Bank of Japan research: offline payments for central bank digital currency - Ledger Insights - enterprise blockchain

#CBDC #centralbank #digitalcurrency #centralbankdigitalcurrency #Japan

The central bank of Japan has announced that it will begin experimenting with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to check its feasibility from a technical perspective. The central bank expressed its interest in creating a digital version of its national currency yen.

This is the first time that the Bank of Japan as revealed that it would commence a Proof of Concept process with the digital yen, but the bank is yet to reveal a timetable.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) also published a research paper on central bank digital currency (CBDC). Although it’s a research paper, the Bank recognizes there will be a growing need for a digital currency with the steady decline in the use of cash. However, in Japan, four out of five retail transactions still use cash.

The Bank considers two critical features of a CBDC are universal access and resilience. That means using the digital yen without electricity, especially given Japan’s recent earthquakes and power outages.

The paper very briefly explored the potential for a centralized versus a decentralized CBDC and stated that potentially both could be made capable for offline use.

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Bank of Japan research: offline payments for central bank digital currency - Ledger Insights - enterprise blockchain

Yesterday the Bank of Japan (BoJ) published a research paper on central bank digital currency (CBDC). As with previous papers, the Bank explored a specific topic, in this case, the potential offline use of a digital yen. Although it's a research paper, the Bank recognizes there will be a growing need for a digital currency with the ...

Central Bank Digital Currency: Lithuania to Launch CBDC This Month - Intended for Collection Purposes, Not Trade

#CBDC #centralbankdigitalcurrency #centralbank #digitalcurrency

The Bank of Lithuania, or BoL, will launch a pre-sale of its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), dubbed LBCOIN, on July 9, a representative for the central bank told Cointelegraph. The coin itself will be issued and sold on July 23.

While LBCOIN is technically a CBDC based on the NEM blockchain and issued by the central bank of Lithuania, the financial institution prefers to call it “the world’s first blockchain-based digital collector coin”.

Indeed, LBCOINs will be issued for collectible purposes. This is happening as part of the country’s larger research on blockchain and its capabilities, Pavel Lipnevič, LBCOIN project manager, told Cointelegraph.

The BoL intends to sell 24,000 LBCOINs. They will come in packs of six at a cost of 99 euros. Each token will feature a portrait of one of the 20 Lithuanian historical figures who signed the country’s declaration of independence in 1918. These individuals are divided into six categories: priests, presidents, diplomats, industrialists, academics, and municipal servants.

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Lithuania to Launch CBDC This Month - Intended for Collection Purposes, Not Trade

The Bank of Lithuania, or BoL, will launch a pre-sale of its CBDC, dubbed LBCOIN, on July 9, a representative for the central bank told Cointelegraph. The coin itself will be issued and sold on July 23.

Startup Funding Alert: Voice Filter Startup Voicemod Closes $8M Funding Round - Voicebot.ai

#fundingalert #startupfunding #speechprocessing #voicetech #voicetechnology #gamesindustry #gaming #games

Voice filter startup Voicemod - Voicing Up Gamers & Streamers with Mods! has closed an $8 million Series A funding round led by German Bitkraft Ventures. Voicemod provides AI-powered personalized audio avatars that can alter voices in real-time in video games and digital communication services.

Voicemod combines artificial intelligence with digital signal processing to overlay a different sound to someone’s voice as they speak. Aimed largely at the world of gaming, the Spanish startup’s tech can let players switch around to different voice options and even incorporate effects like echos in a tunnel during a ca racing game, or breathlessness when a character has been running for a while. The tech can also perform more straightforward voice alterations like auto-tuning, pitch change, and making the speaker sound like a different gender.

Voice filters designed by Voicemod are used in popular online games like Fortnight, Lague of Legends, Call of Duty Warzone, and Minecraft. It can also apply to video chat and social platforms like Zoom, Discord, and Skype.

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Voice Filter Startup Voicemod Closes $8M Funding Round - Voicebot.ai

Voice filter startup Voicemod has closed an $8 million Series A funding round led by German Bitkraft Ventures. Voicemod provides AI-powered personalized audio avatars that can alter voices in real-time in video games and digital communication services. Voicemod combines artificial intelligence with digital signal processing to overlay a different sound to someone's voice as they speak.

Fintech Startup IPOs: Insurtech startup Lemonade sees shares jump 139% on IPO

#ipo #startups #insurtech #fintech #valuation #capital #startupfunding #ai #artificialintelligence #bots

Lemonade (LMND) raised $319m (€283m) with an initial public offering (IPO), signalling high investor demand at a time when markets have been shaken. The New York-based insurtech company sold 11 million shares at $29 on 2 July.

The start-up’s debut was the strongest by a US company in 2020 so far, MarketWatch reported. Shares skyrocketed during the day and finished up 139% at $69.41.

Insurtech IPOs have been garnering a lot of attention in recent years, especially from their more traditional peers.

Venture-backed insurtech startups are beginning to disrupt the incumbent industry, which has been a laggard in their digital transformation, with currently 12 unicorns existing in the global insurtech space, the report found.

Lemonade said it has digitised the entire insurance process. The start-up claimed that it had set “a new world record” when its AI bot was able to approve a claim for a $980 personal item in three seconds, PitchBook notes.

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Insurtech startup Lemonade sees shares jump 139% on IPO

Lemonade (LMND) raised $319m (€283m) with an initial public offering (IPO), signalling high investor demand at a time when markets have been shaken. The New York-based insurtech company sold 11 million shares at $29 on 2 July. The start-up's debut was the strongest by a US company in 2020 so far, MarketWatch reported.