Global Fintech Insights: Digital Yuan Hub, Japan’s DCJPY, Blockchain Triumphs, and Finland’s Instant Payment Revolution

Global Fintech Insights: Digital Yuan Hub, Japan’s DCJPY, Blockchain Triumphs, and Finland’s Instant Payment Revolution

by | Oct 13, 2023 | News

Explore the cutting-edge developments in the world of digital currencies, from China’s groundbreaking digital yuan hub to the impending launch of Japan’s DCJPY. Discover how Finland is embracing the digital euro, and witness JPMorgan’s successful cross-border payments pilot with First Abu Dhabi Bank.

China Unveils Shenzhen Hub for Digital Yuan CBDC Innovation

China has launched an industrial park in Shenzhen aimed at fostering the development of the digital yuan ecosystem. 

This groundbreaking initiative, reported on Oct. 11 in Chinese media, marks the establishment of the first-ever park dedicated to the central bank digital currency (CBDC), also known as the e-CNY.

Situated in Shenzhen’s Luohu district, adjacent to Hong Kong, the industrial park is commencing its operations with nine initial residents. 

Reports indicate that the district government has introduced ten strategic initiatives to accelerate the growth of the digital yuan ecosystem. These initiatives encompass the advancement of payment solutions, smart contracts, hard wallets, and the promotion of the digital yuan.

In an effort to incentivise new residents, the government is offering compelling benefits, including up to three years of rent-free accommodation. 

Commercial banks that choose to establish a presence in the park can receive incentives of up to 20 million yuan ($2.7 million), while startups may be eligible for support of up to 50 million yuan ($6.9 million). 

The total government support allocated for this endeavour amounts to 100 million yuan ($13.7 million). Additionally, favourable loan terms are being extended to participants.

Notably, among the inaugural residents of the park are prominent entities such as Hengbao, Wuhan Tianyu Information, and Lakala Payment. Hengbao and Tianyu are engaged in the production of payment cards, among other endeavours, while Lakala Payment operates as a payment processor and collaborates with Visa.

China has implemented numerous strategies to stimulate the adoption of the digital yuan, which is currently in the pilot phase. 

This initiative spans 26 cities participating in the pilot program, and the central bank digital currency (CBDC) is already accepted by 5.6 million merchants—a number that is expected to steadily increase, thanks to government support and technological advancements.

Notably, the digital yuan app recently introduced a feature allowing tourists to link their Visa and Mastercard accounts, further enhancing its accessibility. Despite these efforts, the adoption rate is still perceived as sluggish, with 261 million digital yuan wallets created as of 2022.

Japan to launch its digital currency in 2024

In a significant development, the DCJPY, a digital currency backed by the Japanese yen, is set to launch in July 2024. This ambitious project is spearheaded by DeCurret Holdings, a digital currency and electronic payments firm, as detailed in their white paper released on October 12.

The DCJPY Network, outlined in the white paper, will comprise two key zones: the Financial Zone and the Business Zone. 

The former will facilitate banks in minting digital currency deposits on the blockchain, while the latter will be dedicated to conducting transactions. 

Additionally, the Business Zone will serve as a platform for the issuance of nonfungible tokens, security tokens, and governance tokens.

Aozora Bank, a commercial institution with 19 branches in Japan, is poised to become the principal issuer of DCJPY. 

The digital currency will be fully backed by Japanese yen deposits. 

In 2021, DeCurret reported the formation of a consortium consisting of 70 Japanese companies that will participate in the DCJPY Network. While the white paper doesn’t disclose specific participant names, DeCurret boasts the support of 35 shareholding companies, including prominent names such as Japan Post Bank, Mitsubishi, and Dentsu Group.

In related news, the Bank of Japan, in May 2023, disclosed the results of the second phase of its central bank digital currency experiment and is on track to make a final decision on issuing a “digital yen” by 2026. 

Simultaneously, Binance and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation are actively exploring the issuance of Japanese yen and other foreign currency-denominated stablecoins within the country.

