Chinese Government Supports Development of โBlockchain Cityโ in Malaysia โ 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 โblockchain cityโ called Melaka Straits City. Led by engineering firm China Wuyi and investment group SWT International San Bhd, the initiative will implement the โDMIโ 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, โWe have the government approval to remediate this land and came up with some great plans for the area.โ
Why itโs 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. Chinaโs tech hub, Shenzhen, has also joined in, issuing the countryโs first blockchain-based subway invoices in March. Additionally. the governmentโs 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.