ChainCatcher news, according to Cryptonews, merchants in the Dongdaemun market of South Korea have denied reports of large-scale adoption of USDT payments. Previously, it was reported that merchants in this market, particularly wholesalers targeting Chinese customers, were using USDT for international transactions. However, several merchants stated that cash remains the primary payment method, and the actual use of stablecoins is not widespread.

ChainCatcher news, a bill has been submitted to the State Duma of Russia, aimed at mandating banks and merchants to use the digital ruble while implementing a universal QR code payment system. The bill is spearheaded by a group of senators and deputies, including Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the Duma's Financial Market Committee, and has been officially submitted to the lower house's electronic database.The proposal outlines a phased rollout plan for the digital ruble, starting on July 1, 2025, initially launching in systemically important banks (banks critical to the stability of the national economy) and expanding to all banks by 2027. Merchants will also be required to accept the digital ruble to encourage public usage. By July 2025, businesses with annual revenues exceeding 30 million rubles must enable digital ruble payments, with the threshold dropping to 20 million rubles by July 2026. Businesses in areas without mobile or internet access are exempt from this requirement.The bill, in conjunction with the universal QR code system, simplifies the payment process to facilitate seamless use of the digital ruble. Amendments to consumer protection laws require merchants to comply with regulations to ensure broader adoption. Additionally, credit institutions and foreign bank branches participating in the platform are obligated to support these transactions.

ChainCatcher news, according to FinanceFeeds, Horizon announced a partnership with China Merchants Securities (Hong Kong) to provide market-making solutions for virtual asset ETFs.It is reported that the virtual asset spot ETF will be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the first time in April 2024, offering investment opportunities in Bitcoin and Ethereum under the supervision of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong.

According to ChainCatcher news from the official website, payment giant PayPal has announced the launch of PayPal Complete Payments in China. This is a secure and efficient integrated platform that combines a range of customized products and solutions to support Chinese merchants in selling globally. The platform simplifies the payment and receivables processes for businesses of all sizes in China, promoting their development in cross-border trade and the digital economy. PayPal will leverage global resources to gradually roll out new features of PayPal Complete Payments, fully supporting cross-border transactions for Chinese enterprises.It is reported that in terms of payment experience, the platform offers a variety of payment options for overseas buyers, allowing businesses to achieve quick fund transfers and manage their finances more simply and efficiently. Additionally, the platform provides a one-stop cross-border RMB payment solution, which includes "PayPal Cross-Border Receivables" and "PayPal Cross-Border Payments" products, helping PayPal users address the challenges of traditional cross-border receivables processes, which are often cumbersome, lengthy, and costly. Furthermore, in terms of risk management and fraud detection, the platform employs big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence technologies to reduce risk handling costs, minimize dispute resolution times, and monitor and identify potential fraudulent activities in real-time.

ChainCatcher news, payment giant PayPal has announced the expansion of its cryptocurrency services, allowing U.S. merchants to conduct on-chain transfers.PayPal's Vice President of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, Jose Fernandez da Ponte, stated that this move is to meet the growing demand from merchants for cryptocurrency capabilities. The new feature enables merchants to make external cryptocurrency transfers to third-party qualified wallets and to send and receive supported cryptocurrency tokens between external blockchain addresses.

ChainCatcher message,招商宏观评美联储降息：Overall, three signals:The Federal Reserve believes that the impact of the pandemic on employment and inflation has ended;The era of forward guidance has temporarily come to an end. The Federal Reserve is reluctant to reveal all policy cards, and a significant rate cut of 50 basis points is aimed at preventing large fluctuations in U.S. stocks and bonds that have already priced in this expectation. Powell's continued wait-and-see attitude is also to prevent a recurrence of situations similar to early August, when concerns about a hard landing for the U.S. economy led to a reversal of yen carry trades;In addition, the Federal Reserve also wants to prevent a collapse of the siphoning effect on U.S. stocks due to significant rate cuts, which could lead to large-scale capital outflows from the U.S. capital markets. Therefore, until U.S. economic data deteriorates significantly, even if the Federal Reserve cuts rates substantially, it may not significantly boost all non-U.S. assets. However, it can be expected that the U.S. dollar index is likely to struggle to strengthen temporarily, which may alleviate the depreciation pressure on non-U.S. currencies. (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher message, the Cardano Foundation announced on social media that Binance Pay now supports ADA payments to merchants, with instant settlement available and coverage for over 30 million users worldwide.

