JP Morgan's JPM Coin LIVE / Avanti Financial Banking Charter Approved / India's Crypto Banking Landscape
October 29, 2020
What a wild week in the blockchain landscape and it’s only Thursday! I began putting this week’s update together with the hope of sharing it with you all earlier than usual, but the news kept coming, and big news at that! Time to dive in!
JP Morgan is using its digital currency, JPM Coin, for the first time commercially this week. It is being used by a large technology client to send payments globally. Recently JP Morgan seemed to do a full 180 on its stance around the inevitable impact and that both blockchain & Bitcoin will have on the world. Congratulations are in order to Caitlin Long and her team as Avanti Financial’s banking charter was approved unanimously by the Wyoming State Banking Board on Wednesday (10/28), becoming the second newly chartered bank in the state in 2020 after Kraken Financial earned approval last month (September). Coinbase is launching its Visa debit card in the U.S. with a rewards program attached and providing users the ability to spend their cryptocurrency funds directly from their Coinbase accounts — the card is accepted at any retailer that accepts Visa debit cards. Anheuser-Busch looking to expand blockchain integrating further into its beer production line. India’s digital assets space with cryptocurrency services alongside traditional banking coming to 22 locations in the northern part of the country, and targeting 100 in 2020. This news comes on the tailwinds of headlines that Latin America is seeing a surge of Bitcoin ATMs pop up, particularly throughout Columbia.
We also received news from Toyota, AMD, and Andreessen Horowitz (A16z). DappSuite is helping Salesforce customers maintain their Salesforce system of record (SOR) leveraging Baseline Protocol. Also, KPMG and Coin Metrics enter into a strategic alliance. IDEO CoLab announces a new industry-focused venture fund, along with a number of new investment announcements throughout the landscape, plus updates on DApps, NFTs, DeFi, and more! Enjoy!!
Author’s note: As the industry continues to evolve I’ll continue to reshape the structure of these weekly posts to include more insights around the trending areas and new fundraising events to ensure a well-rounded update. If I’m missing anything don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send a DM. Thanks!
?? “Large Tech Client” Uses JP Morgan’s JPM Coin For The First Time
JP Morgan is using its digital currency, JPM Coin, for the first time commercially this week. It is being used by a large technology client to send payments globally, according to Takis Georgakopoulos, the firm’s global head of wholesale payments. The large technology client was not named, although more clients are reportedly being on-boarded. These developments have given the international bank confidence that the future lies in blockchain technology. To that end, the firm has launched Onyx, an umbrella organization for the international giant’s blockchain and digital currency initiatives. With over 100 employees…read more
Related: ?? JP Morgan Veteran Daniel Masters Explains How Blockchain Will End Commercial Banks
Related: ?? JP Morgan Moves Forward With Commerical Blockchain Platform
?? Avanti Financial Joins Kraken as a Wyoming-Approved Crypto Bank
Avanti Financial’s banking charter was approved unanimously by the Wyoming State Banking Board on Wednesday, becoming the second newly chartered bank in the state in 2020 after Kraken Financial earned approval last month. Avanti, like Kraken, now has to jump through a few hoops – like raising more capital – before it can be granted a certificate of authority to operate. Along with the charter approval, the banking board approved Avanti’s future issuance of Avit, a programmable electronic currency that’s redeemable at par with a U.S. dollar. The Avit is not a security token…read more
Related: ?? Coinbase’s crypto debit card is launching in the U.S.
?? How Public Blockchains Could Supplement ERP Systems
The secret truth about digital commerce is that it usually comes to a screeching halt at the enterprise door. It’s not uncommon for a digital system to create a purchase order using PDF software (which is emailed to a supplier), only for it to be scanned into their systems using a process called optical character recognition (OCR). This digital-analog-digital scanning process is only one step above printing and faxing. Within the digital supply chain, electronic data interchange (EDI) is one step above OCR, but it only allows for static communication (and only between two parties). Furthermore, it doesn’t support any kind of shared business logic or process…read more and for more by Paul Brody
Related: ?? Anheuser-Busch considers integrating blockchain further into its beer production line
?? India Will Soon Have Crypto ‘Banking’ at 22 Physical Locations
India’s digital assets space continues to see rapid development, with the latest news from the subcontinent being cryptocurrency financial services offered at physical branches. According to a blog post from digital finance firm Cashaa on Tuesday, a new joint venture with the United Multi State Credit Cooperative Society will provide users with cryptocurrency services alongside traditional banking at 22 locations in the northern part of the country. A launch is slated for December of this year, with Cashaa saying the plan is to expand the service to over 100 branches by 2022…read more and for more by Cashaa Team
Related: ?? Bitcoin ATMs are booming in this Latin American country
Related: ?? LibertyX launches Bitcoin-to-cash sales at ATMs in United States
More For Your Week:
?? Toyota Systems Exploring Digital Currency and Blockchain
?? AMD Seems To Be Preparing New Blockchain GPU For Cryptomining
?? Andreessen Horowitz’s Crypto Arm Taps NYSE Regulation Chief in New Role
?? PayPal to offer crypto payments starting in 2021
?? KPMG LLP and Coin Metrics, Inc. Enter Strategic Alliance — Coin Metrics
?? Asian Bank DBS Walks Back Bitcoin Trading Announcement
???? Siemens-backed blockchain energy platform showcases in Germany
?? Blockchain-Based Trading System Steps Closer to ASX Access
???? An encryption study revealed a surprising fact about blockchain adoption in Mexico
???? China’s Coronavirus Outbreak Prompts Blockchain Adoption for Charity
???? Capital Update?:
New section alert! With the fourth quarter (Q4) traditionally being a fundraising sprint for many, I decided to create a little sub-section in these posts to highlight venture announcements from investments to new funds to M&A all throughout the landscape. Get ready!
