šŸ’„Do Kwon Out on Bail, šŸš€Africa's Rising Blockchain Stars, šŸ›‘Argentina's Crypto Clampdown

May 13, 2023

Your 5 minute emerging markets web3 weekly update

In This Issue

Eastern Europe
šŸ”øTerraform Labs' Do Kwon Released on Bail in Montenegro Amid TerraUSD Fraud Charges
šŸ”øIRS and Chainalysis Assist Ukraine in Tracing Sanction-Evading Crypto Transactions

Africa
šŸ”øHuman Rights Foundation Grants $80,000 to Four African Bitcoin Projects
šŸ”øNigeria's Zone Shines as Only Blockchain Firm in Africa's Top 100 Fast-Growing Companies

Latin America and the Caribbean
šŸ”øVisa's NFT Solution Revolutionizes Financing for Small Businesses
šŸ”øArgentina's Central Bank Clamps Down on Crypto Transactions, Major Players Affected

Asia
šŸ”øCoinbase CEO Praises UAE's Forward-Thinking Crypto Regulations
šŸ”øHong Kong's Thriving Crypto Market: Access, Regulation, and Opportunities

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Eastern Europe

Image Credit: Stevo Vasiljevic via Reuters

Former CEO of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, and ex-finance officer, Han Chang-joon, have been granted bail by a Montenegrin court for 400,000 euros each. The Montenegrin court ordered the pair to remain under house arrest and police supervision, while U.S. and South Korean authorities seek their extradition. Both face an eight-count indictment in the U.S. for securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy linked to the collapse of stablecoin TerraUSD.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis are collaborating with Ukrainian authorities to trace Russian oligarchs potentially evading sanctions through crypto. The IRS has supplied licenses for Chainalysis tools to Ukrainian law enforcement and provided virtual training to approximately 50 officers, with in-person training expected in the future. Despite there being little evidence of crypto significantly contributing to Russia's war efforts, concerns persist that Russian oligarchs could utilize digital assets to circumvent U.S. and European sanctions.

Africa

Image Credit: Jeremy Bezanger via Unsplash

The Human Rights Foundation has granted a total of $80,000 to four African-focused projects. The grants were awarded to Meron Estefanos, who received $50,000 to establish the Bitcoin Innovation Hub Uganda, aiming to educate locals through Bitcoin awareness meetings. Bitcoin SƩnƩgal, led by Nourou, received $10,000 to continue organizing meetups, creating educational content, and onboarding local merchants to Bitcoin. Charlene Fadirepo's "Bitcoin in Africa Show" received $10,000 to continue providing education, insights, and thoughtful conversations about Bitcoin's impact in Africa, and Lorraine Marcel's Bitcoin DADA received $10,000 to provide education and empowerment for African women in the Bitcoin space.

Zone, formerly known as Appzone, ranked 74th on Financial Times and Statista's 'Africa's Fastest Growing Companies 2023' list, making it the only blockchain-based organization in the top 100. The Nigerian firm shifted from a cloud-based SaaS infrastructure to offer payment processing services supporting both fiat and digital currencies, aiming to facilitate a seamless coexistence of traditional and decentralized finance. Zone works with over 20 major African banks, fintechs, and OFIs and has obtained a payment switching license from the Central Bank of Nigeria, enabling its decentralized payment network to connect with various financial services providers.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Image Credit: Andrey Metelev via Unsplash

Visa has presented its solution for Brazil's central bank digital currency competition, offering a programmable finance platform for small and medium-sized businesses, particularly farmers. The solution enables tokenizing sale contracts into NFTs and auctioning them to global investors, providing local farmers with greater access to global capital markets. The platform's innovation lies in its tokenization feature, which turns traditional financing documents into on-chain tradeable NFTs and allows small businesses to access new sources of funding and investment through a global auction marketplace.

Argentina's central bank is tightening regulations on cryptocurrency transactions to curb potential risks to its financial system and users, barring registered payment service providers from facilitating unregulated and unauthorized digital asset operations. This directive affects significant market players like MercadoLibre, Bind Pago, Mobbex, Nubi, and Pomelo. While some, like Binance and Bitso, claim the new rules do not affect them, there is widespread concern about the restrictive measures, with Bitcoin Argentina, an NGO that promotes cryptocurrency and decentralized technology in the country, labeling them as "surprising and arbitrary," potentially driving savers towards riskier informal solutions.

Asia

Image Credit: TechCrunch via Wikimedia Commons

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has praised the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for its forward-thinking approach to crypto regulations during his visit to the country, part of a global tour to regions with favorable crypto regulations, including the UK and the European Union, as Coinbase expands its international platform. Armstrong commended the UAE's dedicated crypto regulator, clear rulebook, business-friendly environment, and strong customer protections. The UAE has become a hub for crypto firms, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi attracting crypto exchanges and registering numerous Web3 companies, contributing to the country's growing prominence in the crypto industry.

Hong Kong remains committed to providing access to crypto trading for its citizens, even as other jurisdictions take a step back, according to the FinTech Association of Hong Kong Chair Neil Tan. Hong Kong is stepping forward by implementing a licensing regime for crypto exchanges, which will include retail trading, starting on June 1st. The region aims to provide a legal and regulated environment for crypto, attract talent and infrastructure providers, and meet the increasing demand for cryptocurrencies in investment portfolios.

Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead!

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Written by Jon Lira. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

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