Author: Robert Drage

Robert is a freelance researcher, with a background in information science currently interested in blockchain technology and technical developments in the field.

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Crypto News DeFi Ethereum Gas

Aave to Use Ethereum Sidechain to Reduce Transaction Costs

Decentralised finance (DeFi) firm Aave liquidity protocol is working with Polygon (formerly known as MATIC) an Ethereum side-chain project to alleviate congestion and transaction fees on second-largest public blockchain.

In an announcement by Aave integration lead Marc Zeller, they will be exploring Ethereum sidechain technology for an increased user experience.

Block space supply today is scarce and limited, and since the “DeFi Summer” of 2020, demand for using Ethereum and DeFi has never slowed down […] High transaction fees are a feature of a successful public blockchain, as they define actors ready to pay the market price to use the decentralised services.

Marc Zeller, Integrations lead at Aave

One of the main assets of DeFi is the ability to build synergies with other projects, and by having an Aave Market in all the venues that matter, there’s no need for a “winner-takes-all” scalability solution and users can choose the solution they feel comfortable with.

Stani Kulechov, Aave founder

Polygon Sidechain Integration

Polygon is a scalable sidechain of Ethereum and boasts a growing ecosystem, with some of the favourites being  Aavegotchi and decentralised exchange Quickswap. Polygon is also powered by Chainlink oracles, benefiting Aave by gaining access to high quality and security price-data.

A sidechain on Ethereum refers to any mechanism that allows tokens from the layer 1 mainchain to be securely used within a completely separate blockchain but still moved back to the original chain if necessary.

Polygon will also be bringing in a smart-contract bridge to allow various other assets. Users of the bridge will receive part of the transaction fee used in MATIC tokens to cover most of their transaction fees on the Polygon blockchain.

A look at some of the fees:

  • Deposit AAVE : $0.000061
  • Borrow USDC : $0.000102
  • Withdraw AAVE : $0.000109
  • Repay USDC : $0.000072

At launch the following assets will be onboarded on the Polygon Aave Market :

  • MATIC
  • USDC
  • USDT
  • DAI
  • WETH
  • AAVE
  • WBTC

With close to $43 billion currently locked within DeFi lending platforms. Built on Ethereum, Aave, a DeFi protocol aimed at both retail and institutional clients, has a market size of $6.48 billion, making it the third largest in the sector, according to DeFi Pulse. Aave has also integrated with Transak to enable the direct purchase of Polygon assets with fiat currencies.

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Crypto News Industries Institutions Trading

Prometheum Partnering With Anchorage To Launch Alternative Trading System for Digital Assets

The alternative trading system (ATS) is set to be a trading venue that matches buyers and sellers for both digital and traditional assets, if approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Opening Privileged Services to the Public

As announced by Anchorage, Prometheum CEO Aaron Kaplan stated that the ATS application is still pending at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Notwithstanding the approval, the company has built a system that allows brokerage firms and clearing firms to speak to each other easily in an effort to win over Wall Street companies to use a platform with which they’re familiar.

Currently this kind of service is only open to accredited and institutional investors, but Prometheum Ember ATS (“PEATS”) will be available to the public as well.

A public ATS for digital assets will allow more efficient order matching and better price discovery, bringing smaller price spreads and simplified participation for all investors,

Aaron Kaplan, Prometheum CEO

When the ATS goes live, Prometheum will be a full-service SEC and FINRA registered electronic market integrating both traditional and blockchain technology for the trading of digital asset securities, with on-chain custody and settlement provided by Anchorage Digital Bank.

It’s a Nasdaq on the blockchain

Aaron Kaplan, Prometheum CEO
Prometheum Homepage: Prometheum

Anchorage Holds the Key for Prometheum to Operate

Anchorage’s bank charter allows it to hold digital assets for broker-dealers and their clients, said Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley. ATS itself “is something that is a trading system but it’s not regulated as an exchange.”

Other ATS providers for digital securities include OpenFinance and the Public Private Execution Network. Security token firm Securitize applied for both a broker-dealer license and an ATS in October.

Adding more ATS platforms for the digital security market will give issuers more liquidity for their tokens

Nathan McCauley, Anchorage CEO

During its charting process, Anchorage got specific approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to custody security tokens on behalf of broker-dealers, McCauley added. The bank plans to offer cash loans with security tokens acting as collateral. Regulatory foundations are being set by these landmark organisations and act as support for the first public market for digital asset securities.

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ChainLink Crypto News DeFi Stablecoins

Chainlink Becomes Sole Provider of Price Data for Origin Dollar (OUSD)

Chainlink (LINK) Oracles have now been integrated onto the Origin Protocol’s mainnet as well as becoming the sole provider of real-time price data for OUSD.

