India’s Jio Financial Services to Delve Into Blockchain

Dominik Schiener, the co-founder of distributed ledger technology (DLT) project IOTA, outlined on X on Dec. 12 that he had met with Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, Secretary of Trade of the Philippines. Commenting further, Schiener wrote: “We are looking forward to expand IOTA and our trade infrastructure TWIN across South East Asia in 2025.” Photo by iSawRed on UnsplashCutting through trade barriersTWIN refers to IOTA’s Trade Worldwide Information Network, a continuation of another longstanding IOTA project, the Trade and Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP). The objective of TWIN is to cut through trade barriers and improve connections between disparate national trading systems. In rolling out the network, IOTA has formed a consortium which includes organizations such as TradeMark Africa, the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation and the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade. TWIN seeks to optimize trade processes by merging physical goods with digital infrastructure, eliminating inefficiencies and boosting transparency. Schiener anticipates that once participants place data on the network, they will ultimately tokenize assets on it. In turn, this will result in utility for the IOTA token, once TWIN is released on the IOTA mainnet. The TWIN project is currently staffed by 28 people but Schiener believes that this will grow to 100 people over the course of the next two years. The project originally emerged in Germany, with the IOTA Foundation having its headquarters in Berlin. Initially, IOTA concerned itself with European blockchain initiatives in trying to find its place in the industry. Earlier this year, its Web3 identity authentication solution was chosen by the European Commission for inclusion within the European Blockchain Sandbox Initiative (EBSI). In August, the IOTA Foundation completed the final stage of the European Union’s blockchain pre-commercial procurement (PCP) program. Strategic expansionHowever, over the course of the past year, the project has expanded towards searching for product market fit within emerging markets. In November 2023, the project established the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) financial center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This marked the first DLT foundation to have established itself within the ADGM.  $100 million in funding was provided with the objective of nurturing the IOTA ecosystem and accelerating the growth of the IOTA protocol. Since then, the TON Foundation and the Aptos Foundation have moved to register under the ADGM’s DLT Foundations framework. East Africa has been ground zero for IOTA’s attempts to enhance cross-border processes related to trade documentation, where it has been working with TradeMark Africa and local regulators. In Singapore, the IOTA Foundation has collaborated with global innovation ecosystem Tenity to establish the IOTA Accelerator, a 12-week initiative aimed at assisting early-stage startups concerned with real-world asset (RWA) tokenization within the IOTA ecosystem. Schiener’s meeting in the Philippines would suggest that the project is making greater efforts still in terms of bringing about the adoption of the technology in Southeast Asia. In his X post, Schiener wrote: “Let's connect the world with sovereign digital infrastructure.”

