Here are some of the major developments in the world of crypto over the past few days.
Amid an industry boom, crypto education initiatives are quickly gaining traction. On May 7, organizers of the Women in Tech Global Summit 2024 announced that they would incorporate Unstoppable Domain’s technology for its own Web3 top-level domain (TLD). Dubbed “.WITG,” the digital identity domain, assignable to each participant, will allow users to network as well as access education and training at the intersection of technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.
The exchange has since launched the KuCoin Campus initiative, which offers a series of offline events at schools and colleges around the world to teach students about digital finance. Similarly, crypto exchange Bitget recorded over 6,000 participants on the one-year anniversary of its $10 million Blockchain4Youth initiative from last May.
Blockchain4Youth plans to provide more scholarships globally and launch additional online courses featuring industry influencers to attract young people. The initiative will continue until May 2028. Meanwhile, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, is focusing on education. A committee of six industry practitioners, including Nicolas Bacca and Pierre Noizat, will oversee this initiative.
Stablecoin giant Tether is expanding its presence in Eastern Europe with an additional investment in the Georgia-based crypto payments provider, CityPay.io. Tether announced on May 8th that it will invest $61,464 in CityPay.io, a platform that enables users to pay for services at establishments like Wendy's and Radisson hotels with virtual currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). This investment aims to bolster CityPay.io's expansion into Eastern Europe, focusing on countries like Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.
As of May 2024, CityPay.io has over 600 locations in Georgia and plans to launch its own e-wallet and card solutions within the next two years. The company also has ambitious plans to establish more than 500,000 crypto payment points in its expansion region. This funding follows Tether's initial investment in CityPay.io in 2023, making it one of the world's first stablecoin companies to do so.
CityPay.io and Tether have been collaborating closely since Tether's first investment last year. In addition to Tether, Georgia has attracted several major cryptocurrency companies, including Binance, which opened a blockchain hub in the country in 2023. Georgia is known for its large number of Bitcoin ATMs, allowing users to easily exchange cryptocurrency for cash and vice versa.
The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) has invited public comments on its recently completed feasibility study for a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). BNR is exploring the development of a national digital currency that incorporates the latest technological innovations and is tailored to local conditions. The retail CBDC is expected to support Rwanda's efforts to promote nationwide cashless payments and enhance the resilience of the financial system, particularly in light of frequent power outages.
Tokenization will enable the offline transfer of digital cash using Bluetooth or Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, eliminating the need for a smartphone, unlike current electronic payment options. Payment service providers currently represent less than 0.9% of Rwanda's financial sector. Challenges in the sector include low financial literacy, high remittance costs, and a sizable informal economy. BNR believes that reducing the circulation of cash could help formalize the economy further.
For reasons of reliability, BNR has opted for a distributed database model over a distributed ledger. The analysis was conducted using the CBDC Policy-Maker Toolkit from the World Economic Forum. The tokenized wholesale CBDC project is being developed by Mastercard and Ripple, along with Agora, a new project of the European Central Bank, and the Bank for International Settlements.