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Sui Donates $1M to London Business School for Web3 Research

by Blockchain NewsNovember 10, 2023

Sui has announced a significant donation of $1 million to the Wheeler Institute for Business and Development at London Business School (LBS). This contribution is earmarked for advancing research and educational programs in the rapidly evolving field of decentralized computing, signifying a major step in preparing future leaders for the challenges of the digital economy.

Sui is a groundbreaking Layer 1 blockchain and smart contract platform, uniquely designed for efficient digital asset ownership. Its innovative approach, based on the Move programming language, allows for parallel execution, rapid finality, and enhanced on-chain assets. Sui’s scalable architecture supports a wide array of applications, offering speed and affordability.

Bridging Academia and Blockchain Technology

At the helm of this initiative is Dr. Greg Siourounis, a key figure in the Sui Foundation. With a rich background that blends academic prowess and entrepreneurial spirit, Dr. Siourounis, an alumnus of LBS with a Ph.D., has spent over two decades in academia and finance. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor at Panteion University in Athens, Greece, and plays a crucial role in expanding the Sui Network and its community.

Dr. Siourounis emphasized the importance of this collaboration, stating, “As we prepare the next wave of business and technology leaders, it’s critical to equip them with cutting-edge technological solutions. Sui’s endowment to LBS is a strategic move to empower young leaders with the necessary tools for implementing global positive change.”

The Core of Sui’s Contribution

The funds from Sui will be instrumental in developing new research initiatives, educational programs, and outreach activities at LBS, particularly in areas intersecting business and blockchain technology. Key focus areas include fintech, automation, payment systems, and blockchain technology, aiming to provide comprehensive guidance and support as LBS and the Wheeler Institute expand their technological and developmental research and teaching.

François Ortalo-Magné, Dean of LBS, highlighted the significance of Sui’s contribution, noting, “Gifts like Sui Foundation’s are pivotal for our school. They not only fund research but also empower future leaders to tackle global challenges innovatively.”

Sui’s Global Educational Initiatives

In addition to the LBS donation, the Sui Foundation has been active in promoting academic research in blockchain technology globally. This week, they announced the first recipients of the Sui Academic Research Awards (SARAs), distributing $225,000 in grants to nine universities worldwide. Furthermore, Sui has partnered with Costeas-Geitonas School in Greece to launch a new Web3 curriculum for high school students, titled “Blockchain and Business Innovation.”

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Tether Q3 Attestation: 85.7% Cash Reserves, $330M Loan Cut, $670M Research Spend

by Blockchain NewsNovember 1, 2023

In a newly published assurance opinion, Tether Holdings Limited disclosed its financial standing for Q3 2023, substantiated by a comprehensive assessment conducted by BDO, a globally recognized independent public accounting entity. The attestation, dated October 31, 2023, reaffirms the veracity of Tether’s Consolidated Reserves Report (CRR) as of September 30, 2023, offering a detailed breakdown of the assets maintained by the Group.

Reserve Composition and Liquidity Maintenance

A notable revelation from the CRR is the record percentage of reserves Tether now holds in Cash and Cash Equivalents (C&Ceq), marking a historic 85.7%. A significant portion of these reserves, amounting to US$ 72.6 billion, is held in US Treasury Bills, depicting both direct and indirect exposure. This strategic allocation accentuates Tether’s ongoing commitment to ensuring liquidity and fostering stability within the broader stablecoin sphere.

Prudent Financial Management

Further emphasizing prudent financial management, the report elucidates a substantial contraction in secured loans extended by Tether, exceeding $330 million, augmenting confidence in the firm’s judicious asset management approach. This reduction aligns with Tether’s publicly declared ambition of diminishing, and eventually eliminating, secured loan exposure from its reserves, leveraging its surplus reserves and undistributed profits to attain this objective.

Investment in Research and Excess Reserves

Tether’s financial disclosure also unveiled investments exceeding $670 million in Q3 2023, and over $800 million year-to-date, funneled into industry-aligned research domains. Although these investments are external to the reserves backing the issued tokens, they showcase Tether’s long-term vision and resilience, particularly amid fluctuating gold and Bitcoin valuations. The report confirmed a stable excess reserves buffer, in spite of market volatilities, with a fair value evaluation causing a diminution of US $116 million for gold inventory and US $195 million for Bitcoin positions as of end Q3 2023.

