The cryptocurrency market turned slightly bullish after Bitcoin (BTC) broke the $24,000 level. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $25,029, up 3.20% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum has gained 2.50% to trade at $1,717. XRP was trading at $0.3982, an increase of 2.90% in the same period.
Major cryptos, which have gained ground in the past 24 hours, are VeChain (VET, $0.03185, 9.60%), EOS (EOS – $1.29, 4.10%), IOTA (IOTA – $0.2669, 5.80%), Stellar (XLM, $0.0956, 5.40%), Binance Coin (BNB – $317.08, 0.70%), Polkadot (DOT, $7.52, 1.10%), Avalanche (Avax- $20.82, 6.70%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $150.84, 10.10%), Cardano (ADA, $0.4051, 1.80%), Tezos (XTZ, $1.26, 5.20%), Solana (SOL, $26.39, 2.90%), Dogecoin (DOGE – $0.0886, 2%), ChainLink (LINK – $8.07, 1.60%), and Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00001356, 1.90%).
The only major crypto, which has lost ground in the past 24 hours, is Internet Computer (ICP, $7.27, -1%).
Private sector initiatives
Samsung Free NFT Drop for Galaxy S23 with Ledger and Amazon
Samsung Germany is conducting a free non-fungible token drop as a reward for its forthcoming rollout of the Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphone by the end of this month. The initial Samsung NFT drop is accompanied by a three-way marketing strategy with hardware wallet provider Ledger and Amazon.
During the initial stage, interested people could prequalify for the community NFT, referred to as the Samsung MX1 Genesis Edition. One of the ways to qualify is by purchasing a Ledger Nano hardware wallet.
In the last week of this month, the MX1 ARTCollection NFTs will be rolled out. This will involve popular NFT artists. To get listed for the free drop, users should either purchase the ‘Samsung x Leger web3 Starter Bundle’ or the Samsung Galaxy hardware wallet that backs NFTs and a €100 Amazon voucher.
Commenting on the initiative, Mario Winter, Vice President of Marketing at Samsung Electronics GmbH, stated “Our Starter Bundle with Ledger is designed for anybody who is open-minded and interested in delving into the exciting realm of non-fungible tokens and digital art, or who just want to buy and sell cryptos.”
The partnership is not the first for Samsung, which acquired a stake in Ledger four years ago. This is not the electronic behemoth’s only web3 investment. Samsung unveiled a blockchain-powered KlaytnPhone centered on the Korean blockchain Klaytn.
BIS Innovation Hub’s 2023 Work Plan to Track Stablecoins with Pyxtrial Project
The BIS Innovation Hub has rolled out its 2023 work plan. This includes several projects related to DeFi, stablecoins, and CBDC that were not announced earlier.
Project Pyxtrial at the London Centre will track stablecoins to guarantee that the backing assets tally the issuance of the stablecoin. Pyxtrial intends to study a range of tools to facilitate supervisors and legislators to track the stablecoin platform. The venture’s name refers to the Trial of the Pyx – a legacy UK procedure involving the testing of minted coins to guarantee that they adhere to specifications.
The BIS Innovation Hub has so far announced 26 projects, 21 of which are still active. 15 of the enterprises are focused on digital currency issued by central banks (CBDC). Three international CBDC projects have already been finished. Project Helvetia, Jura, and Dunbar are included in this. The projects MBridge and Icebreaker examine cross-border wholesale CBDC and retail CBDC, respectively.
Miscellaneous
LevelField Financial Acquires Burling Bank
Digital asset firm LevelField Financial stated that it was taking over FDIC-insured Chicago community bank Burling, which is also Illinois state-chartered. LevelField is interested in transforming into a full-service bank providing both conventional banking and compliant digital asset facilities.
Notably, only a few days earlier, the US Federal Reserve Board rejected Custodian Bank’s application to join as a member of the Federal Reserve System. The Fed further stated that it intends to prevent uninsured state banks from retaining cryptos.
The acquisition is subject to the approval of regulators, implying that the completion of the takeover process will take six to nine months.
Gene Grant II, CEO of LevelField Financial, stated “With this takeover, LevelField will transform into a conventional bank, although one that caters to consumers active in the digital asset category.”
Alfa Bank Obtains Digital Financial Assets License from Bank of Russia
Russia’s biggest private bank Alfa Bank has gained the credit of being the fourth institution to receive a digital financial assets (DFA) license from the Bank of Russia. Two years ago, Russia announced fresh rules that included certain tokenized conventional assets and also the tokenization of real-world assets but ruled out cryptos.
Currently, the prevailing licenses were centered on utilizing blockchain tools for factored invoices and precious metals including palladium and gold. Alfa Bank will take a similar route with tokenized ‘monetary claims’ and the tokenization of physical assets, which covers precious metals.
Alfa Bank states that its A-Token system will be employed to generate funds for enterprises from all categories of investors, including professionals and individuals, and is looking at the option of minting native tokens.
Denis Dodon, Innovation Director at Alfa-Bank, stated “We recognize the efficacy of the technology and its capacity to perform trades straightaway with the customer, hence minimizing risks and expenses.”
The rest of the three DFA licensees are Russia’s biggest bank Sberbank, startup Lighthouse and Norilsk’s Atomyze.
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.
