Qatar Central Bank launches CBDC project to create 500,000 tokens on Solana in May

Headline

▌Qatar Central Bank Launches CBDC Project

The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has launched the first phase of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, focusing on large-value payment settlements between large banks. The project will last until October and focus on distributed ledger technology, artificial intelligence, liquidity and securities trading. QCB began researching CBDC technology in March 2022 and confirmed the launch of the project in June of the same year. QCB Governor Sheikh Bandar bin Mohamed bin Saoud al-Thani said the central bank is evaluating the pros and cons of issuing CBDC. A day before announcing the CBDC project, QCB launched a new fintech sandbox to provide a rapid testing and evaluation process. The project is part of the national development strategy.

▌Data: Nearly half a million tokens were created on the Solana blockchain in May

Due to the low entry barrier and the surge in demand for creating popular memecoins, nearly half a million tokens were launched on the Solana blockchain in May.  

According to data from The Block Pro, 455,000 tokens were created on Solana in May, compared to 177,000 tokens created on Ethereum Layer2 Base and 39,000 tokens created on the BNB chain. Less than 20,000 tokens were created on the Ethereum mainnet and Layer2 networks Arbitrum and Optimism.

Market

As of press time, according to Coingecko data:

BTC's latest transaction price is $68,797.32, with a daily increase or decrease of +1.6%;

ETH's latest transaction price is $3,766.02, with a daily increase or decrease of -0.4%;

BNB's latest transaction price is $606.75, with a daily increase or decrease of +3.9%；

SOL's latest transaction price is 164.78 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +1.0%；

DOGE's latest transaction price is 0.1582 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +0.8%；

XPR's latest transaction price is 0.52 US dollars, with a daily increase or decrease of +1.3%.

Policy

▌Wisconsin Pension Plan May Increase Spot Bitcoin ETF Investment

David Krause, a professor of finance at Marquette University in the United States, said that the Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) purchased $164 million worth of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust shares in the first quarter. This investment may be just the beginning. SWIB is expected to increase its investment further, and other pension plans may follow suit.  

As of the end of 2023, SWIB will manage approximately $156 billion in assets, and Bitcoin ETFs will account for 0.1% of its portfolio. Krause believes that this investment is a "test of the waters" aimed at testing the public's reaction to Bitcoin ETFs. = 

In the first three months of this year, nearly 500 institutional investors allocated spot Bitcoin ETFs, the largest of which was hedge fund Millennium Management, which held $2 billion, accounting for 3% of its total assets.

▌Dubai DFSA lowers cryptocurrency recognition fee to $5,000

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) announced adjustments to the cryptocurrency regime, reducing the recognition fee from the previous $10,000 per token to $5,000. The revision aims to enhance the regulatory framework for tokens in the UAE's special economic zones. The revision also allows domestic investor funds to invest in unrecognized tokens, but the exposure must not exceed 10% of the fund's total assets. DFSA CEO Ian Johnston said the change does not mean regulatory relaxation, but is to better promote innovation.

▌UK Digital Securities Sandbox Feedback Focuses on Limits and Digital Currencies

The Bank of England and FCA's joint consultation feedback on the UK Digital Securities Sandbox ended last week. Feedback focused on limits and digital currencies. The sandbox was launched in January this year, relaxing the legal requirements of some central securities depositories (CSDs) and supporting distributed ledger technology (DLT) and tokenization experiments.  

Despite the instant settlement advantages of blockchain, there is little discussion of digital currencies in the document. UK Finance believes that not using on-chain digital currencies is a missed opportunity and disadvantageous to non-bank institutions. The Global Blockchain Business Council and the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) have also called for the use of systemic stablecoins.  

UK Finance recommends that limits be set by company, and the IRSG warns that low limits will hinder the sandbox from attracting institutions, especially when testing digital gilts. The IRSG also pointed out that many legal adjustments simply clarify that digital securities are subject to existing laws. The GBBC emphasized that the sandbox design favors existing institutions and the cost of participation for start-ups is high. ICMA and other respondents called for greater flexibility, but this would increase the workload of supervision.

