• Swiss-based startup Centi announced the launch of a stablecoin pegged to the Swiss franc on March 21.
• The token is called the Centi Franc Stablecoin (CCHF) and it will be backed 1:1 by a Swiss bank guarantee.
• The Global Payment Network launched by Centi uses blockchain technology to significantly reduce the cost and time it takes for merchants to settle transactions.

Centi Launches CHF Stablecoin

Swiss-based startup Centi announced the launch of a stablecoin pegged to the Swiss franc on March 21, according to a press release.The token, called the Centi Franc Stablecoin (CCHF), will be backed 1:1 by a Swiss bank guarantee.

Global Payment Network

Centi’s new payment network uses blockchain and web3 technology to significantly reduce the cost and time it takes for merchants to settle transactions and receive funds. It essentially allows real-time settlement between buyer and seller.The company intends to compete with credit card payments and other traditional payment providers through the platform.

Advantages Of The Network

Centi claims processing payments through its network is 90% cheaper than established rivals like Paypal, VISA, and Mastercard.The company added that its goal is to allow a buyer and seller to interact and settle their transaction without the need for „deep-pocketed middlemen“ that operate using hidden fees and costs.

No Crypto Knowledge Necessary

Merchants and users don’t need prior crypto knowledge in order to use this payments network, nor do they have to change accounting practices. The network is fully integrated with current POS and cashier payment systems so merchants can be quickly onboarded without needing additional hardware or software.

Blueprint For Digital Currencies & Fiat On-Off Ramps

Centi said that it is providing the „blueprint“ for how digital currencies and fiat on-off ramps „should and could work.“

Crypto Market Update

• The cryptocurrency market cap remained flat at 1.09 trillion despite declining by around 0.16% in the last 24 hours.
• Bitcoin increased 1.59% to trade at $24,966 as of 07:00 ET, while Ethereum’s market cap decreased by 0.50% to $203.92 billion, respectively.
• All top 10 cryptocurrencies recorded losses in the last 24 hours, except Bitcoin and BNB, which rose 1.59% and 2.8%, respectively.

Price Performance

The cryptocurrency markets were mainly flat during the reporting period with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) both recording slight gains over the past 24 hours. BTC increased 1.59%, trading at $24,966 as of 07:00 ET, while ETH fell 1.35% to trade at $1,664 as of 07:00 ET. Meanwhile, Tether (USDT) saw its market cap increase to $74.47 billion and Binance USD (BUSD) remained flat at $8.34 billion — while USD Coin (USDC) decreased to $37.49 billion correspondingingly..

Top 5 Gainers

PromPROM had the highest gain among all cryptocurrencies during this reporting period increasing 35%. Gains Network (GNS), Mask Network (MASK), Elamachain’s ELAMA Token(ELAMA), and CryptoIndex 100 Token(CIX100). also gained 20%, 13%, 9%, and 8% respectively over the same period of time.

Biggest Losers

During this reporting period Shiba Inu (-5%) Solana (-5%) Hyperion (-4%) Zilliqa(-3%), and Ontology (-3%) were among some of the biggest losers on a day-on-day basis.

Conclusion

Overall there have been minimal changes in terms of prices across most major cryptocurrencies over this reporting period with only marginal gains or losses for most tokens that make up the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization list according to CoinMarketCap rankings at press time .

• FTX has proposed a $4M employee bonus plan to retain employees with specialized skills.
• FTX’s sister company Alameda Research is set to sell its stake in venture capital firm Sequoia Capital for $45 million to Al Nawwar Investments RSC Limited.
• No bonuses will be paid out to FTX’s former top executives, their families or employees engaged in wrongdoing.

FTX Proposes $4M Employee Bonus Plan

FTX has proposed a retention plan that would pay the exchange’s employees bonuses of up to 94% of their salary, capped at $4,027,204. The bonus is designed for employees with „unique and specialized skillsets“ that are critical to the firm’s case, such as programming knowledge of Python, Rust, Flutter, and NodeJS; administrative duties; accounting and finance processes; etc.

Insiders Not Eligible For Bonuses

No bonuses will be paid out to FTX’s former top executives – Samuel Bankman-Fried, Gary Wang, Nishad Singh and Caroline Ellison – their families or any employee engaged in wrongdoing.

Alameda Research Set To Sell Stake In Sequoia Capital

FTX’s sister company Alameda Research intends to sell its stake in venture capital firm Sequoia Capital for $45 million to Al Nawwar Investments RSC Limited. The deal is subject to the Delaware bankruptcy judge’s approval and is expected to close by March 31.

About Al Nawwar Investments RSC Limited

Al Nawwar is a company incorporated under the Abu Dhabi Global Market laws and reportedly owned by the Abu Dhabi government. It is also an investor in Sequoia Capital.

About Sequoia Capital

Sequoia was one of FTX’s investors prior to filing for bankruptcy protection.

• Chainlink has unveiled a new serverless developer platform, ‚Chainlink Functions,‘ to allow the connection of decentralized apps or smart contracts to any Web2 API.
• Chainlink Functions provides a seamless environment and robust toolkit for developers to build, test, simulate, and run custom logic for their Web3 applications.
• The platform is secured by Chainlink decentralized oracle networks (DONs) and integrates with major Web2 providers for extensive connectivity, customizable computation and trust-minimized security.

Introduction

Web3 oracle provider Chainlink has unveiled a new serverless developer platform, ‚Chainlink Functions,‘ on its Web3 services platform to empower developers to build decentralized applications and connect smart contracts to any web2 API.

What Is Chainlink Functions?

Chainlink Functions is a web3 serverless developer platform that allows the connection of decentralized apps or smart contracts to any Web2 API. It provides a seamless environment and robust toolkit that enables developers to build, test, simulate, and run custom logic for their Web3 applications.

Features Of Chainlink Functions

The platform is secured by Chainlink decentralized oracle networks (DONs) which ensures accurate data is incentivized through a token-based reward system with the native [cs_coins]LINK[/cs_coins] token. Furthermore, it integrates with major Web2 providers for extensive connectivity, customizable computation and trust-minimized security via self-service and serverless architecture. A beta version of the platform is currently available on Ethereum Sepolia and Polygon Mumbai testnets.

Benefits Of Using ChainLink Functions

By using this serverless developer platform from ChainLink one can ensure feature-rich web3 applications as well as secure access of external data sources into blockchain enabled applications in an efficient manner without compromising on trust factor associated with such transactions.

Conclusion

ChainLink’s launch of chainLink functions means that almost any form of off-chain data API can be integrated into blockchain applications with the same benefits of a legacy chainLink Oracle feed but eliminating the risk associated with such interactions due to its permission less & decentralised characteristics thereby making it an ideal choice among developers looking forward towards efficient & low cost development solutions over traditional methods .