Symbiotic raises $29M in funding amid moves to expand

Despite reports emerging on Monday that it had invested in Array, an algorithmic currency system, Singaporean state-owned conglomerate and global investment firm Temasek has denied any such investment.In a very brief statement published to its website on Tuesday, Temasek stated:“We have seen news articles and a tweet from Array about Temasek’s investment in it. This news is incorrect. Temasek has not invested in Array and we have no relationship with them.”CoinTelegraph had taken to reporting the claim on Monday. The article had outlined a $10 million investment by the Singaporean state investor into Array, the developer of an algorithmic currency system that relies upon smart contracts and artificial intelligence. Reputational lossIf it had been true, such an investment would have been seen as a positive for the crypto space as it would be indicative of a renewed appetite for crypto-based projects from the giant Southeast Asian investor.Temasek was a key investor in failed cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. In November 2022, the company had to write down its entire investment of $275 million into the fraudulently managed exchange business. To an onlooker, a $275 million write-down may seem like an extraordinary loss.However, given that the Singaporean investing behemoth has a $403 billion dollar portfolio, the loss represents just 0.09% of that portfolio, hardly making a dent in the health of the company.The greater loss for Temasek relative to the FTX collapse has been reputational. Top tier venture capital investors like Temasek, who had otherwise been assumed to be the most diligent of actors in the professional investing world, were all sharply criticized for failing to identify the extent of the mismanagement and fraud that had occurred at the now bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. Bogus ClaimsIn fairness to those who had reported the fake news, they were acting on information that Array had put out into the ether and as of yet, has not corrected. At the time of publication, the project’s website features a list of renowned investors including Temasek. Alongside Temasek, Array claims to have obtained investment from Standard Chartered, Coinbase Ventures, Spark Capital, Khosla Ventures, The Blackstone Group, Binance Labs, Sequoia Capital and a16z.In the case of Binance Labs, a spokesperson for the venture arm of the global exchange told The Block that it is not an investor in the project. To further dispel the claim, Temasek took to Twitter, stating:”Fake news about Temasek’s investment in @Array_Protocol. We have seen news articles and a tweet from Array about Temasek’s investment in it. This news is incorrect. Temasek has not invested in Array and we have no relationship with them.” Further instances of misinformationThe misinformation follows a similar scenario that played out with OPNX, a newly launched platform that offers spot and futures trading, alongside the ability for investors to trade bankruptcy claims.A couple of weeks ago, the platform, which had been founded by Kyle Davies and Su Zhu, the key executives behind failed crypto hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital, asserted that it had the backing of some notable investors. Almost immediately, venture capital and market maker DRW and venture capital firm Nascent denied that they were investors in OPNX.

The Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, has joined Project Guardian, a collaboration established in 2022 between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the financial sector, with an emphasis on the use of asset tokenization to improve liquidity and efficiency within financial markets.Photo by Rachel Davis on UnsplashAssessing DLT technologyIn a press release published on Nov. 8, Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz suggested that the central bank is aligned with MAS in that both central banks are interested in determining “how innovative technologies and concepts, such as distributed ledger technology (DLT) or blockchain, can be put to meaningful use in the financial sector.” In joining Project Guardian, the Bundesbank will take part in the Asset & Wealth Management workstream, testing an interoperable blockchain platform for tokenized and digital funds. While the German central bank has just announced details of its participation in Project Guardian, in a speech given at the Layer One Summit, an event which formed part of the Singapore Fintech Festival last week, MAS Deputy Director Leong Sing Chiong welcomed the Bundesbank, alongside the World Bank, to Project Guardian.  The MAS executive clarified that the Deutsche Bundesbank and the World Bank would join the project’s Policymaker Group. He outlined that the role of that group is to “help provide inputs on governance arrangements, guidance on how GL1 [Global Layer One] infrastructures can be developed in line with global standards, and advice on appropriate regulatory guardrails for tokenised asset transactions.” GL1 refers to an initiative that has been established to create the foundational digital infrastructure to facilitate tokenized assets. Cross-border collaborationThrough its involvement in Project Guardian, the German central bank hopes to strengthen cross-border collaboration, while at the same time, progressing matters related to the “standardisation and interoperability of digital assets.” In working towards the goal of standardization, MAS has published two comprehensive reports covering fixed income tokenization and fund tokenization. MAS believes that the use of too many individual private DLT networks is resulting in fragmentation, with a detrimental effect with regard to liquidity. Consequently, the Singaporean central bank is establishing the Guardian Wholesale Network to improve liquidity and achieve asset tokenization at scale. The network will consist of Citi, Schroders, Standard Chartered, UOB and HSBC. Additionally, it was recently announced that SBI Digital Markets, a Singapore-based affiliate company of Japan’s SBI Digital Asset Holdings (SBI DAH), intends to contribute towards greater liquidity through its involvement in a fixed income asset tokenization pilot. Meanwhile, Citi and Fidelity have developed a proof of concept for a digital foreign exchange (FX) swap, enabled within an on-chain money market fund (MMF).  Tokenization inflection pointLeong went on to claim that while nobody has succeeded yet in implementing tokenization at scale, an inflection point has been reached with regard to the use of tokenization. He added that many use cases are promising relative to tokenization but that there is a need for supporting infrastructure “to enable good use cases to scale beyond individual networks.” In the press release, Leong said that the Bundesbank’s expertise “will be invaluable as we work together to enhance liquidity and efficiency of financial markets through asset tokenisation.”

