Once red-hot crypto faces chilly 2023 amid tighter regulator scrutiny

BALI - When Mr Mochamad Sabdo set up his company 5Harvest0, selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to raise money for farmers, he thought he had a million-dollar idea: Using blockchain technology to create IOUs that would front cash for farmers growing melons and peanuts and raising fish, among other food items.

Mr Mochamad’s NFTs would act as contracts guaranteeing that lenders are fully repaid plus a cut of the profit come harvest. Investors could turn a tidy profit, with farmers being able to avoid loan sharks who lend at a ridiculous rate of up to 20 per cent a month.