According to a press release from Origin Protocol, the integration of Chainlink price oracles are a “big deal” for the growth and security of the only stablecoin that earns a yield while still in your wallet.

What Does The Integration Mean for Origin Protocol?

By going all-in on Chainlink, we ensure that our users have the highest quality data and most secure oracle infrastructure every time they mint or redeem OUSD. Importantly, Chainlink has given Origin the flexibility to interact directly with oracles built specifically to price certain stablecoin trading pairs, leading to decreased on-chain costs and a more accurate minting/redeeming process.

Matthew Liu, Origin Protocol Co-founder

Additionally, the first Chainlink Price Feed for Origin Tokens (OGN-ETH) is now live and available for use by other DeFi protocols wanting to quickly and safely launch support for OGN markets. The OGN-ETH Price Feed is already being used and supported by the C.R.E.A.M. lending platform.

Since the DeFi boom, it has become increasingly important to use the most accurate price data, making Chainlink tech more valuable to companies working in the DeFi space. Today, Chainlink oracles are one of the most important linchpins to the security of DeFi, securing billions of dollars in on-chain value. Demand is only growing as DeFi gains more widespread adoption and protocols opt for the highest standards of data quality and reliability.

Chainlink USDT-USD Price Feed Oracle Network [Medium]

These Chainlink nodes collectively source price data from numerous off-chain data aggregators like BraveNewCoin and Amberdata, ensuring each price point has volume-adjusted market coverage across all trading environments.

Slow Price Data can Lead to Losses

Traditionally when origin was using a mixture of oracle providers:

[…] prices had to be calculated by first fetching the price of ETH and then calculating the exchange rate using ETH oracles. This increased the chance of prices being outdated, causing users to receive less OUSD than they reasonably expected. It also increased the gas costs due to additional on-chain transactions.

Josh Fraser, Co-founder Origin Protocol

One benefit of having these direct price feeds is that it simplifies smart contract code. In the Ethereum world, simpler code also means gas savings, which is now roughly 15% cheaper when minting or redeeming OUSD, thanks to this direct price feed integration.

But since they now rely on numerous secure nodes and premium data sources, OUSD users receive highly accurate, available, and tamperproof price data, which is also inherently resistant to various data manipulation attacks such as those carried out via flash loans.

Categories
Crypto Debit Cards Crypto News Ethereum Industries Stablecoins

Visa Allows USD Coin (USDC) Cryptocurrency to Settle Transactions

Visa announced on Monday that it now allows partners of its network to clear fiat transactions with the USDC stablecoin using the Ethereum blockchain.

Visa Using Ethereum Blockchain

Visa’s most recent move, will allow them to utilise the Ethereum blockchain, this removes the need to convert digital currency into traditional money in order for the transaction to be settled. Where this would traditionally be the case. For example, Crypto.com won’t have to go through conversions and can settle with Visa directly in USDC.

Visa said it has partnered with digital asset bank Anchorage, the first federally chartered digital asset bank, and completed the first transaction this month — with Crypto.com sending USDC to Visa’s Ethereum address at Anchorage. The (USDC) is a stablecoin cryptocurrency, and its value is directly linked to the U.S. dollar.

USDC Icon: Circle

Visa came to us in 2019 with an idea—make secure, efficient, and seamless settlement payments possible in digital currency by linking Visa’s treasury with Anchorage’s custody platform.

Diogo Mónica, co-founder and president of Anchorage

The credit card giant is already partnering with 35 digital currency platforms, including Coinbase, Crypto.com, BlockFi and Bitpanda, which collectively have more than 50 million active users.

We see increasing demand from consumers across the world to be able to access, hold and use digital currencies and we’re seeing demand from our clients to be able to build products that provide that access for consumers.

Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa

“Crypto-native fintechs want partners who understand their business and the complexities of digital currency form factors,” said Visa chief product officer Jack Forestell. “The announcement today marks a major milestone in our ability to address the needs of fintechs managing their business in a stablecoin or cryptocurrency.”

The firm said it aims to make this system available to Fintech companies and neobanks dealing in cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and USDC. After further testing and additional conversations with its clients, partners, and members of the regulatory community, Visa hopes to launch the USDC settlement capability for other partners as well “in the year ahead.”

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Binance Blockchain Crypto News EOS

EOS Loses Most Used Dapp to Binance Smart Chain (BSC)

EOS’s largest project, Effect Network, has disclosed plans to relocate its entire network to Binance Smart Chain (BSC).

Who is Effect Network?

Effect Network (EFX) a Dutch-based project, also known as Effect.ai, has recently rebranded with their move to BSC. They are well known for the use of decentralized technology to build a framework that allows “anyone to build products and services and for anyone to gain access to fair paying work from anywhere”, thereby directly connecting businesses and the workforce. The network currently boasts of a workforce of more than 10,000 members globally, from 97 different countries.

