ZkLend has two key products. Artemis, a permissionless lending offering open to anyone with an internet connection, will launch in the third quarter of 2022. With Artemis, users can deposit assets to earn yield and can borrow using those assets as collateral. Deposits from multiple investors are collected in pools to facilitate the loans, which have real-time, liquidity-variable interest rates. Source
Le Minh Khai, the deputy prime minister of Vietnam has issued a notification to the finance ministry, asking them to explore and amend laws to build a legal framework for the digital asset market. In a notice dated March 23, the Deputy PM has instructed the Ministry of Finance to assume the prime responsibility for developing the legal framework for the crypto market. The reported list of instructions includes identifying specific legal documents that need to be amended or supplemented. The Finance ministry would subsequently work alongside the ministry of…
The total aggregate digital assets under management (AUM) surged to $48.7 billion in March, up from the $43.9 billion that was recorded in January, the latest data from Crypto Compare has shown. In contrast, the average daily trading volumes fell by 29.6% to $259 million during this period. BTC and ETH Products Lag Behind According to the latest data from Crypto Compare (CC), the total aggregate digital assets under management (AUM) topped $48.7 billion in March 2022. This latest AUM number represents an increase of $4.8 billion, or 11.1%, from…
The electronic dollar, as defined in the bill, would be a bearer instrument that people could hold on their phone or a card. The system would be token-based, not account-based, meaning if someone were to lose their phone or card, they would lose the funds. In other words, it’d be like losing a wallet with dollar bills in it. Source
The Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware Act (ECASH Act), introduced today in the United States House of Representatives, could herald a new direction in government-sponsored digital currencies. The legislation calls for the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury to develop and pilot an electronic version of the U.S. dollar that is easy to use for the economically marginalized or technically challenged. It would also “maximize” consumer protection and data privacy, according to its principal sponsor Representative Stephen Lynch, chair of the Fintech Task Force in the House Financial Services Committee. Interestingly,…
In a recently released document, the Bank of Ghana (BOG) outlines some of its key reasons for developing the central bank digital currency (CBDC). Also, in the document, the bank’s governor insists the institution is open to suggestions that will help it to successfully launch the digital currency. Benefits of a CBDC The Ghanaian central bank recently released a document that outlines the key motivations behind its plan to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The document also touches on the digital currency’s design as well as the benefits…
What is an NFT? NFTs are nonfungible tokens. The adjective “nonfungible” is often used in economics to represent features such as uniqueness and non-interchangeability. In the crypto space, nonfungibility simply indicates that one item cannot be exchanged for another. A “token” as a unit of account is basically a certificate of validity stored on the decentralized blockchain, making digital assets traceable and accessible to everyone. As a result, NFTs are a one-of-a-kind virtual currency that can fall into pretty much any category and usually take the shape of paintings, videos,…
In 2021, over $40 billion of NFTs changed hands, marking a 20X increase from 2022, thrusting NFTs into the limelight, demonstrating the use cases of yet another blockchain innovation. NFTs bear similarities with cryptocurrencies in that both deploys from a public chain and their transactions are open and, thus, can be traced. However, beyond transparency and launching from public chains, NFTs are unique, limited in supply, and in recent times being used as a store-of-value in stormy crypto market conditions. Because they are unique and valuable, projects can use NFTs…
The Bank of England announced Friday that it had reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative, or DCI, on a joint twelve-month research project on Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC. The bank said in a statement that the new project was for research purposes only, and not intended to develop an operational CBDC. The bank began studying CBDC in 2020, releasing a discussion paper in March of that year, which the DCI responded to with a discussion of how a CBDC could…
Crypto exchange giant Crypto.com is expanding its app roster by adding half a dozen up-and-coming altcoins. The app announced its latest listing of play-to-earn metaverse token Merit Circle (MC), joining the marketplace’s more than 250 cryptocurrencies and stablecoins. The decentralized autonomous organization gives voting rights to all MC holders, and players have access to over two dozen games. Merit Circle has surged upward in two waves after the listing announcement, rising by 14.3% from $2.30 to a high of $2.63. MC is up 11.25% on the day and trading for…