The cryptocurrency market remains slightly bullish with Bitcoin (BTC) trying to consolidate at $27,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $27,439, down 2.90% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had lost 3.30% to trade at $1,748. XRP was trading at $0.4199, down 9.30 in the same period.
The major cryptos, which have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are Binance Coin (BNB – $322.32, -4.20%), Dogecoin (DOGE – $0.0742, -2.70%), Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00001066, -3.10%), VeChain (VET, $0.0228, -3.10%), IOTA (IOTA – $0.0228, -4.40%), Stellar (XLM, $0.0913, -4.50%), Polkadot (DOT, $6.07, -4.40%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $125.89, -5.90%), Cardano (ADA, $0.3578, -3.80%), Tezos (XTZ, $1.14, -3.50%), Solana (SOL, $21.45, -4%), ChainLink (LINK – $7.18, -3.50%), Avalanche (Avax- $16.80, -3.90%), Internet Computer (ICP, $5.07, -3.30%), and EOS (EOS – $1.10, -6.30%).
Government level initiatives
China’s Digital Yuan Enters WeChat Pay for Trial
Chinese government-backed digital yuan, which is currently undergoing trial, has been enabled in WeChat Pay, the digital payment wallet of the largest social media platform in the country. Currently, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) can be utilized for quicker payments both in the WeChat app and also in multiple WeChat mini schemes. Furthermore, the digital yuan is being promoted on a limited basis in Hong Kong. Two years ago, the digital yuan was initially trialed using Hong Kong residents visiting mainland China.
The digital yuan (e-CNY) is generally attached to a bank-offered wallet. In order to use the CBDC in WeChat, both wallets much be synchronized, implying that there is a need to use a common mobile number.
One of the highlighted goals of the CBDC is to facilitate interoperability between distinct payment apps. The major players are WeChat Pay and Ant’s Alipay. Chinese media outlet The Paper has also pointed out that WeChat Pay also allows the use of a digital renminbi wallet provided by MYbank, which has a tie-up with rival Alipay.
Thailand Approves Tax Breaks for Investment Tokens
The cabinet of Thailand has approved tax breaks for enterprises issuing investment tokens. The taxes include both value-added tax and income tax. Thailand differentiates several kinds of tokens. So, the main recipients of the tax break are expected to be real estate developers who frequently use tokenization.
The Deputy Government Spokesman Rachada Dhnadirek has assessed that in the forthcoming two years, there would be 128 billion baht (or ~$3.60 billion) worth of investments through tokenization of projects, leading to waived tax revenues of 35 billion baht ($1 billion).
Investment tokens are a category of digital assets, unrelated to tokenized securities, which are governed along with traditional securities. It also eliminates utility tokens and cryptos that do not offer ownership rights.
In particular, an investment token offers rights to investors in a venture but is not regarded as a security. Notably, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published guidelines specifically for the real estate sector.
The SEC has issued a license to multiple businesses focused on cryptos or digital tokens. Until now, only three exchanges, namely utility and investment tokens) have been licensed for digital tokens. Both of them mainly deal with real estate tokens. The third is TDX, the digital asset subsidiary of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), which is yet to commence operations.
Reserve Bank of Australia and DFCRC Reveal CBDC Trial Progress
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) provided a glimpse of their retail and wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) trial endeavor. One of the partners chosen for the 14 CBDC use scenarios is Mastercard, which has joined hands with Cuscal on an interoperable CBDC for trustworthy Web3 commerce. The intention is to pave way for the use of an eAUD on public blockchains.
The trial endeavor will utilize the CBDC to settle for the purchase of an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain. As the CBDC is not issued on a public blockchain, the trial will “unfreeze” the necessary funds on the CBDC platform and release a comparable sum of wrapped tokens on Ethereum. Nevertheless, for the transaction to take place, the Ethereum wallets of the buyer and seller and the smart contract itself needs to be whitelisted initially. The trial will demonstrate the likelihood of enforcing controls on a public blockchain, including KYC (know-your-customer) guidelines.
Private sector initiatives
AXA Receives Digital Asset License from French Regulator for Trading and Custody
Insurer and asset management company AXA has received a digital asset license from the French market regulator AMF. The investment management firm also owns a license for providing digital asset custodial service, implying that the firm is authorized to buy, sell and trade digital assets.
Two more popular institutions having AMF licenses are Societe Generale Forge and state-run social impact bank Caisse des Depots.
AXA IM and Societe Generale-Forge already have a solid business relationship. In December 2021, the asset manager acquired a stake in the European Investment Bank’s public blockchain bond with backing from AXA France. SocGen, through its framework, also handled the bond issuance on the Ethereum blockchain and sold the debt to AXA IM.
Disclaimer: Any financial trading analysis offered here is our opinion and is not intended as advice or direction for investors. We cannot guarantee the success of any trades made as a consequence of this article, and we encourage traders to incorporate a strong money management strategy to limit losses when they enter the markets. Please use this article as part of your own research before formulating strategies prior to trading.
