Hong Kong launches e-HKD pilot program
Hong Kong has started testing its local digital currency, the e-HKD, allowing the public to shop, dine out and transfer money. Sixteen banks and selected companies will participate in the test to explore different use cases such as online payments, in-store payments and collecting government payments. Test results will be released in November. This initiative is part of the HKMA’s efforts to develop a centralized digital currency. Luanne Lim, CEO of HSBC Hong Kong, said the pilot scheme “will help prepare Hong Kong for a new form of money on the horizon and will strengthen our competitiveness in the digital economy. Globally, there are around 100 central banks studying digital currency. Hong Kong needs it as it could take several years to develop a central bank digital currency.”
Coinbase Cloud joins Chainlink
Chainlink announced that Coinbase Cloud (NASDAQ:COIN) will become a node operator on its oracle network, providing capacity and security. Renowned node operators such as Swisscom, Deutsche Telekom and Associated Press are also part of the Chainlink network. Coinbase Cloud brings “extensive experience, robust infrastructure and commitment to security”, said William Reilly, global head of CeFi, sales and strategy at Chainlink Labs in the press release.
NFT trading volume is on track to fall below $1 billion
Thursday’s DappRadar report highlights that trading volume in the non-fungible token (NFT) market in May is on pace to fall below $1 billion for the first time this year, reaching around $333 million by now. However, the number of NFT sales is on the rise, suggesting that there are more traders taking smaller USD trades. The report also highlights the increase in the number of active wallets interacting with NFTs, driven by events such as the Miladys NFT collection and the PEPE token (COIN:PEPECOINUSD). Ethereum still leads the NFT market in trading volume, but other blockchains like Solana and Polygon have a higher number of NFT sales. The report mentions that trading volume is an important metric for measuring success in the NFT market, although it can be manipulated by practices such as wash trading.
ApeCoin DAO Approves Proposal to Boost APE Ecosystem Growth
ApeCoin DAO has approved a proposal to launch an accelerator that will support the incubation of projects using ApeCoin tokens (COIN:APEUSD) to strengthen the developing ecosystem. The aim of “Ape Accelerator” is to engage the ApeCoin community as initiators, voters and participants, driving approved projects and increasing the value of NFT collections, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). ApeCoin is a governance token issued to holders of the BAYC NFT collection and is used in other influential projects such as Otherside, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks, MeeBits and Bored Ape Kennel Club.
Ripple Launches CBDC Platform
Ripple is launching the Ripple CBDC Platform, a complete and frictionless solution for central banks and governments to issue their own central bank digital currencies. Utilizing the XRPL blockchain technology, the platform allows personalized management of the digital currency lifecycle, transactions and distribution. “The platform’s innovative features will help enable instant settlement of domestic and cross-border payments, reduce risk and improve the user experience of quickly sending and receiving digital currency on both sides of a transaction,” said James Wallis, Vice President of central bank’s commitments and CBDCs.
Binance integrates with TradingView
Binance has expanded its partnership with TradingView. The integration provides access to advanced charts, comprehensive market data and strengthens the legitimacy of cryptocurrencies as an asset class. Binance is known for its broad token offering and competitive fees. ”Users now have the convenience of a single sign-on to utilize the TradingView interface to trade directly on Binance, the largest and most liquid digital asset exchange,” said Catherine Chen, head of Binance VIP & Institutional.
LayerZero Labs offers $15 million bug bounty
LayerZero Labs, responsible for the LayerZero cross-chain platform, announced a record bounty of $15 million in partnership with the bug bounty platform Immunefi. The bounty will be paid to ethical hackers who identify vulnerabilities in the LayerZero protocol. This is the biggest bug bounty in crypto history, surpassing MakerDAO’s previous $10 million program. LayerZero Labs prioritizes security and has enough resources to pay out multiple bounties. To date, Immunefi has paid out over $75 million in bug bounties.
Galaxy executed its first OTC options trade
Galaxy Digital’s first over-the-counter (OTC) options trading marks a breakthrough for the integration of the traditional financial system into the decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure. The ability to trade cryptocurrency-linked bilateral options removes the credit risk associated with traditional OTC options trading, providing users with greater security. This initiative contributes to increasing liquidity and institutional interest in altcoins in addition to Bitcoin and Ether (COIN:ETHUSD). ”As a more liquid options and derivatives market for altcoins continues to grow, we may start to see lower volatility in these tokens as well – which it can increase institutional interest in things outside of just BTC/ETH,” said Christopher Newhouse, an independent crypto derivatives trader.
