Ripple Labs to revolutionize real estate industry through tokenization

July 8, 2023 Coin Telegraph

CBDC

This innovative pilot program aims to enable users to tokenize real estate assets and utilize them as collateral for loans, leveraging Ripple’s CBDC platform.

Digital payments and blockchain technology company Ripple Labs has announced an initiative to transform the real estate industry using tokenization.

Antony Welfare, central bank digital currency (CBDC) adviser at Ripple, highlighted the growing global interest in CBDCs and stablecoins in a July 7 tweet. He emphasized that Ripple’s team is actively exploring practical applications for CBDCs and stablecoins, focusing on tokenizing real estate assets.

During a fintech conference in Romania, Welfare presented a use case that combines the digital Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD), tokenized real estate and finance lending protocols. This innovative pilot program aims to enable users to tokenize real estate assets and utilize them as collateral for loans, leveraging Ripple’s CBDC platform.

In its exploration of real estate asset tokenization, and using blockchain and digital currencies, Ripple is looking to tackle current obstacles in the real estate sector.

#CBDCs are gaining traction globally and @Ripple CBDC team are focussing in on Real world use cases for a CBDC or #stablecoin. Last week I shared two real use cases at a CEE Fintech conference in Romania:#Tokenization is the Future of Real Estate

· The pilot combines the… pic.twitter.com/OMe1ieq8d1
— Antony Welfare (@AntonyWelfare) July 7, 2023

Despite the need to overcome specific challenges, successful initiatives in real estate tokenization hold significant implications, such as improved liquidity, broader market reach and simplified transactions.

Tokenization has emerged as a fascinating concept capturing substantial interest and attention across various sectors. This innovative approach entails transforming tangible assets like real estate, artwork and intellectual property into digital tokens securely stored on the blockchain.

These tokens represent ownership or stakes in the underlying asset, enabling buying, selling and trading on decentralized platforms. The increasing fascination with tokenization arises from its capacity to revolutionize conventional asset ownership and investment models.

Through blockchain technology, tokenization amplifies liquidity, accessibility, efficiency, transparency and security. As more industries and investors grasp the advantages and potential of tokenization, it is poised to gather further momentum as a prominent trend in the financial and asset management arenas.

However, the adoption and implementation of tokenization may face regulatory challenges and require compliance with local laws. Besides the regulatory considerations, security concerns over tokenized assets also need to be alleviated as the industry evolves.

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Gaining speed on tokenization is vital for UK’s financial future, banking group warns

July 6, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

UK Finance says it’s not too late for the United Kingdom to make up for other jurisdictions’ faster start to securities tokenization, and it better do it if it wants to remain a global financial leader.

Advocacy group UK Finance is urging the British government to encourage securities tokenization. The market is small now, but the future stakes are high, it said.

In a report co-written with consulting firm Oliver Wyman, UK Finance said the advantages of tokenization, such as lower costs, lower risk and wider access, are not just “a nice-to-have.” Tokenization “can transform the financial system, and the UK should be at the centre of this transformation,” it said.

Today we have published our ‘Unlocking the power of securities tokenisation’ report, produced in conjunction with @OliverWyman. It looks at how securities tokenisation will transform capital markets and international banking infrastructure. https://t.co/HtsPzFwj4y pic.twitter.com/RfyQrNy8Hw
— UK Finance (@UKFtweets) July 6, 2023

UK Finance chair and former Bank of England court member Bob Wigley wrote in a Financial Times editorial timed to the report’s release:

“The UK is at risk of falling behind other financial centres, as digital bond issuance to date has been in other places such as Singapore or Switzerland […] Our progress is similar to the US, which could quickly leap ahead given its huge financial resources, deep capital markets and technology knowhow.”

“The UK government has given some indications of its commitment to tokenisation and its enablers. Industry now requires action from government,” the report added. It held up Singapore’s Project Guardian as an example of a government exploring collaboration with the private sector to develop the use of tokenized assets.

The U.K. already has a growing legal foundation that is “fit for purpose” for securities tokenization, if in need of adaptation, the report said. UK Finance suggested a road map for the United Kingdom to position itself as a global tokenization market leader.

