The last week in crypto was not a pleasant for most investors, as the market continues to bleed. However, there are some developments to feel encouraged about, including JPMorgan wanting to bring tokenised real-world assets to DeFi, and Mastercard aiming to make purchasing NFTs easier.
Highlights:
- Celsius Network has paused withdrawals on its platform until it manages to stabilise liquidity. The Celsius token has dropped by over 50% following the news.
- JPMorgan sees potential in the DeFi market for real-world assets. The bank wants to bring tokenised real-world assets to DeFi, to be used as collateral.
- Jamaica has been the first country to legalise a CBDC. The company’s Jam-DEX will be used for domestic purposes later this month.
- Jack Dorsey is working on a new internet project, informally called web5. The project will use many aspects of decentralisation to transform the internet experience.
- Mastercard has partnered with several NFT companies and wants to make purchasing NFTs easier.
This Week in Crypto
Celsius Network Pauses Withdrawals
In what is a worrying sign for its customers, lending service Celsius Network announced that it has paused all withdrawals until further notice. The company announced that “extreme market conditions” motivated the decision and that it was “acting in the interest of its community.” They are not shifting their focus to protecting and preserving their assets, with the ultimate goal being to stabilise liquidity and restore withdrawals.
The price of Celsius token has experienced a precipitous drop, going down by over 50% to $0.19. The company is also facing an investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which will not help its recovery efforts.
JPMorgan Eyes DeFi Market for Tokenised Assets
Investment bank JPMorgan has been steadily expanding efforts in the market, and the latest news is that it wants to bring tokenised real-world assets into the DeFi space. Tyrone Lobban, head of Onyx Digital Assets at JPMorgan, announced the initiative at the Consensus 2022 conference, saying that the tokenisation of U.S. Treasury bonds and money market fund shares could be used as collateral.
The overall goal is to allow DeFi to leverage trillions of dollars worth of these assets, i.e., operating DeFi trading, borrowing, and lending services at an institutional scale. Such a move would result in a significant boost for the DeFi space, which has garnered the attention of established financial institutions and lawmakers alike in the past two years.
Jamaica Makes Its CBDC Legal Tender
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are one of the biggest trends in the financial world at the moment, and that is not going to fade soon. In the past week, Jamaica joined the headlines in becoming the first country to make a CBDC legal tender.
The Jam-DEX has been authorised as legal tender by the country’s senate and will be used in domestic transactions later this month. The CBDC has been undergoing testing for a while, with the first tests conducted in August 2021.
Jack Dorsey Wants To Go Directly to Web5
Jack Dorsey has a new project, one that goes beyond web3 and is ambitiously referred to as web5. The Twitter co-founder tweeted on June 10, saying that the project, called TB, will focus on redefining how we interact on the internet. Decentralisation is, of course, a key aspect of this project, and web5 will use blockchain technology specialities such as decentralised identifiers (DID), decentralised web nodes (DWN), self-sovereign identity services (SSIS), and a self-sovereign identity software development kit (SSI-SDK).
Mastercard Wants To Make NFT Transactions Easier
Payments processor Mastercard revealed that it wants to make it easier for consumers to purchase NFTs. The company has partnered with Immutable X, Candy Digital, The Sandbox, Nifty Gateway, MoonPay, and Mintable.
One highlight of the initiative is that it will allow consumers to purchase NFTs without needing crypto first. This could have a tremendous impact on the market and adoption of NFTs if Mastercard can effectively execute the plan and tap into its considerable presence.