The cryptocurrency market remains range-bound, with Bitcoin (BTC) trying to inch closer to $60,000. While writing this article, Bitcoin was trading at $57,379, down 0.20% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) has gained 3.50% to trade at $4,475. XRP was trading at $1.01, an increase of 3.40% in the past 24 hours.
Major altcoins, which have gained ground in the last 24 hours, include EOS (EOS-$4, 1.30%), IOTA (IOTA-$1.41, 5.10%), Dash (DASH-$181.80, 1.70%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $573.25.09, 1.10%), Tezos (XTZ-5.75, 23.2%), Cosmos (ATOM, $28.06, 2.7%), Uniswap (UNI, $20.49, 2.10%), Solana (SOL, $204.42, 1.60%), Stellar (XLM-$0.3351, 2.70%), Cardano (ADA, $1.60, 0.2%), Polkadot (DOT, $36.76, 0.80%), VeChain (VET, $0.1218, 4.90%), Dogecoin (DOGE, $0.2185, 6.40%) and ChainLink (LINK-$25.05, 0.60%).
The major altcoins, which have lost ground in the last 24 hours, are Bitcoin SV (BSV-$148.78, -0.50%) and Internet Computer (ICP, $41.86, -0.20%).
Government level initiatives
China Galaxy Investment Management to trial digital yuan
In partnership with the world’s largest China government-owned ICBC Bank, China Galaxy Investment Management, which boasts 13 million brokerage clients, will conduct a digital yuan trial focused on securities transactions. The initiative has received approval for inclusion in the Beijing sandbox. The government-backed central bank digital currency (CBDC) or eCNY will be utilized in three kinds of transactions, namely paying fees for data, consulting, and other kinds of services.
The digital yuan will be utilized to settle the OTC (over-the-counter) stock trade in the “tripartite deposit management system.” The three-way depositary solution guarantees that brokers will not be able to misuse customers’ funds as the use of physical cash is avoided.
Similar to earlier trials, the latest one will be conducted in ten pilot locations in addition to the Beijing Winter Olympics. Currently, there are 140 million c-CNY wallets, representing 10% of the country’s population.
Private sector initiatives
Givenchy to release NFT series in collaboration with Chito
Once again, Givenchy, the popular French fashion brand, is preparing to release an NFT (non-fungible token) series. The collection will be made up of 15 kinds of NFTs sketched in collaboration with digital artist Chito and the collection will be based on the Spring 2022 collection.
The venture is headed by the creative director of Givenchy, Matthew M. Williams, who has been managing the brand since June last year. The NFT collection will be displayed and auctioned on OpenSea’s marketplace. Therefore, the brand will gain popularity among people from all walks of life, rather than the usual wealthy customers.
Commenting on the initiative, Williams said, “I’ve been wanting to explore this new and exciting space of NFTs. The fact that Chito is already active in the ecosystem made it feel even more natural for us to collaborate on this limited series and bring our collective vision for Givenchy even further.”
South China Morning Post to issue historical journal articles as NFTs
Hong Kong-headquartered media outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP) will issue important journal articles from the last 118 years as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on blockchain Flow, which is also used by NBA Top Shot. The series, named ARTIFACTS, also intends to mint variations of historical goods from universities, museums, publishers, and the rest of the institutions.
Commenting on the initiative, Mickey Maher, Head of Partnerships at Dapper Labs, which developed the Flow blockchain, said, “SCMP’s innovative approach to transform its ledgers of historical journalism with blockchain technology has all the markings of being a game-changer.”
Tata Steel completes paperless shipment to Bangladesh
India headquartered multinational company Tata Group’s steel subsidiary, Tata Steel, has completed a blockchain technology-based paperless shipment to a metal industry in Bangladesh. Notably, it is the first such transaction between an Indian and Bangladesh-based company. In April 2021, in a first of its kind for the steel industry across the globe, Tata Steel had utilized a blockchain platform introduced by HSBC to conduct a trade funding deal with a UAE-based firm.
The latest deal was enabled by Standard Chartered India and was carried out on Contour’s blockchain trade platform, which facilitates banks, corporates, and other trading participants across the globe to conduct deals with each other.
Standard Chartered Bank acted as advisor and confirmed the letter of credit (LC) favoring Tata Steel based on inputs made through Contour. The platform also facilitated presenting of documents to the buyer’s bank. The process ensured quick rectification of discrepancies and reduction of turn-around time to days instead of weeks.
The document transfer and transmission of LC through the platform was carried out in just three hours, highlighting the operational efficiency of the platform.
Miscellaneous
Pantera Capital receives $600 million in funding
Pantera Capital, headed by Dan Morehead, has successfully received $600 million in funding for the fourth blockchain fund. The earlier fund successfully raised $175 million in 2018. Notably, three-quarters of the aforesaid $600 million have come from institutional investors.
Pantera claims to have $6.40 billion in assets under management (AUM) at the end of October. The fund has invested in early-stage tokens, venture equity, and liquid tokens. Notably, startups offer early-stage tokens at a discount before the cryptos go through the public launch process.
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.
