152059
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Visa and Transak Revolutionize Crypto-to-Fiat Transactions Worldwide 📌
💳 Visa, the global payment powerhouse, is taking a giant leap into the world of cryptocurrency by joining forces with Web3 innovator Transak. This groundbreaking partnership aims to redefine how we exchange digital assets for traditional money, without relying on centralized exchanges.
🔗 Thanks to the integration of Visa Direct, crypto enthusiasts can now seamlessly convert their digital fortunes, such as Bitcoin, straight from their MetaMask wallets to a trusty Visa debit card. No more waiting around – this solution offers real-time withdrawals, making it easier than ever to turn your crypto holdings into spendable fiat currencies.
🌍 And the best part? This game-changing collaboration isn't limited to a select few. Users from 145 countries, including hotspots like Cyprus, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, can now enjoy the freedom of converting 40 cryptocurrencies directly into cash, all while bypassing those pesky centralized exchanges.
⏱ With transactions processed in under 30 minutes, Visa Direct's lightning-fast program ensures that your crypto-to-fiat conversions are as close to real-time as possible. Plus, with support for over 40 major cryptocurrencies – think Ethereum, Solana, and even Dogecoin – this service is truly catering to the diverse needs of the global crypto community.
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Russian Crypto Miners Fume at Moscow’s Plans to Raise Their Electricity Tariffs ⚠️
🔴 Russia’s biggest crypto mining industry association has hit out at Moscow’s plans to increase electricity tariffs for miners. The Ministry of Energy wants miners to fork out between two and five times more than they currently pay. As mining is not yet classified as a state-recognized form of “entrepreneurship,” most Russian miners currently pay the same kind of rates as residential homes. While power providers have been given the authority to raise miners’ hourly tariffs, the majority want Moscow to legalize the sector.
➡️ This would allow power companies to charge at higher unsubsidized industrial or commercial rates. But per Comnews, the Industrial Mining Association (APM) thinks that this will force miners into a “gray zone” of semi-illegality. The APM said that Russia is currently a “global leader” in the crypto mining sphere, but warned the nation would lose this advantage if the ministry’s plans are accepted. The head of Russia’s biggest mining firm this month claimed that mining in Russia was set to become far more profitable than in the US.
🟢 The ministry, however, thinks higher tariffs will discourage overzealous miners from setting up shop in some of Russia’s most remote regions. Energy chiefs last month said that the “depletion of energy capacity in certain regions of Russia” was becoming a problem. They think crypto miners are hindering the connection of “larger infrastructure and socially significant facilities” to power networks. In 2020, BitRiver miners claimed that one of their data centers was paying just RUB 1.11 (currently just over $0.01) per kilowatt for power.
✅ The same miners claimed that this center, located near an undisclosed Siberian town was Russia’s largest crypto mining farm.
💰 P3D is about to bounce hard : 3x short-term target for the RWA L1 📈
This dip is an awesome opportunity to load up on quality RWA projects. 3DPass $P3D managed to put in a green daily candle while BTC dumped, so it looks primed to 🚀 once BTC bottoms out today or tomorrow.
The first target is $0.0295 (+70%), then $0.0412 and $0.488 (+177%).
💰 Fundamentals look solid, too: 3DPass is an L1 chain for object tokenization. It prevents digital assets from being copied & has some really cool use cases in banking, AI, e-commerce & IoT.
🔥 RWA projects with real utility should be your priority in this dip – the mid-term target for P3D could be an easy 10x.
Trade 3DPass on MEXC
South Korean Gov’t to ‘Completely Review’ Crypto Tax Law 📣
👌 The South Korean government says it will “completely re-examine” the “need” to tax crypto traders on their earnings. As things stand, traders are set to be taxed on their earnings from January 2025.
🟢 But per News1, the government will “review” its stance on the taxation of crypto trading profits. This follows a recent decision to do away with taxes on gold investment. The government wants to spark growth in the investment markets. But it could also revisit previous promises to revitalize the crypto industry.
♾ At a press briefing, Jeong Jeong-hoon, the head of the Tax Department at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, was asked if the government was still planning to go ahead with the launch of capital gains tax for crypto holders. Joerg replied:
💬 “Cryptoasset taxation is also a matter that should be discussed in the National Assembly, after the abolition of gold investment tax.”
🟥 Crypto traders have complained that it is unfair that they should pay tax on their investments while gold traders are untaxed.
