The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has launched the UNICEF Venture Fund, which will provide funding to startups that are developing real-world solutions with emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain to protect children on the internet. The fund is particularly interested in solutions that can help young individuals identify misinformation and improve media literacy. UNICEF will provide up to $100,000 in equity-free funding to early-stage startups with a working prototype. The fund is also focused on supporting firms that collect and manage large amounts of data for building safe AI models and fostering digital trust through decentralized protocols. UNICEF has a history of investing in emerging technologies, including blockchain and Web3, to aid distressed children. In another news, SBI Sumishin Net Bank (NEObank) has started offering security tokens to its customers. The bank will partner with Mitsui & Co Digital Asset Management to offer security tokens as investment opportunities. This move represents a disruptive play in the ecosystem, as security tokens are digital representations of asset rights recorded on the blockchain and are subject to securities regulations. NEObank will handle anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer checks for these security tokens and may provide a secondary market and automated distribution of profits. The use of security tokens is gaining momentum in Japan following regulatory clarity provided by authorities. Daiwa Securities and other financial entities in Taiwan and South Korea are also exploring the use of security tokens.



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