Effect Network is currently the most used decentralized application (dApp) on the EOS mainnet. The network boasts of completing more than 7 million paid tasks since its inception. Some of its use cases involve big organisations like The United Nations (UN), Akon and Linus Tech Tips.

Why the Move From EOS?

The major issue that stood out for Effect Network was a concern about the future and viability of the EOS blockchain. Effect Network cites “unfulfilled promises to address the many issues that plague the EOS mainnet”. Another reason to move on seems to be the recent decision of the founder and CTO of EOS parent company Block.one, Dan Larimer, to leave the project “to pursue new personal projects”.

Binance Smart Chain Getting Lots of Attention

The network has partnered with top industry players like Chiliz, Chainlink, Gravity Network, ANKR Network, etc. Most of the partners are moving to BSC due to its comparatively lower transaction fees.

Chris Dawe spoke highly of the move to BSC. He also added that the platform’s culture of hard work, dedication, and vision is exceptional.

Look at what the Binance organization has accomplished in only the last three years. It is a testament of dedication, hard work but above all its laser-focused vision. The amount of products and services our clients and workforce can tap into with the Binance ecosystem are amazing and will help accelerate the growth of the Effect Network like never before.

Chris Dawe, CEO of Effect Network

Chris Dawe also stated that Binance offers lots of support through Binance Labs and Binance_X initiatives.

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Banking Crypto News Industries

METACO Partners With IBM to Expedite its Digital Asset Management Solution

Tech conglomerate IBM has partnered with METACO a digital asset security company in order to create enterprise-level digital asset custody solutions for banks and financial service firms.

According to a press release on Thursday, METACO will use IBM Cloud and IBM Cloud Hyper Protect Services for its digital asset management system and cryptocurrency custody solutions. METACO can deliver its traditional finance clients benefits including increased security and scalability as they adopt hybrid cloud strategies.

METACO Platform

Firstly, transaction-centric banks want to offer crypto assets to their customers, and secondly, firms want to tokenize traditional assets, and plug them into the DeFi.

Paul Brody, blockchain lead at EY

Financial Services Need to Ensure The Safety of Their Customers

According to SEC regulation promulgated as part of the Dodd Frank Act, institutional investors that have customer assets worth more $150,000 are required to store the holdings with a “qualified custodian”, and organisations such as METACO are filling in the services to bridge regulatory gaps.

Our multi-custodian solution allows them – with a single integration into their basic infrastructure – to transparently manage and diversify risks between multiple custodians, all within a holistic risk management and control framework.

Seamus Donaghue, vice president of strategic alliances at Metaco

Highly regulated financial service firms and banks that want to take part in the digital asset ecosystem will need proper infrastructure and security to ensure the safety of their customers. Since banking is the biggest client industry sector at IBM it’s the natural infrastructure choice for most banks and large financials looking for a foothold in the growing digital asset space.

As companies such as METACO continue to help the world’s top banks and exchanges manage their digital assets, IBM’s confidential computing capabilities help its clients ensure their data and processes are managed securely, bringing trust into the ecosystem and providing privacy assurance.

Hillery Hunter, IBM fellow, vice president and the chief technology officer of IBM Cloud

METACO has been the chosen digital asset custody provider for various financial institutions in Switzerland and other European countries. Having provided their services to megabanks such as Standard Chartered, BBVA and the Swiss-based division of Russia’s GazpromBank.

Kingdom Trust, a Kentucky-based custodian, was the largest such service for cryptocurrencies until it was purchased by BitGo, a San Francisco-based startup. Goldman Sachs and Fidelity have also recently diversified into this branch by launching ETFs. As regulation around cryptos start to clear up major financial firms and banks are getting more involved in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

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Crypto Art Crypto News NFTs

TIME Magazine is Auctioning NFTs and Accepting Crypto For Subscriptions

TIME magazine has revealed that it is going to be joining the blockchain and crypto space by accepting crypto as payment for their digital subscriptions, as well as holding an NFT auction.

Three Time Magazine Covers to be Auctioned

TIME has designed its first-ever cover exclusively as an NFT, featuring the title “Is Fiat Dead?” It’s a reference to one of its most iconic cover designs from the April 8, 1966 “Is God Dead?” and April 3, 2017 “Is Truth Dead?” editions — and an acknowledgement of the rise of digital currency as an asset class.

Time on SuperRare

TIME’s red border is one of our or most iconic assets. We already have an existing business with the cover store in the analogue space. Moving into the NFT collectibles is a natural extension for us […]

Keith Grossman, TIME magazine President

Grossman also stated that it is their job to provide access to world-class content regardless of medium or payment type. One of their long term goals are to provide the media industry with a “turnkey enterprise solution” through crypto and NFT offerings, inspired by the work being done by The Washington Post with Zeus.

