The cryptocurrency market remains range bound with Bitcoin (BTC) hovering around $27,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $27,023, down 0.70% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had lost 0.90% to trade at $1,808. XRP was trading at $0.4226, reflecting a loss of 1.40% in the same period.
The only major crypto, which has gained ground in the past 24 hours, is IOTA (IOTA – $0.1794, 1%).
The major cryptos, which have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are Cardano (ADA, $0.3645, -2.80%), Tezos (XTZ, $0.8849, -0.90%), Binance Coin (BNB – $312.06, -0.60%), VeChain (VET, $0.01936, -0.10%), Polkadot (DOT, $5.26, -2.30%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $114.90, -3.80%), Solana (SOL, $20.85, -1.50%), ChainLink (LINK – $6.59, -0.80%), Avalanche (Avax- $14.91, -1.50%). Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00000877, -1.50%), Stellar (XLM, $0.0881, -1.20%), and EOS (EOS – $0.8794, -0.70%).
Private sector initiatives
DWS and Galaxy Digital Unveil Crypto Investment Collaboration in Europe
DWS has entered into a strategic collaboration with the US-based digital assets manager Galaxy Digital to unveil an elaborate spectrum of crypto-centered exchange-traded products for investors in Europe. Germany’s biggest provider of retail funds and the New York-based company also intends to look at other digital asset solutions in the future.
DWS, the €821 billion listed fund administered by Deutsche Bank, will be Galaxy Digital’s sole collaborator for cryptocurrency ETFs in Europe. The Frankfurt-headquartered company and Galaxy Digital’s asset management division will jointly offer European investors access to the $1 trillion digital assets market via low-cost investment solutions that are simple to access through conventional brokerage accounts.
DWS stated that the collaborator accomplishes a major task of establishing an elaborate digital solution that paves the way for investor access to the growing blockchain and digital assets domain.
Both companies also emphasized the intention to jointly gain from emerging digital asset opportunities.
SSimple Introduces DLT Platform for Enhanced Securities Settlement
SSimple has introduced a DLT platform to store and distribute standing settlement instructions (SSIs) employed to conclude securities transactions. The EU’s Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) for settlement became effective in February 2022, with nearly €300 million in fines already levied.
Settlement failures can trigger considerable risk. In fact, European regulator ESMA has revealed that settlement failures were over 12% for securities (equities) in April 2020.
Nevertheless, despite the penalties enforced by the latest regulations, settlement failures continue to happen. Clearstream has disclosed that it faced a failure rate of 10.57% last year, in terms of volume, but a massive 58.76% in terms of value. In most cases, securities weren’t delivered because they were employed as collateral elsewhere.
Nevertheless, cash failures encountered by Clearstream were 2.82% of volumes but 8.33% of values representing €95 billion. Euroclear did slightly better last year with aggregate volume settlement failures of 6.05% and cash payment failures representing 0.33% of volumes.
Furthermore, as several jurisdictions begin the move to trim the settlement period to one day (T+1) from two days or more, there is a necessity to shift from the process of forwarding Excel spreadsheets and mechanize the process of delivering payment instructions.
SI Tickets and ConsenSys Launch Blockchain-Powered ‘Box Office’ Ticketing Solution
SI Tickets, owned by Sports Illustrated, has collaborated with ConsenSys to roll out ‘Box Office,’ an elaborate blockchain-powered ticketing solution using NFTs. The platform is aimed at event organizers and administrators, with a major advantage being improved fan interaction. The platform will compete with Ticketmaster, which has also adopted NFTs, but primarily as collectibles.
Along with Box Office offerings, Sports Illustrated is unveiling a ticketing solution with web3 as the core. On the other hand, Ticketmaster offers NFTs as a collectible feature. Ticketmaster has an advanced core ticketing system and does not use blockchain as the core.
With the use of blockchain technology, Box Office can offer further advantages to both event organizers and fans. The firm claims that its platform is offered at 50% lower than its competitors. Additionally, it also enables sharing revenues with performers or on ticket resales.
Miscellaneous
G20 Techsprint 2023: CBDC, FX, Emerging Currencies, and AML Technologies
The Bureau of International Settlements and Reserve Bank of India has provided details of the 2023 edition of the G20 Techsprint. The three topics prescribed are cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC), FX, liquidity solutions for emerging currencies, and anti-money laundering (AML) technologies. India is the current president of the G20.
The suggested topics are a portion of the G20 cross-border payment program which aims for quicker and cost-effective payments. Several cross-border payments are ineffective because AML procedures have a drag effect, with many transactions getting halted for additional verifications.
Chief of the BIS Innovation Hub, Cecilia Skingsley, stated: “To encourage competition, settlements must be able to move smoothly between payment platforms and across borders without compromising financial integrity.”
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.
