The cryptocurrency market remains range-bound with a slight bearish bias as Bitcoin (BTC) failed to stay above the $40,000 yesterday.
While writing this article, Bitcoin was trading at $37,706, down 3.3% in the last 24 hours. Ether (ETH) was trading at $2,728, a loss of 2.3% in the same period.
XRP has dropped below the psychological level of $1 to trade at $0.9695, mirroring a loss of 3% in the past 24 hours.
Major altcoins which have gained ground in the last 24 hours includes ChainLink (LINK-$31.55, 5.20%), Tron (TRX-$0.0798, 0.9%), IOTA (IOTA-$1.17, 7.3%), EOS (EOS-$6.38, 7.5%), Polkadot (DOT-$22.99, 0.8%), Cardano (ADA-$1.68, 2.4%), and Tezos (XTZ-3.74, -0.8%).
Other altcoins which have lost ground in the last 24 hours include Dash (DASH-$199.45, -0.2%), Bitcoin SV (BSV-$173.41, -3.1%), Binance Coin (BNB-$354.29, -0.5%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH-$722.47, -4.1%), Stellar (XLM-$0.4220, -4.3%) and Cosmos (ATOM, $14.16, -2%).
Private sector initiatives
Fox entertainment enters the Non-Fungible Token industry
Fox Entertainment has entered into the non-fungible token (NFT) industry. The content producer intends to unveil an animated series and NFTs related to the cartoons on a custom-built marketplace.
The animation series, referred to as Krapopolis, is a comedy based on imaginary ancient Greece. Emmy-Award winner Dan Harmon produces the animated program, and Bento Box – the animation studio of Fox – will be used for the production.
NFTs will be created with background art and characters as the base. Furthermore, GIFs will also be created and marketed on the custom-built Krapopolis platform. Even tokens that can be exchanged for social experiences will be offered. Notably, it will be the original animated series to be hosted on the blockchain.
Krapopolis also aims to market digital features of the series while gaining a focused fan base, which will be interested in owning NFTs.
Commerzbank, Evonik and BASF trial a blockchain platform
Commerzbank has revealed its participation in a blockchain venture with Evonik and BASF. The blockchain platform was used to validate and settle supply chain payments automatedly utilizing smart contracts. In simple terms, the trial used cash on the ledger or programmable money.
The trial was carried out in a real-time environment, and the appropriate info was fed to the Commerzbank blockchain with the aid of supply chain integrator Elemica. Tamper-proof documentation of the business process and data was recorded on the blockchain to initiate the automated payment process.
Heinz-Günter Lux, the Senior Digital Strategist at Evonik Digital, said, “The payment process via blockchain and using programmable money along our existing process chains is more transparent, quicker, and more reliable. It is an important building block towards the development of fully autonomous supply chains.”
Blockchain is expected to automate business transactions effectively in the years to come. When raw materials arrive in a stable supply chain environment, the platform can record fresh inventories, and the smart contract can trigger payment after checking quality.
As the supply chain usually involves deferred payments, a bank can settle the bills and take a small slice of the transaction value as a processing fee.
Wells Fargo close to choosing a crypto manager
Darrell Cronk, President of Wells Fargo Investment Institute, has stated that the institution is in the last phase of choosing a manager to manage its crypto division. The institution intends to offer crypto-related facilities to high net-worth individuals.
Notably, Wells Fargo had released a report on cryptocurrencies recently. The document points to two significant reasons for the crypto market to surge last year. The first one is the pandemic and the second reason is the increasing regularity of transparency.
The document highlights the regulatory clearance for cryptocurrency custodial services. Nevertheless, the document also warns that Michael Hsu, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, has stated that the crypto custodial services offered by banks will be studied again.
The report reads: “Cryptocurrencies, in our view, have now evolved into a valid consideration as a portfolio option for qualified investors. Exposure through a professionally managed fund potentially may serve alongside private equity and debt strategies as the primary means of capturing long-term trends from fintech and other secular developments arising from digitization in the economy.”
Christie prepares to auction off five Andy Warhol artworks
Renowned auction house Christie’s is preparing to auction five artworks produced by Andy Warhol in the mid-1980s in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The funds generated from auctioning the artworks will be given to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
The artworks, which were retrieved seven years back, initially prevailed only in digital files. Warhol’s Commodore Amiga used his computer to create them, and the recovery of his work stored on floppy disks thrilled the art market.
Artist Cory Arcangel successfully managed the retrieval of Warhol’s content by organizing a venture-backed by Carnegie Mellon University and Carnegie Museum of Art.
Before the auction commences, the drawings will be minted as NFTs by Christie’s and transferred to the successful bidder’s digital wallet after the completion of the sale.
Notably, the idea to convert Warhol’s work into NFTs came up after the auctioning of Beeple’s NFT for $69 million.
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