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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) granted Blockchain.com a major payment institution license on August 1, allowing it to provide digital payment services to institutional and accredited investors. Blockchain.com offers crypto financing services across over 200 countries, creating 87 million crypto wallets and managing over 33 percent of bitcoin transactions worth over $1 trillion. The cryptocurrency exchange becomes Singapore's twelfth digital payment token service provider, joining the likes of Paxos and DBS Vickers. Blockchain.com received an in-principal approval from MAS in September 2022, Cointelegraph reported Tuesday.

The Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group of Hong Kong shared their priorities for enhancing the sustainable finance ecosystem of the special administrative region. In a press release published by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the Steering Group plans to establish a road map for implementing the International Financial Reporting Standards Sustainability Disclosure Standards. Additionally, they aim to strengthen the finance ecosystem's capacity, data, and technology to facilitate a net-zero transition across the economy through workshops supporting non-listed companies and small and medium-sized enterprises, a portal containing climate-related data, potential private-public partnerships for technology development, and stakeholder engagement to create a financial technology road map. The Steering Group also seeks to cultivate diverse and trustworthy markets to support financial institutions and corporations in their transition planning and reporting. The Steering Group is co-chaired by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission, the SFC said.

The Singapore Red Cross has partnered with Triple-A to accept various types of cryptocurrency donations, such as bitcoin, ethereum, and tether. Using Triple-A's crypto payment gateway systems, all crypto donations to the organization will be converted into fiat currency and settled through a bank transfer within one business day. According to Singapore Red Cross Secretary General and CEO Benjamin William, crypto donations offer efficient processing and greater accessibility to philanthropists wishing to help using their digital assets. Triple-A CEO Eric Barbier added that crypto payments facilitate faster and more secure transactions, reduce administrative overheads, and ensure that funds are delivered promptly. The new payment option is live, and donations can now be made through the Singapore Red Cross' website, FinTech Finance News reported.

The Central Bank of Honduras has begun a two-month consultation period for its potential retail central bank digital currency (CBDC), emphasizing financial inclusion. The central bank also wants to focus on cross-border payments, particularly remittances, during the CBDC consultation period. The International Monetary Fund is helping Honduras with its CBDC research and has brought up Brazil and India as possible models for its CBDC development. The central bank, with the IMF, has published a paper on future money and payments, Ledger Insights reported.

Lockheed Martin's satellite designs for the Tranche 1 Transport Layer constellation have cleared the Space Development Agency's critical design review, meaning the company can proceed to the satellite production process. As part of the CDR, SDA evaluated Lockheed's ground and supplier designs and conducted an optical communications terminal interoperability test. SDA previously awarded Lockheed a contract to deliver 42 T1TL satellites for secure, low-latency military data transmission and connectivity. T1TL satellites are slated for launch beginning in 2024, Lockheed Martin said.

Microsoft has confirmed its commitment to helping the U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy. The company is pushing for the adoption of a zero trust approach to internet of things security, a move aligned with the federal government's cybersecurity plan. With this approach, the Redmond, California, firm hopes to optimize security and minimize risk by using zero trust to secure identity, endpoints and infrastructure, among other things. Plans are also laid down to align different products and services, including Windows IoT and Microsoft Azure Sphere, with the White House strategy, Microsoft said.

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson said the U.S. government will continue implementing existing sanctions against Russia and North Korea as concerns grow over the two countries' military cooperation. According to Matthew Miller, the U.S. government has clarified to Russia and North Korea that it is concerned about how North Korea is helping Russia's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine. Miller added that the United States will continue to condemn North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests. Miller's comments come amid speculations that North Korea will increase its military support to Russia, Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has warned the general public about unlicensed virtual asset trading platforms (VATP), claiming to have submitted license applications with the agency to secure business opportunities. According to the SFC, unlicensed VATPs have been setting up new entities to provide virtual asset services, and their offerings may not comply with legal and regulatory requirements under the agency's new licensing regime. VATPs are also prone to violating Hong Kong's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) whenever they misrepresent their services. Under section 53ZRG of AMLO, an offense is committed if a VATP enters into an agreement to deal with crypto assets through misrepresentation, the Securities and Futures Commission said Monday.

Deploying artificial intelligence on biometric health monitors can aid military leaders assess soldier readiness, according to Sgt. Maj. Michael Weimer, the new sergeant major of the Army. In an interview, the former top enlisted leader of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command described himself as a tech person and acknowledge the importance of data to be informed. He also shared that he participated in a sleep study wherein he had to wear an Oura ring, a smart fitness tracker. Weirmer also shared that the USASOC uses health monitoring technology to monitor candidate well-being during the selection process, DefenseOne reported.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded the University of Southern California a $9 million cost reimbursement contract for processor reconfiguration for wideband spectrum sensing. The contract will see the institution develop processors capable of providing autonomous radio frequency systems with decision-directed situational awareness about complex and uncertain electromagnetic environments. It will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, and should be completed by November 2026, the Department of Defense said.