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20% of large corporations are moving to Crypto
Gartner predicts that twenty percent of large organizations worldwide will use digital currencies for payments, stored value, or collateral by 2024.
In addition to the very healthy ecosystem of service providers and off-the-shelf solutions already available to large enterprises which have identified a particular use case for digital currencies, the prediction for wider adoption of digital currencies by 2024 is also influenced by its already healthy environment of service providers.
In the coming years, digital currencies will be used more in business transactions and grow in overall economic significance, according to the report, which has implications for Chief Financial Officers (CFOs).
Aviva Litan, a distinguished vice president analyst in the Gartner IT practice, said, “In the coming years, the rise of central bank digital currencies will push many large enterprises to incorporate digital currencies into their applications.”
“These organizations will primarily use digital currencies for payment, a store of value, and to leverage high-yield investments in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications,” Litan said.
The ongoing high inflation rate and its effect on fiat currencies could force CFOs to explore some digital currencies as a potential store of value for a portion of their reserves.
“We have noticed an uptick in interest in digital currency and Blockchain applications among CFOs since the start of the year,” said Alexander Bant, chief of research in the Gartner Finance practice.
Among the primary applications of digital currencies that we have identified, the majority of organizations will not need to develop customized Blockchain application stacks, according to Litan.
Example:
In this area, a number of large banks, payment platforms, institutional custodians and wallet providers have already undertaken the most significant work, which should enable large enterprises to deploy their own digital currency-related applications with a minimum of friction.
Blockchain technology is gaining traction within the luxury tourism industry
The number of global crypto millionaires is projected to reach more than 100,000 by 2021. This community is displaying a sizable interest in utilizing their crypto gains for upcoming adventures.
With this growing class of investors who wish to fulfill their traveling desires through highly personalized services enabled through the use of popular cryptocurrencies as legal tender, the travel, and tourism industry stands to benefit most.
More than half of the global luxury market potential is held by millennials and 58 percent of the cryptocurrency community is held by millennials, which means brands and services involved in the global luxury tourism market are increasingly adopting crypto.
Travel firms are stepping up efforts to adopt Blockchain technology, the technology at the core of crypto assets, so as to attract this growing class of investors and boost efficiency.
In the tourism sector, Blockchain technology will allow companies to conduct crypto transactions instead of services, set up efficient loyalty programs that reward their customers, and tokenize physical assets like resort spaces with non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
In fact, with the rise of the Metaverse, Blockchain technology will be instrumental in converting popular and niche travel destinations into their digital avatars.
The possibilities are endless and are the primary reason why many luxury tourism players are jumping onto the crypto bandwagon.
Examples:
Using blockchain and AI technology, LynKey is a global platform for luxury resorts and vacation properties.
In a project announced today, NFT solutions of over $8 billion will be tokenized and offered using smart contracts to digitize luxury resorts and properties at multiple destinations.
Using blockchain technology, it seeks to tokenize all aspects of property development – sales, leases, land use, as well as related tourism entertainment – within a global blockchain ecosystem.
“Using NFTs with AI data-driven protocol sets, the company is revolutionizing the travel destination and entertainment space with smart tourism. LynKey connects the global audience with a blockchain-powered platform and a token that empowers an ecosystem with time-sharing, and reward solutions at premium luxury tourist spots,” says Dinis Guarda, founder and non-executive Chairman of LynKey.
The Founder and CEO of Thinkchain, Crypto, NFT & Blockchain Consulting company, Dileep Seinberg, says tourism drives two significant aspects for any nation — its cultural heritage and value to landowners.
Blockchain-based smart contracts and NFTs enable fractional ownership for any property which could attract more foreign buyers. Additionally, art can be protected by NFT ownership, sustaining national cultural values and protecting local artisans’ income,” he added.
As global vaccination coverage improves by the day and the intent for travel increases proportionately, the global luxury tourism industry is set to witness high double-digit growth rates in the foreseeable future. Companies that are Blockchain and crypto ready will no doubt be in a better position to capitalize on the increased demand from crypto users along with the traditional travel community.
Additionally, with most cryptocurrencies amid an epic bull run, companies can earn even more from crypto-based payments by capital appreciation on the underlying assets. In summary, faster and borderless transaction ability, more lucrative reward mechanisms, and a growing younger consumer class are just a few of the reasons why this trend is here to stay.
