The cryptocurrency market remains slightly bullish with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $30,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $30,429, up 0.80% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had lost 0.50% to trade at $1,868. XRP was trading at $0.4810, reflecting a loss of 0.50% in the same period.
Major cryptos, which have gained ground in the past 24 hours, are Stellar (XLM, $0.0930, 2.30%), VeChain (VET, $0.01825, 1.50%), Avalanche (Avax- $13.29, 0.20%), and IOTA (IOTA – $0.1849, 3.30%), Binance Coin (BNB – $237.15, 0.50%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $219.72, 11%), ChainLink (LINK – $6.16, 1%), and EOS (EOS – $0.7232, 2.40%).
Major cryptos, which have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are Solana (SOL, $16.34, -2.20%), Polkadot (DOT, $5.08, -1.20%), Cardano (ADA, $0.2818, -1.7%), and Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00000762, -0.90%).
Government Level Initiatives
Project Leonidas: Wholesale CBDC Trials & Novel Payment Technologies
Project Leonidas, a trial for a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), has been initiated by the Bank of Italy in collaboration with 18 members of the Italian Banking Association (ABI). This is one of the 14 projects chosen by the central bank for DLT trials. The trial of the CBDC is taking place concurrently with the European Central Bank’s declaration of its intention to experiment with novel technologies for wholesale payments, without explicitly referring to wholesale CBDC.
It is yet to be confirmed whether the ECB trial will utilize a DLT-powered CBDC as preferred by the ABI, connect a DLT to the traditional central bank payments mechanism, or utilize both.
The ABI has a stupendous track record concerning DLT. In partnership with about 100 banks, the organization has been working on the blockchain project Spunta for the last three years. Utilizing a distributed ledger for interbank settlements considerably minimizes the volume of interbank communications and paves the way for completing the process overnight rather than taking several weeks.
At the end of the settlement process, each bank will have a clear idea of its obligation to other banks. The recent trial intends to settle interbank liability with a CBDC, utilizing the same Spunta framework based on R3’s enterprise-level blockchain Corda.
Ripple Joins Forces with Colombia’s Central Bank
Colombia’s central bank, Banco de la República, is collaborating with Peersyst and Ripple to trial blockchain technology on the XRP ledger. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC) in Colombia will administer the venture, which will utilize Ripple’s recently rolled-out central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform.
The trial, aiming to prove the technology’s usefulness to the public, will be carried out throughout this year.
The objective of the third phase of MinTIC’s blockchain experimentation is to provide education to national and territorial public entities. This will be achieved through interactive and collaborative real-world application experiments. The focus is on showcasing the potential of blockchain technology in revolutionizing payment systems and data management, leveraging its exceptional speed, scalability, and transparency.
The XRP ledger CBDC platform also lays the groundwork for similar trial ventures in Bhutan, Hong Kong, Palau, and Montenegro.
Private Sector Initiatives
Bank of China Introduces Tokenized Security in Hong Kong, Boosting Digital Asset Hub
By capitalizing on its international investment division, the Bank of China released a tokenized security in Hong Kong. Notably, the Bank of China is the first top-rated financial entity to conclude such a deal. The progress supports Hong Kong’s efforts to transform into a key center for digital asset trading.
In particular, on June 12, the investment division of the Bank of China, BOCI, issued digital structured notes worth 200 million Chinese yuan ($28 million) on the Ethereum blockchain.
The investment banking company UBS has played a crucial role in structuring the product and offering it to customers in the Asia-Pacific region. While the Bank of China was carrying out tokenized security issuance, UBS was working to broaden its tokenization initiatives across several financial sectors.
The financial institution has been focusing on tokenizing structured assets, repo financing, and fixed-income products. For example, in December 2022, UBS released a tokenized fixed-rate debt valued at $50 million. The instrument was compliant with Swiss and English law, and its digitization was carried out on a permissioned blockchain.
Miscellaneous
Adidas Originals and Well-known Artist FEWOCIOUS Unveil Collaborative Partnership
Adidas Originals has entered into a collaboration with FEWOCIOUS, an 18-year-old artist who gained prominence for his bold style during the rise of NFTs at the start of 2021.
Four years ago, the artist started utilizing Adidas silhouettes as an artistic canvas. Additionally, FEWOCIOUS partnered with RTFKT for sneaker designs, which enabled the latter to become popular. The fashionable sneaker NFTs generated $3 million in March 2021. In a way, this paved the way for Nike’s takeover of RTFKT.
To begin with, the partnership launched the Trefoil Flower Mint Pass on June 22. The moniker of the gated NFT is a reference to the Trefoil Adidas logo. The NFT offers access to a limited version of NFT, and holders can exchange it for real-life Campus 00 sneakers in the coming summer. Notably, Adidas is also working on 3D apparel that can be used in the metaverse.
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.
