Nomura survey indicates shift towards crypto investment in Japan

Renault Korea Establishes Metaverse Space for Car EnthusiastsRenault Korea Motors made an announcement on Friday that it will establish the Renault Korea Hub, an immersive automotive experience located within a metaverse, according to a report by Korean news media Dailian. The company intends to commence operations of this unique venture in the upcoming autumn season.Photo by Richard Horvath on UnsplashThe Sandbox and Korean brandsThe Renault Korea Hub will operate within K-verse, a designated area of Korean brands within The Sandbox, a metaverse platform based on blockchain technology.The Sandbox metaverse has recently announced its latest Korean brand partners, and as part of this development, a land sale event is being organized where their adjacent land will be raffled off. The event is named “Hallyu Rising.” Hallyu or the Korean Wave is a cultural phenomenon that has experienced a significant surge in global popularity since the 1990s, mainly thanks to its pop songs and TV shows.During the land sale event, users have the chance to acquire land adjacent to various prominent brands associated with Korean culture. This will be made possible through raffles and auctions facilitated by the metaverse platform. Other notable partners besides Renault Korea are Channel A, a TV broadcasting network; Netmarble, a game publisher; and CJ ENM, an entertainment company.Unique experiences for car enthusiastsThe Renault Korea Hub, the first of its kind in Korea, will provide a unique space for automobile enthusiasts to indulge in a diverse array of experiences and games. As per the automaker’s announcement, visitors will have the chance to engage in activities like developing their own vehicle designs.Visitors will have the opportunity to experience Renault Korea’s vehicles in voxel form, allowing them to explore the technology, design philosophy, and stories associated with each vehicle. A voxel can be understood as a 3D counterpart to a 2D pixel, representing a value on a regular grid in 3D space.Renault Korea CEO Stéphane Deblaise stated that the carmaker intends to continue its pursuit of diverse Web 3.0-based activities centered around metaverses and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). He said the automaker’s projects aim to establish a connection between customers’ mobility experiences and their digital lives. Deblaise also highlighted that these projects will undergo further development through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.Storytelling contestEarlier this month, Renault Korea introduced the storytelling contest titled “create your SM6,” which concludes today. This campaign inspires customers to utilize emerging AI technologies to design their own SM6 vehicles and transform them into NFTs. The SM6, Renault Korea’s midsize sedan, initially debuted in 2016 and has undergone subsequent facelifts to enhance its features and aesthetics.The top ten performers in the storytelling contest, who create captivating renditions and stories featuring the SM6, will be rewarded with utility NFTs and KLAY, the native token of the Klaytn network. The first-place winner will receive a prize package consisting of 1 million KRW ($750) worth of KLAY, along with six SM6 NFTs.The announcement of the winners is scheduled to take place between May 31 and June 9. Following the announcement, the airdrop of rewards will be conducted from June 30 to July 7.

In an official announcement on Wednesday (KST), CeDeFi protocol NEOPIN revealed that it has signed a business agreement with Web3 consulting firm Catalyze Research and metaverse and AI tech company Futureverse to expand the global blockchain industry and discover promising Web3 projects. Strategic allianceThrough this business agreement, the three enterprises plan on working towards two main objectives: expanding the global blockchain business industry and Futureverse’s open metaverse ecosystem. To do so, they have vowed to onboard NEOPIN’s gaming business partners to the Futureverse ecosystem and create decentralized finance (DeFi) products for NEOPIN based on The Root Network. They will also host hackathons and joint campaigns in efforts to incubate and accelerate Web3 projects in South Korea. “South Korea is an intellectual property (IP) and blockchain powerhouse that serves as the backbone of the open metaverse that Futureverse is striving for. We look forward to bringing together various IPs such as games and content – including DeFi collaborations – with Futureverse’s powerful infrastructure to bring us one step closer to the open metaverse,” said Ben Ko, Co-Founder and CEO of Catalyze Research. Based in Seoul, Catalyze Research offers insights into the Web3 industry as well as consulting services like mapping and implementation of business strategies, marketing, research, due diligence and more.Photo by Shubham's Web3 on Unsplash“By working with NEOPIN, a leading DeFi company with an extensive network in South Korea, we will expand the Futureverse and The Root Network ecosystems and create an environment where users and developers can create an open metaverse together. This partnership will bring Futureverse to the forefront of the South Korean blockchain industry with NEOPIN and Catalyze’s experience, expertise, vision and insights into the Korean market,” added Futureverse CEO Aaron McDonald. Redefining gaming, blockchain and DeFiFutureverse is a developer of AI and metaverse technologies that elevate gaming experiences and enable open, scalable and interoperable applications. It is also home to one of the largest global NFT-based metaverse communities, which is being expanded through the layer 1 blockchain The Root Network. The company’s partners include globally renowned brands like FIFA, Warner Bros., Mastercard and Reebok. NEOPIN, on the other hand, has been a trustworthy node validator for multiple blockchains since 2018 with a 0% accident and slashing rate and a 99.99999% block generation rate. It has also been bringing new faces to the industry by securing, investing in and incubating numerous domestic and foreign firms. Backed by this experience, NEOPIN plans to introduce innovative DeFi products through the newest three-way partnership. “We will actively help various game and content service companies that have partnered with us to operate in the Futureverse ecosystem. Based on our trustworthiness and stability, we will contribute to leading the decentralized exchange (DEX) and DeFi services in Futureverse,” said Kim Yong-ki, CEO of NEOPIN.

