Kategorie: Crypto Business

• The blockchain-based platform is aimed at settling interbank dollar transactions.
• The move is part of the Indian government’s strategy to elevate GIFT City to the League of Cities like Singapore.
• The parties will launch a pilot project over the next few months in order to analyze the banks’ experience.

American multinational financial behemoth JPMorgan Chase & Co. has partnered with Indian banks to build a blockchain-based platform to settle interbank dollar transactions.

The Indian banks involved are based in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) City and include HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Yes Bank Ltd., and IndusInd Bank Ltd.

Elevating GIFT City status

Although it is a partnership within the private sector, the move is part of the Indian government’s strategy of elevating GIFT City to a level where it can compete with the likes of Hong Kong, Singapore, the International Financial Centre (IFC) in Dubai, and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

Kaustubh Kulkarni, a senior Indian officer, and vice chairman of Asia Pacific, at JPMorgan, have stated that the institution would be launching a pilot project in the coming months to examine banks’ experience.

JPMorgan and blockchain technology

JPMorgan also plans to use blockchain technology to restructure dollar transactions between financial institutions so that the transactions can be completed in a matter of seconds.

According to Kulkarni, GIFT City banks would be able to maintain their own time zone and business hours once JPMorgan creates the blockchain infrastructure enabling instant transactions around the clock.

JPMorgan’s pilot project using the Onyx blockchain technology is already expected to start on Monday after receiving clearance from the International Financial Services Centre Authority. Onyx, which is a blockchain-based platform for wholesale payment transactions was launched by JPMorgan in 2020.

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• The deal will see Sui roll out a series of digital experiences for racing fans.
• At press time, the SUI token was trading at $0.9587, down 1.07%.
• Oracle Red Bull Racing has made several crypto partnerships recently including with Bybit.

Sui Blockchain, whose mainnet was launched at the beginning of May 2023 has today sealed a multiyear partnership deal with Formula One’s Oracle Red Bull Racing team. The deal makes Sui the blockchain partner of the Oracle Red Bull Racing team.

Sui’s parent company Mysten Labs is a renowned company since it is one of the two spin-offs of Meta Platform’s Diem project. Mysten’s sister company is Aptos Labs which is famous for the Aptos (APT) cryptocurrency.

When the Sui Network mainnet was launched, leading cryptocurrency exchange UPbit announced it was listing two SUI pairs: BTC/SUI and KRW/SUI.

SUI price reaction

Today’s partnership announcement is expected to bring some life into the price of the SUI token, which has been on the decline since hitting its all-time high of  $1.72 on May 03, 2023, which was immediately after the mainnet launch.

The token has lost 78.75% value in the past month.

Red Bull’s foray into the crypto industry

This is not the first crypto deal that Red Bull is signing. Last year, the Formula One racing team signed a $150 million deal with Bybit, a derivatives cryptocurrency exchange that recently expanded into crypto lending.

However, commenting on the deal with Sui blockchain, the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner said:

“Oracle Red Bull Racing was an early adopter of Blockchain technology in Formula 1. Partnering with Sui will elevate that experience, making access easier, more secure and engaging.”

The Red Bull Team said that Sui Blockchain will be releasing a series of digital experiences for racing fans over the coming months.

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• Transak announced it raised $20 million in a series A round led by CE Innovation Capital.
• The startup also attracted investments from SBI Ven Capital, Sygnum, and Woodstock Fund among other investors.
• An FCA-registered startup, Transak plans to use the funds to further development of onboarding solutions for Web3 and crypto.

While venture capital funding for crypto projects cooled off in late 2022 and earlier in the year, the ecosystem still attracts notable investments as sentiment across the industry improves. That has been reflected in the latest Series A round for crypto payments startup Transak.

Transak secures $20 million series A round

According to an announcement the firm published on Tuesday, the platform secured $20 million in a funding round led by CE Innovation Capital, a venture fund that invests in FinTech startups worldwide.

The round also attracted participation from leading crypto and Web3-focused investors, including Animoca Brands, SBI Ven Capital, Sygnum, Zilliqa Capital, Woodstock Fund, and IOSG Ventures. Angel investors included Jan Hammer of Index Ventures, Sandeep Nailwal of Polygon and Charles Delingpole of ComplyAdvantage.

Transak, which supports onboarding efforts for MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet and AAVE among others, plans to use the capital injection to offer more end-to-end onboarding solutions.