Travala.com, the Cayman-incorporated company that provides crypto-native travel booking service, has unveiled an enticing offer for Bitcoin investors, involving cashback paid in the leading cryptocurrency in collaboration with the AVA Foundation. This initiative, announced by the firm on the X social media platform on March 7, aims to reward travelers who pay for their bookings in Bitcoin, encompassing an array of travel options, from flights to hotels and activities spanning across three million destinations globally.Photo by Kanchanara on Unsplash10% BTC cashbackUnlike traditional cashback systems, where waiting periods for rewards can be lengthy, Travala.com ensures swift crediting of Bitcoin cashback into users' accounts within 24 hours after the completion of their trips. As part of this offer, cashback will be paid to the value of 10% of the customer’s spend, payable in Bitcoin. Since its establishment in 2017, Travala.com has positioned itself at the intersection of cryptocurrency and travel, offering a diverse platform for bookings across various properties, activities and airlines. With support for over 90 digital currencies, the platform remains focused on cryptocurrency adoption, while aiming to provide value and flexibility for its users. Mass adoption opportunityJuan Otero, CEO of Travala.com, emphasized the growing appeal of Bitcoin to mainstream audiences, buoyed by recent developments like the approval of the first Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. Otero sees this initiative as a means to broaden the adoption of crypto for everyday transactions, providing travelers with an efficient way to utilize reward programs. The move towards Bitcoin-based rewards reflects the early stages of an industry-wide shift in travel loyalty programs. With traditional points-based systems losing traction, there's a burgeoning demand for innovative incentive schemes. Steve Hipwell, a contributor to the AVA Foundation, highlighted the success of the AVA Smart Program, which has already distributed over $2.1 million worth of travel rewards in AVA tokens to customers who completed trips booked through Travala.com. By integrating direct Bitcoin rewards, the aim is to capture an additional segment of travelers seeking ways to save on their journeys. Bitcoin stands out as one of the top three payment methods on Travala.com, accounting for approximately 9% of travel bookings on the platform. In 2023, travelers splurged over $5 million in BTC on flights, hotels and activities. Travel Tiger NFTsAccess to Travala's BTC cashback scheme comes with a degree of exclusivity. Users must possess a Travel Tiger NFT and stake 2,500 AVA tokens to activate Smart Diamond membership. This exclusivity stems from the limited availability of Travel Tiger NFTs, with only 1,000 in existence. These NFTs, minted on the Ethereum blockchain, serve as randomly generated utility collectibles. Market data from OpenSea places the floor price of Travel Tigers at 2.85 ETH, roughly valued at $11,165 at the time of writing. This tie-up with the AVA Foundation is not Travala’s first partnership. In November 2023 the company struck a deal with travel industry meta-search giant Kayak, allowing it to integrate with Kayak and enable platform users to search more effectively for travel deals. Back in 2019, the company had struck a similar partnership with accommodation booking platform Booking.com.