The cryptocurrency market remains slightly bullish with Bitcoin (BTC) trading comfortably above $35,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was changing hands at $36,327, up 2.90% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had gained 1.50% to trade at $1,915. XRP was trading at $0.6909, an increase of 0.90% in the same period.
Major cryptocurrencies, that have gained ground in the past 24 hours, are Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $251.99, 3.60%), VeChain (VET, $0.0227, 4.30%), Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00000846, 2.80%), EOS (EOS – $0.710511, 2.80%), IOTA (IOTA – $0.1868, 6.10%), Avalanche (Avax- $13.19, 3.2%), Cardano (ADA, $0.3640, 3.10%), Polkadot (DOT, $5.11, 4.60%), and Solana (SOL, $43.89, 2%).
Major cryptocurrencies, that have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are ChainLink (LINK – $14.52, 9.10%) and Binance Coin (BNB – $249.49, 1.30%).
Government Level Initiatives
Two Digital Currency Deals Were Announced By China’s Belt And Road Summit
Following China’s Belt and Road Summit, a list of overseas cooperation deals was announced. Two of those agreements were related to digital currency. One of them was a partnership agreement inked between the state-owned Commercial Bank of China and the First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).
Furthermore, the People’s Bank of China inked a digital currency deal with the Central Bank of the UAE. The two central banks already partner on the mBridge venture for cross-border payments, along with the BIS, and the central banks of Hong Kong and Thailand.
The Belt and Road report also revealed a partnership with the Bank of Indonesia, but there was no mention of digital currency.
Notably, Shu-Pui Li, the UAE’s advisor on digital currency, mentioned the potential for partnership at a mBridge summit last year. He revealed that Chinese firms prefer to pay in eCNY (digital yuan), and UAE corporations have no qualms about it. Furthermore, about 300,000 Chinese citizens work in the UAE, and 60% of China’s trade with the Middle East and North Africa is routed through the UAE.
Petrochina Chooses Digital RMB For 1 Million Barrel Oil Trade
PetroChina has opted for digital RMB (eCNY) to settle a one million barrel crude oil trade. This is the initial cross-border crude oil trade to be settled using central bank digital currency (CBDC).
In the final week of September, as a portion of the China-Arab Business Summit, a meeting was held to work out the modality for the use of local currency. Furthermore, during the China-Gulf Summit held in the final leg of 2022, attended by President Xi Jinping, he highlighted the RMB settlement of oil and gas trades. China imports roughly RMB 3 trillion ($410 billion) worth of crude oil every year.
The Shanghai Oil and Gas Trading Center platform facilitated the CBDC deal. Back in March, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) employed the platform to settle its initial liquefied natural gas (LNG) in fiat RMB. In that deal, France-headquartered Total was the seller, while the origin of the gas was from the UAE.
Private Sector Initiatives
Deutsche Bank And SC Ventures Completed A Proof Of Concept For UDPN
Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered’s associate firm SC Ventures have successfully finished their initial proof of concept (PoC) for the Universal Digital Payments Network (UDPN). The PoC intends to demonstrate the linking of payment solutions across various blockchain and CBDC networks through the use of messages, as in the case of SWIFT. However, unlike SWIFT, the major difference is that the trial used a permissioned blockchain platform to send messages across institutions (participants in the PoC). Banks took part in the PoC initiative because the network only accepts regulated tokens and ensures compliance by utilizing decentralized identities.
The UDPN was established by Red Date Technology, the co-founder of China’s blockchain-based Service Network (BSN). The firm has been creating UDPN by joining hands with consultancy GF. Notably, DLA Piper’s digital asset initiatives, TOKO, are also involved in the development.
The objective of UDPN is to resolve the adoption barriers faced by prevailing digital currency solutions.
Miscellaneous
DTCC Acquires Compliance-Focused Blockchain Firm Securrency
DTCC has taken over blockchain firm Securrency, which is renowned for its compliance-aware token infrastructure. The framework ensures that security tokens comply with regional regulations. Nadine Chakar, an ex-State Street executive, became the CEO of Securrency last year. Following the acquisition, Nadine will head DTCC Digital Assets and become a member of the DTCC Management Committee. DTCC handles over $2 quadrillion worth of capital market transactions every year. Securrency, which raised roughly $50 million in funding, is backed by State Street, WisdomTree, and US bank.
The DTCC intends to facilitate institutional DeFi and incorporate digital assets within its prevailing offerings. The firm will also study usage scenarios with asset managers, broker-dealers, and custodians. Securrency’s technology, which is currently offered through a license, will continue in the same manner.
For instance, WisdomTree Prime, the asset manager’s digital asset offering, employs Securrency technology.
Fragmentation is one of the issues curtailing institutional adoption of blockchain. The DTCC intends to offer worldwide leadership in this region and trusts Securrency’s technology can offer a “DLT-agnostic harmonization layer”.
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.
