The cryptocurrency market remains range-bound with a slight bearish bias. Bitcoin (BTC) continues to face selling pressure of around $11,000. At the time of writing this article, Bitcoin was trading at $10,756.17, up 0.5% in the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH) was trading at $352.67, down 0.4% in the same period. XRP was trading at $0.2528, reflecting an increase of 0.2%.
Major altcoins which have rallied in the past 24 hours include Tezos (XTZ-$2.13, 0.1%), Cosmos (ATOM, $5.34, 0.1%), Dash (DASH-$67.43, 1.1%) and Monero (XMR-$113.64, 7.9%). Major altcoins which have lost value in the past 24 hours are Polkadot (DOT-$4.14, -2.1%), IOTA (IOTA-$0.2698, -2.8%), Binance Coin (BNB-$28.46, -2.5%), OKB (OKB-$6.18, -0.1%), Litecoin (LTC-$46.30, -0.7%), Bitcoin SV (BSV-$161.54, -1%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH-$221.23, -0.2%), EOS (EOS-$2.53, -0.2%), Cardano (ADA-$0.09709, -1.7%), ChainLink (LINK-$9.55, -0.1%), Stellar (XLM-$0.0732, -0.5%), Tron (TRX-$0.0264, -0.6%) and Huobi (HT-$4.61, -0.8%).
Government level initiatives
Penn State preparing to run a signing node for GoChain’s blockchain
The US-based Pennsylvania State University, which boasts of over 40,000 students, is preparing to run a signing node for GoChain’s blockchain. The underlying protocol of GoChain is proof-of-reputation or PoR. According to GoChain’s senior vice president of marketing, Marie Gonzalez, the blockchain, safeguarded by nodes run by chosen institutions, was built by forking the Ethereum blockchain’s code.
GoChain’s blockchain utilizes a consensus protocol called PoR, which necessitates a pre-determined number of authorized nodes to assist in running the network. The blockchain intends to ultimately function with 50 such nodes. Regarding the decision to have 50 nodes, Gonzalez said, “We set the bar high so it’ll take time to get to 50.”
A list of the node operators includes DISH Network and Lenovo, in addition to Pennsylvania State University State.
Gonzalez detailed the features of the node as follows: “It is public and accessible by anyone and is 100% Ethereum compatible, so anyone can take advantage of the 100x scalability (1,300 transactions per second) and 10,000x cheaper fees. Also, because each node is voted in and their reputation is at stake and they don’t need to battle for hashes, GoChain has a 99.9% smaller carbon footprint.”
Other than operating a node, in partnership with GoChain and the Department of Supply Chain and Information Systems, the school’s Center for Supply Chain Research intends to explore the benefits of blockchain in supply chains and Information Systems.
Private sector initiatives
Swipe offering a new crypto Visa card – “LendFi Visa Card”
Swipe, a cryptocurrency-based debit card provider and a subsidiary of Binance, is widening its product offering by issuing a new cryptocurrency Visa card that facilitates borrowing of funds with the aid of blockchain technology. The card, named “LendFi Visa Card,” employs top decentralized finance covenants to offer “near-instant access to lending balances.” The card is embedded with the LendFi app, which in turn, is linked to a decentralized lending platform that supports Compound, one of the major DeFi protocols.
As per the announcement, the latest blockchain-based lending platform clears loans for users and distributes them to appropriate accounts. The LendFi App also provides a stable coin aggregator, which can be used to deposit a range of stablecoins and expend using the card.
The card was built with the California-based payments firm, Marqeta. The company’s vice president of business development, Salman Syed, stated that the card paves the way for lenders to load a card with a loan.
US residents can download the LendFi app, register, finish the identity verification process, and start using the virtual LendFi Visa Cards. Later on, physical cards, which offer 4% cashback on all purchases, can be ordered.
Shenzhen stock exchange co-launched a blockchain tool
China-based Shenzhen stock exchange (SSE) has co-launched a blockchain tool for trading stakes in unlisted privately held firms. The platform was created as one of the initiatives set forth by the Beijing Regional Trading Center.
The city’s regional equity market, Beijing Fourth Board Market (BFBM), will also be trialed with the platform. The use of blockchain technology is expected to “reduce the cost of information asymmetry, standardize corporate equity management, and better play the function of market equity financing.”
Ge Yimiao, an inspector of the Information Center of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, stated that both SSE and BFBM would be offering custody services.
Yimiao also opined about the choice of blockchain technology: “We expect to get credibility, to reduce the cost of information asymmetry, standardize corporate equity management, and better leverage the function of market equity financing to lay a solid foundation for non-listed companies’ share transfer transactions. Also, it expects to implement equity financing and the future to a higher level of capital market.”
Miscellaneous
DeFi continues to create immense opportunities for crypto investors
DeFi sector continues to shakeup conventional finance while creating huge opportunities for crypto investors. APY Finance, the latest yield farming platform, lured over $67 million in investments within an hour of launch. The mining contracts offered by APY incentivizes users to provide liquidity in the market. In return for providing liquidity of USDC, DAI, and USDT stable coins APY Finance offers rewards in the form of APY, the platform’s governance token.
900,000 APY tokens will be mined in the first month, but rewards will fluctuate on a m-o-m basis. The total quantum of APY that can be ever mined is 31.20 million tokens or 31.2% of the overall supply. Arrington XRP Capital, Parafi Capital, Alameda Research, and Coingecko participated in the offering.
According to a medium post by the project promoters, 20% of tokens that are distributed will be allotted to see round investors at $0.09 per token (compulsory holding for a year) and 16.5% set aside for strategic investors at $0.135 per token (compulsory holding for a year). Furthermore, 20% will be allocated for the core team and investors (obligatory holding for a year followed by a step-by-step release over a period of three years).
After the total supply of APY token happens, the community will gain control over 43.5% of the governance token supply. Details are yet to be released regarding the listing of the token.
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