Raj Kapoor, Founder – India Blockchain Alliance and Chief Growth Officer at Chainsense LTD said as blockchain technology progresses there is increased interest in digital securities from the real estate and luxury tourism sector and the deal sizes and pipeline have grown exponentially over the past year.
“I believe that there’s huge potential for technology to enable new business models in the real estate ecosystem that lower operational costs and increase liquidity. Platforms can now optimize timesharing, prepaid leasing, or licensing of property-based experiences geared towards tourism while offering an exclusive reward system for its users thereby connecting a global audience with a blockchain-powered platform and tokens that empowers an ecosystem with time-sharing, and reward solutions at premium luxury tourist spots.”
Telos, a decentralized blockchain built by developers for developers to power Web 3.0 and Telos Kitchen DAO LLC, which operates as a block producer on the Telos blockchain has collectively purchased 35.84 acres of real estate in Laramie River Ranch, Wyoming with block rewards received from the network for an equivalent value of $25,000, seeking to automate many functions of real estate by making the process quicker by removing intermediaries and providing the technology needed to store and process the data, while leaving it easily accessible and immutable.
A real Explanation on Web 3.0, thanks to Jack.
Jack Dorsey: VC firms own Web 3.0, not users
Jack Dorsey, Founder of Twitter, stated that big venture capital firms, rather than individuals, own the Web 3.0 movement, saying that these funds “want to be a media empire that can’t be ignored… not Gandhi”.
As part of Web 3.0, which can also be referred to as Web 3.0 or Web 3.0, decentralization is based on Blockchain technology.
As Dorsey explained in a series of tweets, he no longer owns web3. It is owned by his financial services company Block (originally Square).
It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralised entity with a different label. Know what you’re getting into.”
“You’re a fund determined to be a media empire that can’t be ignored… not Gandhi,” he further posted.
More than $3 billion has been invested in several dozen crypto companies by Andreessen Horowitz, one of the biggest VC firms.
“The VCs are the problem, not the people,” Dorsey continued.
On another tweet by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, saying “Has anyone seen web3? I can’t find it,” Dorsey reacted: “It’s somewhere between a and z,” indicating the name of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz.
As the Internet evolved through various technologies and formats, there were various eras in its history called Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.
Generally speaking, Web 1.0 refers to the period from 1991 to 2004, when most web sites were static web pages and most users were content consumers, not producers.
Social networking services, blogs and wikis are among the many services that are part of Web 2.0.
In 2014, Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood coined the term Web 3.0. In 2021, cryptocurrency enthusiasts, large technology companies, and venture capital firms began to show interest in the concept.
Crypto Scamming is Real.
Example:
Cryptominers hit ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ fans while torrenting.
Here comes a serious warning for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” fans who are trying to download the movie via torrent file transfer on websites. Cybersecurity firm ReasonLabs has said that cryptominers are conning people via torrent files of the new offering in a super-popular Marvel series.
The ReasonLabs research team found Monero miners attached to Russian torrent files of the new film.
The crypto-miner adds exclusions to Windows Defender, creates persistence, and spawns a watchdog process to maintain its activity, according to the company.
“The malware is not signed and written in .net, and as of this date, it is not present in ‘VirusTotal’. The malware tries to stay away from examining eyes, by using ‘legitimate’ names for the files and processes that it creates,” the company said in a statement.
“We recommend taking extra caution when downloading content of any kind from non-official sources — whether it’s a document in an email from an unknown sender, a cracked programme from a fishy download portal, or a file from a torrent download,” it advised.
It is not feasible to see the damage that this malware causes in the user’s electricity bill because it does not compromise personal information (something most users are afraid of when thinking about a virus).
“This is real money that they have to pay, given that the miner runs for long periods,” said the researchers.
“Additionally, the damage can be felt on a user’s device as often miners require high CPU usage, which causes the computer to slow down drastically,” it added.
ReasonLabs said it is still researching the origins of the miner but noted that they are constantly seeing miners deployed as common programmes, files of interest, popular apps, current events, etc.
Tom Holland-starrer “Spider-Man: No Way Home” has broken records as it has collected Rs 79.14 crore at the Indian box-office in just three days of its release.
Kaspersky cybersecurity researchers warned last week that fraudsters are tricking people and stealing their bank details via phishing links based on the new film “Spider-Man: No Way Home”.
Prior to the movie’s premiere, fraudsters intensified their activities and set up phishing websites to steal viewers’ bank account information.
Others end up with malicious and unwanted programs, Adwares, and even Trojans after downloading a movie.