Hong Kong Lawmaker Explores Digital Asset Links With MainlandIn a move aimed at bolstering its position as a rising global Web3 hub, Hong Kong Legislative Council member Johnny Ng has expressed his aspiration to foster greater collaboration between digital asset platforms in Hong Kong and a Shanghai-based exchange.Photo by Simon Zhu on UnsplashDigital asset exchange interconnectivityAs Hong Kong continues to position itself as a key player in the emerging Web3 landscape, Ng envisions a future where licensed virtual asset exchanges in Hong Kong could be interconnected with their counterparts in Shanghai.Ng’s remarks came during an interview with Chinese media outlet The Paper. Drawing a parallel with the established Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program that seamlessly connects the stock markets of both cities, Ng raised the question of whether a similar connection could be established for licensed digital asset exchanges. Ng’s idea hinges on the potential to bridge appropriate platforms in Shanghai with those licensed in Hong Kong for virtual asset trading.Interconnected talent poolThe lawmaker’s enthusiasm for interconnectivity also extends to the talent pool. He expressed his desire for more Web3 talent exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland, recognizing Shanghai’s status as a financial hub boasting numerous exceptional financial enterprises.Hong Kong’s approach to the Web3 landscape stands in contrast to mainland China’s stringent cryptocurrency regulations. While China banned cryptocurrency transactions in 2021, Hong Kong has embraced crypto firms, even encouraging partnerships between these firms and local banks.This year, Hong Kong authorities unveiled a series of cryptocurrency-related policy statements, aimed at fortifying its stature as a global financial center. A significant step followed in December, when the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed an amendment introducing a comprehensive licensing framework for virtual asset service providers (VASPs).In a recent development underscoring Hong Kong’s pro-crypto stance, HashKey and OSL have become the pioneering recipients of licenses for retail trading under the new regulatory regime, which commenced on June 1.Differing policy approachesPeople following developments in crypto and Web3 in China and East Asia have been speculating if the strategic positive shift in Hong Kong towards developing as a regional hub relative to the sector is indicative of a softening in the approach of mainland China towards the industry. It appears that Hong Kong’s pursuit of crypto business has been sanctioned by Beijing.Commentators have been monitoring the emergence of further encouraging signals. In May, Chinese state television featured a segment that covered cryptocurrency and in particular Bitcoin. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was sufficiently encouraged by the development to suggest that it was “a big deal,” although the clip was later removed from the broadcaster’s website.Ng’s proposal aligns with the broader narrative of Hong Kong’s ambitious push into the Web3 landscape, capitalizing on its favorable regulatory environment to attract crypto-related ventures. As discussions evolve around the potential interconnectivity between Hong Kong and Shanghai’s digital asset exchanges, the global cryptocurrency community watches with interest to see if there are any emerging signs that Beijing will reciprocate positively.

Artifact Labs Raises $3.25MArtifact Labs, a Hong Kong-based start-up company that concerns itself with Web3 and metaverse products from leading brands, has raised $3.25 million in a recent funding round.Photo by Pixabay on PexelsThe NFT-focused company, which was spun out of Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) in 2022, has received funding from Blue Pool Capital and Animoca Ventures, with Blue Pool leading the funding round. Blue Pool Capital is the investment vehicle of Alibaba founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai.The company was borne out of a decision taken by the SCMP in 2021 to launch an NFT standard called artifact, which was geared toward recording historical data. Its starting point in that endeavor was the sale of NFTs of its very own historical front pages. That included iconic historical snapshots such as the return of Hong Kong to the Chinese in 1997, the outbreak of avian flu, the onset of the Asian financial crisis and the death of the UK's Princess Diana in 1997.Expansion of operationsArtifact Labs has said that it intends to use the funding to expand company operations. Executing on that, the firm intends to fill multiple developer positions.Phillip Pon, CEO of Artifact Labs commented on the development via a press release:“It’s not about creating new IPs for speculation — for example NFT hype projects — it’s about driving new engagement with historically significant collections by using Web3. We want to carve new space in the younger public’s consciousness for historical brands and artifacts, while supporting these important organizations with new revenue streams to fund their preservation work, we are also solidifying immutable on-chain data preservation through NFTs.”It appears that the firm will release NFT collections on behalf of preservation organizations, while at the same time developing technology to assist institutions in preserving their archives on the blockchain.NFTs with inherent valueLast year, Artifact Labs Founder and former CEO of the SCMP, Gary Liu, said in an interview that NFTs need to contain a certain inherent value beyond just being endorsed by a number of people. Liu stated: “There has to be intrinsic value in the asset itself or the underlying asset that it represents. That’s what is going to drive NFT innovation.”That philosophy is borne out by one of Artifact’s recent collaborations. In February, the firm partnered with RMS Titanic, Inc, a company that’s dedicated to preserving the legacy of the infamous sunken ship. Central to the partnership was an intention to mint NFTs based upon over 5,500 artifacts that have been recovered from the sunken wreckage.In January Artifact Labs partnered with Dubai-based data intelligence and marketing technology firm, MEmob+. The objective of the firms in teaming up is to have the complete range of expertise necessary between them in order to offer brands and companies a strategic advisory service when it comes to delving into the metaverse. Artifact’s art platform Materia, will be harnessed by MEmob+ to assist brands who want to develop art projects in the metaverse.