South Korean government has targeted the rise in criminal activities involving cryptocurrencies by establishing a dedicated investigations unit called Joint Investigation Centre for Crypto Crimes. The multi-agency joint virtual asset crime investigation unit aims to safeguard the interests of investors while the country awaits comprehensive regulations for the industry, Decrypt reported.
The Joint Investigation Centre for Crypto Crimes, operating from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, will consist of 30 investigators drawn from several government agencies and bodies, including the prosecution, the Financial Supervisory Service, the National Tax Service, and the Korea Customs Service.
"Virtual assets, which are traded over 3 trillion won (~$2.35 million) every day, with more than 6 million participants, are already investment products comparable to stocks, but the laws and systems are not complete, so market participants are practically left out from the protection of the law," the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
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Nigeria Revamps eNaira Model to Encourage Wider Adoption of CBDC
Nigeria is changing its eNaira model to promote the use of the central bank digital currency (CBDC), Coin Desk quoted Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Acting Governor Folashodun Shonubi as saying.
The West African country has been working to push for broader adoption of the currency, which was introduced in October 2021. Though the number of eNaira wallets jumped more than 12-fold to 13 million between October 2022 and March this year, the number is too small for a country having 224 million population.
To boost the service offering and make it more user-friendly, CBN upgraded its eNaira app to enable contactless payments, local news outlet The Sun reported earlier in July. The bank didn't provide details of planned changes to the eNaira model and hadn't responded to a request for more information by publication time.
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In March, the central bank said the value of eNaira transactions up to that point in the year was 22 billion Naira (USD 48 million at the time). The country has a $220 billion informal economy that thrives on cash and has too few merchants and little infrastructure for extensive eNaira use.
Lacoste Opens Virtual Store with Exclusive Benefits for Ethereum NFT Holders
French Apparel Lacoste is opening a new virtual store for the summer, created by retail technology developer Emperia. The digital rendition combines a more traditional immersive retail experience with elements exclusive to holders of Lacoste's UNDW3 NFT passes, Decrypt reported.
UNDW3 (pronounced "underwater") is the name of the French brand's NFT-based loyalty program. The virtual store experience is accessed via Lacoste's standard e-commerce platform. After entering via the mouth of the brand's emblematic crocodile, shoppers can explore a tiled boutique before taking the elevator to an outdoor pool overlooking a beach.
The report said that pieces from Lacoste's summer apparel collection are available for purchase throughout, and visitors can also participate in a crocodile-themed scavenger hunt game.
