Banking news
SC Ventures, the innovation, fintech investment, and venture arm of banking giant Standard Chartered, announced the launch of Libeara, a tokenization platform that will enable the creation of the first-ever tokenized Singapore-Dollar Government Bond Fund for accredited investors, in partnership with FundBridge Capital. Libeara’s partners include Fireblocks, Fazz via StraitsX, Chainalysis, Chekk, and Letsbloom. According to the announcement, this marks the first time a Singapore-Dollar Government Bond will be offered in a token format, and the fund will also be rated by an international credit rating agency. FundBridge Capital is a Capital Market Services License holder and is regulated to conduct fund management activities by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The fund will be a traditional government bond fund, and FundBridge will procure investors and otherwise manage the fund. Fund units are represented as tokens, involving the creation of native digital fund units on distributed ledgers through a technology platform created by Libeara. Vistra will serve as the fund administrator, the press release said.
Payments news
Blockchain-based point-of-sale solution developer Pundi X announced the ‘Pay via Email’ feature on its Web3-empowered XPOS point-of-sale platform. Beyond simplifying payments, the announcement said, this feature presents an array of benefits that are meant to reshape how customers interact with crypto in the physical outlets. Pay via Email lets customers pay using their email addresses, eliminating the complication of operating their hardware wallets onsite. It also offers customers the option to ‘Pay Later at Home’ using their preferred wallets. Additionally, it enables merchants to issue invoices through XPOS for online payments. Pay via Email is accessible to users around the globe. The feature will be unveiled at the Singapore Fintech Festival.
Social media news
Aave Companies announced the mainnet launch of the social layer for Web3 Lens Protocol V2. All applications and Lens V1 Profiles have been migrated to V2, including 11 million social connections and over 34 million social interactions. The launch of Lens V2 (still in beta) empowers builders to participate in an open, decentralized, and collaborative ecosystem, the team said and added that: “The Lens V2 launch on Polygon Mainnet brings web3-native social primitives that function independently, empowering builders to choose from these to create social experiences or integrate web3-powered experiences into existing apps of any kind.†Initially unveiled in July 2023, V2 introduces enhanced composability, upgrades, and enhancements that enable developers to build new social experiences and monetization faster, it said.
NFT news
To celebrate North American National Hockey League (NHL) Hall of Famer Bobby Orr’s career, Orr is collaborating with mixed media artist Paul Gerben and Pastel Network to unveil the Bobby Orr Collection. Per the announcement, the collection is made possible by Pastel Network’s SmartMint, a no-code tool streamlining digital collectibles’ creation, management, and minting. SmartMint ensures storage of non-fungible token (NFT) metadata and is compatible with various blockchains, such as Ethereum, Solana, and Binance Smart Chain. Exclusive drops from this collection offer holders access to experiences such as 1:1 video calls, attending an NHL game with Orr, signed memorabilia and merchandise, and special edition physical copies. The collection’s debut drop features 1,444 unique digital NHL trading cards, which will be followed by a series of limited edition digital and physical releases.
Mining news
Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, reporting that its total revenue was $87.3 million compared to $76.6 million in the corresponding period of 2022, primarily due to the increase in revenue generated from the company’s self-mining business as a result of the increased self-mining hash rate and increased bitcoin (BTC) production. Net loss was $1.8 million, compared to $22.1 million in the third quarter of 2022, primarily caused by share-based payment expenses of $12.3 million. Adjusted profit was $10.5 million in the third quarter of 2023, compared to $4.1 million in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $28.0 million, compared to $8.7 million in Q3 2022. Cash and cash equivalents were $134.5 million as of September 30, 2023, it said.