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Cybersecurity Risks in the Cryptocurrency Industry ⚠️
➡️ The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) social media account being compromised is concerning. Impersonations and hacks are nothing new in the cryptocurrency space but could the hack have been avoided?
🟢 After the post, the SEC started an internal market manipulation investigation on itself. X, formerly known as Twitter, confirmed the SEC’s account was compromised when it posted the fake spot Bitcoin ETF approval announcement.
♾ Senator Cynthia Lummis tweeted: “Fraudulent announcements, like the one that was made on the SEC’s social media, can manipulate markets. We need transparency on what happened.”
👑 X confirmed that the compromise did not stem from any vulnerability in their systems. Instead, an unidentified individual gained control over a phone number associated with the SEC account through a third party.
📣 In turn, the SEC then tweeted the importance of protecting your investment accounts. Despite the false announcement, analysts believe that this security lapse won’t be a reason for the delaying of spot Bitcoin ETF approval which is expected to happen late on Wednesday. Unfortunately, instances of market manipulation in the cryptocurrency sector are a recurring tactic.
South Korean Gaming Giant WeMade Must Pay $41M ‘Crypto Tax’ Bill
➡️ The South Korean gaming firm WeMade has been hit with a $41 million tax bill for its crypto-related activities. Yonhap reported that the National Tax Service (NTS) issued the bill following an investigation into the firm’s historic crypto business operations.
🟢 The NTS said it had issued the bill “as a result of the Central Regional Tax Office’s integrated corporate tax investigation” into the firm “for the period 2019 to 2022.” The tax body said WeMade’s payment deadline was February 29, adding that the surcharge to equity ratio was 10.05%.
📣 WeMade is one of the nation’s keenest blockchain gaming proponents. The company created a blockchain and crypto-focused subsidiary named Wemade Tree in 20218. WeMade initially spun this firm off, but in February last year, reabsorbed it into its parent company.
🔔 The firm also launched a cryptoasset named WEMIX. The coin has experienced mixed fortunes, running into a circulation data-related controversy that resulted in multiple domestic delistings in late 2022.
🟠 The company launched an unsuccessful legal bid to reverse the delisting decision in the summer of last year. However, the coin enjoyed something of a resurgence in 2023, re-listing on many of the same platforms.
South Korean Police Shut Down ‘Gangsters’ $32m Crypto Scam Ring’ ♾
🔴 South Korean police say they have swooped on a $32 million chat app-based crypto scam ring that they say was being run by a network of “gangsters.” Per Chosun Ilbo, Busan Metropolitan Police, the group comprised nine groups of “violent gangsters” who operated bogus “crypto reading room” sites on chat app platforms.
➡️ Officers said they had arrested eight individuals suspected of operating the “reading rooms,” as well as 79 “accomplices.” Police said that the gang convinced 572 people “nationwide” to part with their money.
🟢 A police spokesperson said the group had “opened and operated” bogus online crypto sites. Members then allegedly “recruited investors, managed bank accounts, and laundered money.”
📌 Police said the gangs’ members were all young; in the “millennial and Gen Z” age groups. In a series of nationwide raids, officers seized assets including motor vehicles, cash, and other items worth a combined $1.9 million.
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Blockchain Security Firm CertiK Warns OKX IOS Users to Update After Flagging Vulnerability 📌
📣 Blockchain security firm, CertiK has urged OKX users on IOS devices to update the software to the latest version after it identified a vulnerability with the potential of causing data and asset losses. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the firm informed users of the discovery urging them to make the update immediately to avoid being victims of a potential security breach.
💬 “Earlier this month, we identified and reported a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in the OKX iOS App, leading to potential compromise of sensitive data and crypto assets.”
➡️ The post also mentioned that the OKX team acted swiftly on the information and released an updated version today. The digital asset exchange thanked the security firm for the update adding that the upgrade has been completed and this is no longer an issue.
💬 “We’ve completed the relevant upgrade & this is no longer an issue. We have verified that this did not impact any customer assets.”
Russia Poised to Let Miners Sell Coins Abroad as ‘Exports’ 📣
🟢 Russian industrial miners may be given the right to sell cryptoassets as “export products,” the nation’s finance ministry said. Per RBC, the country’s Deputy Minister of Finance Ivan Chebeskov made the comments at a round table event named “Cryptocurrency and the Future of Digital Finance.” Chebeskov said that the ministry had prepared a bill that would allow miners to “export cryptocurrency as a product of mining activity.” He said:
💬 “We have special legislation for the export of gas, for example. Using such examples, we developed a concept. This will allow miners to export the product of what they have mined – namely, cryptocurrency. It could become an export product. This legislative initiative is being created in Russia.”