First Abu Dhabi Bank Successfully Concludes Cross-Border Payments Testing on JPMorgan Onyx

In a significant milestone, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has wrapped up its cross-border payments testing on JPMorgan’s Onyx platform. This achievement follows a similar pilot conducted by Bank ABC in Bahrain. 

JPMorgan, known for its cutting-edge blockchain solutions, has also introduced its Tokenization Collateral Network on the Onyx platform.

The blockchain-based cross-border payments pilot project between JPMorgan’s Onyx Coin Systems and FAB was executed seamlessly, with response times meeting expectations, according to an official statement.

Notably, the FAB pilot concluded shortly after a successful test in Bahrain, where Bank ABC trialed the Onyx system and subsequently initiated a limited launch of services. 

JPMorgan’s permissioned distributed ledger, launched in 2020, has been gaining substantial traction in recent months. Tyrone Lobban, the Head of JPMorgan Onyx Digital Assets and Blockchain, disclosed that the platform currently processes a daily volume ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion.

Moreover, Onyx has expanded its reach beyond the Middle East, serving as a platform for euro-denominated payments in Europe since June. 

During the same period, it also facilitated interbank United States dollar settlements in India through collaboration with a consortium of six banks.

On October 11, JPMorgan’s groundbreaking Tokenization Collateral Network, operating on the Onyx blockchain, recorded its first public trade.

In this instance, money market fund shares were tokenised and securely deposited at Barclays Bank to support a derivatives exchange between JPMorgan and BlackRock.

The finance industry has witnessed increased interest in tokenisation, with Mastercard testing its Multi Token Network in June and Citigroup introducing Citi Token Services in September.

This collaborative effort, concluded in June, was initiated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank for International Settlements. It focused on creating a liquidity pool of tokenised bonds and deposits for lending and borrowing purposes.

Finland Forges Ahead with Instant Payments and Digital Euro Initiatives

The Bank of Finland (BOF) is taking active steps to foster innovative payment solutions. 

BOF, under the guidance of Tuomas Välimäki, a BOF board member and a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), has announced its role in coordinating the development of a Finnish instant payment system aligned with European standards. 

Välimäki emphasized the significance of the digital euro, referring to it as the most prominent project within the European payment sector. He highlighted the potential of a digital euro, stating, “The possible introduction of a digital euro would give consumers the option of paying with central bank money wherever electronic payment is accepted.”

The Bank of Finland, in collaboration with the European Payments Council, is actively engaged in crafting this Finnish instant payment solution. 

It’s worth noting that this solution will be based on credit transfers, eliminating the reliance on traditional payment card infrastructure.

In February 2023, a Finnish company named Membrane Finance took a significant step by launching a fully reserved stablecoin backed by the euro, known as EUROe. 

Membrane Finance CEO Juha Viitala expressed optimism about EUROe’s potential to encourage more Europeans to explore decentralised finance (DeFi) applications and enhance their financial well-being.

On October 18, the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB) initiated the “preparation phase” for the digital euro project, a two-year period aimed at finalising regulations for the digital currency and selecting potential issuers. 

Finland’s proactive stance in embracing instant payments and exploring the digital euro reflects the country’s commitment to staying at the forefront of modern payment solutions.

China creates another blockchain national hub in Yunnan and Alibaba joins it

China creates another blockchain national hub in Yunnan and Alibaba joins it

by | Mar 17, 2020 | News

China has opened a new blockchain centre in Yunnan province. This new centre aims to allow companies to trace their products and fight the sale of fake ones. China hopes this centre will become a new technology hotspot.

The blockchain centre in Yunnan was opened on Sunday, March 15.

The centre is hosted in Wuhua Technology Industrial Park in Kunming, the capital city of the Yunnan province, which is considered a remote and a less-developed province in China.

Quite a few blockchain companies will operate from the new technology centre, including a platform which will trace consumer products and food using blockchain. This is the first provincial platform of this sort.

By opening this new facility in Yunnan, the authorities hope to boost the adoption of blockchain in the region and that Yunnan will become a national hub for technology.

