HSBC and Ant Group advance blockchain-based tokenized deposit system

Dunamu Helps Adolescents Tell the Difference between Blockchain and BitcoinDunamu, the fintech company operating South Korea’s leading crypto exchange Upbit, announced on Thursday that its digital finance education program designed to help foster talent in digital finance amidst the current era of digitization and fintech has come to an end.Photo by Element5 Digital on UnsplashEmpowering digital finance literacy for the future generationDubbed “Duniverse” — a portmanteau of Dunamu and universe — the program was held from May to July for 4,100 middle school students throughout Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon. The curriculum proved to enhance their understanding and literacy in digital finance.“Digital finance education for adolescents is essential in addressing various social issues, such as preventing financial accidents and income polarization,” said Lee Sirgoo, CEO of Dunamu.The first Duniverse program was held last year, hosting some 4,800 middle school students in vulnerable areas of Gyeonggi Province. Owing to the positive response, this year’s pool has been expanded to over 7,000 first-year middle school students in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon. In the first half of this year alone, a total of 4,120 students from 17 middle schools participated.The program featured lessons on the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as blockchain, NFTs, and metaverse, as well as basic financial knowledge. A total of eight sessions were led by a team of qualified instructors with years of experience in economic education. Dunamu employees also directly contributed to the review process of educational materials, the company said.Success recognized by students and teachers alikeIn a survey conducted by Dunamu targeting 435 participants, 93.1 percent of them expressed high satisfaction, stating that their understanding of digital finance improved. This portrays a meaningful upgrade from the answers of a previous survey conducted before the start of the program, where six out of ten respondents said that they had little knowledge about digital finance.They also reported that they now understand the difference between digital asset ownership and copyrights as well as blockchain and Bitcoin, and show interest when coming across digital finance-related content in the media.School teachers also praised the program for addressing blind spots in financial education and taking a proactive learning approach. “The students were able to learn about big data, ChatGPT, and more, which is especially valuable since such education for teenagers is still lacking. I believe it will help boost their competitiveness in the future job market,” said a teacher from Goam Middle School in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province.The teachers also approved of other topics that were covered, such as financial fraud prevention, to help teenagers avoid falling victim to financial scams. Suggestions were also made to expand teacher training courses.Upcoming programThis year’s second Duniverse program will be held from August to December for 2,712 middle school students in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon.Dunamu has continually devoted efforts to boosting social welfare and nurturing young talent. This includes “Dunamu Next Steppers,” a hope fund for young people with multiple debts, along with supporting emerging talents and artists with developmental disabilities in their participation in NFT projects.

The Asia Web3 Alliance Japan, an agency that regards itself as a bridge between the Web3 ecosystem in Asia and Japan’s broader business sector, has reached out to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States with a view towards establishing a strategic collaboration.Photo by Clement Souchet on UnsplashFocus on Web3 regulatory innovation & tokenizationThe President of the organization, Hinza Asif, wrote to SEC Crypto Task Force Chairperson and SEC Commissioner, Hester Peirce, on the subject, on March 25. The letter, subsequently published by the SEC, sets out a proposal that centers on a strategic U.S.-Japan partnership relative to Web3 regulatory innovation and tokenization. The Japanese agency, which has set out cross-border synergy as one of its objectives, calls for collaboration between Japan’s Financial Services Agency, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Bank of Japan with the U.S. regulator. The Alliance proposes that the goal of that partnership would be the establishment of regulatory clarity in respect of the Web3 sector, together with the fostering of interoperability between a developing Web3 ecosystem in the U.S. and the one that’s developing in Japan. Token classification frameworkDelving deeper into proposal specifics, Asif sets out the formation of a harmonized token classification framework as a key objective. The proposal suggests that a distinction needs to be made between tokenized securities, utility tokens and non-security digital assets.  The alliance believes that right now, token classification is unclear, with projects struggling to understand what category their token falls within from a regulatory perspective. There’s a lack of token offering frameworks. While it sees that further work is required, the Asia Web3 Alliance Japan is encouraged by progress made by the SEC’s Crypto Task Force in identifying security categories. With this cross-border collaboration, the Japanese crypto advocacy group believes that there is an opportunity to achieve regulatory interoperability on an international basis. That would facilitate compliant cross-border token issuance. On that basis, the alliance suggests that standards be developed such that regulatory consistency is achieved internationally when it comes to items such as digital asset trading, custody and token issuance. The proposal sets out a need for reciprocal disclosure requirements between the two jurisdictions where cross-border token issuance is concerned. It advocates for mutual recognition of what it terms “compliant tokenized offerings.” Bringing safe harbor to JapanAnother focus area contained within the proposal is the suggestion of a need to implement a safe harbor approach in Japan for early-stage token projects in line with what has been put forward in the U.S. Peirce first put forward a token safe harbor proposal in the U.S. in 2020. It sets out to provide exemptions over a defined initial period for certain token issuances. The idea behind it is to enable these early-stage projects to innovate and mature without getting bogged down in a regulatory quagmire. The establishment of a U.S.-Japan Web3 regulatory roundtable is another strand contained within the proposal. This would provide a mechanism for ongoing dialogue between stakeholders such as regulators, industry leaders and legal experts.