Independent Verification and Assurance

BDO’s independent attestation reinforced that Tether’s consolidated assets, evaluated at a minimum of US$ 86.4 billion, surpassed its consolidated liabilities amounting to US$ 83.2 billion, with US$ 83.15 billion pertaining to digital tokens issued. This positive assessment underscores the robust financial health of Tether Group, even as it continues to diversify its investment portfolio into sustainable energy, Bitcoin mining, data, and P2P technology, with Q3 2023 investments in these sectors reaching nearly US$ 669 million, totaling around US$ 809 million since the onset of the year.

The Q3 attestation stands as a testament to Tether’s unwavering commitment to transparent and responsible financial stewardship, fortifying its position as a credible and stable entity in the crypto-finance ecosystem.

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Tagged : BDO / CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS / CONSOLIDATED RESERVES REPORT / Investment / MARKET VOLATILITY / News / Q3 2023 ATTESTATION / Research / SECURED LOANS / Tether / US TREASURY BILLS

BlockFi’s Collapse Tied to Ignored Risks with FTX and Alameda Research

by Blockchain NewsJuly 16, 2023

A preliminary report titled “Why Did BlockFi Fail?” submitted to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey on July 14, 2023, has shed light on the reasons behind the failure of BlockFi, a prominent crypto lending firm. The report was filed by the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors and involves several entities associated with BlockFi.

According to the report, BlockFi’s failure can be attributed to fundamentally flawed business models, unreasonable risk-taking, and ignored concerns from the management team. The document also provides a timeline of events leading up to BlockFi’s collapse and discusses the key individuals and entities involved in the case.

Zac Prince, the CEO of BlockFi, allegedly disregarded recommendations from the company’s risk management team over lending assets to Alameda Research. The risk management team had reported on the “high risks” associated with lending assets to Alameda, but Prince allegedly dismissed these concerns. By August 2021, BlockFi had lent Alameda $217 million, despite the risk management team’s warnings about potential risks if the FTX Token (FTT) used to secure the loans needed to be liquidated.

The report also reveals that BlockFi had roughly $1.2 billion in assets tied to FTX and Alameda Research when the firm filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. At the time of its Chapter 11 filing, BlockFi admitted it had “significant exposure” to FTX and its associated entities. FTX US had received a $400 million credit line from BlockFi in July 2022, furthering financial ties between the two firms amid a crypto winter.

The report suggests that while Alameda/FTX’s downfall may have triggered BlockFi’s downfall, BlockFi’s demise was rooted in business practices and decisions well preceding Alameda/FTX’s bankruptcy filing.

In response to the report, a BlockFi spokesperson said the firm disagreed with the report, alleging that the committee behind the report “cherry-picks statements out of context, errs on other matters, and does not deliver the objective analysis promised.”

The document also delves into the promises made to customers, the company’s corporate guidelines, the failures of oversight functions, and investment failures. The report’s findings highlight the importance of robust risk management and the potential consequences of ignoring such systems in the rapidly evolving crypto industry.

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Tagged : Alameda / Blockfi / COURT FILING / FTX / News / Research / ZAC PRINCE

Bridge the gap between traditional finance and DeFi

by Blockchain NewsFebruary 20, 2023

The cryptocurrency community is always looking for new methods to use decentralized finance (DeFi) technologies in order to close the gap that exists between conventional finance and fiat currencies. A main means through which consumers may traverse between these two financial ecosystems is via the use of crypto on-ramp services.

In addition, if there are complications throughout the transaction process, there is a possibility that as many as 90 percent of customers would leave their purchases in the middle of the flow.

The research looked at nine of the most popular fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinify, MoonPay, Transak, and Wyre, among others.

According to the statistics, the performance of the different onramps varies greatly; nonetheless, the position of the user is one of the primary elements to consider. The transaction success rates in Europe were among the highest in the world, while those in Africa and South America were among the lowest.

Payment methods, the fiat currency that was converted into cryptocurrency, and the available trading pairings are some of the other elements that influenced transactions on cryptocurrency exchanges. The use of bank transfers as a means of payment has been shown to have higher success rates in transaction completion rates, reaching almost 100% success in two separate cases.

