The cryptocurrency market has turned bullish, with Bitcoin (BTC) breaking above $60,000. While preparing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $61,492, up 7.80% in the past 24 hours. Ethereum (ETH) had gained 4.90% to trade at $3,407. XRP was trading at $0.5784, a decrease of 0.80% in the past 24 hours.
Major cryptocurrencies that have gained ground in the past 24 hours, are Binance Coin (BNB – $412.06, 3.80%), ChainLink (LINK – $19.56, 3.40%), and Avalanche (Avax- $41.49, 5.40%).
EOS (EOS – $0.8523, 1.50%), Polkadot (DOT, $8.41, 1%), Cardano (ADA, $0.6429, 3.60%), Solana (SOL, $122.18, 13%), Shiba Inu (SHIB, $0.00001182, 5.30%), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH, $300.44, 2.40%).
Major cryptocurrencies, which have lost ground in the past 24 hours, are IOTA (IOTA – $0.292, 0.20%), and VeChain (VET, $0.0481, -0.70%),
Government Level Initiatives
European LIBE Committee Approves Digital Euro Report with Recommended Changes
The parliamentary European Committee on Civil Liberties and Justice (LIBE) has approved the recent digital euro report. The document recommends changes to the draft law that would transform digital currency into a legal tender. While 48 of the LIBE members voted in favor of the draft law, six opposed the central bank digital currency (CBDC). Seven members abstained from voting. The suggested changes also include support for permissionless blockchains.
The voting pattern followed the stance of the political parties to which the members belonged. Both liberal and left-leaning parties voted in support. Also, the center-right PPE party, the biggest group of MEPs, backed them. Notably, during last year’s initial parliamentary discussions, several members expressed concerns.
The latest version of the draft law indicates that payment providers can utilize their own wallets. Nevertheless, the European Central Bank will specify digital euro criteria.
Private Sector Initiatives
Citi Conducts Private Fund Tokenization PoC on Avalanche Blockchain
Citi conducted a proof of concept for the tokenization of private funds using the Avalanche blockchain. Wellington Management’s private equity funds went through tokenization and the trial involved WisdomTree and ABN Amro.
Citi is not the first institution to identify opportunities in private fund tokenization. This asset class is valued at $10 trillion, and its procedures are less automated and standardized compared to other sectors.
In the afore-discussed case, smart contracts, as per the rules included in their coding, managed fund distribution in an automated manner. Some of the other features tested were identity credentials and the utilization of fund tokens as collateral for an automated lending contract with DTCC Digital Assets (previously Securrency).
ABN Amro performed the role of a conventional investor, soliciting the tokenization. The minted tokens were moved to hypothetical customers of WisdomTree.
The proof-of-concept was carried out on the Avalanche Spruce testnet, a permissioned subnet backed by institutions in the form of validators. Notably, Wellington, T.Rowe Price, WisdomTree, and Cumberland began using the Spruce tesnet in early 2023.
Tokenization company Tokeny developed the ERC-3543 tokenization standard and aided in identity.
Telefónica and Chainlink Partner to Enhance Security with SIM Swap Smart Contracts
Telefónica has partnered with Chainlink Labs to facilitate smart contracts to gather data from a SIM swap API. Miscreants usually utilize SIM swapping to gain access to one-time passwords (OTP) to access someone else’s accounts. It can be remembered that the US SEC’s X account was hacked through a SIM swap a few weeks ago, and the fraudsters posted the Bitcoin ETF approval information a day earlier.
The GSMA, which is a telecommunications association, has developed Open Gateway APIs. These APIs include one specifically designed for SIM swaps.
Using this API could help smart contracts prevent possible financial fraud by verifying whether the SIM card was recently replaced. Vivo, the telecommunications carrier in Brazil under Telefónica, is the initial company in the consortium to implement this integration. This allows smart contracts on the Polygon blockchain to connect with the SIM SWAP API through the Chainlink Oracle network.
The problem with smart contracts accessing external data, as mentioned above, is that it becomes a lucrative target for hackers. To address this problem, Chainlink runs a decentralized oracle network (DON) to distribute the workload, and the nodes collectively reach consent on the provided data.
Miscellaneous
US Treasury Sanctions Iran’s Central Bank Digital Currency Developer
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned the Central Bank of Iran’s subsidiary Informatics Services Corporation (ISC). The firm was behind the development of the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) and other payment mechanisms.
Along with the ISC, three more companies, two in Dubai and one in Turkey, were also sanctioned for receiving technical expertise to aid the ISC. The UAE-based firms are Advance Banking Solution Trading and Freedom Star General Trading. OFAC has accused ISC of obtaining information security tools that fall under national security and anti-terrorism controls.
CBDC is one of the key tools that Iran intends to utilize to bypass US sanctions. Notably, Iran joined the BRICS intergovernmental association earlier this year. One of the initial steps was to enhance cooperation among various payment mechanisms, common currencies, and digital currencies. During the meeting, Russia stressed the need to foster the use of local currencies instead of the US dollar.
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