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The National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) will be conducting central bank digital currency (CBDC) proof-of-concept (PoC) work in 2023. This is according to a report published jointly by the central bank and Binance on digital asset regulation, the digital asset industry and decentralized finance (DeFi) in Central Asia. However, it mentioned that in 2023, the NBK is planning to build several PoC scenarios of integration between the experimental Digital Tenge platform and BnB chain in 2023 to explore opportunities of DeFi and TradFi industry players' cooperation under central bank supervision. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HBoDssEY_jf325m1Hg2RGPgVKiNFI85q/view

Google, Temasek and Bain & Company released the e-Conomy Southeast Asia report for 2019, highlighting the most significant industry trends observed in 2019 and analysing the current and future potential of the Southeast Asian Internet economy across its six largest markets (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).

Google, Temasek and Bain & Company released their e-Conomy Southeast Asia report for 2019, highlighting the most significant industry trends observed in 2019 and analysing the current and future potential of the Southeast Asian Internet economy across its six largest markets (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).

Mastercard launched Fintech Express. Rapyd, a B2B Fintech-as-a-Service provider, is the first partner in the program. The Fintech Express program can quickly onboard partners and provides immediate access to a cross-functional team of experts to support multiple work streams.

Though the growth of finance apps has become a global phenomenon, it is Asia-Pacific that's leading the trend, according to a new report by mobile measurement company Adjust and mobile data and analytics platform App Annie.

95% of trades in the crypto derivatives market happen across futures based on 3 main crypto currencies: BTC, ETH and EOS. At the same time, the top 6 exchanges currently take approximately 83% of all derivatives trading volume. This dominance by large exchanges is however increasingly challenged by new market entrants that specialise on new products such as options and derivatives on alternative crypto currencies. Unlike in traditional finance, where most volumes are concentrated in Western economies, crypto derivatives are overwhelmingly traded on exchanges based in Asia. Singapore especially has been chosen by many companies as its operational base due to its reputation in the financial industry and its openness for innovation by regulatory bodies.

The Bank of Mongolia (BOM) has reportedly included central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments in its 2023 monetary policy agenda. It has already  established a working group and preliminary research has begun, with priority CBDC design questions including the degree of anonymity, whether to impose caps on holdings, whether it should bear interest, and can it be used to mitigate money laundering and terrorist financing? The story is plausible because back in September, 2022, the IMF reported that the BOM was one of the Asia-Pacific central banks that were exploring CBDC issuance.

On January 10, 2022 Soramitsu was selected by the NTT Data Institute of Management Consulting to evaluate the potential risks and benefits of introducing CBDC in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. Confirmed by the IMF in September 2022: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fintech-notes/Issues/2022/09/27/Towards-Central-Bank-Digital-Currencies-in-Asia-and-the-Pacific-Results-of-a-Regional-Survey-523914

"The viability of CBDC initiatives depends on adoption. CBDCs must meet users' preferences - eg, the need for privacy and usability - and address commercial banks' concerns around disintermediation. At the same time, new functionalities - eg, offline access - could enhance CBDCs' appeal, while interoperability could broaden payment channels, both of which help boost user adoption."

"Japanese blockchain firm Soramitsu has reportedly landed feasibility studies for central bank digital currency (CBDC) with both Vietnam and the Philippines. Soramitsu is establishing a considerable footprint in Southeast Asia following its successful implementation of Cambodia's Bakong project in 2020. Last year it also started working with Laos' central bank on a CBDC research project."

Despite phenomenal growth, current buy now, pay later (BNPL) models are showing to be rather unprofitable. Quinlan and Associates estimates that in Asia-Pacific (APAC), the largest BNPL firms, including Australia's Afterpay and Japan's Paidy, are currently running average profit margins of -15% per annum (p.a.), while the more nascent players operating in emerging markets like the Philippines' Cashalo and Indonesia's Akulaku are suffering from profit margins of -100% p.a. According to the analysis, APAC BNPL providers are struggling to reach profitability as costs relating to sales, marketing, funding, staff, technology, and credit losses eat into all their profits. Losses are even more pronounced for emerging market BNPL providers because of their stronger focus on long tail, unbanked/underbanked consumers, leading to much larger credit losses and funding costs. Quinlan and Associates identified three key pathways for them to become commercially viable: optimization, vertical integration and expansion.

BitMEX has finally released the unedited video of its CEO, Arthur Hayes, debating noted economist, Nouriel Roubini, at the Asia Blockchain Summit earlier this month. The 53-minute long discussion ventured into uncomfortable territories of both the bitcoin and mainstream finance. While Roubini kept his focus on the criminal nature of cryptocurrencies and their evangelists, Hayes projected them as a means to promote financial privacy.

Big tech has moved into financial services extensively in China. These companies have also been expanding rapidly in other emerging market economies (EMEs), notably in East Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, East Africa. In the UK and the U.S., fintech has more of a share in providing credit than big tech.

CBDC can leverage the decentralized and secure advantages of blockchain. This enables P2P transactions, offers a more resilient payment infrastructure, reduces transaction costs, enhances information sharing capabilities and facilitates data reconciliation. Blockchain enabled payment solutions have been rigorously tested by central banks across North America, Europe and Asia.

TrueHKD is the first major expansion for TrustToken into the Asian market after launching TrueUSD, TrueGBP, TrueCAD, and TrueAUD with custody providers based in the US.

Binance experienced issues with APIs and withdrawal processing due to network issues with Amazon Web Services on August 23. Amazon has confirmed to The Block that AWS has experienced a temporary outage in the Asia Pacific (Tokyo) region.

Philippine boxing champion Manny Pacquiao launched his very own cryptocurrency on Sunday at a free concert in Manila, where he serenaded more than 2,000 fans to drum up interest in the product.

UK-based digital banking app Revolut announced a major partnership with Visa to expand its services globally across 24 new markets, including North America.

Crypto payments service Alchemy launched its Hybrid Payment Solution, allowing merchants in Asian and Middle Eastern markets to easily accept bitcoin and crypto payments.

Some markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan already have sufficiently high limits. Australia and New Zealand have raised their limits, effective April 9, and the Philippines will increase its limit on July 17. Still other markets are at a more exploratory stage in their deliberations and Mastercard stands ready to support them as initial discussions build momentum for action.