Weekly Round-Up #47 | Federal Reserve Governor Acknowledges the Potential of Tokenization and Smart Contracts

Last week, we discussed the application of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in asset tokenization. This week, we're reviewing an interesting development in which the US Federal Reserve acknowledges the potential of tokenization and smart contracts to improve traditional financial transactions.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller spoke at the Cryptocurrency and the Future of Global Finance event on April 20 about the benefits of smart contracts in enhancing the financial sector's efficiency.

According to Waller, firms have already executed foreign-exchange trades using blockchain technology with smart contracts to improve efficiencies. This technology allows participants in the transaction to have greater flexibility in terms of settlement time and could function as a crucial risk reducer.

To explain this better, let's take the example of real estate. Tokenization of property rights can allow fractional ownership of high-value assets, enabling investors to own a portion of an expensive property without having to purchase it entirely. This democratizes access to investment opportunities, making them accessible to small investors.

Smart contracts can also automate the rental process by enabling tenants to pay their rent automatically, without having to involve intermediaries, reducing time and transaction costs. In addition, smart contracts can help in ensuring that rental agreements are adhered to, ensuring that security deposits are returned promptly, and that property maintenance costs are adequately taken care of.

Furthermore, in the stock market, smart contracts can enable automatic compliance with regulations, reducing the need for intermediaries such as brokers and custodians. This can lead to faster and more cost-efficient trades, benefiting both the investors and the market participants.

It is worth noting that the benefits of tokenization and smart contracts are not limited to the real estate and stock markets alone. They have broad applications in various fields, including supply chain management, insurance, and trade finance.

While the benefits of tokenization and smart contracts cannot be overstated, they come with their own risks. The Fed Governor acknowledges that bugs, cyber threats, and settlement risks are a few of the risks that come with adopting smart contracts and tokenization. However, he is optimistic about the technology's potential to improve the efficiency of traditional financial transactions.

Waller also highlighted the potential of tokenization and AI in banking and the economy's future but didn't touch upon any monetary policy-related issues.

While the adoption of smart contracts and tokenization poses risks, the potential benefits in the financial sector's efficiency, risk reduction, and settlement times are enormous. It is essential to embrace innovation while also proceeding with caution.

Catch up on our published articles for the week!

News

• Ohio Congressman to Introduce Legislation That Could Remove Gary Gensler As SEC Chair >>> Read more.
• US SEC Considering Legal Action Against Bittrex Over Investor Protection Regulations Violations >>> Read more.
• Coinbase to Aid UK’s Web3 Hub Plan After Blockchain Task Force Reactivation >>> Read more.
• EU Legislators Call for Safe and Human-centric AI >>> Read more.
• SEC Chair Gensler’s Prior Endorsement of Algorand Contradicts Recent Unregistered Security Claim >>> Read more.
• UAE’s SCA To Accept License Applications for Virtual Asset Services >>> Read more.
• Bitget and MEXC Partner With Core DAO to Launch $200M Ecosystem Fund >>> Read more.
• Babel Finance Gets Creditor Protection Extension in Singapore >>> Read more.
• MetaMask Denies $10M Wallet Exploit Claims >>> Read more.
• Gate Pay Partners With Georgian Platform for Crypto Payment Options >>> Read more.
• EU Commission Launches Research Hub to Audit AI Algorithms of Big Tech Firms >>> Read more.
• BIS and Bank of England Test Distributed Ledger Based Project, Project Meridian >>> Read more.
• Elon Musk Threatens Lawsuit Against Microsoft >>> Read more.
• LootMogul and SuperWorld Partner to Create Immersive Athlete-Focused Virtual Ecosystem >>> Read more.
• US Judge Consolidates Silvergate Bank and FTX Lawsuits >>> Read more.
• BitGet Expands Operations to Lithuania’s Emerging Digital Asset Market >>> Read more.
• Thodex CEO Extradited to Turkey on Fraud Charges, 62 Others Arrested in Cryptocurrency Scandal >>> Read more.
• Bankrupt Crypto Lender, Voyager Digital, to Sell Assets to Binance.US After Resolution With US Government >>> Read more.
• European Parliament Passes MiCA Legislation for Cryptocurrency Regulation >>> Read more.
• XRP Healthcare Africa Partners With Forbes-Rated Investor, Hesham Zreik’s FasterCapital >>> Read more.
• Paradigm Criticizes US SEC’s Disclosure Framework for Cryptocurrencies >>> Read more.
• Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Shuns Crypto Investments After Losing $95M to FTX Crash >>> Read more.
• Binance CSO Accuses SBF of Spreading False Rumours Before FTX Collapse >>> Read more.
• Ukraine Likely to be Among First Countries to Integrate MiCA Provisions into National Law >>> Read more.
• Abu Dhabi’s Financial Free Zone Introduces Legal Framework for Decentralized Economy >>> Read more.

Markets

• Solana Labs Announces Mobile Phone Launch, But SOL Struggles to Rally: Is $100 Price Target Still Realistic for 2023? >>> Read more.
• Shiba Inu (SHIB) Jumps to 14th Largest Crypto by Market Cap, Outpacing AVAX; Can PEPE Coin Flip It? >>> Read more.

In Other News…

Elon Musk Announces TruthGPT: The AI chatbot that seeks to counteract left-wing bias

According to a recent report from FOX News, Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter and Tesla, has announced his latest creation - a truth-seeking AI chatbot called TruthGPT. The main goal of this new AI is to understand the nature of the universe, which Musk believes could result in safe AI that is unlikely to annihilate humanity.

During the interview with Tucker Carlson, Musk reportedly expressed concerns that ChatGPT’s left-wing developers have programmed their chatbots to “lie,” which could have a negative impact on elections. Presumably, TruthGPT could counterbalance AI programs with left-wing bias — though it is likely to be accused of having a right-wing bias.

The interview with Tucker Carlson also highlighted that Musk was involved in funding the competing AI chatbot, ChatGPT. Carlson argued that Musk wanted to have control over the project but lost out to Microsoft and Google. (Note that Microsoft and Google are investors in ChatGPT’s parent firm OpenAI, and not owners of the company).

While further details on TruthGPT are not yet available, it is interesting to note that Musk registered a new company called X.AI on April 15, which appears to be focused on artificial intelligence products. Whether TruthGPT will be developed by the new company remains to be seen.

Spotlight on interesting projects

BetDEX

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