The detailed plan had three components — innovation, interoperability and global standards leadership — with a five-year horizon. Financial market infrastructure sandboxes, due for launch this year by the Treasury, played a key role in the plan.

Tokenization is currently only carried out on a small scale, with 1% of $20.6 trillion of global long-term fixed income instruments tokenized in 2021, according to research cited in the report.

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Binance ceases support for deposits and withdrawals of suspended Multichain-bridged tokens

July 5, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Binance

This decision has implications for users who utilize bridged tokens on networks such as BNB Smart Chain, Fantom, Ethereum and Avalanche blockchains.

Binance cryptocurrency exchange has announced it is ceasing its support of deposit and withdrawal services for a range of Multichain-bridged tokens, effective from July 7, 2023.

Binance has officially stated in its blog that the tokens impacted by the decision are Polkastarter (POLS) via BNB Smart Chain, Alchemy Pay (ACH) via BNB Smart Chain, Beefy.Finance (BIFI) via Fantom Network, SuperVerse (SUPER) via BNB Smart Chain, Travala (AVA) via Ethereum Network, Spell Token (SPELL) via Avalanche C-Chain, Alpaca Finance (ALPACA) via Fantom Network and Harvest Finance (FARM) via BNB Smart Chain.

This news comes after deposits for various Multichain-bridged tokens were earlier suspended on May 25, 2023, following days of stalled transactions that sparked uncertainty surrounding the Multichain protocol.

This decision to now cease support has implications for users who utilize bridged tokens on networks such as BNB Smart Chain, Fantom, Ethereum and Avalanche blockchains.

#Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals for a number of Multichain-bridged tokens from July 7, 00:00 UTC until further notice.

More details here https://t.co/CL7V8UeT9l
— Binance (@binance) July 5, 2023

In the blog announcement, Binance recognized the inconvenience caused and highlighted that the cease in support is a direct consequence of the ongoing challenges faced by the Multichain protocol.

While deposits and withdrawals are halted on Binance, the wallets holding these assets on other networks remain accessible. Amidst the turbulence around Multichain, certain bridges have been reported as inaccessible, while there are allegations of the protocol's co-founder and CEO, Zhao Jun, going missing and speculation of a potential police investigation.

According to Coinmarketcap, the market price of Multichain (MULTI) currently stands at $3.22, reflecting a 3.95% decrease. Based on estimates, Multichain would need to experience a 24-fold increase in value to reach $100. Assuming a consistent annual growth rate of 25%, it would take approximately 8.5 years for Multichain to reach the $100 mark.

Cointelegraph has reached out to Binance for more information on this development but hasn't yet received a response at the time of publication.

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Token issuers in Japan exempt from 30% crypto tax on paper gains

June 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Japan's National Tax Agency published a partial revision of its corporate tax guidelines, implementing new tax rules for token issuers.

Token issuers in Japan no longer have to pay corporate taxes on unrealized cryptocurrency gains, according to a law revision by the National Tax Agency on June 20.

The tax exemption goes into effect nearly six months after the Japanese government approved a proposal eliminating the requirement for crypto firms to pay taxes on paper gains on tokens they issued and held.

Legislators in Japan have been discussing new crypto tax rules since last August as part of a broader tax reform for 2023, but the tax authority has only given the final approval this week. Under the new rules, Japanese firms issuing tokens are exempt from paying a set 30% corporate tax rate on their holdings. Before this law, even unrealized gains were subject to taxation.

*Law Interpretation Notification: Partial Revision of Corporate Tax. Source: National Tax Agency*

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) expects to make it "easier for various companies to do business that involves issuing tokens.”

The cryptocurrency industry in Japan has been undergoing significant changes lately. Since June 1, the country has been enforcing stricter Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures to trace cryptocurrency transactions to align Japan's legal framework with global crypto rules. Lawmakers revised the AML legislation in December after it was found to be insufficient by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In June last year, the government passed a legislation prohibiting the issuance of stablecoins by non-banking institutions. The bill — implemented just a few weeks ago — stipulates that stablecoin issuance in the country is limited to licensed banks, registered money transfer agents and trust companies.

