September 19, 2022

🛂Do Kwon's passport cancelled, 🚓Jail time for crypto trading in Egypt, 📱NFT citizenship in South Korea

September 19, 2022

September

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All the emerging market blockchain & crypto news you needin less than 5 minutes

In This Issue

Asia•LAW ENFORCEMENT: South Korean authorities launch process to cancel Do Kwon's passport•METAVERSE: NFT citizenship in upcoming South Korean virtual city

Africa•REGULATION: Crypto trading in Egypt = jail time•STABLECOINS: South African stablecoin project appoints Old Mutual to manage cash reserves

Eastern Europe•PARTNERSHIP: Binance partners with Ukrainian supermarket chain to accept crypto payments•REGULATION: Russia's Prime Minister sets December deadlines for digital asset proposals, state press release

Latin America & The Caribbean•POLITICS: El Salvador's pro-Bitcoin President announces reelection•BLOCKCHAIN: Buenos Aires lawmaker introduces bill to use blockchain for social aid payments

Asia

Image Credit: David Von Diemar via Unsplash

South Korean's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun the process to cancel the passports of Terraform CEO, Do Kwon, and four other South Korean nationals associated with the failed multibillion dollar crypto project, in a move to make them "illegal aliens" and pressure them to return to South Korea to face prosecution. Arrests warrants have also been issued to the five South Korean nationals and Greek national and founding member of Terraform Labs, Nicholas Platias. They have been charged with violating the Capital Markets Act.

The city of Seongnam, the 12th most populated city in South Korea, is planning to build a Metaverse version of the city that is anticipated to be operational by next May or June 2023. The city also decided to issue non-fungible token-based (NFT) citizenship to access municipal information. Additional details on the metaverse platform and NFTs will be released in October.

Africa

Image Credit: Amr Taha via Unsplash

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has warned Egyptian crypto investors again that crypto trading is banned and may result in imprisonment and a fine up to LE10mm (roughly USD $519.3K). In a statement, the CBE's reasons for its renewed warning include high price volatility, financial crime, e-piracy, and crypto is not issued by the CBE. In 2020 the Central Bank passed the Law No. 194 of 2020 that prohibited issuing, trading, or promoting cryptocurrencies, creating or operating platforms for trading it, and carrying out related activities. Violation of the law would result in imprisonment, and a fine between LE1mm and LE10mm.

ZARP, the fully collateralized South African Rand stablecoin project, has appointed Old Mutual, one of South Africa's oldest and most trusted financial institutions, to manage its cash reserves underpinning the stablecoin. Old Mutual Wealth managing director, Farhad Sader, said the partnership “pushes the boundaries of innovation, historically dominated by traditional businesses. This space will evolve, and our partnership will enable us to be a part of the journey.” According to ZARP's latest audit report dated May 16, 2022, it has R68,223,506.79 worth of ZARP in circulation (approximately USD $3.9mm).

Eastern Europe

Image Credit: Austin Kehmeier via Unsplash

VARUS, one of Ukraine's largest supermarket chains, has partnered with Binance to enable crypto payments for groceries via Binance Pay wallets. VARUS has 111 stores over 28 cities in Ukraine. The pilot will initially be rolled out across nine cities in Ukraine, Kyiv, Dnipro, Kamianske, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia, Brovary, Nikopol, Vyshhorod, and Pavlograd.REGULATION: Russia's Prime Minister sets December deadlines for digital asset proposals, state press release (4 minute read, original article in Russian)

Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, has set December deadlines and given instructions to various governing bodies in Russia, including the Central Bank of Russia, Ministry of Economic Development, and Ministry of Finance, to submit proposals and draft legislations related to digital assets. By December 1st, the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank must submit proposals related to the use of digital assets to prevent interruption in payment for cross-border trade, "including the use of decentralized technologies." By December 19th, the Prime Minster decreed that draft legislation must be submitted "regulating the issuance, organization of issuance and circulation of digital currency,…mining,…the use of digital currencies in international settlements,…[and] the use of the digital ruble in the budget process."Want more Eastern Europe news?•US Treasury sanctions 5 crypto addresses connected to Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group•Russia’s Tech Giant Rostec to Test Digital Asset Payments in International Trade

Latin America and The Caribbean

Image Credit: AndreX via Wikimedia Commons

Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador since June 2019 who presided over the introduction of Bitcoin as legal tender in the country in September 2021, has announced his reelection bid. Last year the country's Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber changed the constitutional ban on consecutive presidential reelection. The introduction of Bitcoin as legal tender has been controversial: 80% of the population don't actively use the country's official wallet, 80% of polled merchants don't accept crypto payments, but tourism has boomed bringing a new type of crypto-tourist to the country.BLOCKCHAIN: Buenos Aires lawmaker introduces bill to use blockchain for social aid payments (2 minute read)

Argentine Senator, Dario Nieto, has introduced a bill to use blockchain to make social aid payments directly to beneficiaries and provide more transparency to social aid programs. The Senator raised the issue of payment intermediaries profiting from social aid campaigns and leaders of social movements asking for favors from beneficiaries in exchange for financial aid. Nieto has previously proposed blockchain as a solution in government and introduced a bill that would use blockchain as part of a system to manage state purchases and contracts.Want more Latin American & Caribbean news?•Latin America is ready for crypto — just integrate it with their payment systems (Op-Ed)•Kanna is born to be the first Brazilian DAO focused on cannabis (Portuguese)•“Real digital focuses on settlement and not payment”, says BC (Portuguese)•In Argentina there are already provinces that have tax regulations regarding cryptocurrencies (Spanish)

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