Hyosung TNS and APoT Join Hands to Promote NFT Portal Service

As part of the celebration of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is unveiling a series of colorful NFT tickets for the Lucknow to Delhi train service. Governed by the Ministry of Railways, IRCTC is a central public sector enterprise in India. Taking to the X social media platform on March 13, the railway company offered a sneak peek into these NFTs, showcasing sketches of iconic landmarks from both Delhi and Lucknow against vividly shaded backgrounds.Photo by Johannes Plenio on UnsplashLimited-time ticketing offeringCommencing March 20, passengers booking tickets for Tejas trains numbered 82501 and 82502 will have the opportunity to access these exclusive NFTs, with the initiative set to conclude on April 2. In its social media post, the IRCTC outlined the additional perks accompanying these NFT tickets, stating:"These tickets are not merely digital souvenirs. ... They symbolize our dedication to enriching your journey experiences, allowing you to personalize your travel memories with your own photographs and enjoy exclusive offers from handpicked brands." As of now, the IRCTC has not officially confirmed whether these NFT tickets will be complimentary with ticket purchases or if passengers will need to make additional payments to acquire these digital collectibles. Polygon and HyperledgerNFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are digital assets built on blockchain networks. Earlier this year, the IRCTC collaborated with NFTtrace, a service offered by Bangalore-based blockchain development firm ChainCode Consulting, to offer NFT tickets for journeys to the Hindu sacred city of Ayodhya. The tickets were presented as more than mere travel documents but as cherished mementos of divine experiences. The NFTtrace website stated:"More than just a ticket to Ayodhya Dham - a souvenir of the divine Shree Ramotsav. Treasure the pious memories of Lord Shree Rama's arrival forever, with Blockchain NFT.”On that occasion, the NFT certificates were minted on the Polygon blockchain. Indian Railways has been exploring blockchain technology for some time now. Last March, the National Academy of Indian Railways partnered with Polygon to conduct a workshop aimed at raising awareness about the benefits of blockchain in railway industries. Polygon outlined that the integration of blockchain within the Indian railway system was the beginning of a new era that moves the technology towards mass adoption.In this latest instance, the NFTtrace platform is involved once again. However, this time around, the NFTs will be minted on the Hyperledger blockchain. Ava Labs, the developer of the Avalanche layer one blockchain, has expressed its interest in developing ticketing-related blockchain applications in India. Last October the firm highlighted blockchain-based ticketing as one of a number of areas it wanted to concentrate on in an expansion within India. Conventional firms in the travel industry have been experimenting with the technology on an ongoing basis in recent times. In 2023 Japan’s largest airline All Nipon Airways (ANA) launched its own NFT marketplace. Argentinian budget airline Flybondi took the decision to offer NFT-based tickets in 2023 in a partnership with NFT ticketing firm TravelX.