And so our goal is to get there first to get there fast. And then to be able to open it up to others.

Keith Grossman, TIME magazine President

TIME Accepting Crypto for Their Magazine Subscription

One of the other steps the magazine is taking, is by accepting crypto for their digital subscription. As yet it isn’t known which currencies they will be accepting, as soon as we find out we’ll update it here.

Time will be joining a growing list of major U.S. companies that are using/accepting cryptocurrencies including Tesla, Mastercard, Microsoft and many more.

TIME Magazine looking for a crypto savvy CFO

TIME is looking for a CFO, and one of the key job requirements? “Comfort with cryptocurrencies.” The Job listing just shows the magazine’s conviction to not be left behind the technological curve.

Categories
Crypto News Regulation Stablecoins

MIT and Boston Fed Releasing Digital Dollar Prototypes “as soon as July”

Researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and MIT are conjuring what might be a major disruption to the financial services industry by creating a digital dollar.

According to James Cunha, head of the digital dollar project at the Boston Fed, there are already at least two prototype platforms that allow users to store and make transactions using the currency.

Digital Dollar [source: Flickr]

It’s not clear whether the platform uses blockchain as its underlying technology. However, back in August 2020 when the Fed-MIT collaboration was discussed, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard said that the code will be open-source, meaning others will be able to see and build on it after it’s completed.

Creating a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Could Disrupt The Financial Industry

Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, also recently stated that the COVID pandemic had made clear that there are shortcomings with the current “arrangements”. He also said that there is a need to investigate ways in which speed and security in monetary systems around the world can be increased.

Jerome Powel [source: Flickr]

The potential that the central bank could cut banks out of their middleman role in the lucrative U.S. payments system is causing angst among banks.

Senator Sherrod Brown, the new chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is urging the Fed to move quickly to create digital-currency accounts for Americans who can’t easily access the financial system and have been forced to deal with payday lenders who charge higher fees and interest rates. Those without bank accounts sometimes must pay high fees to cash paychecks or transfer money to relatives. These new systems could benefit disenfranchised citizens in many ways.

Everyone is afraid that you could disrupt all the incumbent players with a whole new form of payment.

Michael Del Grosso, analyst at Compass Point Research & Trading

However, this virtual currency could still be years away since it has not yet been approved by U.S. Treasury Department, Federal bank, or lawmakers. It also has not been decided how it will be incorporated into the current system. Still, the U.S. and other countries seem committed to digitizing their currencies enough to make financial industry executives nervous.

The Move to Digital Currency

A few countries have seen the potential of digital currencies and have started creating pilot projects to determine the range of applications.

We think it’s important that we not wait for the policy debate because then we’ll be a year or so behind. This will take significant outreach to the industry and serious debate.

James Cunha, head of the digital dollar project at the Boston Federal Bank
The Race to a Digital Currency [source: Bloomberg]

It looks like some countries are aiming to make some serious strides towards the adoption of digital currencies or at least to pilot projects to determine the benefits it could hold.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Crypto News

Australia’s Government Allocates AU$6.9 million to Two Blockchain Pilot Projects

As part of Australia’s Blockchain Roadmap they have allocated AU$6.9 million over the next two years to support industry-led pilots to demonstrate the application of blockchain technology and reduce regulatory compliance costs to encourage broader take-up of blockchain by Australian businesses.

The investment was handed to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources to explore the feasibility of blockchain, specifically in the area of regulation. They’ll create two pilot projects with the purpose of demonstrating to the industry how blockchain can reduce the cost of regulatory compliance.

Canberra Digital Business Plan

This investment is part of the Canberra Digital Business Plan which stated:

The aim is to implement blockchain technology where there are issues of security, provenance, traceability, and verification. Most of these issues are prominent in the financial sector.

Tim Bradley, General Manager of Emerging Technologies and Adoption

Bradley also pointed out that they aim to follow the Australia Blockchain Roadmap which was made available in February 2020. This 52-page document outlines how to progress to a blockchain-empowered future, and focuses on key areas: Regulation and standards; skills, capability, and innovation; international investment and collaboration; and sectoral opportunities.

INDUSTRY.GOV.AU/BLOCKCHAIN

Meanwhile, the Australian Public Sector (APS) Blockchain network has been established, and is open to any APS staff be they federal, state, or local that are interested in contributing to the Australian blockchain industry.

There are about 70 representatives from across the blockchain industry who are very actively engaged in looking for further opportunities for where the technology can be deployed, both in government and elsewhere.

Tim Bradley, General Manager of Emerging Technologies and Adoption

Growing Support For Blockchain in Australia

It seems there are increasing prospects for the use of blockchain by the Australian government after Blockchain Australia CEO Steve Vallas called for more support from government and regulators in order for Australia to become a front-runner and not be “underdeveloped” in this regard.