?? IDEO CoLab Ventures Announces $21M Crypto Fund
?? Figment Networks Raises $2.5M in Funding Round Led by Bonfire Ventures
?? Medici Ventures Invests Additional $8 Million In Bitcoin Start-Up Bitt
?? Ethereum data startup Nansen raises $1.2 million in seed funding
?? DeFiDollar raises $1.2M to be the risk-insured stablecoin layer for DeFi — Siddharth Jain
?? Data analytics startup Covalent raises $3.1 million
?? The Graph Token Sale Raises $12 Million in 24 Hours
DApps (Decentralized Apps) Watch:
?? Dappsuite extends the Salesforce Platform to leverage Baseline Protocol
Using DappSuite, Salesforce customers can maintain their Salesforce system of record (SOR) and have a consistent and common frame of reference with their counterparties on other systems of record for B2B intercompany automation. A Salesforce customer can baseline contracts (e.g RFP, MSA, SLA), b2b workflows, and other sales processes between any number of Salesforce and non-Salesforce customer’s CRM or ERP systems. This product was developed to help Salesforce Customers…read more & for more by Dom Steil
Related: ?? Ocean v3 Brings Wave of Data Monetization Tools to Ethereum — Ocean Protocol Team
?? Blockchains And The Ownership Economy
As user participation progresses in this fashion, the next logical step is what Jesse Walden, Founder at Variant Fund, calls the Ownership Economy, in which platforms are “not only built, operated, and funded by users — but owned by users too.” As blockchain networks and cryptocurrencies use common assets that are shared by all stakeholders, creating value that aligns their economic interests, crypto ecosystems are a natural fit with the ownership economy. In this article, I’ll break down how this relationship could develop, what incentives would drive adoption of the ownership economy, and why I believe this process will work…read more & for more by Matthew Spoke
Related: ? Our Digital Lives Need Digital Money
?? South Korean telecom launches blockchain wallet for official documents
The South Korean telecom giant S.K. Telecom is launching a blockchain-powered wallet for digital certificate storage and management to support the government-led digitalization push. The wallet is compatible with the ministry’s own Government24 digital certificate initiative to push electronic certificate issuance and distribution systems in South Korea. The documents which can be stored in the wallet include resident registration cards, health insurance qualification certificates, immigration certificates, and a range of other documentation…read more
?? Japanese payments firm JCB and Mizuho Bank test blockchain-based ID
?? Audius the ‘Decentralized Spotify,’ Is Moving Part of Its Service to Solana
?? Raiffeisen Bank Bringing Blockchain Interoperability to Its Stablecoin Project
??? Research: State of the Blockchain & DApps 2020:
We are transitioning to a completely digitized economy and the activity in the blockchain industry during 2020 proves this more than ever. Now w/ 1,100+ companies building & funding ($30bn+!) the infrastructure layers that will make up this new economy. The full Q3 2020 breakdown is now available including an in-depth overview of the landscape, new categories & business models, areas of opportunities, rising categories, use-cases, and view for the remainder of 2020 into 2021.
Available now, for free is my latest research on Decentralized Applications or DApp “Stack” Landscape Map — the Q2 2020 edition. This map provides a full overview and taxonomy of the emerging DApps industry highlighting over 400 global companies teaching playing a vital role in building next-generation applications. As a bonus, I’ve included some of the ecosystem players and groups you need to be familiar with as you prepare to release your applications. If this is the first version you’ve seen of the landscape, consider it your guiding roadmap to further understanding not only the industry but all the core technology required to build a full or partial Decentralized Application (DApp).
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