Top Stories Feb. 27: Central Asian Governments Embrace Blockchain 

UKRAINE 

A year after the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, 57,000 employees of local tech startups relocated abroad, while 7,000 joined the Ukraine’s Armed Forces or other defense units. Despite wartime challenges, Ukraine’s IT services exports grew 9% January through October 2022 year-on-year. [Source: TechCrunch] 

The Ukrainian government will create a special section within the state-backed Ukrainian Startup Fund for defense-related startups. The initiative is aimed at both enhancing the country’s defense capabilities and bringing the national army closer to NATO standards as the country is seeking to join the alliance. [Source: Interfax-Ukraine]

Ukraine puts pressure on Spotify: The Ukrainian President’s Office requested that online music platform Spotify and some other services remove all the musicians from Russia who support the Russian aggression. While the response of Spotify to the fresh request has not been known, the service earlier removed the content of Russian state-backed propaganda media outlets such as RT and Sputnik. [Source: RBC]

KAZAKHSTAN

The first NFT-based smart-contract was signed in Kazakhstan between the Blockchain and Data Centers Industry Association and software development company ilink. The contract envisages that link will work out an education program for blockchain developers. [Source: Blueprint.kz]

Bank payments network Visa and Kazakhstan’s Freedom Bank introduced an innovative blockchain payment service that enables 24 to 48 hours money transfers to 107 countries. The security and speed of transfers are enabled through the confidential data tokenization technology. [Source: Kapital.kz]

The digital tenge, the Kazakhstan currency, will be launched in late 2023 with a limited range of use, including payment of social benefits, the director of the country’s National Bank Galymzhan Pirmatov said. A full-scale circulation of the digital tenge will commence in 2025. [Source: Bloqchain-Central Asia] 

Kazakhstan launched an education program on blockchain technologies for 300 professors of the country’s 22 high schools, which is reportedly the world’s biggest state-funded blockchain education initiative. After the 14-week program its graduates will launch their education courses at high schools in September 2023. [Source: Astana Hub]

KYRGYZSTAN

Kyrgyzstan’s state purchases system will be transferred to a blockchain platform to make purchasing and auditing processes more transparent and efficient. The Asian Development Bank will provide a grant of $1 million to facilitate the transition. [Source: Economist.kg]

Cryptocurrency exchange BIAT was launched in Kyrgyzstan after just a month the developer, an IT-company Biatex, submitted an application for a license of operator of virtual assets. At the moment, users can create wallets and store, exchange and use their coins. [Source: Economist.kg]

UZBEKISTAN

Solar panels on newly built apartment buildings in Uzbekistan will become obligatory on May 1, as the country seeks more power from renewable sources. The government will also found a company that will be installing solar panels on state establishments. [Source: Norma]

U.K.

One of the British most prominent and most promising fintech startups in the U.K. Revolut, founded by former Russian and now British citizen Nikolay Storonsky, has been struggling to get a license for financial operations in its homeland for more than two years. One of the reasons for the delay may be the startup’s links to Russia, where Storonsky’s father holds a senior position at the gas monopoly Gazprom– often referred to as the energy weapon of the Kremlin, according to a report by The Observer. [Source: The Observer]

NEW MARKETS FOR RUSSIAN BUSINESS

Russian investor and restaurateur Alexander Sysoev has invested undisclosed sums in Dubai-based, Russia-founded express delivery service YallaMarket and marketplaces aggregator YallaHub. He noted Dubai is an attractive place for investments as it doesn’t experience economic depression and has a young wealthy population ready to actively use digital services. [Source: RB]

India’s financial authorities have issued a permission for Moscow-based Alfa-Capital to take part in trade at the Bombay Stock Exchange making it the first Russian company with such a possibility. Alfa Capital set the minimum sum for its clients to start trading at no less than $13,300, but noted the threshold may be lowered in the future to attract more customers. [Source: RBC] 

TON FOUNDATION

The Open Network (The TON Foundation), a Web3 blockchain network based on the Telegram messenger, launched a peer-to-peer trade of bitcoin and TON coin, marking another milestone for the project on its journey to a full-scale blockchain ecosystem, including a cryptocurrency platform. Deals are made through a chatbot in the Telegram. [Source: TON Community Rus] 

TON was ranked 29th in the rating of CoinTelegraph’s “The CoinTelegraph Top 100 of the most influential persons and organizations” in the field of crypto, followed by the founder of Telegram Pavel Durov, who held the 33th position. TON was just one of three blockchains in this year’s ranking. [Source: CoinTelegraph]