HashKey & Bosera launch world’s first tokenized money market ETFs

Mohammed AlKaff AlHashmi, co-founder of the HAQQ Network, has expressed the view that Indonesia has considerable potential to establish itself as Asia’s largest crypto hub. AlHashmi made the comments in a discussion with Crypto.news. HAQQ Network claims to be a scalable proof-of-stake-based blockchain, capable of high throughput. The network is fully compatible and interoperable with Ethereum. The project also focuses on the development of a Sharia-compliant Web3.  While the project is headquartered in Niqa Al Dheeb in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia is also a significant market for the company, given that it has just received regulatory approval for the HAQQ Network’s native token from the Indonesia Financial Services Authority (OJK). Islamic Coin (ISLM) is the network’s native token. It is being offered as a Sharia compliant digital currency, with Sharia law being the Islamic legal system that governs the lives of millions of Muslims throughout the world.Photo by Nick Agus Arya on UnsplashGateway marketOffering his thoughts on the Indonesian crypto market, AlHashmi stated: “When we look at Indonesia as a market, I would say it is incomparable. It can be number one to be honest. Because I have seen statistics of growth happening in a very big volume. The volume of trade, transactions and users, I think Indonesia can be very soon one of the top 3 countries in the world.” Indonesia takes on added importance for the HAQQ Network project. The project’s co-founder sees the Southeast Asian nation as a gateway into a broader market given that it has the largest Muslim population in the world. He said that if his project is successful in Indonesia, then there will be no barrier to enter markets in other predominately Muslim nations. The entrepreneur believes that Indonesia is on the cusp of realizing its potential within the crypto sector. He said that Indonesia has a “competitive edge” when compared with other nations. Population size and rapid economic growth feed into that potential, with AlHashmi claiming that Indonesia is primed to become the largest crypto hub in Asia. Smooth regulatory processFrom a regulatory perspective, he also feels that Indonesia is outperforming other jurisdictions. The HAQQ Network project team experienced a smooth process in acquiring regulatory approval for ISLM recently. He believes that although the process was detailed, it was completed quicker than he would expect in other countries.  AlHashmi added that “regulations are flexible enough to enable project owners to do good business to protect the community as well.” Local regulator, the OJK, has expressed an interest in exploring the development of Sharia-compliant crypto assets. Earlier this month, Hasan Fawzi, OJK's executive head overseeing crypto assets supervision, told local media that the regulator is open to advancing Sharia-based cryptocurrencies.  Hasan stated: “Globally and regionally, this is a common practice. It is not unusual to create crypto assets that adhere to Sharia principles.” The OJK executive is particularly interested in tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). He believes that if this proves to be successful, it could lead to further Sharia-complaint crypto products being launched. The OJK is currently testing tokenized RWAs within a sandbox environment.

