The cryptocurrency market has turned slightly bullish as Bitcoin (BTC) nears $25,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $24,484, up 6.60% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) has gained 13.40% to trade at $1,909. XRP has gained 5% to trade at $0.3860.
Major altcoins, which have gained ground in the past 24 hours, include VeChain (VET, $0.0330, 10.60%), Tezos (XTZ, $1.90, 6.90%), Uniswap (UNI, $9.39, 12.10%), IOTA (IOTA – $0.3573, 8.80%), Stellar (XLM $0.1266, 4.10%), Binance Coin (BNB – $333.18, 3.40%), Polkadot (DOT, $9.59, 11.20), Cardano (ADA, $0.5438, 6.10%), Internet Computer (ICP, $8.63, 11%), Avalanche (Avax- $29.36, 6.60%), EOS (EOS – $1.30, 10.50%), ChainLink (LINK – $9.12, 6.90%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $144.06, 7.60%), Solana (SOL, $43.05, 8%), Cosmos (ATOM, $12.01, 10.20%), Polygon (MATIC – $0.9435, 6.60%), Shiba Inu ( SHIB, $0.00001250, 8.40%) and Dogecoin (DOGE – $0.0720, 5.20%).
Private sector initiatives
Binance and S.S. Lazio to launch NFT ticketing platform
Binance is collaborating with Italian football S.S. Lazio to roll out an NFT ticketing platform for the upcoming (2022-23) season. One of the main features of the blockchain-powered platform is counterfeit ticket prevention. Additionally, the platform enables organizing matches in a better manner and keeps a record of discounts and giveaways of LAZIO fan tokens.
Marco Canigiani, Marketing Director of S.S. Lazio, underlined other benefits offered by NFT tickets. Several venues have begun to deploy blockchain ticketing. This includes the UK’s Wembley Stadium, West Bromwich Albion FC, Dutch football club Ajax and also the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
The French government has directed the use of blockchain ticketing for top sporting events after the issues faced during the UEFA Champions League final.
During the UEFA final, the match got postponed due to issues caused by illegal tickets. Notably, the stadium’s ticketing platform was already linked to SecuTix to issue blockchain tickets, but Liverpool FC chose to issue physical (paper-based) tickets.
MUFG to release utility discount tokens
Japan-headquartered MUFG is aiding Tokyo Dome City, a shopping and entertainment complex, to release utility tokens linked to discount offers. The blockchain technology-based Progmat platform is utilized for the non-fungible token release. Progmat’s platform makes use of permissioned enterprise-level blockchain platform of R3.
Until now, Progmat was used only for tokenization of securities but had revealed its intention to release utility tokens and even multi-bank stablecoins. MUFG utility tokens are different from crypto tokens in the sense that the former can be used for shareholder rewards. Nearly 50% of publicly traded Japanese companies offer shareholder benefits (yuutai). However, the Progmat utility tokens can also be utilized for rewarding anyone irrespective of stock ownership.
In the case of Tokyo Dome, the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are used for deep discount offers, i.e., 60% or more price cuts for staying in the Tokyo Dome Hotel or visiting the Natural Hot Spring Spa.
Notably, MUFG intends to roll out a beta version of its token wallet later this year.
Miscellaneous
Brazil Santander to open crypto trading for its clients
The Brazil branch of Spain’s headquartered Santander Group, Banco Santander S.A., is preparing to roll out cryptocurrency trading for its customers.
Mario Leão, CEO of Santander Brazil, has stated that the bank intends to reveal additional data related to the aforesaid plan in the months ahead. Informed sources expect further detail during the publication of quarterly results.
The Brazilian subsidiary of Santander is also looking at the option of utilizing blockchain technology to tokenize conventional market assets, including debt securities issued by enterprises. The ultimate aim is to make these assets easily accessible to a broad spectrum of firms.
Leão said, “We know that it is a marketplace that is here to remain, and it is not really a response to how rivals have positioned themselves; rather, it is just a perception that our customer has a desire for this sort of asset, so we must find the most appropriate and instructive method to approach it.”
Pearson Education to use NFTs for second-hand book sales
UK-headquartered education, publishing, and assessment service provider, Pearson Education, is looking to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to generate additional revenue from the sale of second-hand books. This information was revealed by the company’s CEO, Andy Bird. Notably, a textbook from Pearson is re-sold for a maximum of seven times.
Bird pointed out that blockchain technology and NFTs enable to benefit from every resale of a product in its life cycle. This implies taking part in downstream revenues.
For instance, Dapper Labs (NBA) made a profit from both initial NFT sales and every resale.
Nevertheless, generating money from the resale of physical textbooks is a totally different case. The transfer cost is included in the NFT’s smart contract in the digital arena. So, it cannot be avoided. In the case of physical books, it is possible to resell without scanning a barcode embedded with NFT. However, Pearson looks beyond generating recurring revenue from textbooks. For instance, the firm is looking at the option of conducting classes in the digital world.
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.