Bingze Gu, partner at CE Innovation Capital, commented:

“At CEiC, we’re strategically invested in propelling the Web3 ecosystem forward. Transak stands at the forefront of this revolution, wielding their On & Off Ramp solution as a potent instrument to usher in the next billion Web3 users. Their recent initiatives, such as Transak One and the NFT checkout offerings, are not just lowering the barriers to entry into Web3 – they’re redefining them.”

The platform is registered with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is recognised as a VASP in Poland. According to details on its website, Transak’s operations support over 160 cryptocurrencies across more than 75 blockchain networks including Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Solana and Ziliqa.

The startup also supports 28 local payment methods including SEPA, Faster Payments, VISA, AstroPay, Cash App, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

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• Tether will invest in the project through a partnership with a local licensed company.
• Uruguay generates 94% of electricity from renewable energy sources
• Tether recently said it would invest profits into buying Bitcoin.

Tether, the issuer of leading stablecoin USDT, has revealed an investment into renewable energy production to support sustainable Bitcoin (BTC) mining in Uruguay.

This is the latest Tether news, in which the USDT issuer said it was looking to add to its team for this project by hiring experts from within the energy sector, according to details in the announcement.

Eyeing sustainable and responsible Bitcoin mining

As announced on Tuesday, the Bitcoin mining initiative will see Tether collaborate with a locally licensed company and involve putting money into resources aimed at increasing the use of green energy to mine BTC.

“By harnessing the power of Bitcoin and Uruguay’s renewable energy capabilities, Tether is leading the way in sustainable and responsible Bitcoin mining,” said Paolo Ardoino, the Tether CTO.

Uruguay ranks among the world’s leading renewable energy producers, with about 94% of its electricity generated from renewable sources. This is mainly from wind and solar power and Tether notes it is the ideal location for the establishment of solar parks, wind farms and hydro-power projects.

A reliable supply of clean, renewable energy will be critical to ensuring BTC mining has the least possible ecological footprint, Ardoino added.

“Our unwavering commitment to renewable energy ensures that every Bitcoin we mine leaves a minimal ecological footprint while upholding the security and integrity of the Bitcoin network. Tether is proud to spearhead a movement that combines cutting-edge technology, sustainable practices, and financial innovation,” he stated.

Tether’s latest BTC related investment comes just days after the company announced that it would plough back 15% of net profits into buying Bitcoin. The move is part of the USDT issuer’s strategy of further strengthening its reserves, a key part of the company’s business.

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• BitHK will offer spot trading and looks to launch a P2P exchange for Hong Kong users.
• The exchange will submit an application for registration as a VASP with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on 1 June.
• Another exchange, Huobi HK is also offering spot trading to Hong Kong users and has submitted an application from the SFC.

CoinEx, a crypto exchange platform that’s been in operation since 2017, has today launched a new crypto trading platform for users in Hong Kong.

The new platform is called BitHK and is set to roll out several crypto services for CoinEx users in Hong Kong.

Exchanges to seek approval before offer services in Hong Kong

CoinEx’s launch of BitHK comes ahead of the effective date of the guidelines the Hong Kong regulators announced recently and which were set to allow registered cryptocurrency exchanges to offer crypto trading services to retail investors.

According to a press release CoinEx published on Monday, the platform will submit an application for approval as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). The exchange plans to submit the application to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on June 1.

“We will strictly follow the Code of Conduct for Cryptocurrency Exchanges recently released by the SFC and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Bill 2022. We are dedicated to delivering compliant, fair, and professional services while safeguarding our investors’ assets. Our goal is to establish a secure and reliable crypto trading environment for Hong Kong users,” Haipo Yang, CEO of CoinEx, said in a statement.

BitHK users can access spot trading and crypto storage services, while CoinEx says it will soon introduce P2P trading and HKD transactions.

Huobi also announces Huobi HK 

Monday also another crypto platform Huobi HK announced its crypto services to Hong Kong users. In a tweeted statement, the platform said it would be offering crypto spot trading services to both retail and institutional clients. 

Huobi HK applied for Hong Kong’s VASP license on 29 May, 2023, according to the details shared via the platform’s Twitter account. This follows Hong Kong’s recent announcement that approved exchanges would be allowed to offer crypto trading to retail investors, with major coins Bitcoin and Ethereum among the first to be allowed.

In related news, Binance recently announced it would be transitioning all of its users in Japan to a new platform to be called Binance Japan. The process began on 26 May and will continue through the summer. 

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