➡️ Russian politicians have previously launched several attempts to legalize crypto mining. But progress has stalled on each occasion. Part of the reason for this has been an impasse between government ministries including the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank. The latter wants to enact a nationwide crypto ban, while the former favors a more progressive, pro-business approach to the sector.
Segregation of Exchanges, Market Makers and Custodians Necessary for Crypto Businesses to Thrive 📌
✅ The cryptocurrency sector may be advancing, yet industry experts are becoming aware that exchanges, market makers and custodians must act as separate entities in order for businesses to succeed. While it’s common to keep financial actors separated within traditional finance, this concept has often gone overlooked within the cryptocurrency industry.
🟢 Caitlin Long, chief executive officer and founder of Custodia – a chartered U.S. bank specializing in digital assets – told Cryptonews that many individuals within the cryptocurrency space are unaware of how unusual it is for market makers, exchanges and custodians to operate as the same entities. “This is a major problem the industry faces. I truly believe that, especially custodians, should be segregated so we don’t have shenanigans like FTX happening again,” she said.
➡️ To put this in perspective, Margaret Rosenfeld, chief legal officer at Cube.Exchange – a hybrid crypto exchange – told Cryptonews that the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX occurred because financial actors were not kept as separate entities. She said:
💬 “The biggest issue with FTX was that the exchange acted as a custodian with its own market maker. When Alameda Research hedge fund began losing money – which was the market maker on the exchange – FTX accessed its customer assets in an attempt to solve the problem.”
AXA, Generali Jump on the RWA Wagon Following Purchase of SocGen’s Green Bonds ⚠️
➡️ AXA Investment Managers and Generali Investments have recently joined the growing bandwagon of companies purchasing tokenized green bonds as the digitalization of real-world assets (RWAs) gains momentum.
➡️ According to a press release by French banking giant Societe Generale, it issued its first digital green bond as a security token on the Ethereum blockchain. The tokenized security token registered as SG-FORGE came with a 10 million Euro ($10.8 million) price peg during its official launch on November 30, 2023.
❗️ Now, Societe Generale has revealed that AXA Investment Managers and Generali Investments have fully subscribed through a private placement.
⚡️ Providing details behind the tokenization of its green bonds, Societe Generale stated that it is geared towards increasing transparency and traceability as well as improving fluidity and speed in transactions and settlement.
🟠 The RWA green bonds are described as unsecured with a maturity window of three years. Upon reaching the majority window, the net proceeds will be allocated to finance the banking giant’s Eligible Green Activities, as defined in its Sustainable and Positive Impact Bond framework.
Ukrainian Lawmakers Mull Two Crypto Tax Bills 🟢
🟥 Ukrainian lawmakers are set to debate two crypto tax bills, as Kyiv looks to raise money from crypto traders. Per Minfin and PSM7, Yuriy Boyko, a member of the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market, confirmed that the regulator was the author of one of the bills.
🔔 Boyko said he assumed that “specialists from the Ministry of Finance and the State Tax Service worked on” the second bill. This bill’s author is MP Anton Shvachko, and the text was drafted, at least in part, by the Ministry of Digital Transformation.
✅ Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, said:
💬 “We expect parliament to support this draft law and help develop new digital industries. Business support will be the foundation of Ukraine’s economic growth.”
⚡️ Meanwhile, the regulator, which is yet to reveal the full details of its own proposal, said that it had worked with EY (Ernst & Young) and the USAID Financial Sector Reform Project on the draft. The bills are now in the consultation stage. Boyko noted that “almost 200 comments” had been made on the commission’s draft law.
Estonia Fights Back: Extradition of Crypto Fraudsters to the U.S. Back on Track ‼️
📣 In a stunning turn of events, Estonia has given the green light to extradite Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, the masterminds behind a jaw-dropping $575 million Ponzi scheme involving crypto ventures Hashflare and Polybius Bank.
➡️ The Tallinn Circuit Court's previous objections were swiftly overturned as Estonian Minister of Justice Kent Lalle reassured that the accused would face "humane" and "lawful" conditions in American custody.
🟢 This decision is a testament to Estonia's commitment to upholding the rule of law, ensuring that the rights of its citizens are not disproportionately affected.
➡️ It's been over a year since Potapenko and Turõgin were apprehended, but the shockwaves from their alleged misdeeds continue to reverberate across borders.
