The cryptocurrency market remains bearish as Bitcoin (BTC) remains under $60,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $57,393, down 0.60% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had lost 0.10% to trade at $3,073. XRP was trading at $0.438, an increase of 0.70% in the same period.
Major cryptocurrencies, that have gained ground in the past 24 hours, are Polygon (MATIC – $0.5074, 1.10%), Avalanche (Avax- $25.30, 5.10%), and Solana (SOL, $140.16, -1%).
Major Cryptocurrencies, that have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are Hedera (HBAR, $0.0660, -2.40%), Polkadot (DOT, $6.05, -1.80%), Stellar (XLM, $0.0874, -0.30%), Immutable (IMX, $1.24, -2.50%), and ChainLink (LINK – $12.62, -1.80%).
Government Level Initiatives
ECB and HKMA Forge New Path in Wholesale CBDC Trials
The European Central Bank (ECB) recently revealed the list of 48 new participants in the second phase of its wholesale distributed ledger technology (DLT) settlement trials, notably including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
The ECB’s trials feature three central bank settlement platforms, with only one being a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) from the Banque de France. Hong Kong intends to collaborate exclusively with France’s CBDC solution, DL3S, to facilitate real-time cross-border payments.
In the first week of March, the HKMA launched Project Ensemble, a unique wholesale CBDC project aimed at supporting interbank payments utilizing tokenized deposits and providing a settlement asset for tokenization ventures, such as Hong Kong’s digital green bond.
The HKMA and Banque de France will trial the interoperability between Project Ensemble and DL3S, underpinned by a deal between the two central banks. This collaboration will support future tokenization initiatives and the exploration of innovative technologies.
S&P Global Explores Tokenization in Fixed Income Markets
S&P Global Ratings has joined Singapore’s Project Guardian, a collaborative initiative focused on exploring tokenization using the public blockchain. This project encompasses 18 financial institutions and regulators, such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), and Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA). MAS aims to enhance liquidity, generate investment opportunities, and enhance financial market efficiency through this initiative.
Project Guardian’s three main themes are foreign exchange, fixed income, and asset administration, with S&P Global contributing to the fixed income domain. The company plans to build analytical frameworks, evaluations, and standards for digital assets. Previously, S&P Global was among the first to rate a DeFi customer in 2022 and later published stablecoin ratings. The project also includes trials by a minimum of eight participants, including Citi, DBS, JP Morgan, SBI, SGX, Standard Chartered, T Rowe Price, and UBS, focusing on fixed income.
Private Sector Initiatives
Crunchfish and TCS Partner for Offline CBDC Innovation
Sweden’s Crunchfish has joined hands with India’s Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to embed its offline platform for central bank digital currency (CBDC). Crunchfish, a finalist in the 2022 G20 TechSprint for CBDC, is collaborating with TCS, which has several top-notch banking partners, including top banks in the U.S. and UK. In 2022, TCS extended its Quartz digital assets system to include a CBDC solution. According to a BIS CBDC survey, offline CBDC is highly favored, with over 68% of central banks considering it likely, a trend consistent across both developed and emerging economies.
The European Central Bank’s invite for digital euro vendors allocated the highest budget, up to €662 million over four years, for offline solutions. Given its smaller market capitalization of $35 million, Crunchfish benefits strategically from this collaboration with TCS. Competitors in the offline CBDC space include larger firms like IDEMIA and Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), which generate billions in revenue.
Deutsche Börse’s Clearstream Issues First Digital Bonds on D7 DLT Platform
Three years ago, Deutsche Börse launched D7, a digital securities solution. Clearstream, its post-trade associate firm, has since issued several billion euros of securities using a centralized depository. Recently, Clearstream issued its initial digital bonds on the decentralized D7 distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. Two €5 million debt bonds were issued by DekaBank and DZ Bank, with each bank functioning as an investor in the other’s bonds.
These transactions were part of the Eurosystem wholesale DLT piloting, utilizing central bank money for settlement. The trades were settled utilizing the Bundesbank Trigger platform, which connects to the TARGET2 payment solution. Both bond issuances and settlements were real deals. Concurrently, DekaBank is piloting its platform, SWIAT, as one of the steps in the Eurosystem wholesale DLT trials, collaborating with LBBW, a participant in the SWIAT network.
Disclaimer: Any financial trading analysis offered here is our opinion and is not intended as advice or direction for investors. We cannot guarantee the success of any trades made as a consequence of this article, and we encourage traders to incorporate a strong money management strategy to limit losses when they enter the markets. Please use this article as part of your own research before formulating strategies prior to trading.
