Shinhan Card to launch NFT-based art-tech service next year

Kazakhstan’s central bank has begun testing a stablecoin tied to the national currency, advancing a broader plan to modernize the country’s financial infrastructure. According to Cointelegraph, the pilot, run inside the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s Digital Assets Regulatory Sandbox, introduces Evo, a token with the ticker KZTE that is built on Solana and backed by the tenge. Intebix, a local crypto exchange, and Eurasian Bank are issuing KZTE. Mastercard is preparing connections that would link the token with major stablecoin issuers worldwide. The central bank is not minting the asset, but it is providing the regulatory framework that allows the token to be created and tested. Intebix founder Talgat Dossanov said the initiative is the first instance of the monetary authority directly engaging in the process of stablecoin issuance.Photo by GuerrillaBuzz on UnsplashBuilding a national crypto ecosystemEarly use cases focus on practical payments and on-ramps. The token is designed to widen the bridge between crypto and fiat, support conversions on exchanges, and enable spending through crypto cards. Officials described the pilot as a building block in a national digital asset ecosystem that aims to nurture new financial tools and deepen the local market. The program aligns with guidance from President Kassym Jomart Tokayev, who in a Sept.  8 address urged faster development of a comprehensive digital asset environment. He called for a new banking law to boost competition, attract new players, strengthen fintech, and ease the circulation of digital assets. Tokayev also cited progress with the digital tenge, already in use to finance projects through the sovereign wealth fund, and proposed creating a state crypto fund under the central bank’s investment arm to launch a strategic reserve of promising tokens. USD stablecoin accepted as regulatory feesRegulatory efforts extend beyond the sandbox. On Sept. 4, the Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), the independent regulator of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), launched a pilot that lets companies based at the center pay regulatory fees using stablecoins backed by the U.S. dollar. More than 4,000 firms from over 80 countries are registered at the AIFC, and Bybit was the first to sign a multilateral memorandum of understanding with the regulator. Under the fee pilot, licensed Digital Asset Service Providers may join as Providers and act as agents for payers who choose to settle obligations to the regulator with stablecoins. AFSA chief executive Evgeniya Bogdanova said the initiative is meant to position the financial center as a hub for digital finance and to keep pace with global trends in stablecoin adoption. Together, the sandbox stablecoin, the digital tenge rollout, and the AIFC payments pilot signal a coordinated push to make digital assets a larger part of Kazakhstan’s financial system. Authorities are testing how these tools can operate within clear rules, with an eye to drawing investment and keeping the country connected to fast-moving changes in global finance. 

Circle Considers Issuing Stablecoin in JapanCircle, the US-headquartered payment services company and stablecoin issuer, is considering issuing a stablecoin in Japan following the implementation of new regulations on stablecoins.Jeremy Allaire, Co-Founder and CEO of Circle, expressed his interest in exploring partnerships in Japan due to the significant potential of the market under the new rules.Photo by Su San Lee on UnsplashGrowing importance of stablecoinsIn an interview with CoinDesk Japan recently, Allaire highlighted the growing importance of stablecoins in cross-border trade, foreign currency transactions, and global commerce. He believes that Japan, with its recently established framework for the use of overseas stablecoins, has positioned itself as a pioneering country in this regard. Allaire described the stablecoin bill as the Japanese government’s and the Financial Services Agency’s most significant achievement.The revised Payment Services Act in Japan recognizes stablecoins backed by legal tender as an “electronic payment method” and allows for their issuance. However, stringent rules are in place for stablecoin issuers.These include the requirement for stablecoins to be pegged to the yen or other legal tender and the guarantee of redeemability at face value for holders. Only licensed financial institutions, such as banks, registered money transfer agents, and trust companies, will be authorized to issue stablecoins.Breaking into AsiaAllaire emphasized Circle’s interest in establishing partnerships within Japan, a country he recently visited. Circle has already obtained a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license in Singapore, enabling the company to offer various digital payment services, cross-border money transfers, and domestic money transfer services.The Japanese market has witnessed major financial institutions exploring stablecoin initiatives. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUFJ), for instance, announced its plans to launch its own stablecoin platform named Progmat last month. MUFJ also entered into a partnership with Japanese blockchain interoperability solutions provider, Datachain, recently. It’s thought that the move will facilitate both parties in undertaking further work on stablecoin-related initiatives.Circle’s consideration of issuing a stablecoin in Japan underscores the company’s recognition of the country’s regulatory advancements and the potential for stablecoin adoption. As stablecoins gain further traction globally, Japan’s new framework positions it as an important market for Circle and other players in the industry.It’s not just Japan that highlights the need for further stablecoin development. A new policy proposal was published in Hong Kong earlier this week that made a point of urging the Hong Kong authorities to issue its own Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin.The objective of such an initiative would be to compete on an international basis with leading US dollar stablecoins such as Circle’s USDC and USDT/Tether. By being proactive in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Circle could head off rising potential challenges such as that suggested by these stablecoin researchers in Hong Kong.The partnership opportunities in Japan align with Circle’s mission to facilitate efficient and secure digital transactions, and it will be intriguing to observe how the company navigates this emerging landscape in the months to come.

