UAE Issues New Guidance on Crypto AML Measures

India Looks to Boost CBDC With 1 Million Users in 3 MonthsThe project team responsible for India’s retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) is aiming to increase its user base to one million users, while also prioritizing the challenge of creating an offline version.©Pexels/Sohel PatelAlthough the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central bank, publicly stated in March that they were aiming for 500,000 users by July, they are privately looking to double that amount. According to sources familiar with the matter cited by CoinDesk, the architects behind the centralized digital currency are confident that India’s population, being the world’s largest, will enable them to reach one million users easily. Tentatively the project team is aiming to achieve this within three months.Retail and Wholesale CBDCsThe RBI is currently conducting both retail and wholesale CBDC pilot programs. The retail CBDC pilot is active in at least 15 cities, with more than 13 banks participating. The digital rupee pilot began on December 1, 2022, and has seen over 100,000 customers participate in the four months since.India’s digital rupee gained significant attention at a recent meeting of the Group of 20 (G-20), which was hosted by India in Bengaluru, according to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The central bank received positive feedback, with praise received for the design of the CBDC.Multiple challengesThe RBI initiated a Hackathon in 2023 to find solutions to some of the challenges around retail CBDC, including improving scalability, increasing transactions per second, and enabling offline transactions. However, achieving all three technical objectives at once is nearly impossible at present. Experts believe that it is only possible to achieve two out of the three objectives, but the hope is that technological innovation will address this in the future.Offline transactionsFacilitating offline transactions is crucial to improve financial inclusion in emerging economies such as India. The RBI is testing various methods to enable offline transactions, including wearables, debit and credit cards, Bluetooth technology, and smartphones. The central bank is also looking to address the risk of double-spending.More than 50 proposals were submitted to the RBI to solve the problem of offline transactions. The RBI has also been interacting with private companies to consider solutions to improving scalability, even though no partnership has been initiated with any prominent blockchain-related entities.News of India’s ambitious CBDC project fast-tracking has led some to speculate as to what technology lies behind it. Some have suggested Ripple as a possible partner but the suggestion is entirely speculative at this point.The RBI has not announced a timeline for rolling out a full-scale retail CBDC but has indicated previously that it was aiming for the end of the year. The development of a digital rupee has the potential to transform India’s economy by providing greater financial inclusion to its population, which is why the RBI is taking the time to ensure that the CBDC is as robust as possible.

Mirae Asset Securities and NEAR Protocol Partner to Advance Blockchain TechSouth Korea’s leading securities firm, Mirae Asset Securities, has partnered with the Swiss-based NEAR Foundation to further the development of Web3 initiatives, according to Digital Today’s report.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashCollaboration on Web3 researchThe NEAR Foundation is a Swiss-based non-profit organization behind the NEAR Protocol, a blockchain platform designed to support the operation of decentralized apps (dApps). The collaboration between NEAR and Mirae Asset Securities will encompass various endeavors, including conducting research on Web3 and blockchain technology within the financial sector, organizing awareness-raising events for both entities, and establishing a cooperative system to enhance the business network between Web2 and Web3.An In-sung, the head of the digital division at Mirae Asset Securities, expressed the company’s commitment to advancing blockchain technology and collaborating with partners to gain a competitive advantage in the Web3 sector. NEAR Foundation CEO Marieke Flament highlighted the technical expertise of their platform, emphasizing its potential to drive innovations within the financial industry through cooperation with Mirae Asset Securities.NEAR’s broader engagement in KoreaThe NEAR Foundation’s collaborative efforts extend beyond the financial sector in Korea. Earlier this month, the organization forged a strategic partnership with MARBLEX, a blockchain arm of gaming publisher Netmarble. This alliance aims to foster the growth of the Korean Web3 gaming industry, indicating the foundation’s wider involvement in the East Asian country.

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), the statutory body tasked with regulating and developing capital markets within the Southeast Asian nation, has published a consultation paper in an effort to garner public feedback on potential enhancements to its crypto regulatory framework. In a press release published to its website on June 30, the SC claimed that its proposals seek “to enhance competitiveness of Malaysia’s regulated digital asset market, improve investor protection and strengthen the resilience and integrity of [Digital Asset Exchange] operators.”Photo by Vlad Shapochnikov on UnsplashEasing listing requirementsIn the event that the proposals are adopted, one key change would see a liberalization of the listing requirements for digital assets. Where certain key eligibility criteria have been met, the regulator would allow the listing of digital assets on digital asset exchanges without prior SC approval. The regulator stated that it wants to make this change in order to speed up the time taken to get digital assets to market as they emerge. By setting out additional criteria, there will be greater exchange operator accountability. Exchange operators would bear responsibility for listing tokens in compliance with the requirements set out by the regulator.  Assets could only be listed once those assets and the underlying protocol and network had undergone security audits which had been carried out by an independent and qualified blockchain security auditor, with the audit results made public.  For the purposes of the “Liberalised Listing Framework,” the asset must have been trading on a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-compliant virtual asset service provider (VASP) platform for a minimum of one year. The regulator believes that easing the listing requirements will result in a broader digital asset product offering being made available in Malaysia. Last month, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) started a public consultation process aimed at revising token listing rules. Coin listing processes have also come under scrutiny from the authorities in South Korea recently. Segregating client assetsAmong the proposals is a plan to oblige exchange platforms to properly segregate client assets from operational funds and assets held by the exchange business. In recent years, many failed crypto exchange platforms, most notably FTX, got into difficulty by co-mingling customer funds with operational funds. Furthermore, the regulator doesn’t want any cross-over of assets between the local exchange operator and any overseas affiliate companies it may have.The SC stated that it is cognizant of recent global exchange failures, which has led it towards further enhancing crypto exchange operational governance and controls. It suggests that only 10% of client assets should be held by a Malaysian exchange in hot wallets, with the remaining 90% held in cold or offline wallets. The SC said that it welcomes feedback from members of the various stakeholder groups on the proposals outlined. The public consultation period runs from June 30 through Aug. 11.  Malaysia is expected to have 4.74 million crypto users by 2026. That would equate to 13% of Malaysians using crypto by then.