Web 3.0 TokenBytes - Second Edition
Syed Musheer Ahmed
FinTech Ballerina | ex-Regulator | Virtual Assets | FinTech | Web 3.0 |
Welcome to the second edition of the FinStep Asia's Web 3.0 Newsletter covering Web 3.0, DeFi and FinTech in Asia.
We begin with the latest Finstep Tipping Point Thought Leadership Series where I am in conversation with Sean Lee, the CEO of Algorand Foundation, about the role of FinTech in climate improvement and carbon offsetting. Click here to view the video and read the summary.
We discuss about the role of blockchain in environmental sustainability as well as the evolution of Green DeFi (Decentralised Finance). Sean takes a deeper dive into what makes Algorand one of the greenest blockchain protocols, while highlighting some exciting projects on Algorand.
<>News on Metaverse and Web 3.0 (Click on the headline to view the detailed article)
With the buzz surrounding the metaverse, virtual humans, which serve as a human-computer interface against the backdrop of metaverse, have become popular again and high tech companies are investing. 5G, AI and VR technologies have fueled the virtual industry and with limited human interaction during the pandemic, the virtual world has gained its popularity and has a wide range of application settings, not only restricted to entertainment, but also in education, broadcasting, among a range of other fields. The virtual human market is still in its startup stage and China has been catching up in recent years. China released policies to encourage innovation and development of virtual human in October 2021. A recent example of promoting the virtual human market would be the use of an artificial intelligent (AI) sign language virtual anchor in the upcoming Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. By 2030, the total market size of China's virtual human is forecast to reach 270 billion yuan ($42.4 billion), according to an industry report published by QbitAI on December 23, 2021.
Tennis Australia has partnered with Decentraland to host the Australian Open (AO), which makes it the first official tennis grand slam in the metaverse. Tennis fans around the world can access the tennis tournament from January 17. AO has created a virtual replica of the Melbourne Park including the Rod Laver Arena and Grand Slam Park for fans to walk around in with behind-the-scenes footage from over 300 cameras around Melbourne Park, including the exclusive player arrivals area and the practice village. Meanwhile, the AO has also announced it would be teaming up with NFT platform Sweet to release six NFT collections commemorating the last five decades of the AO.
Walmart, the US retail giant and the world's largest company by revenue, has taken an interest in metaverse and is planning to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of NFTs to launch a virtual shopping experience in the metaverse. The company filed 7 trademarks in December 2021 with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which indicates that it is planning to make and sell virtual goods like electronics, home decorations, toys, sporting goods and personal care products, etc. and that the company would be offering users virtual currency and NFTs. As pointed out by Bloomberg, Walmart also filed trademarks for the names “Verse to Home,” “Verse to Curb,” and “Verse to Store,” a hint that Walmart may be preparing a virtual shopping experience.
Even though China banned trading and mining of cryptocurrencies last year, it is not completely backing out of blockchain technology. A Chinese state backed blockchain company, Blockchain Services Network (BSN) is planning to roll out new infrastructure that would support the deployment of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The infrastructure, named the BSN-Distributed Digital Certificate (BSN-DDC) , will offer application programming interfaces to businesses or individuals to build their own user portals or apps to manage NFTs. Only Chinese yuan would be used for trading instead of cryptocurrencies. The BSN-DDC will integrate 10 blockchains, including modified versions of Ethereum and Corda, plus domestic ones like Fisco Bcos. As public blockchains are illegal in China, BSN will use an adapted version of blockchain called BSN open permission chain that would make it easier for public blockchain projects to enter the Chinese market legally. It has already attracted more than 20 partners. The new infrastructure has potential to disrupt the current industry and NFTs in China will have annual output in the billions in the future.
Samsung promises ‘groundbreaking’ new TV feature that will provide NFT support
With the demand for NFTs on the rise, Samsung, an electronic giant, is aiming to introduce extensive support for NFTs beginning with its 2022 TV lineup. It is ready to introduce the world’s first TV screen-based NFT explorer and marketplace aggregator, that would allow its users to share their art and would allow potential buyers to preview an NFT before purchasing it and learn about an NFT’s history and blockchain metadata.
Here is a look at five startups of Asia in 2022 that have made notable strides over the past year.
Related News:
<>News on DeFi
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued a consultation paper for regulating #cryptoassets, in particular #stablecoins.
