The CryptoCurrency market remains in range bound with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $60,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $59,046, a decrease of 0.60% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had gained 2.20% to trade at $2,525. XRP was trading at $0.5724, an increase of 0.60% in the same period.
Major cryptocurrencies, which have gained ground in the past 24 hours, are BNB (BNB, $540.36, 1.10%), and Tron (TRN, $0.1587, 0.40%).
Major cryptocurrencies, which have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are Avalanche (AVAX, $23.58, -1.50%), and Solana (SOL, $143.77, -2.50%). Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $325.03, -0.40%), Polygon (MATIC, $0.4397, – 4.50%), Polkadot (DOT, $4.28, -1.50%), Cardano (ADA, $0.3554, -1.40%), NEAR Protocol (NEAR, $4.34, -4.60%), Chainlink (LINK, $11.21, -0.90%), and Uniswap (UNI, $5.79, -0.80%).
Private Sector Initiatives
Zeto Hyperledger Lab by Kaleido Tackles Ethereum’s Privacy Issues
Zeto, a fresh Hyperledger Lab introduced by Kaleido, aims to address the privacy challenges associated with Ethereum. While enterprise blockchains like R3’s Corda and Digital Asset’s Canton focus on privacy, Ethereum traditionally emphasizes transparency due to its permissionless nature.
However, as the trend leans towards permissionless blockchains, institutions are showing interest in permitting Ethereum but are concerned about privacy issues.
Zeto offers a solution through a unique token design employing zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP), a cryptographic method that conceals transaction details. Despite ZKP being computationally demanding and gradual, Zeto provides varying levels of privacy.
The basic level anonymizes the sender and receiver; a higher level hides transaction values, asset identities, and metadata; and the ultimate level conceals transaction history and related tokens. Notably, Zeto’s token design differs from the ERC-20 standard and resembles Bitcoin’s structure.
State Street Partners with Taurus to Enhance Digital Asset Services
State Street has partnered with Swiss-headquartered Taurus to enhance its digital asset custody and tokenization capabilities. This move comes after a reorganization within State Street Digital aimed to integrate its digital division with the bank’s conventional custody services.
Taurus, known for its work with top banks like Deutsche Bank and Santander, adds State Street to its client list, marking a significant milestone.
Nevertheless, State Street, with $44.3 trillion in assets under custody, is a significant player in the financial sector, ranking just behind BNY Mellon. The collaboration will enable State Street to leverage Taurus’ technology for the issuance and management of digital assets, including securities and fund administration vehicles, pending regulatory approval.
Donna Milrod, State Street’s Chief Product Officer, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, highlighting its potential to meet client demands for innovative digital asset solutions.
Moody’s and Elliptic Partner to Enhance VASP Risk Assessment
Moody’s Ratings has extended its services in the digital asset industry by collaborating with Elliptic, a digital asset analytics company, to offer a comprehensive system for assessing virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
This collaboration combines Elliptic’s expertise in on-chain evaluations across multiple blockchains with Moody’s conventional data sources, including financial documents and regulatory databases.
The joint offering is designed to assist financial entities, businesses, and governments in evaluating VASP risks more effectively. Elliptic, founded in the UK, has received significant backing, including a $60 million Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Evolution Equity, with participation from JP Morgan, Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, and SBI Group.
Danielle Ferry, Managing Director of Product Strategy at Moody’s, emphasized that this partnership enhances risk analytics by embedding both on-chain and off-chain info.
Miscellaneous
Parfin Secures $10M in Series A Funding to Advance Rayls Blockchain Platform
Brazilian firm Parfin has raised $10 million in the initial closing of its Series A funding, bringing its cumulative funds to $38 million. Led by ParaFi Capital, the round also saw involvement from Framework Ventures, L4 Venture Builder, and Núclea. Núclea, an advancement of Brazil’s Interbank Payments Chamber (CIP), handled 29 billion transactions worth $3.3 trillion last year.
Accenture is also a backer. Parfin’s blockchain solution, Rayls, is involved in Brazil’s DREX central bank digital currency (CBDC) test runs.
Clients of Parfin include Núclea, B3 Digitas, and Banco BV. The funding, which may broaden to $16 million, aims to advance Rayls, Parfin’s enterprise-level blockchain platform launched in June.
Rayls allows financial institutions to set up given permission Ethereum-compatible ‘subnet’ blockchains, termed as Value Exchange Networks (VEN).
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.
