The cryptocurrency market has turned slightly bearish with Bitcoin (BTC) declining below $27,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $26,086, down 3.90% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) lost 3.80% to trade at $1,775. XRP was trading at $0.4520, a decline of 2.40% in the same period.
Major cryptos, which have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are IOTA (IOTA – $0.1874, 6.10%), Tezos (XTZ, $0.8675, -3.20%), Binance Coin (BNB – $304.11, -2.70%), VeChain (VET, $0.01918, -1.10%), Polkadot (DOT, $5.22, -3%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $111.25, -3.50%), ChainLink (LINK – $6.27, -3.50%), Avalanche (Avax- $13.98, 4.40%), Stellar (XLM, $0.0859, -2.60%), Solana (SOL, $19.15, -3.60%), Cardano (ADA, $0.3586, -2.90%), Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00000842, -4.80%) and EOS (EOS – $0.8316, -3.20%).
Government Level Initiatives
China Expands CBDC Trial, Offers Digital Yuan Loans to Hunan SMEs
China has initiated another novel use of CBDC. The country’s Bank of Communications has issued commercial loans in the form of CBDC as a portion of the digital yuan trial process. Despite offering the CBDC freely for public use, the adoption is still not considerable. Nevertheless, the CBDC trial process is being expanded to new cities along with the broadening of usage scenarios.
Three SMEs (small and medium enterprises) were chosen in China’s Hunan province for a digital yuan trial for “inclusive loans.” The trial was carried out in Changsha, Hunan’s capital, several firms operating in the science and technology realm received funds aggregating to 583,000 yuan ($83,300).
Changsha was one of the earlier cities involved in CBDC trials as a portion of the country’s second set of trial cities. Notably, in 2020, there were only five provinces involved in the trial but the number has increased considerably.
In May 2021, the city began trialing the digital yuan through giveaways and even led the piloting of offline payments and a hardware-oriented card wallet.
HKMA Initiates CBDC Trial Program with Payment Firms and Banks
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has rolled out its central bank digital currency (CBDC) trial program. Several payment processing firms and sixteen banks will partner to trial a dozen usage scenarios.
In September, the central bank highlighted its three-way strategy to create a CBDC, even though it is yet to officially endorse and proceed with that plan. The first constituent was the legal base and the technical framework for a wholesale transaction platform for its CBDC. The launch of the trial implies that the structure of that layer has been completed. Furthermore, HKMA expects two to three years for the development of the solution. The other constituents are the current trial stage followed by a likely implementation strategy.
Almost all of Hong Kong’s biggest banks are a part of the trial. Additionally, the trial also includes multiple payment technology companies, including Alipay (HK), Visa, Mastercard, Ripple, and Gieseck+Devrient (G+D).
The HKMA together conducted a Global Fast Track CBDC trial with FintechHK. The six winners are all taking part in the trial.
The application categories include:
- Full-fledged payments
- Programmable payments
- Offline payments
- Tokenized deposits
- Settlement of Web3 transactions
- Settlement of tokenized assets
The institution also announced its intention for a CBDC Expert Group of academics to study topics including privacy, interoperability, and cybersecurity.
Private Sector Initiatives
Fintech Milano Hub Trials DLT for Tokenized Bond Issuance by Italian SMEs
The Bank of Italy-owned Fintech Milano Hub is conducting a series of DLT trials. One of those trials is dedicated to the issue of debt instruments such as bonds by the country’s SMEs. The tokenized bond solution is headed by tech provider BlockInvest which is aided by Crédit Agricole. Furthermore, the trial will also involve an association comprising Deloitte, neobank Illimity, Crédit Agricole Italy, and its wealth management subsidiary Indosuez.
The intention is to assist individuals to invest in SME debt instruments. Even though the offering can be accessed on public blockchain (BlockInvest utilizes Polygon and Ethereum), only certified investors will be able to purchase the tokens.
BlockInvest also intends to study a possible secondary market utilizing its own blockchain standard to guarantee interoperability between the token issuers.
Follett Higher Education Teams Up with Greenlight for Blockchain Student Records
Follett Higher Education, a large campus retailer operating over 1,100 physical shops, has entered into a partnership with Greenlight Credentials. Greenlight offers blockchain-powered verifiable certification for student academic records.
In the US, the documents related to all the participating courses and grades received are called college transcripts. Greenlight hands over total control of those transcripts to the student in a digital format so they can determine the individual or entity to share them.
It will be immensely helpful to high school students applying to colleges and college graduates scouting for their first jobs. Through a combo of blockchain and decentralized identity, colleges or likely employers can validate academic documents.
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.