In addition, the value of the transaction was a significant factor in determining whether or not it was successful. Transactions ranging from zero to twenty-six dollars had an authorization rate of sixty-six percent, whereas those with a value of more than five thousand dollars had an authorization rate of nineteen percent on average.

The study came to the conclusion that one of the potential solutions to problems with transaction authorisation might be for token service providers to provide as comprehensive a selection as they can manage of aggregated onramps via a single interface. Another solution is to dynamically route transactions in order to provide consumers with the solution that is most suitable for their circumstances.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technical officer of Tether, made this statement not too long ago at the World Economic Forum. He referred to the platform’s stablecoin Tether (USDT) as an on-ramp for Bitcoin (BTC).

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has identified its soon-to-be-released retail central bank digital money as a possible entry point into the decentralized finance arena.

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Tagged : Adoption / Cryptocurrencies / DeFi / Fiat Money / News / Research

Global Efforts to Classify Cryptocurrencies

by Blockchain NewsFebruary 10, 2023

A significant cryptocurrency data aggregator known as CoinGecko and a cryptocurrency investment company known as 21Shares have teamed forces to develop a universal standard for categorizing the many different types of crypto assets.

The Global Crypto Classification Standard study was published on February 8 by CoinGecko and 21Shares. It outlines a standardized technique that can be used to classify cryptocurrency assets. The purpose of this work is to assist investors and regulators in gaining a better understanding of the particulars of each asset class in the cryptocurrency business, including the possibility for failures such as those that the sector experienced in 2022.

“In contrast to conventional financial assets, the nature of crypto assets may have a wide range of variations, both in terms of the asset itself and the protocol that underpins it,”

At the time this article was written, the website of CoinGecko listed more than 12,000 distinct cryptocurrencies, and each coin has its own set of traits and features that marked it apart from the others. The classification method used by CoinGecko and 21Shares is based on three main layers of categorization, which differentiate these hundreds of assets according to stack, market sectors, industries, and taxonomy.

The first level, known as the “crypto stack,” organizes crypto assets into categories such as centralized apps, decentralized applications, interoperable blockchains, and smart contract platforms, amongst others. The technique does not refer to the underlying token at any point in the first two tiers; rather, it exclusively discusses networks and protocols.

The second level is referred to as “market mapping by sectors and industries,” and it further divides cryptocurrencies into categories such as infrastructure, metaverse, and decentralized finance (DeFi), in addition to groups such as payment platform, lending, and developer tooling, amongst other categories. The technique makes an effort to classify the assets according to the category that is the most relevant to their use in situations when certain standards may be applied to more than one industry.

Based on the cryptocurrency taxonomy approach that was suggested by crypto analyst Chris Burniske in 2019, the third level was referred to as the “taxonomy of crypto assets.” Within this level, crypto assets were categorized according to related asset “superclasses.” The methodology developed by Burniske is based on a study written by Robert Greer in 1997 titled “What is an Asset Class Anyway?” Putting crypto assets into their respective superclasses, such as capital assets, assets that can be consumed or transformed, and assets that may be stored as value.

Dogecoin (DOGE), Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), and Zcash (ZEC) are some of the examples that may be found in the category of store of value assets (DOGE). This particular kind of crypto asset “cannot be consumed,” and it also does not provide any form of revenue. “However, it does have worth; it is a store of value asset,” is how the proposed categorization standard puts it.

The attempt by CoinGecko and 21Shares to bring about a worldwide crypto categorization standard is only one of the numerous efforts being made all around the world to classify cryptocurrencies. The Australian Department of the Treasury issued a consultation paper on “token mapping” on February 3, with the goal of developing its own taxonomy of crypto assets. Prior to this, Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority was also soliciting comment on its categorization of crypto assets as securities, investment instruments, or financial instruments in July of 2022. This was done in order to make an informed decision.

According to Gonzalez, “while the categorization of digital assets is quite prevalent, many classification attempts are one-dimensional and mislead conventional investors by combining crypto assets, the investable tokens, directly with the protocols that are behind them.”

