BitOasis Obtains First Early-Stage Broker Dealer License in Dubai

SC Ventures and Deutsche Bank Execute Stablecoin Payments via UDPNSC Ventures, the Singaporean disruptive technology investment subsidiary of UK banking conglomerate Standard Chartered, has partnered with Deutsche Bank in completing the first successful proof of concept (PoC) for the Universal Digital Payments Network (UDPN).Photo by Conny Schneider on UnsplashConnecting blockchain networks with CBDCsThe UDPN is a brainchild of Hong Kong’s Red Date Technology, which in turn is a co-founder of the Chinese Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN). The PoC was aimed at facilitating seamless connections between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and various blockchain networks through message-based transactions.News of the successful PoC emerged via a report by India’s English-language business newspaper Financial Express earlier this week. In conventional finance and international payments, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is the foremost, dominant financial messaging service. Notably, UDPN distinguishes itself from SWIFT as it operates on a permissioned blockchain, ensuring heightened security and regulatory compliance.As part of the PoC, several real-time transfers and swaps of synthetic USDC and EURS (Stasis Euro stablecoin) were executed between the two banks. While SC Ventures utilized code that leveraged UDPN software development kits (SDKs) and APIs, Deutsche Bank employed a graphical user interface. Rafael Otero, CTO and CPO of Deutsche Bank’s Corporate Bank division, emphasized the significance of this trial, stating that it provides an opportunity to explore how clients can actively engage in the decentralized global economy. Otero sees this as the logical next step in the evolution of financial transactions.Overcoming digital currency adoption challengesUDPN has been under development in collaboration with consultancy firm GFT Technologies and DLA Piper’s Hong Kong-based digital asset creation platform, TOKO, with further governance provided by the UDPN Alliance.The primary goal of UDPN is to overcome the hurdles that hinder the broader adoption of digital currencies, especially in the face of the surging number of CBDCs, stablecoins, and deposit tokens. The lack of interoperability among these digital assets necessitates innovative solutions.Currently, interoperability among stablecoins primarily relies on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. However, due to the absence of proper oversight and regulatory framework in these exchanges, this method is not a sustainable solution for achieving interoperability between CBDCs and deposit tokens.UDPN takes a unique approach by providing a decentralized identity infrastructure. The actual currency transactions occur on their respective native blockchains or infrastructures. This means that UDPN enables users to seamlessly swap a USDC stablecoin on one network for a Euro stablecoin on another or even a bank deposit token.Improving upon financial messaging systemsAs UDPN incorporates an element of financial messaging for digital currencies, this hybrid approach streamlines transactions, eliminates the need for reconciliations, and enables atomic settlement. Therefore, UDPN ensures that either both sides of a transaction succeed or both fail. In contrast, purely messaging-based systems can result in one side of the transaction failing.SWIFT recently experimented with a messaging solution to connect CBDCs, and other conventional integration methods are being explored, involving APIs and routing networks, such as finP2P. It has collaborated with the central banks of Hong Kong and Kazakhstan recently in testing CBDC connectors.A report by Nikkei Asia last week suggested that Standard Chartered is venturing further into the world of digital currencies, particularly so in Asia, via SC Ventures.

