” she claims.This partnership builds upon the success of a previous trial campaign dubbed “Super Tokenback with Mastercard.” During the three-week initiative, users enjoyed 5% Tokenback (crypto cashback) on all Mastercard purchases made through Swoo Pay. The results were positive, with over 17,000 participants conducting upwards of 128,000 transactions. Not only did this drive increase card spend, but it also introduced a wave of new consumers to the concept of crypto-backed rewards. Representatives from Swoo emphasize the seamless integration of crypto into mainstream markets, ensuring compliance with local regulations and simplifying the launch and scalability of marketing campaigns to attract new users. Conversely, officials from Mastercard underscore the company's commitment to expanding the possibilities of digital payment instruments, prioritizing convenience, technological advancement and security. They highlight the role of Swoo Pay in addressing issues with tokenized payments for Android device users, thereby broadening accessibility to these innovative financial solutions.

NATIX Network, an open geospatial intelligence network built upon proprietary AI technology, has partnered with Southeast Asian superapp Grab to collaborate on autonomous driving technology and mapping. NATIX is a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) project that exists within the Solana ecosystem. Singapore-headquartered Grab offers a broad range of services via its app, including ride-hailing, package delivery and food delivery. Additionally, the firm offers mobile payments and insurance products.Photo by Afif Ramdhasuma on UnsplashReshaping the mapping industryIn a blog post published to its website on May 6, NATIX outlined that the strategic partnership has been formed with a view towards reshaping the mapping industry. It explained that the objective in this regard would be to combine Grab’s camera hardware and its AI-based map-making software stack with NATIX’s decentralized blockchain-powered mapping data.  Due to the nature of the services that it has offered in Southeast Asia since it was founded in 2012, Grab has, through necessity, become involved in mapping to enhance its service delivery. As a consequence, it has developed a suite of cameras including its KartaCam, a small action camera which can be mounted on bike helmets or car windshields, and a 360-degree standalone camera, KartaCam 2, with built-in sensors, AI image optimization and GPS capabilities. ‘Internet of Cameras’For its part, NATIX claims to have built the world’s largest on-street camera network. As part of the collaboration, NATIX will use Grab’s hardware and software technology to expand its “Internet of Cameras.” Posting on LinkedIn, GrabMaps set out its thoughts on the partnership, stating:”By combining GrabMaps' AI-powered mapping technology with NATIX's decentralised data network, we're enabling real-time, high-fidelity map updates across the globe. As part of this collaboration, NATIX will launch VX360, a device built on Grab's hardware platform that allows Tesla drivers to collect and share 360° vehicle imagery.” Appearing on the Unleashing DePIN podcast recently, NATIX Co-Founder and CEO Alireza Ghods outlined that NATIX will launch VX360, a proprietary device built by leveraging Grab’s existing hardware. He explained that this collaboration saves NATIX in terms of overall project cost and months of R&D, all of which enables it to get to market faster.VX360 enables Tesla drivers to capture and share 360-degree imagery.  Future potentialGhods spoke to the additional future potential that the collaboration holds: “The interesting part is that they have other types of devices as well, they have a dashcam, a 360 camera, and our plan is to definitely integrate all of this into our map making and data collection pipeline.” This is not the first partnership that GrabMaps has established related to mapping. Previously it formed collaborations with Microsoft’s Bing Maps, navigation and mapping app Mappls and location data specialist Loqate.  Ghods believes that NATIX can go one better than centralized mapping projects like TomTom and Google Street View. He told Cointelegraph that “a blockchain-based incentivization system provides better results in terms of frequency, participation, and coverage.” The NATIX co-founder asserted that such data can be gathered at a fraction of the cost via users’ devices.

DeSpread, a Korea-based consulting firm specializing in Web3 and blockchain, announced today its partnership with Arbiturm, a Layer 2 network built on the Ethereum blockchain. This news was reported by local media outlet Etoday. Through the partnership, DeSpread aims to create an ecosystem for Arbitrum developers, seek collaboration with Korean enterprises and attract more onchain users. Photo by Sigmund on UnsplashArbitrum is one of the largest Layer-2 blockchains operating on the Layer-1 Ethereum network, designed to address the scalability issue of the ETH network. DefiLlama, a DeFi total value locked (TVL) aggregator, shows that Arbitrum has the fourth largest TVL among all chain networks, and the largest TVL among ETH-based Layer 2 networks. To foster Arbitrum-based services, DeSpread plans to distribute research content and development guides to Korean developers in an effort to bring down the language and cultural barriers when working with Arbitrum. Regular events featuring Arbitrum experts are also in store, set to be held both online and in-person formats. These efforts are intended to help companies seeking to adopt blockchain technologies collaborate with Arbitrum.   Forging an ecosystem within the Korean ETH communityJeff Kim, Head of operation at DeSpread, expressed his excitement about the partnership with Arbitrum, saying that Arbitrum is the network showing the strongest performance among all Layer 2 solutions on the ETH network. He added that Despread plans to support Arbitrum so that it can create its ecosystem within the Korean Ethereum community and raise its brand awareness. Nina Rong, Head of Ecosystem Development at Arbitrum, stated that Arbitrum has long been keeping an eye on Korea’s blockchain ecosystem. The partnership will help Arbitrum strengthen its position in the Korean market and shape a developer-friendly environment for individuals and businesses, she said.