Some of the most known companies that occupy the new technology centre in Yunnan include the e-commerce giant Alibaba, Hyperchain and the blockchain-as-a-service provider Uni-Ledger. Currently, there are a total of 24 companies that occupy the centre.

To aid the tracing and sourcing locally produced goods, a new protocol was set in place, called the “Peacock Code,” in which companies and providers participate.

The name of the “Peacock Code,” comes from the idea of the local ethnic communities which believe that the peacock is sacred. The Yunnan region is among the largest producers of agricultural products in China. Their main products are tobacco, tea, sugar and coffee.

But the blockchain platform can be be used for other functions as well (medical records management, legal evidence management, e-invoicing and supply chain financing) as they are used in other Chinese major cities.

Also, there was also set in place a blockchain alliance, which included 38 members (research institutions, educational groups and companies) that are not present in the region.

The movement towards blockchain adoption started in 2019, by the government, when they introduced the first blockchain-based invoice system, in the province, for touristic attractions.

The entire world is taking notice of China’s efforts to pursue the blockchain adoption as a mainstream technology and this could lead to China being a leader in this sector.

Last year, the president of China himself urged the adoption of the blockchain technology in the country, arguing its abilities to reduce costs to business processes.

Crypto World January 2020: Coinbase moves to Ireland, IPO approved in Switzerland, Deutsche Bank foresees widespread adoption

Crypto World January 2020: Coinbase moves to Ireland, IPO approved in Switzerland, Deutsche Bank foresees widespread adoption

by | Jan 30, 2020 | News

The first month of 2020 has come to an end and the crypto world has a lot going on. So what happened in the Crypto World in January 2020?

Coinbase is moving to Dublin, Ireland to serve European customers

Following the Brexit announcement, Coinbase has launched Coinbase Custody International Inc. in Dublin, Ireland, to handle European cryptocurrency deposits. The company has acquired an Irish e-money license in October 2019.

Coinbase explained their decision in a blog post and wrote:

“While Coinbase Custody has served European-based clients in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and more since 2018, our dedicated presence in Europe will allow us to offer these services in a completely localized way, with local staff, localized [service-level agreements] and in compliance with local laws,”

Coinbase and Coinbase Custody Internationa are two different companies and aim to provide support for the European demand for investment and cryptocurrency.

Swiss Incorporates a Blockchain IPO

Andriotto Financial Services , a Swiss company has been allowed to incorporate for an initial public offering (IPO) of tokenized shares on a blockchain.

The company has stated that it will be using the blockchain technology to keep the shareholders registry and tokens will be used to represent shares.

The firm’s IPO prospectus indicates an offering of 8,399,000 “common equity share security tokens” on the ethereum blockchain, with smart contracts provided by with EURO DAXX, a digital assets exchange based in the country’s “Crypto Valley” city of Zug. The offering price will be €1.25 ($1.38) per share.

IBM has received a U.S. patent for a token that can record its own transaction data.

Referred to as the “self-aware-token”, the token makes it easier for all participants to trace transactions, even when it’s used on other platforms, than the IBM payment platform.

The patent describes the ledger-based system, which is designed to record all data when is not used on the IBM platform. When the token rejoins the ecosystem, it automatically uploads the data.

Awarded by the U.S. Patent Office on Jan. 7, the patent outlines a ledger-based payments system that could make it easier for individual users, businesses and governments to track and trace transactions made using a cryptocurrency.

The token itself cannot store any information, but it would use personal devices or a dedicated database.

Such tokens can prove to be useful for a business trying to discover which crypto have been used for criminal activities, to ensure that they haven’t been corrupted or to enforce regulations.

Singapore Announces New Regulation for Crypto Businesses

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is updating its regulatory framework for digital payments.

Singapore announced the DPT (Digital Payment Token) as a service, to cover all crypto businesses and crypto exchanges based in Singapore, under the current anti-money laundering (AML).

As a result, any crypto business in Singapore has to first register and then apply for a license to operate.

MAS Assistant Managing, Director Loo Siew Yee, stated:

“The Payment Services Act provides a forward-looking and flexible regulatory framework for the payments industry,”

“The activity-based and risk-focused regulatory structure allows rules to be applied proportionately and to be robust to changing business models. The PS Act will facilitate growth and innovation while mitigating risk and fostering confidence in our payments landscape.”