While South Korea’s central bank has opted not to accumulate Bitcoin (BTC) at a nation-state level, North Korea has become a major holder of the leading crypto asset, albeit in a very unconventional way. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is believed to currently be in possession of 13,518 BTC. That’s according to data compiled by the blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. Arkham has labeled the holding as belonging to the notorious North Korean hacking organization Lazarus Group. It’s been alleged by many observers over recent years that Lazarus is controlled by the North Korean government. Photo by Vasilis Chatzopoulos on UnsplashOn this basis, it would appear that North Korea now has a larger Bitcoin holding than the Bitcoin-friendly jurisdictions of Bhutan and El Salvador. The Kingdom of Bhutan holds 10,635 BTC through Druk Holdings and Investments (DHI), the commercial arm of the Royal Government of Bhutan.  Meanwhile, El Salvador holds 6,119 BTC. Bhutan has been accumulating Bitcoin as a consequence of Bitcoin mining activity carried out by the government in partnership with Singapore-based Bitcoin mining firm Bitdeer and others within the Asian country over recent years. El Salvador made a commitment to buy Bitcoin on an ongoing basis following its recognition of the digital asset as legal tender back in 2021. Based on Bitcoin pricing at the time of writing, Arkham’s data suggests that North Korea currently holds Bitcoin with an overall value of around $1.14 billion. It’s believed that North Korea’s overall holdings have been bumped up recently following a $1.4 billion hack of global crypto exchange Bybit last month. According to crypto data analysis firm Coin Metrics, the hack stands as one of the largest of all time.  Arkham’s data suggests that North Korea now has the third largest nation-state holding of Bitcoin, with the U.S. in first place, with 198,109 BTC, and the UK next with a holding of 61,245 BTC. Besides Bitcoin, the Lazarus Group is understood to be sitting on ETH, BNB, DAI and BUSD worth in the region of $30 million. In the immediate aftermath of the hack, the hackers moved to swap out some of the stolen Ether (ETH) for Bitcoin via the THORChain decentralized liquidity protocol. South Korea not building Bitcoin reserveWhile North Korea appears to have accumulated Bitcoin at the nation-state level through nefarious means, the Republic of Korea’s (South Korea) central bank has given an indication that it currently has no plans to accumulate Bitcoin.  According to a recent local media report, the Bank of Korea (BOK) responded in writing to a query from a Korean parliamentarian, outlining that there is no plan currently to develop a Bitcoin reserve or to stockpile Bitcoin at a national level.  The BOK is understood to have cited Bitcoin’s price volatility as a major concern. Additionally, the central bank outlined that Bitcoin doesn’t conform to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) guidelines relative to foreign exchange reserve management.

CJ ONE to Sell 3,000 NFTs for New Membership ServiceCJ ONE, a lifestyle membership service operated by digital service company CJ OliveNetworks of South Korean conglomerate CJ Group, announced on Tuesday that it will sell 3,000 digital membership NFTs for its new lifestyle service, PRISM ONE. This comes as part of efforts to enhance brand value and boost customer benefits.Photo by Choong Deng Xiang on Unsplash“The PRISM ONE Membership NFT is an important milestone that reflects changes within CJ ONE. As a lifestyle membership, our brand will strive to provide unique experiences in all aspects of our members’ lives,” said Ha Jae-young, Head of Data Marketing at CJ OliveNetworks.Tier benefitsThe NFTs are categorized into four tiers — Basic, Special, Premium, and Prestige — with higher tiers offering more benefits. Depending on the tier, which will be decided randomly, customers can receive up to 10,000 CJ ONE membership points per month and eight times the number of points that they accumulated the previous month over a period of half a year.CJ ONE points can be used like cash at various CJ Group subsidiaries that offer services in culture, dining, shopping, and entertainment, as well as over 30 brand partners such as cafe Mega MGC Coffee, convenience store CU, and refinery company Hyundai Oilbank.10 customers with the Prestige NFT will also be chosen to receive benefits worth KRW 1 million, including welcome packages from CJ The Market, CJ Group’s online grocery shopping mall, and accommodation vouchers to use at Starville, a luxury “glamping” — a portmanteau of “glam” and “camping” — site.Limited sales and resell opportunitiesMinted with a new brand identity design, the NFTs will be sold for KRW 45,000 each on the NFT trading platform Pala starting from 7 PM (Korea Standard Time) on September 13. Customers who participate in an event until September 3 can win a chance to purchase them at a discounted price of KRW 42,000 prior to the public sale. Payments can be made with Polygon tokens (MATIC) or Korean won, and digital wallets Klip and MetaMask are also supported, the company said. In particular, the NFTs can be resold on trading platforms like Pala.