ChainCatcher news, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed that as of June, there are 5 million digital rupee users and 420,000 merchants participating in the retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot. The RBI emphasized that the digital rupee aims to complement cash and existing payment systems, serving both wholesale and retail sectors.

ChainCatcher news, the Pando Blockchain-themed ETF listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced that it will appoint China Merchants Securities Asset Management (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. as the investment advisor to provide investment management and consulting services for the sub-fund's investments in the mainland China and Hong Kong markets.In addition, due to this appointment of the investment advisor, the Pando Blockchain-themed ETF will be renamed "Pando CMS Blockchain ETF," and the English name will change from "Pando Blockchain ETF" to "Pando CMS Blockchain ETF," while the abbreviation will remain unchanged.

According to ChainCatcher news, citing official WeChat messages, to further support the application scenarios and ecological construction of the digital renminbi, WeChat Pay has partnered with hundreds of acquiring institutions to further expand the range of merchants that can use digital renminbi within WeChat. Currently, millions of merchants covering various fields such as life services, utility payments, dining and entertainment, and transportation, including scenic spots, museums, multiple local utility payment platforms, T3 Travel, Hello Bike, SF Express, and Southern Power Grid, are included. Support for various life services and utility payments will further enrich the daily usage scenarios of digital renminbi, allowing users to experience digital renminbi transactions through WeChat's convenient mini-program scenarios.

ChainCatcher news, USDC stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial has released an upgraded version of its Web3 wallet, featuring a new "Gas Station" function that allows merchants to take over and pay customers' gas fees.Southeast Asian super app Grab is currently piloting a new product that pays gas fees for Singapore users using NFT vouchers. Circle stated that this feature initially launched on the Polygon (MATIC) mainnet and testnet, as well as on the Ethereum (ETH) testnet, and will later expand to more blockchains.Additionally, Circle announced the launch of a smart contract platform aimed at helping developers build applications faster by providing a "one-stop service for importing, exploring, deploying, and managing smart contracts." The product's API is currently available on Avalanche (AVAX), Ethereum, and Polygon.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the hosted wallet bot on Telegram, Telegram Wallet, has launched a cryptocurrency payment solution called Wallet Pay based on the TON blockchain, allowing users to pay merchants directly in the Telegram app using USDT, TON, and Bitcoin. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, according to Jin10, the European Central Bank stated that the digital euro could be offered through existing banking applications and the euro system application. The digital euro may initially be available to residents, merchants, and governments in the eurozone. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, the crypto claims and trading platform Open Exchange (OPNX), founded by Three Arrows Capital founders Zhu Su and others, tweeted that its investors include AppWorks, Susquehanna (SIG), DRW, MIAX Group, China Merchant Bank International, Token Bay Capital, Nascent, Tuwaiq Limited, and others.It is reported that they not only contribute funding but also provide numerous insights in the process of refining its vision, product offerings, token economics, legal framework, and the decision to relocate to Hong Kong. (source link)

ChainCatcher news, Shopify has recently expanded its NFT business, enabling millions of merchants to start designing, minting, and selling Avalanche NFTs.Merchants can use the Venly Shopify app to sell NFTs with "minimal technical knowledge," and the NFTs created will "automatically convert to products" and be displayed and sold in their storefronts. Additionally, buyers do not need to have a crypto wallet; instead, they will receive an email containing a link to the newly created blockchain wallet. (Source link)

ChainCatcher news, Coinbase's commercial platform Coinbase Commerce has partnered with payment service provider Primer, allowing merchants using Primer to add cryptocurrency payments to their checkout pages as a standard payment method.It is reported that Primer is a no-code automated payment platform that previously collaborated with Bitcoin infrastructure payment company OpenNode, enabling merchants to implement one-click Bitcoin payment methods globally. (source link)