Here are some of the major developments from the world of crypto over the past few days
Few and Far, a British Virgin Islands-based digital Collectibles Web 3.0 platform, has raised $10.5 million through its first round of funding, focusing on Bitcoin and other digital currencies. The investment firm Pantera Capital that led the funding round, previously backed Pinata as well as invested in non-fungible token (NFT) distribution for Web 3.0 developers.
The Few and Far round received support from some other leading venture capitalists in the space, too, such as Cypher Capital, Huobi Ventures, Hypersphere, Lyrk Ventures, Mantis Partners, and K5 Global.
The funds will help the platform’s users by increasing the platform capabilities, thus leading to better user experience, increased Web 3.0 developers, and IP owners.
“We are thrilled to have Pantera Capital lead our latest funding round. Their experience and expertise in the Blockchain space will be invaluable to us as we continue to grow and innovate. With this backing, we are well-positioned to continue to lead the way in the Web 3.0 space,” said Chris Gale, co-founder, Few and Far.
Biden Administration “Aware of Silvergate Situation”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said that the Biden administration is closely monitoring Silvergate and other crypto companies that have faced problems recently. It has also called on the US Congress to take action, she said.
“In recent weeks, banking regulators have released guidelines on how banks should protect themselves from risks associated with crypto. As you know, this is a President that has repeatedly called on Congress to take action to protect everyday Americans from the risks posed by digital assets, and he will continue to do so,” she said.
During her White House press briefing on Monday, Jean-Pierre said that she couldn’t single out Silvergate in her statement, and noted that some other companies “experience[d] significant issues” in recent weeks.
India Exploring CBDC’s Offline Possibilities, Says RBI Executive Director
Ajay Kumar Choudhary, executive director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has said that India’s recently launched in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the digital rupee, is being tested for its offline functionalities.
On November 1, 2022, RBI debuted the wholesale version of the digital rupee for market trial, onboarding 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants for field testing. February developments reported $134 million and 800,000 completed transactions via wholesale CBDCs.
Building on this progress, Choudhary said the RBI is now looking at CBDC’s offline functionality.
“The RBI is gauging CBDC’s potential for global transactions and linkage with legacy systems abroad. We are eagerly looking forward to the private sector and fin-techs’ participation in CBDC. We will see their contribution, especially on offline and cross-border CBDC transactions,” he told CNBC and TV18.