Solid World opens carbon liquidity pools with Polygon
Solid World advances the financialization of carbon credits on the blockchain, opening the first pool of carbon assets in an automated market maker, with support from Polygon. The pool will enable the pre-sale of future carbon credits and provide funding for mangrove restoration projects, while utilizing an AI-powered risk framework. The liquidity pool will bring essential funding to the mangrove projects “while providing structured inventory for distributors looking to sell high-quality carbon credits,” the press release said.
Lagrange Labs raises $4 million to drive multi-chain interoperability in DeFi
Startup Lagrange Labs has raised $4 million in pre-seed funding to boost the development of its zero-knowledge (ZK) system that aims to enable secure interoperability between different blockchain networks. The funding round was led by investment firm 1kx and featured participation from Maven11, Lattice Fund, CMT Digital and Daedalus Angels, among others. The aim of Lagrange Labs is to attract more users to decentralized finance (DeFi) by providing a solution for developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) that can operate on multiple blockchains simultaneously, thereby reducing security concerns. Sharing information between different blockchain chains requires an intermediary protocol, which often presents vulnerabilities and limitations in data transmission. “These intermediaries also tend to be limited in the information they can convey,” said Lagrange founder Ismael Hishon-Rezaizadeh.
Attendance at the world’s largest Bitcoin conference has halved
Thousands of Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) enthusiasts are in Miami Beach for the Bitcoin 2023 conference, featuring renowned speakers like Robert F. Kennedy and Michael Lewis. Dubbed the “World’s Largest Bitcoin Gathering,” the event attracted over 35,000 people last year. Despite the drop in attendance to around 15,000 this year, the conference features more than 180 talks and covers topics such as nuclear power and the impact of Wall Street. Meanwhile, Bitcoin price recovers to around $28,000, still far from the high of $69,000.
FATF Chair urges G-7 to take lead on crypto regulation
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Chairman Raja Kumar is urging the G-7 to regulate cryptocurrencies and end “lawless spaces” that allow illicit financial transactions. He calls on G-7 finance ministers to implement FATF recommendations, including the travel rule requiring disclosure of information about crypto transactions. Kumar points out that many countries, including some in the G20, still do not fully comply with FATF standards, which requires urgent action to combat the criminal use of crypto assets. The discussion on cryptocurrency regulation will be a topic at the G-7 meeting. Kumar underscores the need to close the lawless spaces that allow the misuse of crypto assets by criminals, terrorists and rogue states.
Alameda Research and FTX seek to recoup $6.9 million from Embed Financial shareholders
Alameda Research and West Realm Shires, arms of the bankrupt FTX empire, are seeking to recoup $6.9 million from Embed Financial shareholders. According to allegations in a Delaware court filing, Alameda alleges that Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX members used embezzled funds to pay Embed before the cryptocurrency exchange went bankrupt. Shareholders include Y Combinator and Bain Capital Ventures.
Montenegro prosecutors appeal against Do Kwon’s bail
The state prosecutor’s office has appealed the 400,000 euro ($436,000) bail granted to Terra co-founder Do Kwon, who is still wanted by South Korea and faces criminal charges in the United States. Kwon’s house arrest is at risk, and his personal assets are frozen. The Earth ecosystem collapse in 2022 resulted in significant losses.
Westpac prohibits transfers to Binance
Westpac, a major Australian bank, banned its customers from transferring funds to Binance in order to reduce losses from scams. “Digital exchanges have a legitimate role to play in the financial ecosystem. But since the emergence of digital currency, we’ve noticed that scammers are increasingly using overseas exchanges,” said Westpac Customer Services and Technology Group Executive Scott Collary. The lockdown will roll out in phases over the coming weeks. Binance has recently faced the cancellation of its Australian license and allegations of facilitating illegal activities. “We regret to inform you that, effective immediately, we are unable to facilitate PayID AUD deposits for Binance users due to a decision made by our third-party payment service provider”, Binance Australia tweeted on May 17.