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SBI Holdings embraces blockchain gaming, invests in Oasys

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The latest deal in the blockchain space will mesh old-school finance with next-generation gaming.

SBI backs Oasys

SBI Holdings Inc., founded in 1999, is touted as one of the largest financial conglomerates in Japan. It specializes in traditional finance (aka tradfi), including asset management and venture capital.

Over the past few years, the firm started integrating blockchain technology into its services. It even developed its own cryptocurrency exchange called SBI VC Trade.

As of Aug. 29, a new segment is being added to its portfolio via a partnership with the Oasys blockchain network: gaming.

The Tokyo-based firm invested an undisclosed amount in Oasys, promising to enhance “synergies” with the game tokens on the blockchain.

“From its inception, [Oasys] has included several globally renowned major game development companies as initial validators,” SBI CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said in a blog post confirming the deal.

Earlier in the year, SBI and Oasys had partnered on an NFT initiative. But it’s worth noting that NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are plummeting in value.

In contrast, Oasys shows more promise by making inroads with video game companies. After all, the Oasys network is affiliated with household names like Sega and Ubisoft.

In February, Oasys partnered with Com2uS to integrate several game franchises, including ‘Summoners War: Chronicle’ and ‘The Walking Dead: All Stars,’ onto its network.

Since 2021, Singapore-based Oasys raised about $20 million throughout three funding rounds.

In addition to SBI, Hyperithm — a Tokyo- and Seoul-based digital asset financial service provider backed by Coinbase, Samsung, Kakao and Hashed — also invested an undisclosed amount.

Tradfi’s new territory

This isn’t the first time SBI has expressed interest in digital tokens or blockchain technology.

In 2016, SBI created a new company called SBI Ripple Asia, which expanded the use of Ripple (XRP) products throughout China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. It was also a part of the consortium that launched the R3 blockchain initiative.

And SBI is just one of several old-school finance firms dipping their toes in the burgeoning sector.

JPMorgan Chase remains committed to expanding its Onyx segment, hoping to further integrate blockchain into mainstream financial services. And BlackRock, along with Fidelity, began offering cryptocurrency exposure to clients, including Bitcoin ETFs and digital asset funds.

These moves reflect a broader trend of institutional adoption, driven by the bet that blockchain can enhance transparency, security, and efficiency in financial services.

SBI’s Oasys investment, however, is unique in that video games play a prominent role in the partnership.

According to Deloitte’s 2024 banking outlook report, blockchain-based and fiat currency-backed stablecoins are “entering the world of consumer payments.”

As tradfi continues to merge with the world of crypto and blockchain, the line between traditional and digital finance is becoming increasingly blurred, paving the way for a more interconnected and innovative financial system.

By investing in Oasys, SBI Holdings is seemingly looking to stay ahead of the curve.



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Blockchain

Horizen spikes 60% to lead gainers as BTC, ETH bounce

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Horizen price spiked more than 60% in 24 hours as the cryptocurrency market looked to recover from a massive dump that saw top altcoins crash to key support levels.

On Dec. 20, as Bitcoin (BTC) traded to above $97k and Ethereum (ETH) bulls pushed above $3,400, the price of Horizen (ZEN) surged to highs of $26.34. The cryptocurrency, which rallied sharply following a recent Grayscale Investments announcement, reached a multi-year high and ranked among the top gainers in the 500 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap.

ZEN traded at lows of $14.55 on Dec. 19. However, despite the broader crypto crash and the staggering $1.4 billion liquidations, the altcoin’s price hovered above $26 in early trading during the U.S. trading session.

According to crypto.news price data, Horizen recorded a 24-hour trading volume of over $397 million, with its market cap exceeding $407 million. These metrics reflected increases of 294% and 62%, respectively, in the past 24 hours. While ZEN has surged nearly 200% over the past month, its current levels are still more than 84% below the all-time high of $168 reached in May 2021.

If the broader crypto market continues to rebound, ZEN bulls may aim for March 2022 highs near $50.

The positive momentum has benefited from Grayscale opening of the Grayscale ZEN Trust to qualified investors. Prices of the altcoin rose as the digital asset manager unveiled the fund to offer exposure to Horizen for qualified investors.

Earlier this month, Horizen’s native token underwent its final halving, which came as the project geared for a key change in its tokenomics. ZEN will not see any further halvings as the new network mechanism enables a declining emission rate.

