Recently, the ASEAN stablecoin project USDA, jointly initiated by the Lao National Digital Technology Group (LADT) and its subsidiary NewPay, successfully completed a $3 million angel round financing led by HashKey Capital, with participation from Web3Labs and well-known strategic investors from various ASEAN countries. This round of financing will be used to promote the compliance and internationalization process of the ASEAN stablecoin USDA.

LADT: Leading Laos' Digital Transformation

LADT is a pioneer and innovator in promoting Laos' digital transformation, led by the Lao central government and guided by the Ministry of Technology and the central bank. Its founding team comes from different countries around the world, focusing on building digital infrastructure and the practical application of blockchain in Laos and the ASEAN region.

In July 2024, LADT signed a strategic cooperation MOU with HashKey Capital in the presence of Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and then Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith, and on the same day signed a strategic investment agreement with Hong Kong's Goldford Group.

USDA: ASEAN Compliant Stablecoin for Daily Consumption

USDA stands for ASEAN USD, abbreviated as "ASEAN Stablecoin." It will become one of the first fully reserved crypto stablecoins issued under a stablecoin issuance license from ASEAN regional countries. USDA begins its compliance journey in Laos and will gradually extend to more ASEAN and even non-regional countries/regions in the foreseeable future.

It is reported that after its official issuance, in addition to the regular on-chain functions, USDA will gradually be deeply integrated into various payment applications across ASEAN countries, enabling individuals and merchants to use it for daily consumption, payments, transfers, and withdrawals, thus truly bringing stablecoins into the daily lives of ordinary people.

NewPay+: Accelerating ASEAN Payment Integration

The increasing popularity of digital payments in Laos reflects the accelerated digital development in ASEAN countries. The ASEAN region has a total population of over 600 million, with a high proportion of young people, and the penetration rates of the internet and mobile phones are increasing year by year, providing a solid foundation for digital payments, with the growth of Web3 users showing an accelerating trend.

LADT's Web3 compliant payment platform NewPay+, derived from the national-level third-party payment tool NewPay, will use USDA as the underlying settlement currency and will support mixed payments of fiat and stablecoins, as well as compliant cross-border payment clearing systems. As ASEAN governments continue to improve digital payment infrastructure and networks, NewPay+ will open standardized interfaces to facilitate the integration of payment tools from various countries, contributing to the development of the "ASEAN Digital Integration Framework."

Laos is the first stop for LADT to implement a compliant Web2 + Web3 integrated payment platform. Currently, national-level cooperation with Cambodia, Brunei, and Vietnam is also underway.

RetoLabs: Creating a New Experience in the Telegram Ecosystem

After completing the angel round financing, LADT announced the official launch of its first TON chain wallet application, NewPay+ TON. Alongside NewPay+ TON, the multifunctional mini-application RetoLabs has also been launched on Telegram.

RetoLabs is an important application scenario developed to support NewPay+, integrating eight content service sectors including gaming, film and television, social networking, short videos, food delivery, ticketing, AI, and novel reading. Users of NewPay+ TON can earn ecological tokens through interactions with various sectors of RetoLabs, enabling on-chain recharge, consumption, and asset management, and in the future, enjoy compliant cross-border deposit and withdrawal services globally with the support of LADT.

At the same time, the launch of RetoLabs is a proactive attempt by LADT to acquire traffic from public chain instant messaging platforms (similar to the merger of Line and the Korean public chain Klaytn mainnet), aiming to open another path for the popularization of USDA beyond traditional payment traffic. Based on Telegram's vast user base and efficient dissemination mechanism, combined with high-performance and scalable public chain construction, RetoLabs will serve as a bridge for a large number of Web2 users to transition to Web3, bringing more innovation and opportunities to the entire industry.

Future Plans and Real-World Significance

It is reported that products such as payment platforms, clearing systems, and public chains built around the compliant stablecoin USDA will be released successively.

The successful landing of the angel round financing for the USDA project marks a milestone step for LADT in the digital finance field of the ASEAN region. The lead investment from HashKey Capital injects strong momentum into LADT's efforts to build a regionally leading digital financial infrastructure. This not only showcases LADT's innovative strength and strategic vision but also highlights HashKey's high recognition of the development potential of emerging markets in ASEAN.

The launch of RetoLabs and NewPay+ TON marks LADT's first step in scenario-based implementation, demonstrating its determination and capability to drive innovation through technology and create a decentralized application ecosystem. In the future, LADT will continue to focus on promoting the innovative application of blockchain technology, providing users with a better digital service experience.

For more details, please follow:

LADT X: https://x.com/LADT_co

LADT Official Website: https://www.ladt.co/

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