OmniBOLT to Support BRC-20 Tokens on Lightning

Cryptocurrency exchange Backpack has recently forged a strategic partnership with Banxa, a global crypto on-ramp provider, to introduce a comprehensive digital asset on- and off-ramp solution. Onboarding into cryptoThis collaboration, announced by Banxa on Monday, marks a significant milestone for Backpack users globally. If crypto and Web3 are to live up to their promise, then on-ramping and onboarding people from conventional financial services is key to broadening out adoption. Given the service provided by Banxa, the partnership has great importance. Notably, Backpack Exchange, which recently secured a virtual asset service provider (VASP) from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai, emerged from the minds behind Solana's renowned Mad Lads NFT collection, adding a layer of credibility to this venture. Since then, the platform has been steadily expanding its operational footprint. Throughout the latter half of 2023, the exchange acquired several operational licenses across various jurisdictions worldwide, further solidifying its regulatory compliance and global presence. The platform’s user base spans across more than 130 countries. Banxa hit the headlines in the crypto sector earlier this month when it emerged that the firm’s UK affiliate had become the first entity in 2024 to take its place on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) crypto register.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashIndustry responseAnndy Lian, a Singaporean intergovernmental blockchain expert and the author of the book "NFT: From Zero to Hero," views this partnership as a game-changer for Backpack users. Lian told Cointelegraph that this link-up will add to the ease with which users can now engage in buying and selling cryptocurrencies using fiat currencies through various payment methods like credit cards, bank transfers and e-wallets. He emphasizes that such convenience will undoubtedly drive up the adoption and liquidity of Backpack and its associated tokens, thereby enhancing the overall user experience. Trading volume high pointThe announcement of this partnership comes on the heels of Backpack's achievement of surpassing $1 billion in 24-hour trading volume on Sunday, merely four days into the launch of its trading preseason. The exchange had already exceeded $300 million in daily trading volume within the first 24 hours of trading on Feb. 15. In light of this exponential growth in trading volume, Armani Ferrante, the founder and CEO of Backpack, took to the X social media platform to issue a word of caution to traders. Ferrante warned against potential overexcitement that might lead to unfavorable trading outcomes. Ferrante stressed the long-term vision of the platform and urged users to trade responsibly, emphasizing that Backpack has extensive development plans in store, with the preseason serving as just the beginning. Ferrante previously worked for bankrupt exchange platform FTX, which was seen as being at the center of the Solana ecosystem prior to its collapse. The Solana-based Backpack appears to be going some way in filling that void within the Solana community. With that, Solana-based trading pairs feature strongly in Backpack’s overall trading volume statistics. At the time of writing, SOL was trading at $109, down 1.7% over the course of the past 24 hours.  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has outlined that it has established a community initiative relative to its recently launched Project Ensemble tokenization market development effort. 'Project Ensemble Architecture Community'In a press release on May 7, the Hong Kong regulator set out the establishment of the “Project Ensemble Architecture Community.” Project Ensemble was launched two months ago on March 7. At the time, the regulator described the project as “a new wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) project to render support to the development of the tokenisation market in Hong Kong.” The HKMA is trying to create an environment in which it can “develop standards” for the emerging tokenization market, with particular emphasis on the use of a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC). The Chinese autonomous territory’s central bank has launched the “Project Ensemble Architecture Community,” with a view towards supporting interoperability between a wholesale CBDC, tokenized money and tokenized assets. The HKMA has outlined the community's primary objective, stating it aims to provide recommendations on various topics, with initial emphasis on devising a mechanism to facilitate seamless interbank settlement of tokenized deposits through wCBDC for tokenized asset transactions.Photo by Jimmy Chan on PexelsPublic and private sector participantsFurthermore, the working group intends to support the design and execution of Project Ensemble. Notable participants in the "Architecture Community" include the HKMA itself, Hong Kong’s other financial regulator, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre, the CBDC Expert Group and seven private sector entities.  Among these are Bank of China (Hong Kong), Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, Standard Chartered Hong Kong, HashKey Group, Ant Digital Technologies and Microsoft Hong Kong. Hashkey Group owns one of two Hong Kong-regulated cryptocurrency exchanges, HashKey Exchange. It also runs a brokerage, asset manager and tokenization platform, amongst other entities. Ant was recently involved in a tokenized deposit trial with HSBC. Regulatory sandboxOne of the first matters on the agenda for the newly-formed Community is to make recommendations about using a wCBDC for interbank settlement of tokenized deposits. Following that, the project plans to work towards the design and implementation of the Project Ensemble Sandbox which will launch in the coming months. The HKMA has been actively testing its CBDC and commenced the second phase of the e-HKD pilot in March. This phase of the pilot program is slated to extend until mid-2025. The journey towards exploring CBDCs in Hong Kong dates back to 2017, with the authorities intensifying their focus on researching a potential e-HKD in 2021, spanning both wholesale and retail levels. With the participation of key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, including leading financial institutions and technology firms, the initiative appears to be well-positioned to drive innovation and address the evolving needs of the financial industry in Hong Kong.

