Japanese Bank SMBC to Foray Into NFT and Web3 Markets

The Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the second largest of the three biggest banks in Japan, has announced it is planning to expand into digital asset businesses, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Web3 platforms. The company will partner with Hashport, a group that offers tokenization and listing services in Japan, to launch a token business … Read more

Digital Real Will Be Used by Banks in Brazil as Collateral to Issue Their Own Stablecoins

The Brazilian central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital real, will be more of a wholesale asset instead of a public retail-focused token, according to statements from the president of the Central Bank of Brazil, Roberto Campos Neto. Campos Neto indicated that private banks in the country will be able to issue their own stablecoins … Read more

South African Central Bank Governor: Regulators and Policymakers Must Be Involved in Shaping Potential Move to DLT Markets

The head of the South African central bank has insisted that regulators and policymakers should be involved in directing any potential move to markets that are based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). Pondering the Implications of Innovation The governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Lesetja Kganyago, has argued that central banks, regulators, and … Read more

Santander to Offer Loans Backed by Agricultural Commodity Tokens

Santander is developing the possibility of offering loans backed by tokens that are collateralized in agricultural products. The bank has partnered with Agrotoken, a company that launched a series of agricultural commodity tokens already being used in agriculture-related markets to make transactions. A pilot test has been conducted to validate the system used to produce … Read more

JPMorgan Shares Predictions on Crypto Markets, Ethereum’s Upgrades, Defi, NFTs

Global investment bank JPMorgan has published a report on the future outlook of crypto markets, including Ethereum’s upgrades, decentralized finance (defi), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The bank sees “the cryptocurrency markets as increasingly relevant to financial services,” its analyst described. JPMorgan Outlines Future Outlook for Crypto Markets JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington published a report on … Read more