Hey there, PoI readers! 💫

It's your favorite crypto connoisseur, Mochi, back with another serving of tantalizing tech and web3 news. From Thailand's crypto tourist sandbox and Japan's first yen stablecoin to a cryptojacker's prison sentence and Twitter's ex-CEO's AI comeback, we've got a lot to unpack. So, buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the wonderland of digital assets!

From Italy to a Nasdaq Reservation

How do you follow record-setting success? Get stronger. Take Pacaso. Their real estate co-ownership tech set records in Paris and London in 2024. No surprise. Coldwell Banker says 40% of wealthy Americans plan to buy abroad within a year. So adding 10+ new international destinations, including three in Italy, is big. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Invest for $2.90/Share

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

INTEL BRIEF

🟧 Thailand is launching an 18-month crypto payment sandbox called "TouristDigiPay" starting Q4 2025 to help foreign tourists convert crypto to Thai baht for spending, aiming to revive its struggling tourism industry.

🟧 Japan's FSA is set to approve JPYC as the country's first yen-backed stablecoin this fall, potentially creating massive demand for Japanese government bonds in the process.

🟧 Crypto influencer Charles O. Parks III was sentenced to one year in prison for a $3.5 million cryptojacking scheme where he used fake companies to steal cloud computing resources and mine cryptocurrency.

🟧 Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has launched AI startup Parallel Web Systems with $30 million funding, creating tools for AI agents to autonomously research and analyze web information.

Thailand Turns to Crypto Payments to Lure Back Missing Tourists

Thailand is about to become the crypto tourist paradise we never knew we needed! The Land of Smiles is rolling out the red carpet with their shiny new "TouristDigiPay" sandbox project.

Starting in Q4 2025, foreign tourists will be able to convert their crypto stashes into good old Thai baht for some serious shopping spree action. You won't be flashing your Bitcoin wallet directly at street vendors just yet. The system works more like a fancy crypto-to-fiat conversion service, where merchants get paid in baht while tourists get to feel like digital nomad royalty.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is teaming up with multiple government agencies to make this 18-month experiment happen, complete with all the regulatory bells and whistles you'd expect. We're talking Know Your Customer requirements, spending limits, and zero cash withdrawals.

This whole initiative is believed to be a desperate (but clever) attempt to jumpstart Thailand's tourism industry, which has been struggling harder than a tourist trying to pronounce "Krungthepmahanakhon." With tourism numbers dropping 5% in 2025 and Chinese visitors down a whopping 34%, Thailand is essentially saying, "Hey crypto bros, come spend your digital gold here!"

The timing couldn't be more perfect, as other countries like Japan and Vietnam are stealing Thailand's thunder with cheaper alternatives.

Thailand launches 18-month crypto payment sandbox "TouristDigiPay" in Q4 2025 for foreign tourists

Tourists can convert crypto to Thai baht but can't pay merchants directly with crypto

Tourism industry struggling with 5% decline and 34% drop in Chinese visitors driving the initiative

Japan Approves First Yen Backed Stablecoin That Could Reshape Bond Markets

The Financial Services Agency (FSA) is believed to be gearing up to approve JPYC as the country's inaugural yen-pegged stablecoin this fall, and honestly, it's about time!

JPYC, the Tokyo-based fintech darling, is registering as a money transfer business and promises to keep things simple with their 1 JPY = 1 yen formula. No fancy math required – it's backed by the most liquid assets Japan has to offer, including bank deposits and those ever-reliable Japanese government bonds.

JPYC representative Okabe dropped some serious knowledge bombs on X, suggesting that yen stablecoins could become massive buyers of Japanese government bonds.

The timing is particularly spicy considering the global stablecoin market has ballooned to over $286 billion, mostly dominated by dollar-pegged giants like USDT and USDC. Speaking of USDC, Circle already crashed Japan's stablecoin party back in March, getting regulatory approval and launching on major exchanges like SBI VC Trade.

