The cryptocurrency market remains range bound with Bitcoin (BTC) struggling to move above $27,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $27,333, up 0.70% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) was trading at $1,821, a decrease of 0.50% in the same period. XRP had lost 2.90% to trade at $0.4452.
The only major crypto, which has gained ground in the past 24 hours, is IOTA (IOTA – $0.184-, 0.20%), Tezos (XTZ, $0.9091, 0.10%), Binance Coin (BNB – $313.73, 0.30%), VeChain (VET, $0.0199, 0.90%), Polkadot (DOT, $5.41, 1.10%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $117.58, 0.10%), ChainLink (LINK – $6.74, 0.20%), Avalanche (Avax- $15.07, 0.20%) and Stellar (XLM, $0.0888, 0.10%),
The major cryptos, which have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are Solana (SOL, $20.97, -0.50%), Cardano (ADA, $0.3749, -0.40%), Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00000876, -1.20%) and EOS (EOS – $0.9016, -0.30%).
Government Level Initiatives
Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank Launches Gold-Backed Digital Currency
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has issued gold-pegged digital currency to facilitate investors to store, invest, and conduct transactions in gold. Due to fractionalization, people can purchase digital gold tokens for as low as $10. The tokens were released last week and can be used for payments.
Consumers and investors can purchase digital tokens pegged to physical gold from building societies, commercial banks, and the People’s Own Savings Bank. The offer is open to financial institutions, individuals, corporates, and other organizations.
One of the main features is the low entry point. Contrary to the physical Mosi-oa-Tunya gold coins, introduced by the central bank last year and sold for more than $2,000, individuals can purchase fractions of the digital gold tokens for merely $10. The entry level for institutional investors has been set at $5,000.
Private Sector Initiatives
Vodafone and Sumitomo Corporation Partner to Advance the Economy of Things
Vodafone and Sumitomo Corporation have joined together to create a new entity to foster the advancement of the Economy of Things. Under this latest global environment, vehicles, devices, and machines can communicate and transact with each other through a safe digital platform, without intervention by humans, but under the complete control of the owners.
Gadgets, electric vehicles, smart street goods, including real-time data displays, and machines linked to the platform can be rapidly assessed and confirmed to be dependable and then mechanically permitted to exchange and trade info and money over safe and encrypted links. Businesses spanning several sectors can swiftly introduce new products and establish fresh revenue streams while consumers will feel safe that they are dealing with devices created by a trusted authority.
Under the deal, Vodafone will share its global Economy of Things solution, named Digital Asset Broker (DAB), and also the intellectual property, agreements, technology, and software with the new entity. On its part, Sumitomo will fund the business and work with Vodafone to lure more investors, clients, and partners. The initial shareholding of Vodafone and Sumitomo in the aforesaid venture will be 80% and 20%, respectively.
Both parties aim to launch the DAB platform in a phased manner, initially aiming at the automotive and transport industries in Germany and the UK.
Deloitte Consulting AG Integrates KILT Blockchain for Reusable Digital Credentials
Deloitte Consulting AG has revealed the integration of the KILT blockchain, developed by BOTLabs GmbH, for the release of reusable digital credentials to aid KYC and KYB procedures. These credentials have several use cases, including regulatory compliance for banking and Decentralized Finance (DeFi), age validation for e-commerce, private logins, and fundraising.
Know Your Customer/Know Your Business verification is carried out to validate the identity of an individual or the existence of a business. The procedure is inefficient for the validating organization and recurring for the individual client.
KYC/KYB certificates are usually paper-based, resulting in additional work.
Identity validation procedures frequently require several data points when only one of them is required, for instance, date of birth or country of residence.
Data collection and storage of personal data throughout multiple platforms and databases increase the threat to client data privacy.
The verification certificate can be used only once. Rarely does the customer receive the certificate.
Reusable KYB and KYC records, created using KILT’s platform resolve the aforesaid issues while giving total control to the customer. Credentials are retained in the wallet installed on the customer’s gadget. For the client to administer and share their records, Deloitte is offering a credential wallet through a browser extension. There is no need for any kind of blockchain-related knowledge to set up the wallet.
Acciona Energia and IKEA Partner for Renewable Energy EV Charging in Spain
Renewable energy-focused company Acciona Energia has signed an agreement with IKEA to offer electric vehicle (EV) charging points for the latter’s shopping centers in Spain. The energy’s renewable origin is tracked through the employment of Spain’s headquartered Acciona’s Greenchain blockchain.
By the end of this year, Acciona intends to set up 475 stations, ultimately hitting 567 charging points. Roughly 30% of the stations have been set aside for IKEA suppliers and its transit network.
Vehicle batteries can also retain unused power, implying that the charging points are bidirectional. In simple terms, they can be employed to charge a car or the battery can offer energy to the charging station or even the grid.
Multiple groups are studying vehicle-to-grid integration, including the employment of blockchain to monitor the procedures. This includes MOBI, the DLT mobility group, and Equigy, an association of several European electricity enterprises.
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.
