The cryptocurrency market remains range bound with Bitcoin (BTC) trying to move towards $30,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $27,632, down 2.30% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had lost 0.50% to trade at $1,834. XRP was trading at $0.4256, reflecting a loss of 3.20%.
The major cryptos, which have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are Cardano (ADA, $0.3673, -0.80%) Tezos (XTZ, $0.9016, -3.70%), Binance Coin (BNB – $313.94, -1.20%), Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00000881, -3.30%), VeChain (VET, $0.0192, -1.40%), Stellar (XLM, $0.0889, -2.20%), Polkadot (DOT, $5.34, -1.80%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $110.91, -2.80%), Solana (SOL, $20.65, -2.60%), ChainLink (LINK – $6.57, -1.70%), Avalanche (Avax- $15.42, -3.20%), and EOS (EOS – $0.9080, -3.90%).
Government Level Initiatives
China-Singapore Taskforce Promotes Green Finance
The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has partnered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to form the China-Singapore Green Finance Taskforce (GFTF). The capital required to shift to a low-carbon world is considerable, and governments are exploring private-sector participation via green funding. With Singapore as a key financial center in Asia, both institutions wish to enhance fund movements between Singapore, China, and the region in general.
The first priorities are common taxonomies, products, and technology, while the Metaverse Green Exchange (MVGX) in Singapore and the Beijing Green Exchange will experiment with digital green bonds and carbon credits. MVGX holds multiple MAS licenses and uses its Carbon Neutrality Token (CNT) to tokenize carbon credits on the public Ethereum blockchain. A year ago, MVGX partnered with Singapore’s OCBC bank, and the Indonesia Stock Exchange is reportedly considering a similar agreement.
The CNT token is associated with several green initiatives. These include China’s Voluntary Emission Reduction credits (“VERs”) and China’s Certified Emission Reductions (“CCERs”).
EPI To Acquire Belgian Payment App Payconiq
The European Payments Initiative (EPI), the bank-aided venture for creating a payment wallet, revealed its plans to take over the Belgian mobile payment app Payconiq, which was founded by ING and Dutch payment solution provider iDEAL. Other banks which have joined the EPI venture are DZ Bank, Belfius, Rabobank, and ABN Amro.
Initially, the EPI was composed of 31 banks and two other entities. They aimed to create a European card network that will challenge Visa and Mastercard. However, the plan was shelved a year bank, and the focus shifted to the creation of a digital wallet. With that, twenty banks opted out of the initiative.
iDeal facilitates Dutch online shoppers to complete purchases by paying directly from their bank accounts. iDeal handled 1.20 billion payments in 2022 and for 70% of all e-commerce dealings in the Netherlands. Payconiq offers similar features to iDEAL but has a wider range of applications backing in-store, online, p2p, and invoicing for professionals to gain obtain payments.
The EPI has mentioned that it initially aims to facilitate p2p payments and person-to-professional payments. Mobile and online shopping is planned as the next step, with point-of-sale (PoS) payments as the final move.
By the end of 2023, the EPI intends to roll out its digital wallet and p2p payment feature as a trial in France and Germany.
Privates Sector Initiatives
Figure Issues First Rated ABS Based on Provenance Blockchain
Figure completed asset-backed security (ABS) issuance based on the home equity line of credit (HELOC) loans that were all documented on the Provenance public blockchain established by Figure. Notably, this is the initial Figure ABS issuance carrying a rating. DBRS Morningstar issued a AAA rating for the Class A notes and A(low) for Class B securities. The ABS was underwritten by JP Morgan, Jefferies, and Goldman Sachs.
The ABS funding facilitates Figure to recycle the funds raised into additional loans. As per Figure, by the end of last year, its cumulative HELOC originations were higher than $5 billion spanning 70,000 homes.
Two years back, Figure revealed a merger with mortgage lender Homebridge, but it was terminated in the middle of last year when regulatory approval was not received.
Mike Cagney, CEO and Co-founder of Figure, said “The beginning of this rated deal marks a turning point in the financial markets, promoting additional liquidity for American homeowners in the long run.”
Miscellaneous
China Pays Government Servants in Digital Yuan to Boost CBDC Adoption
China has begun paying the salaries of government servants and other public officials in digital yuan (Central Bank Digital Currency). This is expected to fuel the CBDC adoption in China.
At the start of this month, all government servants and public officials in Changshu City received their wages in CBDC. Changshu City, which is located in Jiangsu province, comprises of 1.50 million. The initiative is a portion of China’s overall efforts to boost the use of digital RMB across multiple sectors.
Several cities have also started incentivizing the users of digital yuan through the eCNY program that increases consumption among tourists and residents. Nevertheless, the positive impact is yet to be seen.
Similar to other CBDCs, the digital yuan is struggling to increase adoption. The recent statistics, published in August 2022, indicated that transaction volumes are on the rise, but the average transaction value is declining.
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