OKX collaborates with Polygon Labs on layer-2 network launchSeychelles-incorporated OKX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has collaborated with blockchain development firm Polygon Labs to unveil the testnet for its latest zero-knowledge layer-2 network, named “X1.”Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashIntroducing “X1”The company announced initial details on X1 via a press release published on Tuesday. This Ethereum-based ZK network has been constructed using the Polygon Chain Development Kit (CDK), with OKX playing a pivotal role as a core contributor to the CDK. Substantial engineering resources are being invested by OKX to strengthen the Ethereum scaling solution.The new network will serve to bolster the utility of OKX's native token, OKB. OKB will be used for X1’s gas fees. There has been a lot of chatter about the utility of exchange tokens following the collapse of FTX, as that platform was over-reliant on its native token in propping up the exchange. Similarly, critics are speculating that a comparable dynamic may be at play at Binance, relative to its native token BNB.Likely buoyed by news of this development, OKB observed a 10% unit price increase on Tuesday. However, that move has retraced downwards in the meantime.ZK proof technologyX1 has been designed with ZK proofs, a method through which one party can convince another that a particular claim is true without disclosing details of the claim itself. In this way, X1 ensures high security and scalability while mitigating transaction costs. The network seamlessly aligns with Ethereum, facilitating the secure deployment of EVM-based dApps and connectivity with a wide array of smart contracts, wallets and tools. OKX underscores X1’s status as its new native network.Chief Innovation Officer of OKX, Jason Lau, expressed optimism about X1, deeming it integral to the firm’s efforts in guiding users into the realm of Web3. Lau emphasized the scalability and accessibility of X1, especially for developers who can leverage it to construct user-friendly Web3 applications while maintaining interoperability with other networks.The collaboration with Polygon Labs marks another milestone in the evolution of Polygon’s CDK. Launched in August, the CDK enables the development of layer-2 blockchains on Ethereum, emphasizing zero-knowledge proofs. Networks deployed using the CDK gain the ability to connect to a shared ZK bridge, fostering interoperability.Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, underscored the significance of X1’s adoption of Polygon CDK technology, envisioning a future where CDK-deployed chains interoperate and coexist within a larger network of ZK-powered layer 2s in the Polygon CDK ecosystem. The CDK has gained traction, with various Layer 2s, including Immutable zkEVM, IDEX, Palm Network and Astar zkEVM, currently in development using this technology.Industry trendA trend is developing among crypto exchange platforms and their involvement in establishing layer two networks. Earlier this year, U.S. crypto platform Coinbase introduced the Base network, an Ethereum layer-2 network that focuses on offering a safe, low-cost and developer-friendly mechanism to build on-chain.Last week, it emerged that another leading U.S.-based crypto platform, Kraken, is on the lookout for a development partner to enable it in building out its own layer-2 blockchain network. According to those reports, it’s understood that Kraken is considering partnering with Polygon Labs, Matter Labs or the Nil Foundation.As this OKX-Polygon Labs collaboration progresses, the industry will continue to observe how X1, with its innovative technology stack and seamless integration with Ethereum, contributes towards broader Web3 development.