Japan was one of the first countries to legalize crypto as a form of private asset, and its crypto regulations are among the strictest in the world. After Mt.Gox and Coincheck were hacked, Japan's financial regulator tightened rules on crypto exchanges. Local regulations are believed to have facilitated the speedy return of assets to FTX users in Japan following the exchange's global collapse, in contrast to users in other countries without a clear deadline for their refunds.

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Terra Allies’ Six Samurai team aims to revive the ecosystem

June 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The Terra Allies senior full stack engineering team, known as the Six Samurai, has presented their Q3 spend proposal, emphasizing their deep passion as Luna Classic holders.

After a joint governance proposal on liquid staking derivatives in Terra Classic (LUNC), a new proposal emerged for the next quarter suggesting the formation of a dedicated team consisting of six senior full-stack engineers.

The Terra Allies senior full stack engineering team — known as the “Six Samurai” — has presented their Q3 spend proposal, emphasizing their deep passion as LUNC holders. With a firm commitment to achieving “a true revival of the ecosystem,” the team pledges to dedicate their efforts and expertise toward this goal.

Terra was originally an ecosystem with several moving parts. However, its TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin and LUNA asset faced catastrophe in 2022, causing vast changes to the project. Terra now has a new blockchain called Terra 2.0 with a new asset that is also called LUNA but referred to by most as Terra (LUNA2).

In May 2022, the genesis block of the new chain was launched to conduct future transactions and the original Terra chain was rebranded as Terra Classic.

Presenting a detailed plan for the third quarter of 2023, the team proposes a budget of $116,000. The roadmap entails crucial milestones such as migrating from Columbus-5 to Columbus-6 and upgrading to the latest Cosmos SDK.

Additionally, their roadmap includes pursuing the listing of Terra Classic on Keplr’s web interface, a web tool for analytic visualizations, and Mintscan, a Cosmos block explorer catering to crypto exchanges and customers.

In their proposal, the team expressed readiness to undertake the necessary efforts to achieve a genuine ecosystem revival. They also emphasized their willingness to collaborate and coordinate with other teams that secure a mandate to develop LUNC. As a result, the LUNC community has shown a positive response thus far, leaning toward voting in favor of the proposal.

As per CoinMarketCap data, LUNC has dipped 1.65% in the past 24 hours. It currently holds the 75th position and possesses a live market capitalization of $537,523,209. The circulating supply of LUNC coins is 5,822,833,985,154, with the maximum supply not specified.

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Tokenized FTX claim is used as collateral for a loan

June 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

A creditor of now-bankrupted crypto exchange FTX pledged a $31,307 claim as collateral for a DeFi loan.

A creditor of now-bankrupted crypto exchange FTX pledged a claim as collateral for a loan in the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Arcade. The transaction was the first on-chain loan backed by a FTX claim, according to the bankruptcy claims platform Found.

The claim worth $31,307 was tokenized and its ownership represented by a nonfungible token (NFT). The NFT was then used on June 23 as a collateral for a $7,500 loan to be repaid in five days. In the event of a payment default, the lender is entitled to the claim.

✨Congrats wagmiclaims.eth for being the first onchain #RWA loan backed by a #FTX #bankruptcy claim

WAGMI is happy to have some spending cash for the @Azuki Vegas party this weekend

Special thanks to @Arcade_xyz for building a great platform pic.twitter.com/l8n8jGyKpp
— Found (@foundxyz) June 23, 2023

The transaction is an example of real-world assets (RWA) tokenization, in which a token represents an asset's ownership rights on a blockchain. Within DeFi, asset tokenization is one of the most prominent areas as a wide range of real-world assets can be tokenized, including stocks, government bonds, real estate, and commodities.

On Twitter, Found said both the original creditor and lender went through its biometric Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) screenings. According to the company's website, it allows users to access loans using bankruptcy claims as collaterals under a 10% transaction fee on successful trades.

Crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022, locking billions of dollars in users' accounts for court proceedings. According to some estimates, FTX claim holders could recover between 35% and 66% of their face value.

Crypto-related bankruptcy cases have flooded the courts in the past year, many stemming from the collapse of FTX, including cases of crypto firms Genesis Global Trading and BlockFi.

The surge in bankruptcy filings is driving on-chain claims solutions. Found, for example, was launched at the beginning of this year, while the co-founders of the collapsed hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) launched the claims trading platform Open Exchange in April.

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Trader takes $4M short position on TrueUSD as issuer halts mints and redemptions

June 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Trader takes M short position on TrueUSD as issuer halts mints and redemptions

Aave

An Ethereum user used Aave’s v2 lending platform by depositing 7.5 million USDC as collateral.

Following the issuer's decision to temporarily halt mints and redemptions through its banking partner, Prime Trust, a trader has taken advantage of the situation by initiating an on-chain short position on the stablecoin TrueUSD (TUSD).

According to on-chain data, an Ethereum user utilized Aave's V2 lending platform by depositing 7.5 million USDC, a stablecoin, as collateral. They then borrowed 4 million TUSD, another stablecoin, and promptly sold it for USDC. This strategy of borrowing and immediately selling is frequently employed to establish a short position on a particular asset.

Earlier this month, the issuer of the stablecoin made an announcement regarding the suspension of new TUSD minting through its custodial partner, Prime Trust, a trust company based in Las Vegas. Subsequently, the Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry issued a cease-and-desist order against Prime Trust.

In response to the Prime Trust situation, the TrueUSD issuer clarified that it does not affect its operations concerning the conversion of fiat to stablecoin and vice versa. Through a statement, the issuer affirmed that they have no exposure to Prime Trust and maintain multiple USD rails for the minting and redemption of TrueUSD, as stated in a tweet.

The wallet infrastructure provider and digital asset custodian BitGo previously signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire the fintech infrastructure provider Prime Trust, according to an announcement on June 8. However, On June 22, BitGo announced on Twitter that it had decided to cancel its acquisition of fintech infrastructure provider Prime Trust.

Following regulatory issues with its associated BUSD stablecoin, the adoption of TrueUSD (TUSD) by cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, led to a significant increase in its usage. The TUSD stablecoin experienced a surge in popularity as a result.

TUSD is the fifth largest stablecoin after Tether USD (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), DAI, and BUSD, with a market capitalization of just over $3.1 billion, according to CoinGecko.

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Which altcoins will survive the SEC crackdown? Bitcoin OG explains

June 16, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Altcoin Watch

Bitcoin OG and educator Dan Held points out which crypto assets are most likely to avoid the ongoing SEC crackdown.

Proof-of-work coins that had a fair distribution at their launch are the most likely to avoid being labeled as securities by the U.S. SEC, according to Bitcoin OG and educator Dan Held.

Last week, the SEC sued Binance and Coinbase, accusing them of offering a number of altcoins as unregistered securities. As a result, many of the tokens mentioned in the lawsuit were delisted by major trading platforms which made their price tank.

According to Held, Tokens that “had fair or transparent launches”, such as Litecoin, Dogecoin and Monero, do not match the definition of a security that the SEC is following and therefore are likely to avoid the current crackdown.

“It definitely seems like the SEC has carved that out as something that they won't be going after”, he said in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph.

According to Held, the vast majority of the tokens classified as securities by the SEC in its lawsuit against Coinbase and Binance were proof-of-stake coins, or tokens who had a pre-mined distribution, which means they have a more centralized ownership.

As Held also pointed out, the current crackdown is mainly carried out by a single government entity, the SEC, which means the level of pressure on the industry is still far from reaching the maximum level.

Held also stated that only Bitcoin and a few other cryptocurrencies that are decentralized enough will survive in the long run, as they are the only ones that can survive an all-out government attack.

To find out more about which cryptos can resist the ongoing SEC crackdown, watch the full video on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to subscribe!