The executive also expressed optimism that the newly suggested standard would be able to appeal to retail and institutional investors, as well as governments all over the globe, as a result of 21Shares’ work with CoinGecko, a leading independent cryptocurrency statistics website.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Coingecko / Cryptocurrencies / Education / News / Regulation / Research

The White House is continuing to develop its National Digital Assets Research and Development

by Blockchain NewsJanuary 26, 2023

The National Digital Assets Research and Development Agenda is still being worked on by the administration of United States Vice President Joe Biden, who is still in office.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has issued a request for information (RFI) dated January 26 and posted by the Federal Register. The OSTP is inviting comments to assist it in determining which agenda goals should be prioritised.

By the 23rd of March, individuals and groups may submit comments that are no more than ten pages in length. After the “first-ever” Comprehensive Framework for Responsible Development of Digital Assets was presented in September, the White House made the announcement that the formulation of the agenda would be the next step in the administration’s efforts.

The president’s executive order titled “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” which was issued in March, was the impetus for a flurry of research work relating to cryptocurrencies, and the new agenda is a component of that activity.

According to the request for information (RFI), the agenda’s goal was to “shape an effort by the whole government” to create digital assets and distributed ledger technology.

It was also referred to be a method to “kickstart basic research” and “continue to encourage research that turns technology advances into market-ready goods.”

It said there: “Research and development (R&D) in this area has often been carried out in a disjointed fashion, with little thought given to the wider ramifications, uses, and potential drawbacks of the inventions that are at the core of the field. […] A research and development strategy that takes a more comprehensive approach would give tangible areas of emphasis that might be used to realise a holistic vision of an ecosystem for digital assets that symbolises democratic principles in addition to other major concerns.”

The adoption of the Chips and Science Act in August resulted in the creation of a specialised post within the OSTP for blockchain technology.

As part of its mandate, the office investigated the effects that digital assets have on the environment and prepared a report on those effects. Additionally, as part of the ongoing and as of yet inconclusive consideration of a digital dollar for the United States, the office compiled a survey of central bank digital currency design options.

The response to Vice President Biden’s broad framework varied from lukewarm support to vehement expressions of dissatisfaction.

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Tagged : Digital Asset / News / Regulation / Research

Demand for Blockchain and AI Expected to Push Market Value to $980.7M by 2030: Report

by Blockchain NewsNovember 4, 2022

Since blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) are among the greatest technological innovations, their demand is expected to make the market value soar to $980.7 million by 2030, according to Spherical Insights & Consulting.

The market data intelligence company suggested that the global blockchain AI market is anticipated to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.06%. Per the report:

“Both combined are able to provide robust outcomes, and become highly beneficial to various applications such as financial security, supply chain logistics, creating diverse datasets and many others.”

Since digitization is emerging as a critical driver of transformational change across different industries, AI and blockchain can prompt high-efficiency levels, with the United States already setting the digitizing ball rolling.

Spherical Insights pointed out:

“The blockchain AI accelerates and also connects the ecosystem of artificially intelligent bots and software. The combination of both delivers universal registration, identity validation, bot audit, and compliance capabilities.”

Based on the technical complexity presented by blockchain and AI, experts anticipate that these cutting-edge technologies will have profound business implications soon. For instance, the AICoin project was aimed at enabling investors to harness the power of tokenization by combining the strengths of AI and blockchain.

Spherical Insights added:

“In this project, the developers developed artificial intelligence models that learn to identify and trade patterns that are hidden in the dozen or so most liquid cryptocurrency markets.”

The report also noted that this market can be a game-changer for business leaders, given that it can be deployed in investment management platforms, crowdsourced predictive models for hedge funds, and AI marketplaces.

Spherical Insights also highlighted that cloud-based blockchain AI solutions could play an instrumental role in SMEs because they enhance scalability and are highly applicable.

Meanwhile, Research and Markets disclosed that enhanced blockchain as a service (BaaS) adoption would boost the blockchain in the healthcare market, Blockchain.News reported.

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Tagged : ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE / Blockchain / Industry / Innovation / Research / Technology

Demand for Blockchain and AI Expected to Push Market Value to $980.7M by 2030: Spherical Insights

by Blockchain NewsNovember 4, 2022

The market data intelligence company suggested that the global blockchain AI market is anticipated to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.06%. Per the report:

“Both combined are able to provide robust outcomes, and become highly beneficial to various applications such as financial security, supply chain logistics, creating diverse datasets and many others.”

