Blockchain innovation is surging throughout Southeast Asia, as the region is home to a number of fintech firms and global crypto companies. In particular, Singapore has become one of the world’s most crypto-friendly countries. This was recently highlighted in a report conducted by crypto exchange Gemini, which found that 67% of 4,348 respondents currently own crypto. The report further noted that Ether (ETH) is the most popular cryptocurrency in the region, with 78% of surveyors claiming to own the digital asset. Interestingly enough, the Ethereum blockchain may also be the network of choice for financial institutions based in Southeast Asia. …
The crypto community and Wall Street converged last week in Nassau, Bahamas, to discuss the future of digital assets during SALT’s Crypto Bahamas conference. The SkyBridge Alternatives Conference (SALT) was also co-hosted this year by FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange. Anthony Scaramucci, founder of the hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, kicked off Crypto Bahamas with a press conference explaining that the goal behind the event was to merge the traditional financial world with the crypto community: “Crypto Bahamas combines the crypto native FTX audience with the SkyBridge asset management firm audience. We are bringing these two worlds together to create a …
A handful of government-backed financial institutions have been exploring tokenization use cases to revolutionize traditional financial systems. For instance, El Salvador’s Bitcoin Volcanic bond project has been in the works for over a year and aims to raise $1 billion from investors with tokenized bonds to build a Bitcoin city. The Central Bank of Russia has also expressed interest in tokenized off-chain assets. In addition, the Israeli Ministry of Finance, together with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), recently announced the testing of a blockchain-backed platform for digital bond trading. Cointelegraph Research’s 2021 Security Token Report found that most securities …
National Australia Bank (NAB) is set to become the second “Big 4” Australian bank to launch an Australian dollar-pegged stablecoin on the Ethereum network. Set to launch sometime in mid-2023, the AUDN stablecoin is aimed at streamlining cross-border remittances and carbon credit trading, according to a Jan. 18 report from the Australian Financial Review (AFR). NAB’s chief innovation officer Howard Silby said the decision to mint the AUDN stablecoin on Ethereum — which is backed 1:1 by the Australian dollar (AUD) — was based on their belief that blockchain infrastructure will play a key role in the next evolution of …
A now-deleted webpage announcing that Singapore’s largest bank is planning to launch a “digital exchange” supporting crypto asset trading is the latest sign of increasing institutional adoption of virtual currencies. The document, which appeared briefly on the DBS website, announced the new exchange will support Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic, (ETC), and Ripple (XRP), alongside the fiat currencies of Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and The United States. The announcement also noted plans to support asset-backed security tokens. Speaking to Cointelegraph, JST Capital co-founder Todd Morakis, described the move as a likely catalyst for other major banks …