Chinese Central Bank Official Emphasizes Need for Digital Yuan Retail PaymentsA senior official from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has underscored the importance of making China’s digital yuan, commonly referred to as the e-CNY, accessible in all retail payment scenarios within China.Photo by Eric Prouzet on UnsplashStreamlining retail e-CNY paymentsThe remarks were delivered by Changchun Mu, Head of the Digital Currency Research Institute, during a trade forum in Beijing. Mu emphasized the need for standardizing QR codes in payment systems, particularly those dominated by giants like WeChat Pay and Alipay.Local media reported on Sunday that the central bank official highlighted that various wallet providers, including WeChat, Alipay, commercial banks with mobile banking apps, and other payment apps associated with e-CNY operations, must remain vigilant about complying with relevant financial regulations and obtaining the necessary licenses. He stressed that the initial step in this process should involve the adoption of the digital yuan as the preferred payment method for all retail transactions.Standardizing QR code paymentsMu explained that in the short term, authorities can start by unifying QR code standards on a technical level to achieve barcode interoperability. In the long run, he suggested that they will steadily implement the upgrade of payment tools.The move towards standardizing QR code payments aligns with the central bank’s commitment from the previous year to promote universal QR payment codes. This initiative aims to allow consumers to make payments by scanning a unified barcode. Currently, QR code payment systems are widely prevalent in China, with WeChat Pay and Alipay being dominant players.The PBOC has been actively testing the e-CNY, having introduced a pilot app in January 2022. The digital yuan pilot programs, initiated in late 2019, have expanded to encompass at least 26 locations across 17 provincial-level cities and regions, including major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Suzhou, according to state media Xinhua.The extent of China’s promotion of its digital yuan has been unmatched despite the fact that most central banks globally have had ongoing central bank digital currency-related (CBDC) projects open for a number of years already.Recent months have seen the launch of a whole host of initiatives to further the use of the CBDC. These initiatives have included integration of the currency into the education system in Jiangsu province, the installation of digital yuan ATMs in Hainan, among many other such projects, and paying state employees with the currency in Changshu. That said, despite these efforts, widespread adoption of the e-CNY remains a work in progress.Bringing about e-CNY integrationMu also emphasized that the existing interbank payment and settlement systems function effectively, indicating that there is no immediate need to replace them with the CBDC system. Instead, he suggested that seamless integration could be achieved by ensuring comprehensive interoperability between the e-CNY and existing electronic payment tools and commercial bank deposit systems.Moreover, at a wholesale level, Mu proposed the use of the digital yuan for settlement within the financial market infrastructure. Smart contracts could also be leveraged for such activities, thereby enhancing efficiency in wholesale payments.Mu’s remarks underscore the Chinese central bank’s determination in advancing the development and adoption of the digital yuan while ensuring it remains integrated into the existing financial ecosystem.

With Kazakhstan having recently indicated that it would create a national crypto reserve, the administrators of Kazakhstan’s existing sovereign fund now want to invest in crypto assets as well. According to a report published by Kursiv, a business media outlet covering Central Asia, the Kazakhstani authorities are planning to invest a portion of the country’s existing gold and foreign exchange reserves in crypto assets. The publication outlined that this was conveyed by Timur Suleimenov, governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan, in a recent press conference. Photo by ANSAR ARCHITECTS on UnsplashFollowing an international investment trendHe stated that the country has a portfolio of alternative investments, which includes gold and foreign exchange reserves. Within that particular portfolio, more aggressive investment strategies are pursued in an effort to generate higher investment returns. He added: “We looked at the experience of the Norwegian fund, the American experience, and the experience of Middle East funds. They have certain investments in either crypto assets directly, or in ETFs and shares of companies that are closely related to crypto assets. They are very small.” In 2024, it emerged that Norway’s sovereign wealth fund had indirect exposure to 2,446 Bitcoin. By January of this year, the sovereign fund had increased its indirect exposure further through an investment in pioneering American Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). In the Middle East, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which manages the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, has been exposing the fund to Bitcoin indirectly through investments in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), IBIT. Considering asset volatilityWhile moving towards a crypto investment within the alternative investments portfolio, Suleimenov struck a cautious note, stating: “This is not an easy question, so there is no need to rush here. Yes, such assets can bring high returns, but at the same time they are characterized by high volatility.” This latest development in Kazakhstan coincides with the release of a report by German multinational investment bank, Deutsche Bank. The research report has found that Bitcoin has reached a new all-time-high unit price amid a dramatic drop in the volatility of the leading digital asset when compared with times past.  The bank explained that this was a sign of a maturing market, while suggesting that Bitcoin’s volatility is likely to decline further as adoption grows. Reduced volatility is making crypto assets like Bitcoin more appealing to long-term capital allocators like sovereign wealth funds and pension funds. In an interview with Bloomberg back in May, Mike Novogratz, founder and CEO of American digital assets firm Galaxy Digital, said that he has had conversations with heads of large sovereign wealth funds that have said “if America is buying Bitcoin, we’re buying Bitcoin.”In March, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order setting out the establishment of a strategic Bitcoin reserve in the United States. In moving to establish a crypto reserve in Kazakhstan recently, Suleimenov suggested that international practice demonstrates that such a reserve may include confiscated crypto-assets, with Kazakhstan planning to proceed with the formation of the reserve on that basis.