Spherical Insights pointed out:

“The blockchain AI accelerates and also connects the ecosystem of artificially intelligent bots and software. The combination of both delivers universal registration, identity validation, bot audit, and compliance capabilities.”

Spherical Insights added:

“In this project, the developers developed artificial intelligence models that learn to identify and trade patterns that are hidden in the dozen or so most liquid cryptocurrency markets.”

Spherical Insights also highlighted that cloud-based blockchain AI solutions could play an instrumental role in SMEs because they enhance scalability and are highly applicable.

Meanwhile, Research and Markets disclosed that enhanced blockchain as a service (BaaS) adoption would boost the blockchain in the healthcare market, Blockchain.News reported.

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Tagged : ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE / Blockchain / Industry / Innovation / Research / Technology

Continuous Crackdown on Crypto by US SEC is a Bullish Factor for Investors – Report

by Blockchain NewsOctober 26, 2022

Investors in the digital currency ecosystem have varying reasons to inject their capital into the emerging industry and the current crackdown from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is one of the main pushes for investors per a recent Bloomberg survey.

The results from the latest MLIV Pulse survey showed that of the 564 respondents surveyed, as many as 60% affirmed that the crackdowns present a positive push for investing in the industry. The SEC has not tapered down its enforcement actions in recent times as it has launched lawsuits against crypto firms, employees, and even celebrities that have contravened the law.

In one of its highest-profile actions, the SEC charged reality TV superstar, Kim Kardashian for non-disclosure of her earnings for the promotion of EthereumMax tokens (EMAX) considered a security by the regulator. When the indictment was brought against her, Kim Kardashian agreed to pay all of the fines worth $1.26 million without admitting or denying any wrongdoing.

According to the survey, around 65% of retail investors say they are more likely to invest in the industry with more enforcement action, a number that compares to 56% for professional investors.

“I’m in the ‘yes’ camp. As a professional investor, you need a regulated investment opportunity and it opens the doors for more professional investors to get involved in crypto, if it’s more regulated,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank. “The more they can get crypto out of the Wild West and into traditional investing, the better off it’s going to be.”

The rate of fraud and cybercrime in the industry is growing at a frantic pace and the fact that developers in the crypto industry have a watchdog to make them accountable will help in driving additional due diligence that can guarantee peace of mind for investors across the board.

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Tagged : Crackdown / KIM KARDASHIAN / Regulation / Research / SEC

92% High-Net-Worth Individuals in SG & HK Are Interested in Digital Assets: KPMG

by Blockchain NewsOctober 25, 2022

To learn crypto perspectives from family offices (FOs) and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in Singapore and Hong Kong, KPMG China and Aspen Digital conducted a study dubbed “Investing in Digital Assets” and discovered that growing interest among this group.

Per the report:

“Despite the volatility in the digital asset market in the past two years, FOs and HNWIs are keen to invest in the sector. The survey found that 92 percent of respondents were interested in digital assets, with 58 percent of FOs and HNWIs already investing and 34 percent planning to do so.”

The growing crypto interest among FOs and HNWIs in Singapore and Hong Kong was being driven by portfolio diversification and high return prospects.

Confidence in digital assets was also being spurred by heightened participation by mainstream institutional investors.

“Family offices and high-net-worth individuals in Hong Kong and Singapore have embraced this new asset class, with more than 90 percent of our survey respondents already investing in the space or planning to do so,” according to the study.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) dominated the group’s investment portfolio. Furthermore, growing interest in decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) was also noted.

Direct equity investment emerged as the primary source of funding for crypto service providers. Matthew Lam, Aspen Digital’s head of research, pointed out:

“We have observed that family offices/HNWIs prefer direct equity investments, while crypto-focused venture capital firms favour equity plus token warrant approach to invest in digital asset service providers.”

Nevertheless, respondents cited inaccurate valuation and the changing global regulatory environment as the biggest hurdles to crypto investment.

For instance, all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in Hong Kong will be required to apply for an operational license by March 2024. Moreover, Singapore is also eyeing to broaden its crypto regulation scope.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong recently showed its intention to legalize crypto trading after launching several legal initiatives related to emerging technologies in the cryptocurrency industry, Blockchain.News reported.

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Tagged : Asia / Crypto / Family Offices / FO / HNWIS / Hong Kong / Investment / Research / Singapore