The cryptocurrency market has turned slightly bullish, with Bitcoin (BTC) inching towards $45,000 once again. While writing this article, Bitcoin was trading at $43,626, an increase of 4.40% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) has gained 6.20% in the same period to trade at $3,035. XRP was trading at $0.8296, up 5.30% in the last 24 hours.
Major altcoins, which have gained ground in the last 24 hours, include Cosmos (ATOM, $28.44, 10.80%), Polkadot (DOT, $19.31, 6.30%), EOS (EOS-$2.43, 3.9%), VeChain (VET, $0.0583, 4.40%), Terra (LUNA- $55.41, 6.60%), Binance Coin (BNB- $413.66, 5.4%), Cardano (ADA, $1.080, 5.60%), Dogecoin (DOGE, $0.1494, 3.20%), Avalanche (Avax- $84.65, 10.40%), Shiba Inu (SHIB- $0.00003072, 5.20%), Polygon (MATIC- $1.73, 7.30%), Near (NEAR- $10.85, 7%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $338.29, 4.60%), Tezos (XTZ-4.03, 6.80%), ChainLink (LINK-$16.52, 7.8%) and Uniswap (UNI, $10.99, 7.70%).
Major altcoins, which have lost ground in the last 24 hours, include IOTA (IOTA-$0.8670, 5.70%), Internet Computer (ICP, $21.10, 9.20%), Solana (SOL, $101.73, 11.10%), and Stellar (XLM-$0.2157, 3.8%).
Private sector initiatives
nWay releases winter Olympic play-to-earn game app
Motivated by the winter Olympic games, nWay, a subsidiary of Animoca brands, has unveiled a play-to-earn game app. Notably, International Olympic Committee has approved the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and licensed the app named Olympic Games Jam: Beijing 2022. The games were rolled out a day before the curtain-raising ceremony.
The multiplayer game allows players to take part in digitized winter sports and get rewarded in the form of Olympic digital pins generated as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which vary in rarity, from Common to Legendary. Additionally, players can also customize their avatars on the gaming platform.
Gameplay necessitates ‘tickets’ which are ‘linked’ to NFT pins consisting of a pre-determined number of tickets. Gamers can directly take part in a competition by purchasing a pin. Alternatively, users can compete in free matches, win a pin and then participate in a competition.
Apart from winning digital contests, collectors can also immediately buy digital pins via assorted boxes on the official webpage of nWay or through the secondary marketplace run by the platform.
Even though nWay acquired licensing rights only in June, it has successfully created and rolled out the gaming app in about six months. The firm intends to keep the gaming app alive even after the end of the Winter Olympics.
KPMG Canada invests in cryptocurrency
Renowned consultancy firm KPMG’s Canada branch has invested in cryptocurrency. The accounting firm has revealed that it has invested in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) and will be held in its balance sheet via custodial services offered by Gemini Trust.
So far, the firm has not disclosed the amount invested in crypto assets. In order to manage the digital assets held by the company’s treasury, the Toronto-headquartered firm has set up a governance committee. The committee will also take care of risk valuation and tax matters.
Commenting on the investment, Roula Meditskos, spokesperson of KPMG Canada, said that the firm has a bullish view on cryptos. Furthermore, the firm revealed that it is interested in considering similar innovative investment opportunities in the months ahead.
Kareem Sadek, an advisory associate of crypto-assets and blockchain solutions at KPMG Canada, said that the firm would look for suitable opportunities in related sub-sectors such as decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and the metaverse, among others.
Circularise to develop blockchain-powered CSyARES
Dutch firm Circularise has joined hands with four entities to develop a blockchain-powered Circular System for Assessing Rare Earth Sustainability (CSyARES). The initiative is funded by EIT RawMaterials, while technical support is provided by BEC GmbH, Grundfos, Minviro, and the global Rare Earth Industry Association (REIA).
The project intends to enhance the transparency of rare earth metal supply chains and pave the way for sustainability. Notably, China commands the lion’s share (85%) of the rare earth minerals market.
There is no scarcity in rare earth minerals, but they are usually found as dispersed deposits. This makes bulk mining of rare earth a difficult process. With unique magnetic characteristics, rare earth minerals are ideal for the manufacturing of complicated electrical products.
The initiative led by Circularise intends to advance the transparency of the rare earth metal supply chain by enhancing sustainable practices, including effective recycling of e-waste.
Another important objective is to integrate current criteria from the REIA and Minviro’s Life Cycle Assessment tool into the prevailing blockchain software that is used by Circularise to enhance transparency and traceability.
Interestingly, water pump firm Grundfos and BEC GmbH (robotics technology firm) will trial the platform and supply chain to assess the environmental impact. As mentioned earlier, the eventual goal is to achieve a circular economy.
Miscellaneous
Worldpay partners with Crypto.com
Financial products and services provider FIS has stated that its associate firm Worldpay, a global leader in payment processing, has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com to run a validator node on the latter’s blockchain network named Crypto.org. Additionally, the cryptocurrency exchange will also utilize Worldpay to handle buying and selling of cryptocurrencies through cards.
Nabil Manji, Chief of Crypto and Emerging Business, Worldpay, said that the rising enthusiasm towards cryptos has encouraged the company to facilitate access to these innovative technologies to a large number of people.
FIS has pointed out that it handles card-to-crypto processing of four out of the top five cryptocurrency exchanges. In May 2021, the firm collaborated with crypto (Bitcoin) asset manager NYDIG to pave the way for smaller US banks to offer Bitcoin to their customers.
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