The cryptocurrency market remains range bound with a slight bearish bias as Bitcoin (BTC) hovers around 30,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $29,366, up 0.70% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) gained 1% to trade at $1,879. XRP was trading at $0.7140, reflecting a gain of 1.20% in the same period.
Major cryptocurrencies, which have gained ground in the last 24 hours, are ChainLink (LINK – $7.94, 8.10%), Avalanche (Avax- $13.25, 0.40%), Binance Coin (BNB – $239.54, 1%), EOS (EOS – $0.7440, 1.30%), Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00000790, 0.80%), Stellar (XLM, $0.1551, 9%), Solana (SOL, $24.74, 6.20%), Cardano (ADA, $0.3083, 2.30%), Polkadot (DOT, $5.27, 2.30%), VeChain (VET, $0.01857, 1.20%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $243.72, 3.50%), and IOTA (IOTA – $0.1730, 1.20%).
Government Level Initiatives
RBI Harnesses UPI for Increased Digital Rupee Transactions at Merchant Outlets
The Reserve Bank of India intends to increase daily central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions by utilizing the country’s prevailing Universal Payment Interface (UPI) framework. UPI is the country’s fastest payment mechanism, which facilitates real-time settlements with retail point-of-sale QR codes of vendors. The bridge will pave the way for the digital rupee to be utilized frequently at merchant outlets.
Since the debut of its e-rupee retail trial in December 2022, India’s central bank has been studying various options to boost the adoption of the digital rupee among its citizens. Currently, 1.30 million users have downloaded the CBDC digital wallet. However, daily transactions remain poor at 10,000, partly due to the restricted number of vendors accepting digital rupee payments. Notably, there are 300,000 merchant outlets that accept the digital rupee, up from 5,000 in January.
Rabi Sankar, deputy governor of RBI, aims to boost daily transactions to about 1 million by the end of 2023 by integrating with the country’s domestic UPI framework. As India has already achieved daily UPI transactions of more than 300 million, the target seems attainable.
Bank of China Partners with Telecom Giants for e-CNY NFC Payment Trials
The Bank of China has joined hands with China Telecom and China Unicom to trial SIM card NFC payments using e-CNY in some of the provinces.
The mechanism intends to facilitate users carrying out payments using their smartphones by linking with the bank’s e-CNY app through a string of super SIM cards that contain a near-field communication (NFC) feature. To make a payment, users only need to place their mobile phones close to point-of-sale terminals. Notably, the solution enables users to carry out payments even with a switched-off smartphone.
The solution is another step in the country’s CBDC trial, and it will be only accessible on some Android phones in certain areas across the country. The People’s Bank of China rolled out the mobile wallet for China’s digital yuan last year. The app was built by the Digital Currency Research Institute, and it can be downloaded from China’s iOS and Android app stores. Interestingly, the bank has broadened the digital yuan trial to a minimum of 26 locations, including Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, and Shenzhen.
Central Bank Unveils New Features to Boost Adoption of eNaira CBDC
In an attempt to increase the adoption of the eNaira, the central bank’s digital currency, the country’s central bank has unveiled new features.
The CBDC will currently aid NFC technology, which is employed by Google Pay and Apple for contactless payments. It also facilitates peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers. Furthermore, the central bank will permit users to restrain payments with improved programmability features, including government aid programs such as farmer loans.
The eNaira will embed NFC technology. Furthermore, the central bank also included additional programmability features to transform eNaira into a user-friendly legal tender and boost the efficiency of welfare programs run by the government.
Private Sector Initiatives
Frankfort Event Emphasizes Interoperability and EIB’s Role in Digital Bonds
During the Digital Securities and Tokenization event in Frankfurt, multiple banks, including BNY Mellon and HSBC, exchanged ideas based on the experience gained from digital securities issuances. One of the outcomes was the requirement for interoperability, specifically with legacy mechanisms.
Although digital securities and tokenization present significant opportunities for increased efficiency and the development of novel company structures, there is still progress to be made in order to fully realize these benefits.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has emerged as a highly active issuer of digital bonds. The financial institution has previously expressed the necessity for additional custodians employing Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). If the DLT platform does not meet the requirements, it is necessary for it to have Swift support.
According to Benjamin Duve from BNY Mellon, investors are seeking to acquire assets and generate yield while reducing the number of points of contact required for servicing. He further stated that DLT does not assume the role of the driver but serves as a facilitator.
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.
