Blockchain Expo: The opportunities of Web3

During a session at this year’s Blockchain Expo, we heard from IDC Research Director Phillip Silitschanu about the opportunities of Web3 and the journey that lies ahead.

Silischanu shared his insights, based on vast experience, on the applicability of blockchain services and the potential of Web3. He discussed the opportunities and challenges presented by these technologies and their impact on various sectors.

Web2 vs Web3

Web2, also known as the social web, marked...

Deloitte and BNP Paribas join consortium in creating blockchain network for financial market

A collection of Sterling notes.

Digital Asset and leading market participants have unveiled plans to launch the Canton Network, the industry’s first privacy-enabled interoperable blockchain network designed for institutional assets and built to responsibly unlock the potential of synchronised financial markets.

Canton Network participants include 3Homes, ASX, BNP Paribas, Broadridge, Capgemini, Cboe Global Markets, Cumberland, Deloitte, Deutsche Börse Group, Digital Asset, The Digital Dollar Project, DRW,...

Trump’s second NFT series sells out on day one

Trump NFTs OpenSea

Another non-fungible token (NFT) collection licensing the name and likeness of former US President Donald Trump has sold out, one day after launching on 18 April.

The second of its kind, the ‘Trump Digital Trading Cards Series 2’ collection features 47.000 NFTs that were originally priced at $99 each, netting the former President a cool $4.65 million.

On the secondary reseller market, the collection has reached 890 Ether in trading volume since...

CoFund tokenises luxury Bali hotel using Tokeny

Bali Hotel

Tokeny, a tokenisation infrastructure provider, has partnered with CoFund, an Ethereum real-estate tokenisation marketplace, to tokenise a luxury hotel in Indonesia.

The $10 million hotel sits on the island resort of Bali, and will be tokenised using ERC-3643 security tokens on the Polygon network.

Luxembourg-based Tokeny said that investors will be able to buy a piece of the hotel through a minimum investment of $1,000.

Luc Falempin, CEO of Tokeny, said:...

Huobi partners with Gala Games for web3 gaming integration

Web3 gaming

Huobi Global, a cryptocurrency exchange, has declared a strategic partnership with Gala Games, a blockchain-based play-to-earn gaming platform. 

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi Global has entered into a strategic partnership with blockchain-based gaming platform Gala Games.

Founded in China, the now Seychelles-based exchange said the partnership will enable both companies to develop for the Web3 ecosystem.

Huobi and Gala plan to invest in and list projects...

SWIFT progresses CBDC project after strong pilot results

Bank

Global banking system SWIFT is moving to the next phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) testing after positive results in the pilot stages.

The interbank network said its project to connect different nations’ CBDCs with one another offers “clear potential and value” in a statement on 9 March.

Lewis Sun, global head of domestic and emerging payments at HSBC, said: “While interest in CBDCs is growing, so is the risk of fragmentation as a widening range...

Moscow Credit Bank issues on-chain guarantee in Chinese yuan

Chinese Yuan

Moscow Credit Bank, a commercial Russian bank, has issued the country’s first blockchain-based guarantee to use Chinese yuan as currency.

The transaction was made using Russia’s national blockchain network, Masterchain, which is built to transfer digital assets between the country’s institutions. The guarantee was for more than 100 million yuan (£12m).

In a statement from Moscow Credit Bank (MCB), it said: The advantage of a digital bank guarantee is that the...

Visa and Mastercard delay new crypto partnerships

Stop

Visa and Mastercard, the United States’ two largest payment processors, have delayed the launch of new crypto partnerships as bankruptcies and increased regulatory scrutiny continue to affect the industry.

The move, first reported by Reuters, comes after a period of improved cooperation between traditional payment firms and crypto companies.

Both Visa and Mastercard have been exploring using stablecoins like USD Coin for payments and transaction settlements in recent...

Binance, Huobi freeze $1.4m of crypto tied to North Korean hackers

North Korea

Crypto exchanges Binance and Huobi have frozen accounts linked to a $100 million (£83m) hack carried out by Lazarus Group, a hacking group located in North Korea, in June 2022.

Close to $1.4 million (£1.17m) of crypto was frozen across both exchanges that were originally stolen last year in an attack on the Harmony Horizon cross-chain bridge.

The accounts were identified following an investigation by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, according to a 14 February report...

Bank of England details digital pound model, calling plans ‘likely’

Digital Pound

The UK is moving forward with its central bank digital currency (CBDC) plans after publishing an in-depth consultation paper on the proposed digital pound, which has been dubbed “Britcoin”.

In its 116 pages, the paper details the Bank of England (BoE) and UK Treasury’s stance on the “likely need” for a digital pound and their proposed model. A technology working paper was also released to explain technical design concepts and decisions.

The paper reiterates the...