Silence From Multichain’s Chinese Developers Stokes FearA prolonged silence from the project leadership behind Multichain, a cross-chain routing network, is causing growing concern among the users of the cross-chain protocol. The network currently holds $1.5 billion in total value locked (TVL).The protocol has experienced five days of stuck transactions, and multiple cross-chain bridge pathways, including Kava, zkSync, and Polygon zkEVM are still offline. Initially, the project’s China-based team attributed the issues to an upgrade that was being fixed. That explanation was changed recently to an ambiguous “force majeure,” leaving users with more questions than answers.Photo by Santiago Lacarta on UnsplashPossible arrests in ChinaAdding to the uncertainty are rumors circulating on Twitter that the core leadership team may have been arrested in China. Although the rumors remain unconfirmed, they have contributed to the growing sense of unease within the community. DJ Qian, one of the co-founders of Multichain who is no longer involved with the project, took to Twitter to share his attempts to seek clarification. Qian mentioned reaching out to Multichain CEO Zhaojun and founding partner Xu Guochang for technical assistance. When asked about Zhaojun’s availability, Qian stated that he was “not available yet.”Users and investors eagerly await updates and clarity from Multichain’s leadership team. However, the team’s lack of communication extends across various forms of social media. In group Telegram messages with the Multichain team, there have been no responses from Zhaojun, and direct messages through the same app have gone unanswered as well. This silence has left the community members puzzled, with little information to rely on.$MULTI price plummetsMeanwhile, the price of Multichain’s native token, $MULTI, has continued to decline. It currently stands at $4.37, representing a 20% decrease over the past 24 hours. The lack of communication and uncertainty surrounding the project have likely contributed to this downward trend in token price. Over the course of the past seven days, the token has decreased in price by 45%.In response to the situation, layer 1 blockchain project Conflux Network has taken precautionary measures by suspending Multichain’s co-mint privileges. This move prevents Multichain from minting tokens on the Conflux blockchain. The Conflux Network has also assured users that it will work with them in case any losses arise due to the ongoing issues.Flight to safetyOther projects and individuals have also reacted to the silence from Multichain’s team. Hong Kong-based HashKey Group, a crypto investment firm, has transferred $250,000 to crypto exchange Gate.io as a precautionary measure. Tron founder Justin Sun has withdrawn 470,000 of the $USDD stablecoin from the Multichain protocol. These actions reflect a growing concern among stakeholders, representing their efforts to mitigate potential risks associated with the uncertainty surrounding Multichain.Furthermore, the Fantom Foundation has withdrawn $2.4 million in liquidity of the protocol’s native $MULTI tokens from the decentralized exchange SushiSwap. It later tweeted out an update stating that the Fantom-Multichain bridge was operating as normal. These withdrawals signal a loss of confidence in Multichain and its native token, as stakeholders seek to protect their investments.As the silence persists, users and investors remain anxious for updates and clarifications from Multichain’s leadership team. The lack of communication and the circulating rumors have cast a shadow of uncertainty over the project, leaving stakeholders in a state of limbo.