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Ripple, Visa join HK CBDC pilot, Huobi accusations, GameFi token up 300%: Asia Express

Hong Kong partners with 16 companies to build CBDCs

On May 18, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the launch of the cyber Hong Kong dollar pilot project. According to officials, 16 selected companies from the financial payment and technology sectors will conduct the first round of trials this year on the feasibility of a Hong Kong dollar central bank digital currency (e-HKD). Companies included in the pilot include Alibaba Group’s Alipay Financial, Mastercard Asia, Ripple Labs, Visa, and HSBC.

The digital Hong Kong dollar will start off with six potential uses cases; comprehensive payments, programmable payments, offline payments, tokenized deposits, Web 3.0 transaction settlements, and tokenized asset settlements. The CBDC is scheduled for a three-stage approach, with the novel pilot program being an important aspect of the second stage.

However, the HKMA has not yet decided whether to officially launch the CBDC. It expects to share the results of the trials at Hong Kong Fintech Week 2023 in Q4. Yue Wai-man, chief executive of the HKMA, commented:

“Although the HKMA has not decided whether or when the CBDC will be launched, we are pleased to launch the Cyber Hong Kong Dollar Pilot Scheme. This is a good opportunity for the HKMA to join hands with the industry to explore innovative use cases and prepare for the possible launch of the CBDC in the future”

Back in Oct. 2021, Mastercard said that it would be preparing its payment infrastructure for integration with CBDCs. Likewise, Visa believes that stablecoins and CBDCs will play meaningful roles in payments and has an ongoing blockchain interoperability project related to the matter.


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Bitcoin defense lawyer says Craig Wright lawsuit could harm open source software

The Bitcoin Defense Legal Fund’s chief legal officer spoke out against an “extraordinarily dangerous” lawsuit initiated by Craig Wright, a person who claims to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Coinbase launches zero trading fee subscription service

Coinbase’s new subscription service, “Coinbase One," is expected to roll out across 35 countries in the near future.

Bitcoin, gold and the debt ceiling — Does something have to give?

Bitcoin has been trying to break above the $27,500 resistance for the past week but to no avail. One of the reasons limiting Bitcoin’s (BTC) upside is the risk of an eventual United States default as the government struggles to get the debt limit increase approved in Congress. 

Still, some analysts and investors argue that the U.S. debt ceiling standoff is merely a “show” because, ultimately, additional money will hit the markets.

Notice how MacroJack correlates Bitcoin’s digital scarcity to the next logical step: additional inflationary pressure. The stimulus measures, meaning increasing the government debt limit, might initially sound positive because they avoid default and favor more economic activity. However, the unintended consequences are future budget constraints as the debt interest payment increases.

Bitcoin price increases while gold breaks a 45-day low

Bitcoin’s gains above $27,000 happened while gold traded down 2.5% from May 15 to May 18, reaching its lowest level in 45 days at $1,970. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the currency against a basket of foreign exchanges, reached its highest level in two months on May 18, meaning the U.S. currency gained strength relative to its global peers.

This data should not be interpreted as a vote of confidence in the government’s ability to avoid a shutdown, as the global economy would be negatively impacted in the event of a U.S. debt default. For instance, eurozone members hold $1.54 trillion in U.S. Treasurys, followed by Japan’s $1.1 trillion, China’s $860 billion and the United Kingdom’s $668 billion.


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US House stablecoin hearing focuses on competing bills for regulation

The answer to the question of what level stablecoin issuers are regulated on “need not be binary,” one witness said.

Blockchain developers launch $50M fund to increase Wormhole adoption

Wormhole is a cross-chain messaging protocol often used to transfer assets from one blockchain to another.

Former CFO indicted for diverting $35M to cryptocurrency venture

In the event of a conviction for wire fraud, Nevin Shetty could face up to 20 years in prison.

Hyperbitcoinization coming, says Bitcoin OG as ‘wholecoiners’ hit 1 million

Bitcoin (BTC) has crossed a significant threshold this month — and while it does not involve price, it does involve “millions.”

Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode confirms that as of May 18, there are over 1 million addresses that hold at least 1 BTC.

Back: Adoption trend lays path to “hyperbitcoinization”

It was a long time coming and received much attention on social media, and the time is finally here — there are 1 million entities that own a whole Bitcoin.

These “wholecoiners” have been steadily accruing since mid-2021, Glassnode shows, and the upward trend in 1-BTC wallets has seen almost no reversal since.

