The cryptocurrency market remains in range bound with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $60,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $59,455, an increase of 1.50% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had gained 5.50% to trade at $2,682. XRP was trading at $0.5725, up 1.80% in the same period.
Major cryptocurrencies, that have gained ground in the past 24 hours, are Solana (SOL, $145.11, 0.70%), Polkadot (DOT, $4.55, 0.30%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $351.75, 5%), Polygon (MATIC, $0.4211, 3.20%), BNB (BNB, $518.38, 2.20%), Toncoin (TON, $6.26, 1.30%), Cardano (ADA, $0.3383, 2.20%), Avalanche (AVAX, $21.03, 1.70%), Chainlink (LINK, $10.39, 3.30%), NEAR Protocol (NEAR, $4.02, 3.10%), and Uniswap (UNI, $6.20, 4.40%).
The only major cryptos, which has lost ground in the past 24 hours, is Tron (TRN, $0.1262, -1.60%).
Government Level Initiatives
Slovenia Issues €30M Digital Bond Using Banque de France’s CBDC
Slovenia has successfully made a €30 million short-term digital bond issuance on the Neobonds platform owned by BNP Paribas. This issuance leveraged the Banque de France’s wholesale CBDC as an element of the Eurosystem’s trials for wholesale DLT settlement.
This shows the initial sovereign digital bond issuance in the EMEA region. Notably, the financially autonomous European Investment Bank (EIB) has issued a number of digital bonds despite being owned by EU member states. It’s notable that Hong Kong issued a digital green bond of $756 million in February. BNP Paribas served as the Global Coordinator, sole book-runner, and platform issuer for this bond, with Clifford Chance handling the legal matters.
BNP Paribas runs two tokenization platforms: Neobonds and AssetFoundry. Neobonds, which is integral to the bank’s Global Markets division, employs Digital Asset’s Daml smart contract language and utilizes the Canton blockchain. Ownership of the Slovenian bond is registered on the blockchain, with smart contracts managing coupon payments and key events, including redemption on November 25, 2024.
It is speculated that the bond’s duration may coincide with the decision of the Eurosystem settlement test run in November.
The next platform, AssetFoundry, is within BNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) and operates on the public Ethereum network. The bank utilized this platform for bond issuance for EDF in 2022.
Private sector initiatives
German Banks and Industry Leaders Complete PoC for Digital Currency
The German Banking Industry Committee has revealed the outcomes of a proof of concept (PoC) for the Commercial Bank Money Token (CBMT) venture, conducted in collaboration with the Federation of German Industries (BDI). Unlike several tokenized deposit ventures that focus on financial or interbank uses, CBMT aims to serve huge industrial corporations.
Participating banks included DZ Bank, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Unicredit, and Helaba, while enterprises like Airplus, BASF, Evonik, Mercedes Benz, and Siemens were involved.
CBMT enables customers from different banks to carry out transactions utilizing digital currency on various distributed ledger technology (DLT) networks. Tokens from other banks are exchanged and settled conventionally behind the scenes.
The project promises 24/7/365 B2B transactions, compliance through recipient whitelisting, atomic settlement, and support for transactions ranging from fractions of a cent to millions of dollars.
Digital Asset Partners with Ownera to Boost Tokenized Asset Interoperability
Digital Asset, the developer of the Canton Network, is collaborating with Ownera to enhance the interoperability and sharing of tokenized assets. The partnership will establish a Canton Network node on Ownera’s FinP2P routing network.
The Canton Network aims to enable interoperability among networks that use Digital Asset’s Canton technology, with applications including Broadridge’s DLR repo and DLTs from major banks like Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and BNP Paribas.
Nevertheless, Canton does not address connectivity with other blockchain technologies. Various initiatives seek to solve blockchain interoperability, but differing solutions have emerged.
Ownera offers a non-blockchain approach with its FinP2P network, which uses APIs to allow any connected network to communicate with others on FinP2P. Integrating Canton nodes with Ownera’s routers will provide buy-side financial institutions and custodians access to assets in the Canton ecosystem.
Miscellaneous
Cantor Fitzgerald Launches $2 Billion Bitcoin Lending Business
Cantor Fitzgerald, a prominent traditional finance prime broker, has divulged its intention to start a Bitcoin funding business, enabling clients to get a loan against their cryptocurrency holdings.
The initiative will begin with a $2 billion lending pool, with potential increments of $2 billion. This move positions Cantor as one of the first major prime brokers to offer a loan against spot Bitcoin. Cantor is also known for administering the Treasury assets of Tether, the largest stablecoin with a market cap of $114 billion.
At the Bitcoin 2024 conference, Cantor robustly defended Tether amidst ongoing controversies. As of March 2024, Tether’s reserves included a lending portfolio valued at $4.7 billion and over $5 billion in Bitcoin holdings. While the crumbling of many crypto lenders raises concerns about counterparty risk, it also highlights a significant market opportunity for Cantor Fitzgerald.
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