CPLABS and Protocol Capital to collaborate on blockchain-enhanced autonomous driving in Qatar

DBS Introduces Metaverse Game to Tackle Global Food WasteDBS, Singapore’s largest bank, has unveiled an innovative concept within the metaverse for its DBS BetterWorld initiative, focusing on the critical issue of global food waste.In a press release which it published on Thursday, the bank revealed that this “gamified adventure” is designed to showcase the strategies that Businesses for Impact are employing to tackle the ever-pressing global food waste challenge. Businesses for Impact are an initiative driven by the DBS Foundation that champions for-profit enterprises that promote innovative solutions to effect positive environmental or social change.Photo by Joshua Hoehne on UnsplashTackling a global issueData from the United Nations suggests that a staggering 1.3 billion tons of food, equivalent to one-third of the world’s total food production, goes to waste each year. Within this conceptual metaverse, players are tasked with a series of engaging activities inspired by five businesses supported by the DBS Foundation. These entities offer unique approaches to curbing food waste.Project collaborationSingapore-headquartered brewery business Brewerkz is focused on up-cycling brewers’ spent grains as part of the project. Breer, a Hong Kong startup transforming surplus bread into craft beer is also participating. The project also sees participation from another Hong Kong-based business, GreenPrice, which specializes in selling food close to or just past their best-before dates.Edible Garden City, a start-up that aims to make urban farming and edible gardening more accessible in cities, and Rooftop Republic, which converts underutilized spaces into urban farms, complete the list of five “Businesses for Impact” relative to this particular project.Metaverse ESG potentialKaren Ngui, Head of Group Strategic Marketing and Communications at DBS and a board member of DBS Foundation, emphasized the metaverse’s potential to enhance awareness and address crucial Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) concerns.Ngui remarked: “With DBS BetterWorld, we have chosen to delve into the challenges of food waste and food resilience, issues that DBS and the DBS Foundation have been championing, in a unique and engaging way.” She added that as metaverse technologies mature, they aspire to bridge virtual initiatives with tangible real-world impacts.Players based in Singapore will be rewarded with exclusive incentives that can be redeemed through special QR codes accessible via DBS PayLah!. This integration of real-world rewards into the metaverse experience adds a new layer of interaction and excitement for participants.Embracing the metaverseThis is not DBS’ first foray into the metaverse. It has collaborated with The Sandbox metaverse platform previously, participating in its Lion City initiative, a virtual metaverse neighborhood modeled on Singapore. Work on BetterWorld has been ongoing in conjunction with The Sandbox development team since last year.DBS’ creative endeavor within the metaverse not only sheds light on the urgent issue of global food waste but also demonstrates how technology and gaming can be harnessed to educate, raise awareness, and drive positive real-world change.As the metaverse continues to evolve, DBS’ initiative will likely serve to inspire other institutions to leverage the metaverse for various initiatives with the objective of achieving real-world impact.

