China Will Separate NFTs From Cryptos With New Blockchain

China plans to draw a line between cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The country does not want to be behind the current NFT boom due to its crypto crackdown.

The Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN), a Chinese government-backed blockchain project, develops infrastructure to support businesses and individuals building platforms and applications to manage NFTs.

Officially known as the BSN Distributed Digital Certificate (BSN-DDC), the project aims to support the deployment of non-encrypted NFTs. The goal is to provide an application programming interface. This program will develop user portals and applications with fiat currency as the only payment method.

He Yifan, CEO of BSN tech support provider Red Date Technology, stressed that NFTs have no legal issues in China. Yifan said that people do not use NFTs with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. He added that the upcoming infrastructure would use an open A permission, permission blockchain enables on-chain governance.

By having a centralized entity manage the infrastructure and intervene in the event of illicit activity, Red Date plans to create a compliant NFT platform that is completely decoupled from encrypted regular configuration files.

State-owned China Mobile, China UnionPay, and the State Information Center support BSN’s NFT infrastructure. BSN-DDC will integrate ten blockchains, including adaptations of Ethereum and Corda, as well as WeBank’s Fisco Bcos.

Last year, Jujube Technology signed an agreement with the Turkish-China Business Matching Center to launch two international BSN portals in Turkey and Uzbekistan.

The new portal will enable blockchain developers in Turkey and Uzbekistan to build blockchain-as-a-service applications. These apps will use the global BSN portal, hosting major blockchains such as the Ethereum network, Algorand, Polkadot, Tezos, ConsenSys Quorum, Corda, and more programs.

Tonga To Copy El Salvador’s Bill Making Bitcoin Legal Tender

Another domino lined up and fell down the road to Bitcoinization. On Wednesday, a former lawmaker in the Pacific island nation of Tonga shared a play-by-play approach to the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender.

Tonga is a remote island nation that relies on remittances from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The International Finance Corporation estimates that Tonga receives more money from remittances than any other country in the world, accounting for 30 percent of household income.

Also, while Tonga has a population of only six figures, the Tongan diaspora is huge. The International Organization for Migration estimates that 126,000 Tongans live abroad, including 18,000 Tongans in Australia.

El Salvador’s main driver for adopting BTC as fiat currency is the remittance use case. According to the World Bank, Tonga remittances as a percentage of GDP are much higher than El Salvador, at 39% and 24%, respectively.

In a series of tweets, former Tongan MP Lord Faustua released an ETA for Bitcoin to become legal tender in Tonga. Copying El Salvador’s playbook, the move could add more than 100,000 Tongans to the Bitcoin network.

The announcement sowed doubts, predictions, and cheers from Bitcoin Twitter before the Tongans broke the record. He enthusiastically responded that the timeline for BTC to become fiat could happen as early as November or December of this year.

In 2021, there is widespread speculation that Tonga will be one of the following countries to adopt BTC as legal tender. Following Lord Fusitu’a’s podcast with Bedford-based bitcoiner Peter McCormack, speculation reached a fever pitch.

The then-Congressman shared the case for remittances that adopted Bitcoin as legal tender during the conversation.

Pakistan’s Central Bank Plans Wants To Ban Cryptos

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is reportedly seeking to ban all cryptocurrency transactions in Pakistan.

Multiple Pakistani authorities, including the SBP, have reportedly filed a document with the court, claiming that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are illegal in a hearing on the legal status of cryptocurrencies in Pakistan’s Sindh province.

The document cites at least 11 countries that have chosen to ban cryptocurrencies, including China and Saudi Arabia. The Central Bank of Pakistan has reportedly urged the courts to ban cryptocurrency activities and penalize cryptocurrency exchanges.

The SBP also cited several Federal Bureau of Investigation (FIA) investigations of cryptocurrency exchanges, citing investor protection risks and money laundering and terrorism concerns.

In early January, the FIA has ​​opened a criminal investigation into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. They have claimed that Binance is connected to a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency scam in the region.

The Sindh High Court has yet to ban cryptocurrency transactions in Pakistan, despite the SBP’s recommendation for a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies.

Instead, the court has ordered the bank’s appeal to be brought to the Treasury and Legal Departments, which will make a final decision on the legal status of cryptocurrencies in the country and determine whether the crypto ban is constitutional.

The news comes years after the SBP issued an initial ban on trading digital currencies and tokens in April 2018. The central bank argued that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or ICOs were not legal tender and guaranteed by the Pakistani government.

The latest move by the Pakistani government echoes similar events in many countries. For instance, the central banks of India and Russia are currently working to ban cryptocurrencies.

Japan-Based Cryptocurrency Exchange DeCurret Might Sell Hong Kong-based Amber Group

The holding company behind Japan-based firm DeCurret plans to sell its crypto business to investment platform Amber Group. Decurret provides digital asset trading and exchange in the country.

DeCurret Holdings intends to sell the crypto arm of its business to Hong Kong-based Amber Group in February. While the acquisition details are unclear, news outlets report that the price tag will be millions of dollars.

DeCurret established a new business structure in December 2021. They have formed holding company DeCurret Holdings and split its digital currency and crypto businesses into separate subsidiaries.

Under the proposed arrangement, DeCurret Inc. will represent the company’s crypto exchange business. Meanwhile, DeCurret DCP will handle digital currency operations.

With the imminent sale of its cryptocurrency unit, DeCurret reportedly plans to focus on digital currencies. Japanese regulators, including the country’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), acknowledge that currencies differ from cryptocurrencies.

DeCurret, which first launched in 2019, has since received regulatory approval from the FSA. They were proposed using cryptocurrencies as a payment method in Japan’s public transportation system. However, the cryptocurrency exchange cannot compete with major companies, including BitFlyer and Coincheck, and profits are dwindling.

In Hong Kong, Amber Group achieved a $1 billion valuation in June 2021 after closing a $100 million funding round. The crypto financial services firm has since backed projects, including decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch Network. They have launched their non-fungible token studio, Creator Finance.

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