The cryptocurrency business is thriving, but there are a lot of things happening, including the Indian Central Bank (RBI) publishing a concept note on its CBDC (Digital Rupee), Polygon & OCEEF bringing deep sea exploration to Web3, Kazakhstan granting Binance a permanent license to offer digital asset services and much more!
In this issue:
- Indian Central Bank publishes concept notes on its CBDC, Digital Rupee.
- Polygon and OCEEF bring Deep Sea exploration to Web3.
- Kazakhstan grants Binance a permanent license to offer digital asset services.
- $NEAR protocol partners with Google Cloud to accelerate Web3 startups.
- Mastercard pushes deeper into crypto with a new tool for combating fraud.
- Japan’s PM announces NFTs and Metaverse expansion.
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Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to soon commence the pilot launch of the Digital Rupee, releases concept note on Central Bank Digital Currency
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said it will soon commence the pilot launch of the e-rupee for specific use cases and also released a concept note on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) that aims to create awareness about such currencies in general and the planned features of the Digital Rupee in particular.
As the extent and scope of such pilot launches expand, the RBI will continue to communicate about the specific features and benefits of the digital rupee, from time to time, it said in a statement.
“The e-rupee will provide an additional option to the currently available forms of money. It is substantially not different from banknotes, but being digital it is likely to be easier, faster, and cheaper. It also has all the transactional benefits of other forms of digital money,” the RBI said.
The RBI’s note stressed the importance of identifying “innovative methods and compelling use cases that will make CBDC as attractive as cash if not more.” It said it has been working towards a phased implementation strategy, going step by step through various stages of pilots followed by the final launch, calling the current zeitgeist a “watershed moment in the evolution of currency that will decisively change the very nature of money and its functions.”
While re-emphasizing the dangers of cryptocurrencies as a threat to the stability of the financial system, the RBI has touted its CBDC as a “risk-free central bank digital money which will provide the users the same experience of dealing in currency in digital form, without any risks associated with private cryptocurrencies.”
Polygon and OCEEF bring Deep Sea exploration to Web3
The Polygon team announced via a blog post on October 6, that it has partnered with the Ocean Conservation Exploration and Education Foundation (OCEEF). The partnership is designed to advance ocean literacy by finding new and engaging ways to give people exposure to deep-sea missions. In addition to supporting the project through the purchase of NFTs, Polygon said its distributed governance platform would help OCEEF increase engagement.
In addition to supporting the project through the purchase of NFTs, Polygon’s distributed governance platform will help OCEEF increase engagement. Participants will be able to assist in decisions, including:
- Missions: Following scientific committee recommendations, the community will be able to support the selection of missions from the shortlist.
- Participation: OCEEF will open submissions for students to join the team onboard and will select groups from the applications for each mission. There will also be the opportunity to take part in dives themselves, which will be made available through funding support NFTs.
- Locations: Out of future itineraries, the community will be able to support the selection of countries. OCEEF can get Special Research Permits and conduct operations in unique locations that are closed to all other visitors. This is also an exciting opportunity for the participation pillar.
“Being able to facilitate a global endeavor such as the one that OCEEF is undertaking is very humbling,” said Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon. “I know that our technology is up to the task of bringing these types of immersive, educational, and change-making experiences to people all over the globe.”
Kazakhstan grants Binance a permanent license to offer digital asset services
After a build-up of multiple memorandums of understanding (MoU) and an initial “in-principle” approval to operate in Kazakhstan, Binance received a permanent license to operate in the country.
As of Oct. 6, the Republic of Kazakhstan’s AIFC Financial Services Authority (AFSA) granted the permanent license to both manage a digital asset platform and provide custody services at the Astana International Financial Center.
This newly acquired permanent license gives Binance official status as a regulated platform in the country. Gleb Kostarev, Asia Regional Head at Binance, said this is another step for Binance being a “compliance-focused exchange.”
Binance began laying the groundwork for operations in Kazakhstan earlier this year when it signed its first MoU on May 25, through which it pledged to help further crypto adoption and regulation in the country. Followed by a second on Oct. 3 to help fight financial crime.
This development out of Kazakhstan follows multiple actions by authorities to increase the crypto-related opportunities in the country.
NEAR protocol partners with Google Cloud to accelerate Web3 startups
NEAR Foundation, the company behind blockchain and dApp platform NEAR Protocol, announced a new partnership with Google Cloud. In this partnership, Google Cloud will provide technical support for NEAR grant recipients. In this partnership, Google Cloud will provide the infrastructure for NEAR’s Remote Procedure Call (RPC) node provider to Pagoda, NEAR’s Web3 startup platform, allowing developers to deploy code quickly, securely, and seamlessly.
Pagoda helps developers easily and rapidly launch dApps on NEAR through a library of pre-audited templates and auto-generated contract user interfaces.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with those who pioneered the Internet as we know it,” says Marieke Flament, CEO of the NEAR Foundation. “This partnership marks a new chapter for us as we continue to offer the best support possible for the next generation of visionaries choosing to build on the NEAR protocol.”
We will be supporting NEAR and giving Web3 developers the most secure, reliable, and sustainable cloud infrastructure on which they can build and scale,” Carlos Arena, Director of Digital Assets at Google Cloud. “We continue to support tomorrow’s leaders in creating new products and services on blockchain-based platforms.”
Mastercard pushes deeper into crypto with a new tool for combating fraud
Mastercard is launching a new software tool aimed at helping banks “identify and cut transactions” from crypto exchanges prone to fraud.
According to a report by CNBC, the software, which is known as “Crypto Secure”, will use utilize “sophisticated” artificial intelligence in scanning data from public records on crypto transactions. This will enable it to detect and gauge the risk of transactions between exchanges and banks, essentially helping banks prevent potential fraud.
The service will be powered by Cipher Trace, a California-based security startup acquired by Mastercard last year.
The startup investigates illicit transactions involving cryptocurrencies and competes with market leaders in the crypto security sector, such as Chainalysis and Elliptic. Although the platform does not make a judgment on whether to block a specific crypto merchant, it helps banks flag suspected transactions by displaying color-coded ratings on its dashboard-with the severity of risk ranging from red for “high” to green for “low”.
This is the latest product launch by Mastercard even as it expands its tentacles into the fast-growing crypto sector and keeps pace with its main rival Visa- which has been making notable strides in the sector. The launch also comes on the heels of record-high crime levels in the nascent digital asset market. According to a report by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, crypto-related crimes raked as much as $14 billion last year.
Japan’s PM announces NFTs and Metaverse expansion
Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida continued calls for Web3 technology integration. He announced plans to expand investments in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse in a policy speech on Monday, Oct 3. The country has steadily been promoting investment in digital technology, including through tax incentives for companies that embrace a digital future.
In his speech to Japan’s parliament, Kishida said the country will continue to focus on “supporting the social implementation of digital technology” and will “promote efforts to expand the use of Web3 services that utilize the metaverse and NFTs.”
Japan’s federal foray into Web3 follows a trend of officials taking strides to implement Web3-related services in the country rather than following the typical bureaucratic route that policies must often travel through.
Kishida’s administration recently established a Web3 policy office under the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), which is focused on creating policies for the country’s gradual blockchain expansion.
In April, a task force launched by Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party and led by politician Akihisa Shiozaki released an “NFT white paper”, which called Web3 the “the new frontier of the digital economy” and outlined plans to advance the national strategy on Web3.”
Closing
That’s it for now! Thanks for reading today’s newsletter! Be sure to have a look at the Blog section to read our previous editions as well! Have a look at our Guides section if you’re interested in learning more about crypto! And finally, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!