🔔 U.S. Attorney Nick Brown aptly described the scale of their alleged scam as nothing short of mind-boggling, with funds funneled into extravagant properties, luxury cars, and secret virtual wallets worldwide.
➡️ As justice takes its course, this latest development serves as a reminder that even in the complex world of cryptocurrencies, fraudsters can't escape the long arm of the law.
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❗️❗️ $MEMEMINT is about to explode: crucial level flipped 🔥
A very important S/R flip here for $MEMEMINT - the last time it happened it did 2x from $0.0038 to $0.007 in 5 hours.
Should hold here with the first target at 0.786 fib ($0.006) and then all the way up to 1.618 fib at 0.009.
Could be a very quick 2.5x on MEXC or BitMart. 📈
$MEMEMINT is gearing up for the launch of a trading card marketplace + educational platform with lots of utility for the token, so this could have multiple waves up in the mid-term. 💎💎
Definitely worth DCAing in case Bitcoin drops further to 37k to hold till the next memecoin run in March or April.
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Moonwell’s Bold $2.3M Plan to Counter Frax Hack Debt Sparks Controversy ⚠️
🔴 Moonwell, a decentralized finance (DeFi) borrowing and lending protocol, is facing controversy over its proposal to use $2.3 million worth of digital asset collateral to offset bad debt from Frax Finance (FRAX) pools due to a hack nearly two years ago.
📌 In a plebiscite held on December 31, 2023, Moonwell sought community approval to use a combination of Nomad collateral and protocol reserves to address its Frax bad debt. The plebiscite titled “Options for Enhancing Liquidity in the FRAX Market on Moonbeam” saw over 98% of the 25 million votes, denominated in Moonwell’s WELL token, in favor of using a combination of Nomad collateral and protocol reserves to address the Frax bad debt.
⚠️ However, concerns have been raised by users, including Horatio Lucas, who argues that the Nomad collateral belongs to individual owners and cannot be used to offset Moonwell’s bad debt without their consent. Lucas alleges that Moonwell is benefiting from the proposed misappropriation of Nomad users’ funds.
🔔 Lucas alleges that Moonwell is the party benefiting from the proposed use of funds and accuses Moonwell of misconfiguring the Nomad asset oracle before the Nomad hack. He claims that Moonwell intends to refinance its bad debt through the misappropriation of Nomad users’ funds.
Coin Center Responds to Scathing Letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren 📌
➡️ Coin Center has responded to allegations made by Senator Elizabeth Warren claiming the crypto non-profit was working to “undermine bipartisan efforts in Congress” by hiring “former defense, national security, and law enforcement officials.”
🔔 Executive Director of Coin Center, Jerry Bitro, posted a letter to X rebuking Warren’s demands for the crypto organization to reveal its hiring practices, citing it has “no obligation to answer these questions beyond the public disclosures we make under the law.”
❗️ Moreover, Bitro condemns Warren for publicly chastising Coin Center in the letter sent last month, which was also sent to Coinbase and the Blockchain Association.
💬 “Your letter, which you made public, discourages participation in important public policy debates and chills these rights,” Bitro wrote in part. “It equated our good-faith engagement with “stonewalling” and “undermining” congressional efforts; it characterized passionate and patriotic advocacy as providing a mere “veneer of respectability” to crypto; and it repeatedly and inappropriately invoked the events of October 7 alongside child abuse and crime, as if we are indifferent or complicit in these tragedies.”
🟢 Warren, who has long held an anti-crypto stance, is currently championing both the Crypto-Asset National Security Enhancement and Enforcement Act as well as the Digital Asset Money Laundering Act, which Coin Center opposes.
South Korean Crypto-related KOSDAQ Stocks Soar on Bitcoin ETF News ‼️
➡️ South Korean crypto-related KOSDAQ stocks “soared” on the news of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s approval of 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs. No South Korean crypto firm has yet floated on the Korean Exchange. However, several listed companies have crypto-related interests.
🟢 Kangwon Domin Ilbo reported that venture capital firms with stakes in big South Korean crypto exchanges were the biggest winners in the market on January 11. These include Woori Technology Investment, which saw its price rise almost 30% to a 12-month high on January 11.
➡️ Hanwha Investment & Securities also posted a 30% day-on-day share price rise after the American ETF news broke. Both firms own shares in Dunamu, the operator of Upbit. The latter is South Korea’s largest virtual currency exchange by revenue and trading volume.
