The cryptocurrency market remains range-bound, with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $45,000. Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $44,695, down 3.2% from the previous close when writing this article. Ether (ETH) fell by 4% to $1,733. XRP, the native crypto of Ripple, however, gained 5.3% to trade at $0.5148.
Other altcoins, which have gained ground in the last 24 hours, include IOTA (IOTA-$0.9156, 21.3%), Cardano (ADA-$0.8967, 16.2%), Cosmos (ATOM, $15.20, 1.7%), Binance Coin (BNB-$126.51, 9.7%), Dash (DASH-$144.16, 4.9%), Monero (XMR-$174.49, 1.1%), Polkadot (DOT-$24.89, 5.8%), Stellar (XLM-$0.4272, 4.7%), Tezos (XTZ-4, 6.7%) and USD Coin (USDC-$1, 0.3%).
Likewise, major altcoins which have lost ground in the past 24 hours include ChainLink (LINK-$26.99, -1.6%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH-$502.88, -3.7%), Bitcoin SV (BSV-$213.71 -7.3%), EOS (EOS-$4.20, -3.8%) and Tron (TRX-$0.04586, -2.5%).
Government level initiatives
Beijing becomes the third city in China to conduct a digital yuan lottery
Beijing has become the third city in China to conduct a mass digital yuan lottery and piloting. The RMB 10 million (~$1.55 million) lottery program has been created to reward 200 yuan ($31) to 50,000 people. The central bank digital currency (CBDC) trial is aimed to concur with the forthcoming year’s Winter Olympics to be hosted in Beijing.
The lottery program has begun accepting applications, and the reward money can be spent between February 10 and 17. Local vendors back the eCNY in the Wangfujing district. Furthermore, the digital yuan can be spent via the eCommerce app JD.com, hosting a unique “Digital Wangfujing Ice and Snow Shopping Festival.”
The intention is to utilize the digital RMB for the Winter Olympics food, travel, housing, entertainment, and shopping.
Notably, last Friday, it was affirmed that the Suzhou City would conduct the second Suzhou eCNY trial of 30 million yuan involving 150,000 people.
Private sector initiatives
Japan’s Marubeni unveils a system to purchase renewable energy
Japan’s Marubeni aided WePower has unveiled a corporates’ system to purchase renewable energy in a hassle-free manner. The e-commerce kind of marketplace, referred to as Elemental, was used by Mojo Power, an electricity retailer headquartered in Australia.
By tokenization of power contracts, WePower enables fractionalization of energy. That allows a corporate to resell unused energy without any difficulty. Several countries allow consumers to switch between commercial electricity providers. In the same manner, the platform above makes it simple to draw electricity from multiple renewable sources.
In general, an enterprise purchased renewable energy from a producer via an official Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The process involves purchasing a predetermined quantity of electric power for a considerable amount of time. The purchasing company may end up in trouble if it shifts operation elsewhere as the PPA is not amenable.
WePower had earlier worked with Mojo, and the procedure has now become the norm for other retailers using the Elemental platform. Retailer Mojo inked a PPA deal with the Robinvale Solar Farm in Victoria. As the power was tokenized, Mojo can market chunks of energy to numerous buyers. Furthermore, the buyers will have no issues in reselling the unused capacity.
Mojo’s Managing Director Warren Murphy said, “Mojo is eliminating the dependence on the complicated energy procurement procedures and enabling companies of all sizes to buy local green energy with full transparency easily.”
Gillette introduces Planet KIND
Gillette, a brand owned by Procter & Gamble, has introduced Planet KIND, a sustainable brand. The company claims that the brand will not harm the skin or the planet. The company clarified that the razor handle is being manufactured using 60% recycled plastic. Furthermore, P&G pointed out that every Planet KIND product will prevent ten plastic bottles from reaching the ocean.
P&G, to achieve the objective above of manufacturing a sustainable product, has collaborated with Plastic Bank. This social entity utilizes digital tokens to reward the collection of plastic and monitors the recycling via blockchain.
John Claughton, VP of North America Grooming at P&G, said, “Planet KIND makes it easier to incorporate eco-friendly choices into your shaving and skincare routine.”
Plastic Bank CEO David Katz has pointed out that 80% of ocean plastic is contributed by five countries, namely Indonesia, China, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. As the plastic collection process adopted by Plastic Bank improves the standard of living of collectors, Plastic Bank has named its product’ social product’ instead of ‘recycled plastic.’
Following the collection of plastic bottles, Plastic Bank members deliver it at the nearby store associated with the bank. The collectors are then paid digital tokens, which can be redeemed for tuition, food, and other services. Considering the quantum of plastic that needs to be collected, Katz opined: “I see the plastic as the Bitcoin of the earth and available for everyone.”
Currently, the company operates in Haiti, Indonesia, Brazil, the Philippines, and Egypt.
Miscellaneous
DTCC trials its overhauled distributed ledger technology
Four years ago, DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation) began piloting its overhauled distributed ledger technology-based Trade Information Warehouse (TIW) platform handling credit derivatives. DTCC is a US-based post-trade financial services company offering clearing and settlement services to the financial markets. The prevailing version of the platform handles about $10 trillion worth of bilateral and cleared derivatives.
The upgraded DLT based TIW platform is planned to be launched by the end of 2022. Back in 2018, fifteen backs were involved in the piloting of the forum. The test has now been completed with participation from industry associates, CCPs (Central counterparty clearinghouses), buy-side firms, service providers, and vendors.
The TIW venture utilizes Axoni’s blockchain technology, a variant of Ethereum blockchain. The TIW platform facilitates payment computations, settlement services via CLS and handles credit events.
The overhauled DLT based TIW platform will utilize data feed from IHS Markit’s latest TradeServ credit matching software.
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