The cryptocurrency market remains slightly bearish as Bitcoin (BTC) struggles to hold above $40,000. While writing this article, Bitcoin was trading at $42,181, an increase of 0.40% in the last 24 hours. Ether (ETH) traded at $3,119, down 1.40% in the past 24 hours. XRP had lost 1.10% to trade at $0.7467.
Major altcoins, which have gained ground in the past 24 hours, include ChainLink (LINK-$28.41, 1.10%), Cosmos (ATOM, $38.06, 7.40%), Uniswap (UNI, $15.44, -2.20%), Polkadot (DOT, $24.24, -2%), Internet Computer (ICP, $36.95, 4.80%), and IOTA (IOTA-$1.14, 6.20%).
Major altcoins, which have lost ground in the last 24 hours, include Tezos (XTZ-4.08, -2.08%), Solana (SOL, $137.26, -2.70%), Cardano (ADA, $1.16, -0.90%), VeChain (VET, $0.742, -4%), Dogecoin (DOGE, $0.1461, -3.70%), EOS (EOS-$2.75, -1.80%), Dash (DASH-$153.37, -0.30%), Stellar (XLM-$0.2565, -2.50%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $367.78, -2.10%) and Bitcoin SV (BSV-$108.24, -1.30%).
Government level initiatives
Bank of Jamaica successfully completes CBDC trial
The first-ever central bank digital currency trial was completed successfully by the Bank of Jamaica, which is now planning for a countrywide launch in the first quarter of this year. In March 2021, the central bank started with the trial of its CBDC prototype. According to the Jamaica Information Service, last Friday, the country’s central bank completed its eight-month trial.
As a portion of the trial, on August 9, 2021, the Bank of Jamaica minted CBDC worth 230 million Jamaican (JMD) dollars (~$1.50 million) for distributing to banks and other financial institutions, including authorized payment processors. Irish cryptography security firm eCurrency Mint acted as the technology provider for the central bank.
The central bank distributed 1 million JMD (~$6,500) worth CBDC to its staff working in the banking division. Furthermore, on October 29, the bank transferred five million JMD (~$32,000) worth of CBDCs to the National Commercial Bank (NCB), which provided wallets for holding the CBDC and also enrolled 57 of its customers for the aforesaid trial.
The NCB’s customers were able to conclude deals on a peer-to-peer basis in December 2021. The participants were also able to cash in and cash out without any issues. The central bank now intends to include two more wallet providers before the countrywide rollout in the first quarter. The wallet providers have already begun virtual testing and will be able to request CBDC from the Bank of Jamaica for distribution to their customers. The central bank also intends to conduct a trial on interoperability between multiple wallets.
Pakistan Customs partners with TradeLens
Pakistan’s Customs has joined hands with blockchain technology-based logistics platform TradeLens to digitize supply chains and minimize money laundering via trade.
Cross-border supply chains are cumbersome and can frequently involve as many as 30 distinct organizations. There will be a constant need for data sharing for a single shipment. This may result in high costs, and chances of fraud and mistakes rise with the aforesaid processes. Digitizing such procedures reduces the possibility of error and ensures a consistent and traceable record of data, paving the way for efficient and safe administration of supply chains.
TradeLens platform was jointly developed by IBM and shipping giant Maersk. The platform is currently used by five of the six largest ocean carriers, including Ocean Network Express and Hapag-Lloyd. Additionally, the platform is also used by several ports across the globe. The aforesaid partnership will result in the digitization of shipping documents from Pakistan. Additionally, customs and other regulators’ operations will also be digitized in the months ahead. This will improve efficiency while preventing illegal trade activity.
Private sector initiatives
Swisscom Blockchain and Orell Füssli join hands
Swisscom Blockchain has partnered with Orell Füssli to advance the utilization of legally binding digital certificates that are based on blockchain. Orell Füssli, a prominent Swiss book publisher, is also a printer of banknotes. The firm’s subsidiary Procivis offers digital identity solutions for government institutions. For instance, the crypto-friendly province of Zug uses the firm’s eID+ solution.
Covid certificates, which occasionally employ blockchain, have helped to popularize the notion of blockchain and self-sovereign identification (SSI). Using SSI, the user retains control of their identification information and selects who they reveal it to.
The smartphone solutions being built by the duo will be aimed at individuals, businesses, and government agencies, with the initial application expected to be released within the next 12 months. Age verification process, document validation, and merging identity data with digital signatures are all illustrations of digital certificates cited. These digital certificates are immutable.
Commenting on the initiative, Urs Schaeppi, CEO Swisscom, said, “Digital certificates, whether for age checks, job applications or even the conclusion of a contract, is the next simplification step, for individuals as well as for companies and public authorities.”
Miscellaneous
Scuderia Ferrari joins forces with Velas Network AG
Scuderia Ferrari, the Formula One team of Ferrari, has joined forces with Velas Network AG, a Swiss-headquartered blockchain firm, for the forthcoming season and beyond. Advertising is an essential aspect of the agreement, which also involves the creation of special digital goods and experiences for Scuderia supporters.
There is yet to be a formal declaration regarding the products that will be developed under the partnership, but non-fungible tokens are expected to be one among them. Velas features a layer one blockchain that challenges established players such as Ethereum and Solana. The firm also offers an NFT marketplace, similar to the rest of the major blockchains. In addition to being a premium partner of Ferrari, Velas will also serve as the title sponsor in the Esports Series conducted by Ferrari.
Formula 1 is already witnessing a wave of NFTs and blockchain technology-based products. Tezos blockchain has advertisement, and NFT deals with both McLaren Racing and Red Bull’s F1 squad. While McLaren already has a token fan agreement with Bitci.com, Formula 1 owns a blockchain game called F1 Delta Time, which debuted well before the buzz over NFTs. Ferrari’s collaboration with Velas implies that it may be able to offer all of those goods under a single agreement.
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