Okabe warns that countries dragging their feet on stablecoin development might face higher government bond interest rates because they're missing out on this shiny new class of institutional demand.

Japan's FSA approving first yen-backed stablecoin JPYC this fall after company registers as money transfer business

JPYC could boost demand for Japanese government bonds as stablecoin issuers typically buy government securities as collateral

Global stablecoin market worth $286 billion with Japan joining after Circle's USDC already launched there in March

Fake Crypto Guru CP3O Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Cloud Computing Resources

Charles O. Parks III, aka "CP3O,” who just got slapped with a one year and one day prison sentence for what might be the most elaborate "fake it till you make it" scheme in crypto history.

Using fake corporate identities like "MultiMillionaire LLC" and "CP3O LLC", this digital desperado convinced cloud providers to give him premium computing privileges by claiming he was building an online training company for 10,000 students.

There was no training company, and there were no students! Just Parks mining away like a digital pickaxe-wielding maniac, racking up almost $1 million worth of Ether, Litecoin, and Monero between January and August 2021. When the providers started asking pesky questions about his "questionable data usage" and mounting unpaid bills, Parks apparently went full ghost mode.

Parks didn't just mine and chill. He laundered his ill-gotten crypto gains through exchanges, NFT marketplaces, and payment processors to fund his luxury lifestyle, complete with a Mercedes-Benz, jewelry, and first-class travel.

Parks used these profits to build his reputation as a crypto guru, sharing tips about achieving a "MultiMillionaire Mentality" on YouTube while running a $10/month self-improvement program. As US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. perfectly put it: "In the end he was merely a fraudster whose secret to getting rich quick was lying and stealing."

Charles "CP3O" Parks sentenced to 1 year in prison for $3.5M cryptojacking scheme using fake companies

Mined almost $1M in crypto using stolen cloud computing resources while pretending to run training company for 10,000 students

Laundered proceeds to buy Mercedes, jewelry, and fund crypto influencer lifestyle before getting caught and ordered to forfeit $500,000

Ex Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal Launches AI Company After Getting Fired by Musk

Parag Agrawal, the former Twitter CEO who got yeeted out of the bird app, is back with a vengeance! Our man has emerged from his post-Musk hibernation with a shiny new AI startup called Parallel Web Systems Inc.

Agrawal dropped the news on LinkedIn, revealing that his startup's flagship product, Deep Research API, is allegedly outperforming both humans AND leading AI models, including OpenAI's GPT-5, on research benchmarks. Bold claims from someone who knows a thing or two about getting disrupted!

The dude has managed to raise $30 million in funding and assembled a 25-person team to build what he believes will be the infrastructure for the AI agent revolution. According to Agrawal, we're heading toward a future where "There'll be more agents on the internet than there are humans around," and each of us will deploy 50 agents on our behalf.

Agrawal's vision aligns perfectly with recent predictions from Coinbase developers, who called autonomous AI agents Ethereum's future "biggest power user." They're talking about AI agents executing stablecoin transfers without human involvement.

After getting the boot from Twitter in October 2022 (and currently suing Musk for $128 million in severance), Agrawal reportedly turned down offers from struggling tech firms wanting him to "clean up shit," knowing AI was his true calling. Smart move, considering he's now powering millions of research tasks daily with Parallel!

Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal launches AI startup Parallel Web Systems with $30M funding and 25-person team

Deep Research API claims to outperform GPT-5 on research benchmarks, already powering millions of daily tasks

Predicts AI agents will outnumber humans online with each person deploying 50 agents, aligning with Coinbase's Ethereum predictions

And that's a wrap, my lovely PoI readers! I hope this edition left you feeling informed, entertained, and maybe even a little bit richer (in knowledge, of course). Remember to stay curious, stay informed, and keep spreading the love. Until next time, this is Mochi, signing off with a virtual high-five!

P.S. Don't forget to share your thoughts, questions, and favorite crypto puns with us. very voice matters in the PoI community! 📣❤️ Share the newsletter

🍨📰 Catch you in the next issue! 📰🍨