In 2022, however, the trend accelerated, having started the year with 814,000 wholesalers and finishing it with 978,000 — an increase of 20%.


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‘Moral responsibility’: Can blockchain really improve trust in AI?

Most technological revolutions come with an unforeseen darker side.

When Austrian-born physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch first split the atom in the late 1930s, they probably didn’t anticipate their discovery would lead a few years later to the atomic bomb. The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is arguably no different. 

AI algorithms have been around for decades. The first artificial neural network, the perceptron, was invented in 1958. But the recent pace of development has been breathtaking, and with voice recognition devices like Alexa and chatbots like ChatGPT, AI appears to have gained a new public awareness.

On the positive side, AI could dramatically raise the planet’s general education level and help to find cures for devastating diseases like Alzheimer’s. But it could also displace jobs and bolster authoritarian states that can use it to surveil their populations. Moreover, if machines ever achieve “general” intelligence, they might even be trained to overturn elections and prosecute wars, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton recently warned.

“Enormous potential and enormous danger” is how United States President Joe Biden recently described AI. This followed an open letter in March from more than 1,000 tech leaders, including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, calling for a moratorium on AI developments like ChatGPT. The technology, they said, presents “profound risks to society and humanity.” 


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‘Moral responsibility’: Can blockchain really improve trust in AI?

Experts are still divided on the real impact blockchain tech can have on solving some fo the problems that ail AI.

Top 10 crypto artist Trevor Jones on being rich, rekt and rich again: NFT Creator

With a total artwork value of $24 million Trevor Jones is one of the Top 10 most successful crypto artists worldwide.

Trevor Jones’ journey to crypto art stardom started the same way as many crypto noobs: His portfolio went way up, he failed to take profits, and the price came crashing down wiping out the paper gains.

A traditional painter, Jones always wanted to explore the intersection of art and technology, and he experimented with QR code oil paintings in 2012 and dived into AR art in 2013. 

But it was his 2017 investment in Bitcoin that sparked deep curiosity in what this new world of crypto and blockchain was about. After getting rekt in 2018’s crypto winter, Jones turned his attention from crypto trader to crypto painter. He says:

“I caught that bull run and made a lot of money and then lost a lot of money in 2018. It all went up and all came crashing down.

The Eccentric - John McAfee by Trevor Jones
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Top 10 crypto artist Trevor Jones on being rich, rekt and rich again: NFT Creator

Trevor Jones creates NFTs fit for a King, he sold $4.3 million of NFTs in a day and he’s among the most celebrated crypto artists in the world.

Coinbase Cloud plugs into Chainlink oracle network to improve smart contract reliability

Chainlink’s oracle network will welcome Coinbase Cloud as a node operator to improve high-quality data provision to several blockchain protocols.

Metaverse ETF PUNK closing after betting against Meta's vision

Subversive Capital cites losses as it shuts down PUNK ETF and the company pivots to artificial intelligence.

Bitcoin and proof-of-stake have natural ‘synergy’: Bitcoin Builders 2023

Stanford University professor David Tsè said his team’s research had revealed a security property between Bitcoin and proof-of-stake protocols.

Bitcoin trader predicts end of dip within weeks as BTC price adds 3.5%

Bitcoin (BTC) held a snap rebound on May 18 as analysts hoped that further upside would come next.

BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart on Bitstamp. Source: TradingView

BTC price sustains knee-jerk move higher

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it circled $27,400 on Bitstamp.

The pair had made swift gains toward the prior day’s Wall Street open, these topping out at 3.5% versus the day’s lows.

Amid changing signals on exchange order books, popular trader Skew was hopeful for continuation.

“Price swept the pre-emptive swing low, which was enough liquidity to push up higher,” he summarized in part of a Twitter analysis.

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GridPlus to open source wallet firmware in Q3 amid Ledger debacle

As accusations are hurled at Ledger over a controversial update, one hardware wallet has decided to open-source its firmware. Others have turned it into a marketing opportunity.

Korean lawmakers rally towards crypto rules in May after grisly murder case: Report

Crypto policy making efforts have been reignited in South Korea after a woman was murdered following a dispute over digital assets.

Australia marks first FX transaction using a CBDC as eAUD pilot continues

The Australian digital dollar was used in a trade for a U.S. dollar stablecoin using an Ethereum layer 2 blockchain.

Miami blockchain folk hero secures $5M for community tokenization

The fund will be used to help residents secure affordable housing through blockchain initiatives.

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