Sweat Economy DAO votes to repurpose $10M of idle tokens

June 15, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Sweat Economy DAO votes to repurpose M of idle tokens

Coin Telegraph

The move-to-earn platform had 2 billion $SWEAT tokens locked up in inactive user accounts which the community has voted to be returned to a governance contract.

Move-to-earn platform Sweat Economy is set to repurpose over 2 billion native $SWEAT tokens that were locked up in inactive user wallets.

The tokens, valued at around $10 billion, were locked up in dormant user accounts following a token airdrop event in Sep. 2022. According to the platform, Sweatcoin users that opted into the Web3 move-to-earn’s crypto offering received $SWEAT tokens that were locked up in a 24-month lock-up contract.

Users that failed to install the Sweat Wallet over the past year and claim locked tokens essentially left a sizable portion of the ecosystem’s token supply frozen in inactive accounts.

Sweat Economy’s foundation controls the keys to the lockup contract responsible for the token generation event, allowing for the platform to repurpose the tokens that otherwise would have been ‘abandoned’ and unrecoverable.

Sweat Economy users were invited to take part in a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) voting process to decide the fate of the locked $SWEAT tokens. Users could opt to have the 2 billion tokens recovered, transferred and potentially repurposed in the future or leave them unrecovered in respective inactive accounts.

According to the platform, over 355,000 users voted between June 7 and 14, with 83 percent of voters supporting the reclamation of idle tokens. Sweat Economy will transfer an estimated 2.4 billion tokens from the lockup contract to its governance treasury contract.

The foundation intends to propose a new community vote to allocate the recovered tokens to its U.S. platform launched earmarked for September 2023.

A spokesperson from Sweat Economy told Cointelegraph that the platform’s principle of community-centric decision making is founded on a one token holder = one vote rule. The wider community will ultimately decide how the platform uses or repurposes the $10 million worth of reacquired tokens:

“It is a notable and groundbreaking change in the industry as most projects give power to token holders in proportion to their holdings.”

The Sweatcoin web1 and web3 mobile app records users daily step count and rewards $SWEAT tokens for activity, with 4,033.93 steps generating 1 $SWEAT token. The app enforces a cap of 5,000 steps.

Move-to-earn is an evolution of play-to-earn games, which have dominated the

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SEC lawsuits squeeze net worths of Coinbase and Binance CEOs

June 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bloomberg Billionare Index

Brian Armstrong and CZ have seen respective net worth losses of 11.8% and 5.1% since the SEC sued Coinbase and Binance.

The net worths of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) have suffered heavy blows due to recent lawsuits by the United States securities regulator.

Armstrong’s net worth was slashed by $289 million and Zhao’s by $1.33 billion within a span of 30 hours after the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance on June 5 and then Coinbase on June 6, according to data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes.

Zhao — the richest man in the crypto industry and the 54th richest person overall — had his net worth fall 5.1% to $26 billion this week.

*The SEC’s lawsuit against Binance has contributed to Zhao falling two spots in Bloomberg's Billionaire Index. Source: Bloomberg*

While the Binance CEO’s net worth has rebounded by over 106% this year, he is still down over 73% from his highest net worth of $96.9 billion in January 2022.

*Zhao’s net worth has fallen from nearly $100 billion to $26 billion since January 2022. Source: Bloomberg*

Armstrong is ranked as the 1,409th richest person by Forbes and took the bigger hit from the SEC’s latest action with his net worth falling 11.8% to $2.2 billion.

*Change in net worth of Brian Armstrong since 2019. Source: Forbes*

The Coinbase CEO has managed to reap the rewards of a market rebound this year, with a 61% increase in net worth over that time.

Despite the recent fall, Zhao and Armstrong have seen net worth increases well above the 9% year-to-date returns for others on Bloomberg's rich list.

The SEC sued both Binance and Coinbase alleging the exchanges broke various securities rules, most notably for purportedly offering cryptocurrencies that the regulator considers to be unregistered securities.

Following the suites, a total of 67 cryptocurrencies have now been classed as securities by the SEC.

Binance and Coinbase have both confirmed they will “vigorously” defend the lawsuits laid against them.

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