Tel Aviv-based cryptocurrency accounting and taxation reporting platform TRES has successfully raised $11 million in a funding round led by Faction Ventures, with participation from New Form, Boldstart Ventures, Cyber Fund and Ambush Capital.Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash Sustained investor buy-inThe firm announced this latest financing round on its website on Wednesday. It brings TRES’s total funding to $18.6 million. This recent instance of funding comes on the heels of TRES’s previous success in securing $7.6 million in seed funding in September 2022. That round was led by Boldstart Ventures and Alchemy Ventures. The diverse participation included F2, New Form, Kenetic Capital, Blockdaemon Ventures and Mantis. With Miami-based Boldstart Ventures being a key investor in both funding rounds, Boldstart partner Shomik Ghosh took to social media on Wednesday to comment on this latest development, stating: “The Tres team and founders @TalZackonand @eilonlotem embody perseverance more than anyone I’ve ever met[.] So proud to work with you guys and learn how to handle yourselves in stressful situations taking care of family, friends, colleagues, and country[.]” $19B client baseTRES currently serves a client base with combined assets valued at $19 billion, offering comprehensive solutions to manage, monitor and reconcile digital asset activities. The platform supports over 100 Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchains, including popular ones like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche. Notably, TRES has ambitious plans to continually expand its supported blockchains, aiming to introduce support for “new blockchains every week,” according to a recent announcement. As the cryptocurrency industry witnesses increased institutional adoption, there is a growing demand for sophisticated accounting and taxation reporting tools, mirroring those available in traditional finance. TRES is working towards positioning itself to address this need by providing a comprehensive solution for firms to gain a “full and accurate picture across all of their Web3 financial activity,” stated Tal Zackon, co-founder and CEO of TRES. Zackon emphasized the importance of compliance across accounting, audit and reporting functions, asserting that TRES facilitates an easy path for customers to navigate these regulatory landscapes. The Series A funding round, led by Faction Ventures, signifies TRES’s commitment to further developing its platform to meet the evolving needs of the crypto industry. Optimistic outlookZachon told The Block that the outlook for crypto looks bright in terms of extending its appeal to new market participants. He stated: “This next bull cycle will have something that no other bull cycle before it had — dozens of live blockchain networks, thousands of decentralized applications, battle tested infrastructure, and the adoption by major banks and government organizations around the world. The number of companies that will hold crypto on its balance sheets is about to explode, and we are here to serve them — no matter how complex the transactions are.” With this latest round of venture capital backing, TRES appears to be well-positioned in striving to become a key player in facilitating transparent and compliant financial operations for an ever-expanding array of blockchain networks and decentralized applications. As the crypto industry matures, the importance of robust accounting and taxation reporting solutions like TRES is poised to grow in tandem with the increasing complexities of financial transactions within the blockchain ecosystem.

As the cryptocurrency market anticipates the approval of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States and the subsequent boost to bitcoin’s unit price, Arthur Hayes, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of family office Maelstrom, has issued a warning of potential market turbulence. Hayes, better known as the founder of crypto derivatives platform BitMEX, has moved on to Hong Kong-based Maelstrom, a family office that invests in early stage infrastructure ventures that implicate a move towards the decentralization of everything.Photo by Kanchanara on UnsplashMacroeconomic risk factorsIn a detailed blog post on Friday, Hayes outlines a number of macroeconomic variables that could lead to a bitcoin unit price downturn. Hayes begins by highlighting the depletion of the Federal Reserve’s reverse repo program (RRP), which has served as a significant driver for risky assets over the past year. This program allows qualified banks and investment firms to park cash and earn interest on it. The RRP balance has rapidly declined from a record high of $2.5 trillion at the end of 2022 to $700 billion. Hayes projects it to reach its historical average of $200 billion by March. As this liquidity source dwindles, he anticipates negative impacts on bonds and stocks, as well as cryptocurrencies. Fed BTFP expirationThe second factor contributing to the potential market turmoil is the expiration of the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) on March 12. This crucial Fed facility is designed to provide longer-term loans to commercial banks. The mechanism aids banking sector stability. Hayes is concerned that the BTFP might not be extended. Such an eventuality could lead to bankruptcy for banks holding massive unrealized losses on their bond holdings. It could lead to a “liquidity rug pull” event reminiscent of the banking crisis in March of the previous year. The crypto OG predicts that such an eventuality would force a response. “The combination of a lack of liquidity gushing from the RRP and the lack of printed money to cover the bond losses on banks’ balance sheets will decimate the financial markets globally,” he wrote. Hayes asserts that the combination of reduced liquidity from the RRP and the lack of printed money to cover bond losses could have a global impact on financial markets. In response to this scenario, he predicts that the Fed will cut interest rates during its March 20 meeting and reinstate the BTFP funding line. ‘Healthy’ correctionIn terms of bitcoin’s price, Hayes foresees a “healthy” correction of 20% to 30% from early March prices if the outlined scenario unfolds. However, he suggests the decline could be as much as 40% if BTC rallies to $60,000-$70,000 in the coming weeks. Despite this temporary plunge, Hayes remains optimistic about bitcoin’s resilience, emphasizing its status as a neutral reserve hard currency that is not a liability of the banking system and is traded globally. In a recent podcast appearance, Hayes expressed the view that the business model of U.S. dollar stablecoin issuer Tether will be challenged once multinational banks receive the go-ahead to offer fiat-backed stablecoins. Overall, Arthur Hayes has urged investors to be cautious and to prepare for potential market volatility in March, emphasizing the importance of understanding the interconnected factors influencing both traditional finance and the cryptocurrency market.