Aspen Digital
PwC Says 80% of Central Banks Are Considering CBDCs, Bitcoin Lightning Network Raises $70 Million
Updated: Apr 7, 2022
Daily Market Wrap
Crypto market cap: 2.09 trillion, down 3.40%
BTC price stands at USD 45,355, down 2.91%
ETH price stands at USD 3,355, down 4.90%
Top gainer: STEPN (GMT), up 9.28%
Top loser: Waves (WAVES), down 15.12%
News of the Day
Why it matters:
CBDCs would allow for cost-effective, 24/7/365 cross-border transactions
In 2020, China became the first major economy to pilot a CBDC project for public use via the digital yuan
On the other hand, wholesale projects, which include digital currencies used by financial institutions that have accounts with central banks, are also being piloted; however, CBDC projects are maturing at a much faster rate
Crypto daily spotlight
Brief introduction: Taro, more formally known as Taproot Asset Representation Overlay, is an open-source protocol powered by the Lightning Network. Lightning is a Layer-2 payment protocol built on top of Bitcoin. Taro improves Bitcoin’s scripts and consequently, the network’s scalability, security and privacy. The improvements made by Taro are possible because of Taproot, a soft fork that allows for Bitcoin upgrades and was implemented in November 2021.
Why it matters:
Taproot’s upgrade includes main features: Schnorr signatures, Tapscript and Merkelized Abstract Syntax Trees (MAST)
The $70 million Series B funding round was led by Valor Equity Partners and global asset manager, Baillie Gifford
Taro’s security is based on embedded consensus, which means that transactions must be validated on the Bitcoin blockchain
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Daily News Roundup
Overseas Singaporean Crypto Firms Must Be Licensed Under New Law https://bit.ly/3O2SH8b
GameFi Platform and Play-to-Earn Guild Polemos Raises $14 Million in Seed Round at $100 Million Valuation https://bit.ly/3DI8owG
Ledger Buys Virtual Land in The Sandbox https://bit.ly/3JiYdQ5
Bitcoin Miner Riot Blockchain Mined 511 BTC in March https://bit.ly/35Kjjtd
Layer-2 Ethereum Scaling Solution Boba Network Secures $45 Million in Funding https://bit.ly/35KpnSl
About Aspen Digital
Aspen Digital is a leading technology and financial services company with a mission to accelerate the mass adoption of digital assets. The company provides a digital asset management solution for asset managers, institutions, and sophisticated investors. Aspen Digital was co-founded by digital assets innovators and asset management veterans at Everest Ventures Group (“EVG”) and TT Bond Partners (“TTB”) in 2021.
For more information, please visit https://www.aspendigital.co/
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