Asia's Crypto Growth: Worldcoin Expands, DBS Launches Tokens
Asia's crypto market is booming as Worldcoin expands in Malaysia and DBS launches Treasury Tokens in Singapore, driving innovation in the region.
Asia is quickly becoming a major hub for cryptocurrency innovation, with recent developments in Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries showcasing the region's growing influence in the global crypto market.
DBS Bank, Singapore’s largest private bank, has launched a new solution called DBS Treasury Tokens to transform how companies manage liquidity. Introduced on August 13, this system was developed with Ant International. The Treasury Tokens allow businesses to manage multi-currency transactions instantly across different markets. The system, which uses blockchain technology, works 24/7, improving liquidity management and reducing settlement times from days to seconds.
Kelvin Li, Head of Platform Tech at Ant International, emphasized that the platform has already shown success in areas like tax refunds and cross-border payments for small businesses. DBS’s Treasury Tokens are part of a broader strategy to use blockchain for financial innovation, building on insights from its work with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Meanwhile, Worldcoin is making significant progress in Malaysia. On August 16, Worldcoin and its developer, Tools for Humanity (TFH), announced a partnership with Malaysia’s MIMOS Berhad and MyEG, a major e-government services provider. This collaboration will integrate Worldcoin’s iris imaging technology into Malaysia’s digital infrastructure, enhancing digital identity verification in the country. The partnership also includes plans for manufacturing hardware and integrating World Chain with Malaysia’s National Blockchain Infrastructure. TFH will provide technical support, while MYEG will handle the technical and hardware aspects.
Despite these advancements, Worldcoin continues to face challenges in other countries, including scrutiny over its biometric data practices. Concerns have also been raised about the transparency of Worldcoin’s native token, WLD, particularly regarding potential price manipulation.
In India, Binance has made a notable comeback. On August 15, Binance announced its re-entry into the Indian market after successfully registering with India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND). This move marks a significant regulatory milestone for Binance, which includes the implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) measures, ensuring better security and compliance in India’s Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) ecosystem.
Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, highlighted the importance of the Indian market and expressed the company’s commitment to serving Indian users in line with local regulations. However, Binance still faces challenges. Recently, India’s Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) issued a notice to Binance, demanding a Goods and Services Tax payment of around $86 million.
In South Korea, the National Pension Service (NPS), the second-largest public pension fund globally, has invested $34 million in MicroStrategy, a company known for its large Bitcoin holdings. This investment reflects NPS’s growing, yet cautious, interest in the cryptocurrency market. NPS’s investment follows its earlier purchase of 282,673 Coinbase shares, valued at approximately $27.7 million, showing a deliberate move to gain exposure to the crypto space.
Finally, in Hong Kong, crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are struggling to gain traction. According to SoSo Value data, the Hong Kong spot Bitcoin ETF saw an outflow of 248.66 BTC on August 13, followed by a modest inflow of 8.02 BTC. The spot Ethereum ETF, however, saw no activity during the same period. As of August 16, Hong Kong’s spot Bitcoin ETFs have total assets of $245.78 million, while spot Ethereum ETFs have accumulated $38.13 million since their launch. These mixed results highlight the ongoing challenges faced by crypto ETFs in Hong Kong, despite growing interest in digital assets.
These developments across Asia highlight the region’s significant role in shaping the future of the global cryptocurrency market. With countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and India leading the way, Asia’s influence in the crypto sector is set to increase further.
