ALBAWABA - This week in the crypto news recap, Ras Al Khaimah plans to launch the first free zone for digital assets, the Reserve Bank of India conducts offline testing for the digital Rupee, and TBD launches c= to expand the bitcoin lightning network's liquidity and routing services.
To quench your thirst, let's dive in!
Ras Al Khaimah to establish world's 1st free zone for digital assets
The government of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, has recently unveiled plans to set up the world's first free zone dedicated to digital and virtual asset companies. The new free zone, named RAK Digital Assets Oasis, will be a purpose-built, innovation-enabling space for non-regulated activities in the virtual asset sector. This initiative is expected to help support emerging sectors such as metaverse, blockchain, utility tokens, virtual asset wallets, NFTs, DAOs, DApp, and other Web3-related businesses. The announcement was made during the Blockchain Life 2023 conference, with applications for RAK Digital Assets Oasis set to open in the second quarter of 2023.
Reserve Bank of India tests offline functionality of digital Rupee
Ajay Kumar Choudhary, the executive director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has announced that the newly-launched central bank digital currency (CBDC) of India, the digital rupee, is currently being tested for offline functionality. The RBI had launched the wholesale segment pilot of the digital rupee on Nov. 1, 2022, with 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants participating in real-world testing. As of Feb. 25, around $134 million and 800,000 transactions have been completed through wholesale CBDCs.
Jack Dorsey's TBD Launches c= to Enhance Bitcoin Lightning Network
TBD, a subsidiary of Block (previously known as Square) led by CEO Jack Dorsey, has recently launched a new venture called c= (pronounced "c equals") with a goal of improving the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
⚡️hello world. meet TBD’s @c_equals: https://t.co/j5ZYJmtS3J #lightning
— TBD (@TBD54566975) March 2, 2023
The Lightning Network is a layer 2 payment network designed to facilitate the widespread adoption of Bitcoin by allowing faster, cheaper, and more secure peer-to-peer payments. However, c= aims to enhance the capabilities of the Lightning Network by providing additional liquidity and routing services, thus expanding its reach even further.