Deutsche Bank Says Digital Currencies Could Be Mainstream in 2 Years

A report from Deutsche Bank states that digital currencies have “potential to radically change payments, banking, central banking and the balance of economic power.”

This could mean that we will see widespread adoption within the next few years.

Considering China’s digital yuan and the Facebook project of launching Libra, this could lead to introducing digital currencies to over half of the world’s population.

Ukraine Will Track Crypto Transactions Above $1,200

According to the head of the country’s Ministry of Finance, Oksana Makarova, Ukraine plans to track crypto transactions exceeding $1,200.

Last month, the Ukrainian president, Volodymir Zelensky, signed a law which reinforces anti-laundering practices for cryptocurrency transactions.

For the first time., The law included cryptocurrency as an asset to be monitored. The threshold for triggering the scrutiny process is 30,000 Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH), or US$1,200. 

The Ministery of Finance stated:

“If exchanges, exchangers, banks or other companies make payments in cryptocurrencies worth more than UAH 30,000 in equivalent, they must verify such transaction and collect detailed customer information,”

“The customer must provide comprehensive information about the origin and destination of their virtual assets.”

The Coronavirus Outbreak in China Could Weigh on Crypto Prices

After the Coronavirus epidemic broke out this month in China, most crypto clients cancelled their meetings in China, as nobody wants to attend any conference or meeting during this time.

China is a crypto investment hub and it has the most crypto exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region, and the epidemic will disrupt business and can potentially impact prices.

Marketing events are crucial for crypto investments, but these will be put on hold until the crisis goes away.

Jason Wu, the CEO and founder of non-custodial crypto lender DeFiner stated:

“The market might take a heavy blow if the money stops flowing into these crypto asset classes as it usually did before,”

Aside from the epidemic, the Chinese New Year is also a bad time for investments, as many prefer to cash out during this time. But VCs are confident that they will see those investments coming back.

How blockchain copyright protection can fight piracy

How blockchain copyright protection can fight piracy

by | Jan 16, 2020 | News

Blockchain can help protect content creators and artists from pirates. How does blockchain copyright protection work?

Copyright is still an issue today, and artists and companies are still struggling to get pay for their work and products. But the good news is that blockchain copyright protection is now available and can change that story, forever.

First, let’s give an example oh how the blockchain technology is transforming copyright protection all over the world.

In December, the famous cartoonist Gary Larson, declared that his favourite comic strip, The Far Side, will be available online, with fresh content.

Larson long resisted the appeal of the online as a result of concerns of how his work would be used, and requestion websites to not use his strips from that a late-90s as an “unauthorized” reproduction. He asked, “Please, please refrain from putting The Far Side on the web,” he wrote. ” These cartoons are my ‘children’ of sorts, and like a parent, I’m concerned about where they go at night without telling me.”

So this examples leaves us with the following question: “If more famous struggle with copyright infringements, where does that leave the rest of us?”

Fortunately, copyright protection is just one of the more fascinating use cases of blockchain, and we are already seeing its possible effect, with a variety of organizations exploring the idea.

Here is how blockchain can alter the way we manage copyrights for intellectual property, and how blockchain technology in transforming copyright protection, using examples from bigger publishers.

Why do you need blockchain copyright protection?

To answer how and why we need to use blockchain for copyright protection, we first need to understand the basics of blockchain technology.

Blockchain utilizes a decentralized model that produces a ledger. The distributed ledger records the listings in a way that nobody can ever alter them, and all this need to be confirmed by consensus.

For artists and founders, there are obvious advantages; using blockchain, they can basically timestamp a the creation of something (and after revisions), supplying evidence of possession of the creation. That info will be immediately made public, and could effectively be immune from tampering or alteration.

That evidence of initial ownership is essential if battling piracy and implementing rights claims. A few blockchain copyright service offer you the capacity to determine prospective rights problems –such as somebody seeking to enroll an already-listed product or work, or unauthorized use of a picture –and alert that the first proprietor. Blockchain technology will not eliminate piracy entirely, but it might provide tools for IP owners to enhance and guard their rights.

