China’s President Xi Jinping addressed the 2023 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, and Xinhua News Agency published the transcript of his speech. President Xi welcomed Iran as a full member of the organization and praised Belarus for joining.
He also emphasized the significance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and proposed expanding the use of local currency settlements among SCO countries, promoting sovereign digital currency cooperation, and establishing SCO development banks.
The People’s Bank of China reported in January that there were 13.61 billion digital yuan CBDCs in circulation, although it represented only a small fraction of the monetary supply.
Despite continuous promotion, the digital yuan has faced challenges in gaining widespread adoption.
READ MORE: President Xi Jinping Advocates for CBDC Expansion
In other news, a SIM card linked to the digital yuan CBDC will soon be available to Chinese consumers, according to a report by East Money.
The embedded digital wallet will allow individuals to make payments for phone bills even when their phones have no power.
Hong Kong’s crypto licensing costs have surged to HK$100 million ($12.77 million) since the license’s inception on June 1, as reported by Tencent News.
Obtaining a regulatory license is necessary for crypto exchanges to continue operations in Hong Kong.
Some teams have relocated to Malaysia, citing cost advantages and favorable conditions for crypto projects in Southeast Asia.
Multichain, a Chinese cross-chain bridge protocol, experienced a security breach resulting in the loss of over $126 million in funds.
The protocol’s private keys were compromised, and the stolen assets were transferred to another wallet address.
This incident follows a previous hack in July 2021, and the CEO of Multichain, Zhao Jun, has been missing for nearly two months, with rumors suggesting his arrest by Chinese authorities.
Singapore’s Monetary Authority will require Digital Payment Token (DPT) providers to place clients’ assets in a statutory trust by the end of the year.
Retail investors will be prohibited from accessing crypto lending and staking services, although these services will still be available to institutional and accredited investors.
The MAS aims to enhance investor protection and market integrity in DPT services.
Thai cryptocurrency exchange Bitkub has sold a 9.22% equity stake worth $17.1 million to Asphere Innovations PLC.
Bitkub holds significant assets and customer deposits, along with liabilities, and reported a gross profit in the first quarter of 2023.
It is the largest crypto exchange in Thailand, but its total assets decreased by 64% between December 2021 and December 2022.
South Korean NFT firm Line Next signed an agreement with Japanese video game giant Sega to remake one of Sega’s classic games on its Web3 gaming platform, Game Dosi.
The platform currently offers six titles, allowing players to buy and sell NFT heroes and compete against others.
Sega, known for its iconic franchise Sonic the Hedgehog, is a prominent player in the Japanese video game industry.