That’s because Horizen, is shifting from the proof of work mining model that mirrored Bitcoin’s halving cycle to a new proof of stake mechanism in 2025. Horizen’s last halving occurred on Dec. 12, 2024.

New tokenomics for Horizen will come into effect in the first half of 2025.



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Alpha

World’s Largest Crypto Exchange Rolls Out ‘Binance Alpha’ Feature to Spot Early-Stage Projects With Potential

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Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world by volume, is launching a new wallet feature aimed at shining a spotlight on nascent crypto projects.

According to a new Binance announcement, Binance Alpha is “a new platform within the Binance Wallet that shines a spotlight on early-stage crypto projects with the potential to grow within the Web3 ecosystem.”

The press release says the platform is committed to enhancing transparency in Binance’s token listing process by prioritizing projects that showcase strong community engagement, substantial traction, and alignment with key crypto trends.

Binance Alpha is part of Binance’s broader effort to promote innovation and expand the Web3 ecosystem by connecting users with promising blockchain projects at an early stage, per the announcement.

Binance says the new system includes the following features:

“Spotlight on Innovation: Explore tokens gaining traction in Web3, providing a deeper understanding of projects that matter in the evolving crypto landscape.

Quick Access: Seamlessly purchase tokens through the Quick Buy feature directly from the Binance Wallet. It optimizes the existing Swap functionality, resulting in a higher successful transaction rate and better prices compared to other DEXs or trading bots…

Educational Insight: Learn about emerging projects, their use cases, and the narratives driving their popularity within the blockchain ecosystem.

Expert Curation: Featured tokens are selected using Binance’s advanced insights and observation list, ensuring they align with market trends and community interests. While there is no guarantee, some tokens may be considered for listings on Binance Exchange in the future.”

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Blockchain

Solana gains top spot in daily net inflows with $12M, beating all other blockchains

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Solana’s daily net inflows have surpassed all other major blockchains, including Sui, Base, Arbitrum and Ethereum. On Dec. 15, the Solana network accumulated net inflows of $12 million.

According to data from Artemix.XYZ, Solana (SOL) recorded the highest number of daily net inflows among the top 20 major blockchains on Dec. 15. Solana’s net inflow of $12 million was larger than the other two blockchains in the top 3, Arbitrum (ARB) and Sui (SUI), combined.

Solana regained the top spot a month after the blockchain last held it on Nov. 17 with $17.6 million. On Dec. 15, Solana dethroned Arbitrum, yesterday’s reigning champion, which held the number two spot with a daily net inflow of $5.9 million.

Solana gains top spot in daily net inflows with $12M, beating all other blockchains - 1
Data from Artemis.XYZ showed Solana gained the top spot for daily net inflows on December 16, 2024 | Source: Artemis.XYZ

In third place, Sui accumulated a daily net inflow of $5.3 million, followed by OP Mainnet with $2.2 million and Base with $2.1 million. At the very bottom of the list is the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain with a net outflow of $25.4 million.

A recent surge in Solana revenue is often linked with a similar surge in the meme coin sector, specifically from pump.fun, a launchpad site for Solana-based meme coins. But that is not the case this time around.

According to data from Dune analytics, pump.fun saw its daily revenue dip slightly by 6% from $2.67 million on Dec. 14 to $2.51 million on Dec. 15. Pump.fun’s revenue peaked on Nov. 23 with $14.3 million, but has failed to pass the $5 million mark ever since.

Solana’s end-of-year sprint

In the past few months, Solana has achieved quite a few milestones as the year is nearing its end. As previously reported by crypto.news on Dec. 13, Solana was deemed the fastest-growing blockchain, with an annual growth of up to 83%. Solana even surpassed the largest blockchain in the world, Ethereum.

In November, Solana’s monthly decentralized exchange trading volume reached $109.73 billion, surpassing the $100 billion threshold for the first time in crypto history. The leap in Solana’s trading volume came a few days after Solana’s price went beyond $200 for the first time in seven months of trading after a 8.69% rise. The token later reached an all-time high of $263.21 on Nov. 23.

At the time of writing, Solana is currently trading hands at $220.76, having gone up by nearly 2% in the past 24 hours of trading, according to data on crypto.news. Solana has a market cap of around $105 billion and a fully diluted valuation which stands at more than $130 billion.



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