IEEE to deploy skill certificates on blockchain for Indian membersThe Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a professional association boasting a membership of over 75,000 in India, has chosen the Avalanche blockchain as the primary settlement layer for issuing tamper-evident certificates.Photo by Vishnu Mohanan on UnsplashIntegrating Avalanche blockchainIndia holds the second-largest IEEE membership base globally outside the United States, making this move a significant development in secure credentialing.According to a report by Cointelegraph on Wednesday, Avalanche’s C-Chain will serve as the key settlement layer for IEEE’s certificate issuance due to its compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The decision aims to provide an ecosystem that meets the requirements for tamper-proof, instant and secure verification processes for all trainees and users receiving IEEE credentials.Zupple Labs collaborationThe blockchain certificates will be issued through LegitDoc, a blockchain-based credential lifecycle management system developed by Zupple Labs. Neil Martis, Co-Founder of Zupple, noted that the Indian public sector has shown increased willingness to implement full-fledged blockchain projects over the past 12 months, moving beyond pilot initiatives.This is the latest project in recent weeks that has seen Zupple Labs play a key role in enabling the real-world use of blockchain. Through a collaboration with the Indian Web3 startup in October, the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) streamlined its purchase order process, issuing tamper-proof digital purchase orders via LegitDoc.Avalanche expands into IndiaDevika Mittal, Head of Avalanche’s India arm, emphasized the significance of Avalanche’s EVM compatibility in simplifying the deployment of widely used applications, including credential registries and identity management. She pointed out that reputable institutions like SK Planet and JP Morgan Onyx prefer Avalanche as their go-to blockchain.Mittal has been a key hire for Avalanche blockchain developer Ava Labs recently as part of its efforts to target significant expansion within India. Earlier this year, the company collaborated with China’s Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing subsidiary of e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group, assisting with the building of a launchpad that will enable the deployment of metaverses.The partnership between IEEE and Zupple Labs is poised to bring about the issuance of numerous tamper-proof engineering credentials in India. This collaboration underscores the growing acceptance of blockchain in education credentialing, setting a powerful precedent for broader participation in the Web3 landscape.In an interview, Martis expressed the flexibility of their approach, stating:“We would be experimenting with new platforms as additional parallel settlement layers as suitable new tech emerges.”This reflects an openness to exploring evolving blockchain technologies while maintaining a commitment to ensuring the immutability, longevity and security of the solutions.The IEEE-Zupple Labs collaboration aligns with the trend of blockchain integration in educational and professional spheres, offering a glimpse into the future of secure and efficient credentialing systems. As the second-largest membership base outside the United States, India plays a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of blockchain adoption within professional associations like IEEE.

Terraform Labs Accuses Citadel Securities of Stablecoin SabotageTerraform Labs, the bankrupt Singaporean blockchain firm, is pointing fingers at American market maker Citadel Securities, alleging that it played a role in an orchestrated effort to destabilize Terraform’s TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin back in May 2022.In its pursuit of justice, Terraform Labs has now called upon the United States District Court in the Southern District of Florida to compel Citadel Securities to furnish vital documents concerning their trading activities during that critical period, when the stablecoin underwent a depegging crisis, now referred to as TerraUSD Classic (USTC).Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on UnsplashAllegations of intentional destabilizationThat’s according to a motion filed by Terraform in the United States District Court in the Southern District of Florida, earlier this week. As alleged by Terraform Labs, the catastrophic depegging event in May 2022, which saw UST plummet from $1 to a mere $0.02, was not solely due to inherent instability in the algorithm supporting the UST stablecoin. Instead, the firm contends that it was a result of the deliberate and collaborative actions of specific third-party market participants who engaged in “shorting” to trigger the depegging.Terraform stated in its motion:“Movant [Terraform] contends that the market destabilization that occurred did not result from instability in the algorithm underlying the UST stablecoin. Instead, Movant contends that the market was destabilized due to the concerted, intentional effort of certain third party market participants to ‘short’ and cause UST to depeg from its one dollar price.”The motion also alludes to “publicly available evidence” hinting at Citadel’s intention to short the stablecoin at the time of the depegging event. In particular, it references a Discord channel chat screenshot where a pseudonymous trader purportedly had a conversation with Citadel head Ken Griffin. Griffin allegedly remarked:“They were going to Soros the f*** out of Luna UST,” seemingly drawing a connection to George Soros’ trading strategies, which often involve highly leveraged, one-way bets.Citadel refuted allegations previouslyNotably, Citadel Securities has previously refuted allegations of trading the TerraUSD stablecoin in May 2022, according to Forbes.In its motion, Terraform refers to the importance of these documents for its defense in a lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February. The SEC lawsuit alleges that Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, played a significant role in orchestrating a multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency securities fraud.The motion concludes with Terraform arguing that its defense would be substantially hampered if Citadel Securities were to successfully withhold the requested information. In the event that the court fails to compel Citadel, Terraform has requested that the matter be transferred to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.The matter has been the subject of debate within the crypto community in recent months. In May a community member stated:“As I’ve been saying. People blamed Citadel et al. This was nothing but a rug pull. Wake up. Do Kwon says the dissolving of Terraform Labs in Korea days before the $LUNA and $UST crash is ‘purely coincidental.’”With the matter now being raised in the courts, it looks like the legal system will be the final adjudicator regarding the issue.