Blockchain Applications

▌Galaxy Digital Tokenizes Violin Worth About $9 Million

Galaxy Digital, a company owned by Michael Novogratz, announced that it has tokenized a more than 300-year-old Stradivarius violin owned by Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu, which, according to a statement, was made in 1708 and is worth about $9 million and once belonged to Catherine the Great of Russia.  

"Renowned for its unparalleled craftsmanship and long provenance, the tokenization of this tokenized instrument marks a significant advancement in the application of blockchain technology to unlock the value of unique real-world assets," Galaxy Digital said. The statement also said that Siu is using the tokenized violin "as collateral for financing Galaxy's Global Markets business."

▌Marketnode plans to launch blockchain fund settlement infrastructure in late June and release tokenized credit products in Q1 next year

Marketnode, a digital asset company founded by Temasek and Singapore Exchange (SGX), announced that it plans to launch a fund settlement infrastructure built on blockchain technology in late June. It is expected to announce more strategic partners of the network, including financial institutions and infrastructure participants, later in 2024, and launch tokenized credit products (such as bonds and loans) in the first quarter of 2025. Earlier news, Marketnode announced the completion of its Series A financing, led by HSBC, and the amount of financing has not been disclosed.

Cryptocurrency

▌SBF is now back at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has returned to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, after being transferred to prisons in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania last month. The transfer was in compliance with Judge Lewis Kaplan's request to facilitate access to his appellate attorneys.  

Bankman-Fried was sentenced last year to 25 years in prison for multiple fraud counts related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Another FTX official, Ryan Salame, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison last week.

▌Binance CEO: No unauthorized stablecoins in spot trading will be delisted

Binance CEO Richard Teng clarified on the X platform that no unauthorized stablecoins in spot trading will be delisted, but users in the European Economic Area will be restricted from using relevant stablecoins on certain products. Updates on regulated stablecoins will be shared soon.

▌Bitfarms mining revenue fell 45% to $7 million in May

Mining company Bitfarms said it made a profit of 156 BTC (about $7 million) in May, down 42% from April. The company said the decline occurred because May was the first full month of the "post-halving economy." The total amount of BTC held by Bitfarm increased to 850 BTC, worth $57.2 million based on the BTC price of $67,300 on May 31. Founded in 2017, Bitfarms currently has 12 operational Bitcoin mining facilities in four countries, Argentina, Canada, Paraguay, and the United States, with another one under development.

▌Lawyer: Uniswap's delayed vote is another example of DeFi protocols treating token holders as "second-class" citizens

The Uniswap Foundation previously postponed a key vote on whether to upgrade the protocol's governance structure and fee mechanism to better reward holders of UNI governance tokens. Although the foundation said the decision was "unexpected" and apologized for it, this is not the first time it has postponed a vote on whether to implement a "fee switch" to pass on a moderate amount of protocol transaction fees to token holders. This is also not the only time the interests of token holders have conflicted with other "stakeholders" in Uniswap. Crypto legal expert Gabriel Shapiro believes that this is another example of DeFi protocols treating token holders as "second-class" citizens, whose wishes are subordinated to a small group of stakeholders.

Important Economic Dynamics

▌The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed

The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.11%, and the Nasdaq up 0.56%. Nvidia rose nearly 5%, setting a new record high.

▌The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in June is 99.9%

According to CME's "Fed Watch", the probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged in June is 99.9%, and the probability of raising interest rates by 25 basis points is 0.1%. The probability of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates unchanged by August is 83.4%, and the probability of a cumulative interest rate cut of 25 basis points is 16.5%.

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What is Liquidity Staking?

Liquidity staking allows pledgers to maintain the liquidity of pledged tokens by using alternative tokens, which they can use to earn additional returns through DeFi protocols. Liquidity staking enables cryptocurrency holders to participate in staking without giving up control of their holdings. This changes the way users stake. Projects such as Lido have introduced liquidity staking to provide tokenization of pledged assets in the form of tokens and derivatives.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to increase risk awareness.