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The HKMA states that while the need to regulate is well justified, and the tool to regulate (which is primarily a technical question about whether a new legislation or amendments to existing legislation(s) is/are needed) could be decided at a later stage, the MA consider it an opportune time to gauge the feedback of the industry and the public on the scope of the intended regulation. The MA will take into account the feedback and consider the next steps including assessing the need to issue further documents on specific aspects of the regulatory framework in 2022/23. They aim to introduce the new regime no later than 2023/24.
According to Chainalysis’ 2022 Crypto Crime Report, Cryptocurrency-based crime reached an all-time new high of $14 billion in 2021 as opposed to $7.8 billion in 2020. The drastic increase in crypto crime was due to the growth in the total transaction volume across all cryptocurrencies to $15.8 trillion or a 550 percent from 2020. This makes transactions involving illicit addresses just 0.15 percent of cryptocurrency transaction volume in 2021.
Related News:
<>News on Fintech
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has created a new fintech department within the Bank in view of the dynamic and rapidly changing fintech landscape in the country. Through an internal circular, RBI announced that the department is created with effect from 4th January, 2022 by subsuming the fintech department of DPSS (Department of Payment and Settlement Systems). The department is aimed at promoting innovation as well as identifying challenges and opportunities in the Indian fintech sector and addressing them timely and effectively. It will also provide a framework for further research on the subject that can aid policy interventions by the Bank. Through the newly created department, RBI will be monitoring innovation and incubation in the FinTech sector, which have wider implications on the financial market, like DeFi, cryptocurrencies, NFTs and metaverse more closely.
Dr Saurabh Garg, CEO, UIDAI, said that over 50 million Aadhaar authentication is taking place per day and over 400 million last-mile banking transactions are being done every month through Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS).
Talking about Aadhaar 2.0, Dr.Garg mentioned that it will ensure faster automated biometric matching solutions, with a primary focus on the security of the ecosystem. He said that the authority is exploring possibilities for the usage of blockchain, quantum computing.
“We are looking at what blockchain has to offer, whether blockchain can be utilised in any manner for making decentralized-level solutions, it’s on the horizon. Cost-effective but secure Aadhaar data wall solutions, confidential computing, as a technology how we can use in authentication, are some of the possibilities we are exploring. In quantum computing, we need to look at whether there are quantum resilient security solutions.”
Downloads of China’s digital yuan wallet app had reached over 20 million as of Monday, following its debut two weeks ago, data from mobile app stores including Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo showed. The rise in downloads came just ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which begin in February. The Olympic Games mark the first time that the central bank-backed sovereign digital currency will be available for international users. According to reports, overseas users will be able to set passwords, top-up and find transaction details.
Year in Review 2021 Reports:
Stay tuned for biweekly updates on Web 3.0, FinTech and DeFi news impacting Asia. Don't forget to subscribe and recommend the newsletter to your network!
We will also start featuring Web 3.0 firms on the newsletter in the coming weeks. Reach out to musheer@finstep.asia if you would like your company to be featured or have an interesting firm in Asia in Web 3.0 that you would like to recommend!
Musheer Ahmed's Profile: Musheer is the Founder & Managing Director of FinStep Asia, which is building Asia’s next generation of Businesses. FinStep Asia enables Fintech and Blockchain firms in their innovation journey through venture building, growth advisory, bespoke research and curated content creation.
With over 16 years of experience in Trading and FinTech, Musheer has been one of the key contributors in building the Fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong as the cofounder and inaugural General Manager of the Fintech Association of Hong Kong. He has worked closely with several regulators and government bodies on fintech and digital economy policy, providing advisory and delivering workshops on a range of topics.
He is on several advisory boards and a mentor/advisor to several startups, while a regular guest lecturer at many universities in Hong Kong and Singapore. He is cofounder of IndiaTech HK, a platform bridging Indian & Chinese tech ecosystem via Hong Kong and is also Board Member & Co-lead Islamic Fintech, Global Impact Fintech Forum (GIFT), a leading global body created by global Fintech champions from 60+ countries. He is a regular contributor and author of articles on Fintech, Digital Banking, Islamic Fintech and Investment Banking and been quoted in various media channels, including on CNBC, Bloomberg, SCMP, Financial Times, S&P, Asian Investor, Economic Times, etc.,