Chinese Government Supports Development of ‘Blockchain City’ in Malaysia – Cointelegraph
What happened: Per a press release shared with Cointelegraph, the Chinese government is purportedly supporting a project to transform the Malaysian city of Malacca into a “blockchain city” called Melaka Straits City. Led by engineering firm China Wuyi and investment group SWT International San Bhd, the initiative will implement the “DMI” platform to enable residents to pay for government services and visitors to exchange between fiat currency and DMI coins. According to project CEO Lim Keng Kai, “We have the government approval to remediate this land and came up with some great plans for the area.”
Why it’s important: Injecting the blockchain into city planning efforts has become somewhat of a trend lately, with municipalities in the US, Korea, and Norway all announcing efforts to build or improve their infrastructure with the technology playing a primary role. China’s tech hub, Shenzhen, has also joined in, issuing the country’s first blockchain-based subway invoices in March. Additionally. the government’s involvement in this project gives China an opportunity to increase its presence in the vicinity of the Malacca Strait, one of the most important shipping routes in the world.