🔔 Another crypto exchange investor, T Scientific, posted a share price rise of over 20% on the same day. The firm’s parent company Wizit also witnessed a 29.89% rise. T Scientific owns a stake in Bithumb Korea, the operator of the crypto exchange Bithumb, Upbit’s closest rival.
North Korea Stole Over $600 Million in Crypto in 2023 📣
➡️ According to TRM Labs’ latest report, the analytics data firm suggests that the total could be closer to $700 million following a number of unconfirmed hacks committed in the final days of 2023 thought to be committed by North Korea.
♾ TRM Labs’ data follows a year that saw the U.S. government enact a number of sanctions against several of North Korea’s state-sponsored crypto-related malware initiatives, including crypto mixer Sinbad and hacking collective Lazarus Group, both of which sharing the goal of obtaining virtual currency to support the authoritarian regime’s military expansion.
💬 “The DPRK’s use of illicit facilitation networks to access the international financial system and generate revenue using virtual currency for the regime’s unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs directly threatens international security,” said Brian E. Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, following sanctions last year. “The United States and our partners are committed to safeguarding the international financial system and preventing its use in the DPRK’s destabilizing activities, especially in light of the DPRK’s three launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) this year alone.”
🟢 TRM labs claims an estimated $3 billion worth of crypto has been stolen by Pyongong-based actors since 2017. Moreover, the data analytics firm found crypto-related hacks backed by the government of North Korea to be at least ten times more damaging than their counterparts.
✅ Since “the DPRK’s money laundering methods constantly evolve to evade international law enforcement pressure,” the country “continued exploring other laundering tools” following the U.S. government’s hard-hitting sanctions last year.
Crypto Miners’ Bitcoin Reserves Hit Lowest Level Since May Amidst Increased Selling Pressure 📌
➡️ Bitcoin miner reserves have reached their lowest point since May, signaling increased selling pressure as the largest cryptocurrency records a December gain of more than 13%.
➡️ Data from CryptoQuant indicates that Bitcoin miners’ reserves have been steadily decreasing since the beginning of December. In the past 24 hours alone, miners reportedly sold around 3,000 bitcoins, bringing their total holdings to approximately 1,834,447 BTC.
🔴 On December 28, the net flow of Bitcoin stood at minus 1,524 BTC, indicating that withdrawals exceeded the new coins minted. This ongoing trend raises questions about potential selling activities by miners and their impact on the overall market dynamics.
➡️ The decline in miner reserves started in late October and has accelerated this month, reaching 1.832 million BTC from October’s high of 1.845 million. In the last 24 hours alone, miners reportedly sold approximately $129 million worth of BTC at the current trading price of $42,891.
🟥 Despite BTC’s price rising from $30,000 to nearly $45,000 during this period, the ongoing reduction in miner balances is noteworthy. The impact of miner activity on the prospects of bullish price continuation is a topic of discussion among analysts.
Multiple Crypto Influencers Struck By SIM Swap Attacks 🔔
➡️ SIM swappers are beginning to target crypto influencers ahead of the holidays, with some taking control of their high-profile accounts on X.
👉 Some include the accounts of crypto investment firm Manifold Trading and its founding partner, Jae Chung. Unlike regular posts about platform products and market analysis, both accounts posted a series of malicious links to crypto drainers, which have already claimed some victims.
🌟 Chung confirmed to CoinTelegraph that the hack was caused by a SIM swap, but that only his and the company’s X accounts were impacted. Anything “fund-related,” he said, remains safe.
🗣 Hence a SIM swap is when a hacker takes control of your phone number, usually by convincing a cell carrier to switch your number to a SIM in their possession. Naturally, this gives the hacker access to any accounts for which a victim uses that number for two-factor authentication.
Bitfinex Market Analysts Predict $3.2 Trillion Crypto Market Capitalization 🟥
❕ Bitfinex analysts say the digital asset market capitalization could hit $3.2 trillion if bullish factors remain amid soaring prices towards the end of the year.
👉 In a new market report, the firm made market projections ahead of the new year with present market forces and indices highlighting the growth recorded so far amid regulatory challenges in several jurisdictions.
⚠️ According to the report, 2024 is met with a positive outlook from several quarters in the industry because of the drive of investors and asset prices pushing through despite a shaky start of the year.
✅ Market analysts at the company predict the total market capitalization to tap $3.2 trillion with present bullish sentiment trickling into the new year. With the current market cap at $1.6 trillion, an uphill run hinged on several factors including institutional inflows on the back of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
CFA Renews Accusations Against Circle ❓
➡️ In an open letter addressed to Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown, CFA executive director Michelle Kuppersmith claimed that Circle’s CCTP “may be used to facilitate what appears to be the fastest growing vehicle for illicit finance in the digital asset space.” She pointed specifically to the protocol’s support for transfers to the Tron blockchain network.
