The cryptocurrency market has turned slightly bullish after Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded from $21,000 levels. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $22,746, an increase of 7.60% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had gained 13% to trade at $1,613. XRP had risen by 6.80% to trade at $0.3553.
The major altcoins, which have gained ground in the past 24 hours, include Dogecoin (DOGE- $0.0660, 6.40%), Polygon (MATIC- $0.8798, 14.90%), Uniswap (UNI – $8.34, 27.90%), Shiba Inu (SHIB- $0.00001135, 6.90%), Tezos (XTZ- $1.62, 5.90%), VeChain (VET, $0.02492, 8.40%), IOTA (IOTA – $0.2954, 8.60%), Stellar (XLM – $0.1115, 7.10%), Polkadot (DOT, $7.80, 17%), Cardano (ADA, $0.5067, 9.30%), Binance Coin (BNB- $267.43, 6.50%), Avalanche (Avax- $22.96, 13%), EOS (EOS – $1.25, 13.50%), ChainLink (LINK – $6.80, 9.10%), Solana (SOL, $39.49, 10.20%), Cosmos (ATOM, $10.23, 12.70%) and Internet Computer (ICP, $7.10, 10.70%).
Private sector initiatives
Atomyze releases Russia’s first digital token
Atomyze, a Russia-headquartered blockchain-focused company, has issued a digital token backed by Nornickel-produced palladium, the first of its kind in the rare metal industry. Atomyze, interestingly, was the first company in the country to be granted permission to trade digital assets in February, despite the central bank’s longstanding reservations over digital currencies.
“The development of Russia’s maiden industrial token signals the arrival of the Russian economy into a new technological period — the period of tokenization,” stated Vladimir Potanin, CEO of Interros Holding, one among Atomyze’s investors and the biggest stakeholder of metals manufacturer Nornickel.
“Compared to unsecured cryptocurrencies, where blockchains are utilized to maximize user privacy, other tokens, specifically industry-based, are backed by tangible assets, and the adoption of blockchain technology ensures safe transactions,” he noted.
The initial backers of the platform are Russia-based Rosbank (Interros is also a shareholder in the financial institution) and Vector X, a broker, according to info revealed by Atomyze.
VW partners with Energy Web to implement a smart charging solution
German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) has joined hands with Energy Web blockchain to implement the latter’s smart charging solution, named “24/7”, to maximize the utilization of renewable energy. Notably, VW and Energy Web initially collaborated in March 2021 to explore applications related to electric vehicle charging.
As per Jesse Morris, CEO of Energy Web, the initiative is aimed to demonstrate that advanced EV charging systems can aid EV owners in establishing their priorities with respect to energy usage.
Morris further stated, “For example, they may choose to charge utilizing wind and solar power from sources of energy within a 10-kilometer radius and aim for an 80% recharge by 5:00 p.m.”
The PoC (proof-of-concept) platform was trialed for three months with VW’s electric SUV ID4. The Elli electric charging application from Volkswagen was deployed in Energy Web’s solution. VW intends to add additional features before stepping up on a commercial scale.
BNP Paribas joins up with Fireblocks and METACO
BNP Paribas Securities Services has partnered with Fireblocks and METACO to develop its digital asset custodial solution, which encompasses the issuance, transfer, and also safekeeping of regulated virtual assets.
Both METACO and Fireblocks have a good reputation in the digital asset arena. Two weeks before, BNP revealed info about its assistance in issuing a tokenized bond by EDF on the Ethereum blockchain (public). The bank termed the process a live trial. The tokenized bond issue utilized Fireblocks technology, and the bank intends to leverage the latter’s platform for developing its hot wallet, tokenization, and connectivity-related framework. BNP is also looking at the option of using the Fireblocks solution for settlement and custody of regulated security tokens.
Furthermore, METACO’s institutional level digital asset custody and administration platform will be embedded in the bank’s prevailing framework to strengthen its institutional custodial offering and unified administration across its several systems, paving the way for institutional customers to retain, distribute and settle digital securities along with their conventional assets.
Wayne Hughes, Chief of Digital Assets at BNP Paribas Securities Services, stated that “[…] Our goal is to provide our customers with a unified picture of all these diverse kinds of assets for increased operational excellence, openness, and risk mitigation. […].”
HQLAᵡ completes lending deal with Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon
HQLAᵡ, a tokenization platform powered by distributed ledger technology, has successfully completed its initial institutional-level securities lending deal involving Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon. Notably, BNY Mellon and Goldman Sachs are stakeholders in the platform. The 35 million transactions are valid for 35-days.
The main benefit of using HQLAᵡ is that it can enable large banks to save funds for retaining high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) to comply with Basel III balance sheet guidelines.
Currently, the platform is facilitating banks to swap HQLA among them in order to get a suitable mix of assets on a DvP (Delivery versus Payment) basis. In general, trading assets involves long settlement times as the securities get transferred between various custodians.
On the contrary, HQLAᵡ tokenizes the securities retained at the original custodian, paving the way for trading and settlement without transferring it. The platform depends on the Deutsche Börse, which acts as a trusted intermediate between custodians and the digital collateral registry, which documents the tokens.
In the case of institution-level securities lending, each digital collateral record (DCR) has a linked ISIN. Thus, securities referenced by the DCR may be loaned and digitally paid without a change in the custodian. These DCRs or tokens may also be utilized as security with Triparty Agents that accept them.
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.