NBC and AliPay collaborate to enable enhanced cross-border paymentsThe National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and Ant Group, the parent company of AliPay+, the borderless payment and marketing solutions provider for merchants, have inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on “Cross-Border QR Code Payment Cooperation.”The deal was announced at last week’s Singapore FinTech Festival. The collaboration aims to boost the use of KHQR codes through Alipay+. KHQR codes provide for a standardization of QR codes which have been created for retail transfers and payments within Cambodia.Chea Serey, the Governor of NBC, and Douglas Feagin, Senior Vice President of Ant Group, formally signed the MOU to facilitate efficient and secure cross-border QR code payment transactions. The agreement focuses on bridging Bakong’s network through KHQR codes and Alipay+’s extensive global QR code acceptance network, as outlined in an NBC press release.Photo by Paul Szewczyk on UnsplashBakong CBDCBakong is Cambodia’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) based upon the Cambodian riel. Japanese fintech developer Soramitsu has collaborated with the Cambodian authorities in developing it.This latest development unfolded as Chea Serey took the stage as a keynote speaker at the Singapore Fintech Festival, addressing the theme, “The Intersection of Policy, Finance, and Technology.”According to a statement from Chea Serey’s official Facebook account, this collaboration opens doors for Cambodia Bakong users to access Alipay+ and engage with over 83 million merchants worldwide. Additionally, it allows international tourists to seamlessly make payments to KHQR merchants in Cambodia. Serey stated:“Today I am glad to announce the MoU signing between Alipay Plus and NBC, hence I encourage local banks to inform their merchants to open KHR accounts and start accepting KHR payments otherwise they won’t be able to benefit from this arrangement.”Greater interoperabilitySerey highlighted that this collaboration marks a significant step in enhancing Cambodia’s payment connectivity on a global scale, creating a more convenient and inclusive experience for tourists and contributing to the growth of the national economy.In an interview with CNBC at last week’s event, Serey said that the initiative will enable greater interoperability. In China, Cambodian merchants and visitors can use the Cambodian payment system to make payments to Chinese vendors. Likewise, Chinese visitors can use Alipay+, a platform they are familiar with, to make payments for goods and services in Cambodia. Serey believes this to be important, given that Cambodia depends heavily on tourism.The Alipay+ platform facilitates payments through various digital wallets, including Korea’s KakaoPay, Malaysia’s TouchnGo, Thailand’s TrueMoney and the Philippines’ GCash. Ant Group has been attempting to extend the regional utility of its payment system for some time.As far back as 2017, Ant Group signed an MOU with British bank Standard Chartered with a view towards increasing financial services access to clients located along China’s “Belt and Road” initiative route. In 2019, Alipay inked a deal with Cambodia’s DaraPay to allow Alipay wallet holders to pay for goods and services at DaraPay POS terminal points.Alipay and WeChat Pay are recognized as two of the most preferred payment methods among Chinese consumers. Together, they dominate the Chinese mobile payments landscape, boasting a market share of over 92 percent and a user base exceeding 2 billion.