Smart contracts are another extraordinary feature of blockchain. It enables the ledger to execute transactions between different individuals when certain conditions are met.

Who can help you enhance your blockchain copyright protection?

Many organizations are already researching the way how to use blockchain for copyright protection.
For example, the nonprofit Content Blockchain Project is centred on developing an open standard called the International Standard Content Code identifier, that could be utilized for all sorts of media–such as text, songs, pictures, and movie. The initiative expects to supply the core infrastructure for this system, such as smart licenses for trades.

Po.et is just another project that sees a route to some “better internet” through real-life ownership, in addition to monetization and detection performance. Its own “Proof of Existence” protocol was constructed with these tenets in your mind; although it was initially intended to be built on Ethereum, the team partnered with blockchain development platform Echo and will tie its potential to Bitcoin.

Pixsy is a blockchain-driven service centred on pictures, and it is a thorough offering: it monitors over 50 million pictures throughout the world wide web daily to locate cases of breach of registered images. If it finds an unauthorized usage, Pixsy’s copyright attorneys can ask for fees on your behalf.

Another company is GoChain, a venture blockchain solutions firm which operates with these customers as Lenovo and Microsoft, in addition to Rights Chain, which utilizes blockchain as only 1 part of its own rights management platform (alongside electronic signature technology ). Even giant Sony Music Entertainment Japan has turned to blockchain to get a digital rights management (DRM) solution, employing an Amazon Internet Services-based system to guarantee ownership rights.

China wants copyright protection using blockchain

Copyright law may be complex, and it is different in each country, but it is necessary because it enables artists to sign their work as intellectual property.

The potential of blockchain technology in transforming copyright protection is under a magnifying glass, but we are a long way from mass adoption of using blockchain for copyright protection.

For instance, China’s courts have recently employed a blockchain-based method for demonstrating ownership and handling proof in copyright infringement disputes. China explicitly said that it wants more blockchain in its systems.

A Chinese author, Chen Hongyan has utilized the system to conserve considerable time and money in the process of Implementing IP rights, a part of a broader movement to utilize the blockchain to automate judicial procedures from major Chinese cities.

If this procedure takes off, we might see it used all over the world.

Open Network service from Baidu aims to help small developers to build DApps

Open Network service from Baidu aims to help small developers to build DApps

by | Jan 8, 2020 | News

Baidu, the Chinese online giant, started a blockchain-based service for developers and small and midsize-businesses to build dapps (decentralized software).

The new service, translated as Open Network from the Chinese, will enable users to develop and deploy applications without building their own blockchain platforms, according to a Chinese media report by STCN, a state-owned daily newspaper. 

The Open Network is a part of Baidu’s business blockchain community Xuperchain and intends to entice smaller users with a better price and technological challenges.

The network can be also considered a way in which the Chinese government tries to embrace the blockchain technology and its desire to encourage its use by smaller businesses throughout the country.

How much does it cost to use the Open Network platform from Baidu?

Baidu stated the price of using the new service can be as low as 1 yuan (US14 pennies ) using its quantity-based fee arrangement until March, according to the report. The new service enables clients to use smart contracts templates along with other practical elements created to boost efficacy, in order to simplify the procedure and build new apps.

According to their site, the Xuperchain system has almost 3.5 million consumers and has processed over 450 million trades. The system has seven masternodes such as Tsinghua University and streaming solutions giant iQiyi to assist and confirm transactions on the stage.

Baidu announced in May it would make its Xuperchain community open source to people and start looking into the possible challenges its potential users could experience.

The new service isn’t the organization’s first attempt to assist programmers to build their own software. In February, Baidu Cloud established Baidu Blockchain Engin (BBE) to handle computing and storage problems for programmers when they attempt to construct programs.

Baidu launched its own Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform in January 2018. The system aims to be the blockchain infrastructure for apps. Unlike the newest Company, the BaaS platform needs companies and developers to have their very own blockchain first.