Gyeonggi Officials with Cryptocurrencies Clear of Professional Conflicts in Virtual AssetsGyeonggi Province, South Korea’s most populated province surrounding the national capital of Seoul, announced on October 26 (local time) that the duties of all crypto-holding officials ranked 4 or higher in the provincial government are not associated with virtual assets. In Korea, public officials are ranked from nine to one, with one being the highest position.In anticipation of the amended Public Service Ethics Act coming into effect on December 14, the Gyeonggi provincial government introduced a revised employee code of conduct in August. This required officials of rank 4 or higher to report their crypto holdings within 10 days starting from August 21.Photo by Nattu Adnan on UnsplashReported crypto ownershipThe result indicated that out of 228 officials, 23 reported owning virtual assets. Among these, 15 officials held cryptocurrencies valued at less than KRW 1 million ($738), while the remaining 8 had holdings exceeding that amount.To determine any potential involvement with cryptocurrencies in their official duties, the Gyeonggi government examined the roles and responsibilities of these officials within their respective departments. Following this review, the matter was forwarded to the Gyeonggi Public Service Ethics Committee for further scrutiny.Ethics committee reviewOn October 20, the committee convened to assess the relationship between the officials’ duties and their crypto holdings. They unanimously concluded that none of the 23 officials had any ties to crypto in their official roles.The newly revised code of conduct elaborates on the conditions under which a public official’s responsibilities are associated with virtual assets. Specifically, an official’s duties are considered linked to virtual assets if they are involved in formulating or implementing crypto-related policies or laws; conducting related investigations, inquiries, or inspections; engaging in the registration and oversight of cryptocurrency exchanges; or if they are involved in supporting or overseeing the development of crypto technologies.In light of these definitions, officials who engage in any of the above roles are strictly prohibited from capitalizing on any crypto-related information they encounter during their professional duties for personal trading or investment. Furthermore, officials who either currently shoulder or have previously carried out such responsibilities are required to disclose any crypto holdings they acquire.In the future, once the revised Ethics Act is implemented, the Gyeonggi government will remain fully committed to preventing conflicts of interest among public officials. To bolster these efforts, Gyeonggi will introduce additional measures, including a thorough verification process for the accuracy of their cryptocurrency holdings reports.In situations where a public official with cryptocurrency holdings is assigned a position related to virtual assets, Gyeonggi will issue individualized instructions. These directives may entail either the liquidation of their cryptocurrency holdings or their removal from the specific role in question.Meanwhile, Gyeonggi will enhance its endeavors to furnish educational resources pertaining to virtual asset reporting. Moreover, the local government will restrict officials from holding virtual assets if they fall under financial disclosure obligations and are deemed to possess information about or exert influence on virtual assets.