💬 “Tron has been named in multiple law enforcement actions involving billions of dollars in transactions by alleged organized crime groups and sanctioned entities,” the letter stated.
📣 Kuppersmith argued that by allowing USDC stablecoin transfers to Tron, Circle is effectively enabling money laundering and criminal activity on the network. These accusations originally surfaced last month, when the CFA sent its first letter to the senators accusing Circle of inadequate anti-money laundering practices.
❗️ At the time, Circle’s head of public policy Dante Disparte strongly denied the claims in a blog post, stating that the allegations were based on unverified social media posts. Disparte emphasized that Circle actively monitors blockchain activity and suspends access to suspicious counterparties, while also reiterating that Circle no longer maintained any relationship with Justin Sun or his affiliated entities.
🔥 Catch this great price on $CROWD before the Coinstore listing tonight 🔥
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(chart)
💰 The current $0.038 entry on $CROWD is a real gift, because $CROWD will get listed on the Coinstore CEX later today (22:00 UTC+8). You know what this means, so try to catch it and DCA between $0.036 and $0.04 for the next green wave.
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X (Twitter)
Binance Withdraws Application for Abu Dhabi License, Reassessing Compliance Needs ✅
🔴 Binance has officially withdrawn its application for a financial license in Abu Dhabi, according to Reuters. This move is indicative of the exchange’s ongoing reassessment of its global operations and licensing requirements.
📌 The application, submitted by BV Investment Management, a Binance unit, aimed to manage collective investment funds as per the details on the regulator’s website. According to a spokesperson for Binance, the move to retract the application was a strategic decision to align with the company’s reassessed compliance needs.
💬 “When assessing our global licensing needs, we decided this application was not necessary,” said the spokesperson.
➡️ This application, filed a year ago and officially retracted on November 7th, signals a potential shift in Binance’s operational focus and global strategy. Despite the timing, the decision to pull the license application was “unrelated” to the U.S. settlement, according to the spokesperson.
Solomon Islands and Soramitsu Unveil Partnership To Launch CBDC Pilot 📣
⚠️ The Central Bank of Solomon Islands has revealed a partnership with Japanese blockchain Soramitsu to launch a proof-of-concept for a CBDC named Bokolo Cash.
🟢 In a Keynote speech on Tuesday, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said his country was embarking on the CBDC journey with the goal of leveraging technology as “a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable development, ultimately fostering shared prosperity across our beautiful nation.”
➡️ Bokolo Cash will be equivalent to one Solomon Islands dollar, and citizens will be able to use it for transactions in retail environments within the capital city of the island nation, Honiara, as well as for person-to-person transfers.
⤵️ Commercial banks will test wholesale transfers, along with simulated cross-border payments and remittances. Additionally, users will be subjected to a “two-tier” Know Your Customer verification process, according to Soramitsu.
📌 Bokolo Cash is set to run on a specifically tailored blockchain built on Hyperledger’s Iroha, while will also integrate with Soramitsu’s public Sora blockchain. Through this connectivity, users will have the ability to conduct transfers using QR codes and leverage the self-custody Fearless Wallet, a product developed by Soramitsu.
Hong Kong’s Victory Securities to Offer Digital Asset Services in Retail Markets 📣
🔔 Hong Kong’s investment management firm, Victory Securities has obtained approval to offer digital asset services to retail clients expanding the country’s number of cryptocurrency licences.
♾ In a Nov 24 press release, the company made the announcement that it obtained a license from the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to offer digital asset services adding that this development makes it the first licensed corporation to offer those associated services to clients.
💬 “Victory Securities… which has been rooted in Hong Kong for 50 years, has made significant progress in the field of virtual assets and became the first company in Hong Kong to obtain approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) to provide retail investors with A licensed corporation for virtual asset trading and advisory services.”
📌 According to the statement, Victory Securities will integrate virtual assets with the traditional finance ecosystem and allow retail clients to participate in the model getting and trading assets seamlessly.
✅ The company also hailed the commitment of the Hong Kong authority as it sets itself to become the destination of the International Virtual Asset Center.
📌 Seeking to connect both branches of finance, the firm wants to create a platform where users can flexibly allocate assets and offer investment advice to retail users including periodic research reports.