$ 75 Billion Hedge Fund Renaissance Technologies Declares Interest in Bitcoin Futures
Renaissance Technologies, one of the largest hedge funds in the world, is interested in the possibilities of the bitcoin futures market, writes The Block with reference to the company's statements.
The $ 75 billion hedge fund said in a March 30 document that its Medallion Fund "has been cleared to enter into Bitcoin futures transactions." According to the company, its activity in this direction will be limited to trading contracts of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
The document, aimed at informing investors about the company's business practices, highlights the risks of trading bitcoin and financial instruments based on it.
“The underlying commodity of these futures transactions, Bitcoin, is a relatively new and highly speculative asset. Bitcoin and its underlying futures are extremely volatile and investment results can vary significantly over time.
Such instruments carry significantly higher risks and potential losses than traditional financial instruments. Investments of this kind should be seen as significantly more speculative and more likely to result in a complete loss of capital than many other investments, ”writes Renaissance Technologies.
Binance announced the launch of its new blockchain with smart contracts
The Binance Chain community has announced the launch of the new Binance Smart Chain blockchain, which will run in parallel with the first version of the network and support the functionality of smart contracts.
As stated in the White Paper of the project, Binance Smart Chain is "an innovative solution that brings the programmability and interoperability of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to Binance Chain."
The Binance Smart Chain will be a self-governing blockchain secured by selected validators.
Binance Smart Chain will use the Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism with 21 validators to ensure fast block issuance and low fees. Binance Coin will become an internal asset of the new blockchain and will be used to pay fees and staking. The developers write:
“The dual-chain architecture would be ideal for users to take advantage of fast trading on one side (Binance Chain) and build their decentralized applications using smart contracts on the other (Binance Smart Chain). BNB holders interested in staking can also support the development of the Binance Smart Chain and earn rewards. ”
Japanese Banking Giant SBI Uses Blockchain To Trade Forex
This is the first application of R3 blockchain products in Japan.
SBI Holdings, the Japanese financial services giant, has begun leveraging the R3 consortium's blockchain infrastructure to facilitate Forex (FX) trading. On Thursday, the Japanese news agency PR Times reported that the company is using the R3 Corda blockchain to share transaction histories between traders, thereby confirming that the content of the order and the actual payments match.
This, according to the company, will reduce the risks associated with the human factor and, accordingly, reduce costs. “We have reduced the operational risk associated with confirmation and provided high privacy protection and protection from unauthorized access. In addition, the blockchain guarantees the identity of transaction data between parties and increases reliability. In addition, real-time transmission of information ensures uninterrupted data communication with back office operations, ”SBI said.
Blockchain technology will be used by both SBI Securities and SBI Liquidity Market, but its use will be limited to the company's ecosystem. In the future, SBI plans to open the use of the blockchain to counterparties outside the group.
Asia is at the forefront of blockchain adoption
This integration of R3 infrastructure on the SBI platform marked the first practical use of Corda in Japan. Specifically, SBI is also a partner of Ripple, together forming SBI Ripple Asia. The companies are jointly promoting cross-border payment infrastructure and the use of the company's blockchain solutions for remittances in the region.
The financial giant also operates a Japanese cryptocurrency exchange.
Last year, the investment group invested in Securitize, a digital securities startup. The amount of the investment was not disclosed. The venture division also owns stakes in two crypto companies, the Boerse Stuttgart Group.
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