DeFi DeBrief #8 | A SWIFT move for banks 🏦

TL;DR:

• A significant step towards institutional adoption
• Facebook & Instagram give NFTs the green light
• Crypto is hugely popular in sub-saharan Africa

Onwards 👇

SWIFT working with Chainlink on blockchain protocol 💰

SWIFT, the interbank messaging system that powers cross-border payments, is working with Chainlink to develop a cross-chain interoperability protocol (CCIP). In simpler terms, the banking network wants to instruct on-chain token transfers.

The new protocol will allow the interbank network to communicate across blockchains, benefiting institutions across capital markets and likely accelerating the journey to institutional adoption.

Why should you care?

Institutions have shown ‘undeniable interest’ in crypto, according to SWIFT’s Strategy Director Jonathan Ehrenfeld Solé.

We’ve also seen growing demand for interoperability as traditional finance investors seek exposure to digital assets. But they want to access all assets on one network, precisely what the new protocol will enable.

240m Facebook timelines flooded with NFTs 📱

All Facebook and Instagram users across the U.S. can now connect their web3 wallets and share their NFTs. People in 100 other countries can also access the feature (but just on Instagram for the time being).

All users have to do is connect a crypto wallet, choosing between Rainbow, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet or Dapper Wallet. They can then post digital collectables from Ethereum, Polygon and Flow.

It might be a bear market — but the more eyes on NFTs, the better.

IN THE HEADLINES

Crypto quietly thrives in Sub-saharan Africa 🌍

Small retail payments in Sub-saharan Africa are powering exceptional crypto adoption, with the region accounting for 80% of crypto retail transactions under $1,000 worldwide. 

Many Africans now use crypto in everyday life for remittances and commercial transactions — as well as payments. This is driven by “everyday necessity as opposed to speculation by the already well-off,” according to a Chainanalysis report.

The need for crypto is most acute “in countries where the values of local fiat currencies are dropping, as we’ve seen in Nigeria and Kenya.”

Five short reads catching our eye this week:

1. You can now buy a Big Mac with crypto
2. Disney dives deeper into web3 with new job post
3. Christie’s going fully on-chain with new NFT marketplace
4. Spain’s largest Telco allows purchases with crypto
5. Celsius CEO withdrew $10 before bankruptcy

TEMPERATURE CHECK 🔥

• BTC: $20,245.12 (8.05%, 7 days)
• ETH: $1,355.26 (5.87%, 7 days)
• TVL in DeFi: $55.62bn (3.47%, 7 days)
• Fear & Greed: 25 (extreme fear)

*Data last updated at 08:00 on 5th October.

TWEET CHECK 🐦

Gasless transactions are the just important onboarding mechanism for the web3 ecosystem and applications in existence, and it’s not even close.

— nader (🧱, 🚀) | nader.lens | nader.arweave.dev (@dabit3) October 4, 2022

Forward the DeFi DeBrief to a friend 

and help spread the word!