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National Australia Bank (NAB) has made history as the first major financial institution to complete an intra-bank cross-border transaction on a public blockchain using its own NAB-issued stablecoin.

NAB conducted the pilot transaction on the Ethereum blockchain and utilised smart contracts for seven major global currencies. The success of this transaction demonstrates the potential to significantly reduce the time and cost of cross-border transactions, benefiting NABs corporate and institutional clients who operate in multiple jurisdictions and currencies.

According to Drew Bradford, NABs executive general manager of markets, the bank is investing in the development of Australias safest, simplest, and most secure digital asset ecosystem.

We are committed to pursuing the right digital asset opportunities with clear customer benefits, said Bradford. We believe that blockchain technology will enable elements of the future of finance, and were already witnessing rapid change in the tokenisation market.The stringent governance frameworks we have in place ensures we can support the creation of a safe and reliable digital financial system.

NAB will fully back its Australian stablecoin, AUDN, one-for-one with the Australian dollar and manage it as a liability of the bank, making it the cornerstone for NABs ambitions in digital assets. Additionally, it aims to support select clients in transacting with digital assets by the end of 2023.

NAB collaborated with Blockfold and Fireblocks to build and deploy its stablecoins on the Ethereum blockchain. This involved utilising their expertise in smart contract creation, secure minting and burning of stablecoin, and managing custody of digital assets on the blockchain.

Michael Shaulov, CEO and co-founder, said: NABs successful trade execution marks the beginning of the evolution of financial services from Web2 to Web3, underpinned by blockchain technology as well as strong governance and risk management.

While BlockFold CEO and co-founder Francois Schonken, added: NABs multi-currency cross border settlement execution on a public blockchain is exhilarating. The NAB eco-system of stablecoins puts in place cross-border payment rails that unlock tokenisation potential for both real world assets and financial products.

NABs ambition is to enable transactions across seven of the top globally utilised currencies: Australian, New Zealand, Singapore and US dollars, Euro, Yen and Pound Sterling.

Read more here:

NAB Completes Historic Cross-Border Transaction Using Stablecoin on Ethereum Blockchain - The Fintech Times

Tech titan Microsoft is reportedly working on a new feature that enables users to send and receive crypto assets through its default web browser.

First reported by BleepingComputer, software documenter Albacore shared screenshots of a new Ethereum (ETH) wallet that Microsoft is planning to integrate into its Edge browser.

Newest in the gauntlet of questionable upcoming Microsoft Edge features, a crypto wallet. Not really sure how to feel about this kind of thing being baked into the default browser.

The onboarding pages indicate that Microsoft is rolling out a non-custodial crypto wallet that gives users exclusive control of their assets and private keys.

This is a non-custodial wallet, meaning you are in complete control of your funds. We will not have access to your password and recovery key. It is embedded in Edge, making it easy to use without installing any extension.

The screenshots also indicate that users can buy crypto assets using US-based digital asset exchange Coinbase and web3 infrastructure firm MoonPay.

The shared images also suggest support for browsing NFT marketplaces, a news feed feature and an option for users to choose between the built-in Edge wallet or an extension wallet for managing their assets.

When asked for more details, a Microsoft spokesperson told BleepingComputer,

At Microsoft, we regularly test new features to explore new experiences for our customers. We look forward to learning and collecting feedback from customers but have nothing further to share at this time.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Lord Beard/Porstocker

Continued here:

Microsoft Working on New Ethereum Wallet Amid Foray Into Crypto and NFTs: Report - The Daily Hodl

Ethereum price (ETH) earned a significant price gain on March 18 when it broke beyond the $1,800 level. However, recent market data shows that a significant chunk of ETH was transferred to the Binance exchange at 1:30 AM ET, casting doubts on a possible sale happening. The transfer resulted in the largest altcoin by market cap losing part of its market value.

Ethereum price (ETH) slumped after 18,657 ETH tokens (approximately $33,130,424 at current rates) were transferred in a single transaction. The transaction was traced back to an unknown but affluent wallet, costing him a mere $1 transaction fee on the Ethereum blockchain. In most instances, when such a huge chunk of tokens is transferred to an exchange, it usually points to a prospective sell activity that eventually drives down the asset's price.

Related: Assessing chances of Ethereum price rally to $2,400

As a result of the activity, Ethereum price has taken a breather, easing back 2.53% from the $1,807 reported earlier and auctioning for $1,761 at press time. This comes as market FUD continues to linger in the industry. According to projections by prominent crypto analyst Akash Girimath, however, the current bullish narrative for ETH would only be invalidated once the price crosses below the $1,636 level.

A move below the aforementioned invalidation level could send Ethereum price down to lose the support offered by the 50, 200, and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) at $1,588, $1,553, and $1,529, respectively.

In extreme cases, the Ethereum price could drop to the $1,500 psychological level before buyers can attempt a recovery. Such a move would constitute a 15% downswing for the PoS token from current levels.

ETH/USDT 1-day chart

Meanwhile, Ethereum price still has some ground to cover before tagging the $2,000 psychological resistance level. The move would be feasible if the cryptocurrency sustains the current momentum, which, in turn, depends on the macroeconomic environment. Notably, the recent collapses in the banking sector fueled more liquidity into the crypto market, causing the Ethereum network to record a positive net flow of $35.8 million.

Ethereum price could resume its uptrend if Bitcoin remains bullish above $27,000 and ETH bulls hold forte by increasing their buying pressure. Moreover, the Ethereumnetwork recently confirmed the official launch date for theShanghai update, which will happen in three weeks.

These factors could be enablers to Ethereum price soaring in value near term.

See the original post:

Whale moves $33 million worth of Ethereum to Binance in one go: What this means for ETH - FXStreet

Ethereum price is rising and trading above $1,700 against the US Dollar. ETH could gain bullish momentum if it clears the $1,720 resistance zone.

Ethereum price started a downside correction below the $1,700 support zone. ETH traded below the $1,650 level before the bulls appeared near $1,620, similar to bitcoin.

The price traded as low as $1,616 and recently started a fresh increase. There was a clear move above the $1,650 and $1,665 resistance levels. The price cleared the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $1,784 swing high to $1,616 low.

Ether price is now trading above $1,650 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is also a key bullish trend line forming with support near $1,675 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD.

On the upside, the price is facing resistance near the $1,720 zone. It is near the 61.8% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $1,784 swing high to $1,616 low. The next major resistance is near the $1,745 zone. A close above the $1,745 resistance zone might start another major increase.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

In this case, the price may perhaps rise towards the $1,800 resistance level. Any more gains might send the price towards $1,880.

If ethereum fails to clear the $1,720 resistance, it could correct gains. An initial support on the downside is near the $1,680 level and the trend line zone.

The next major support is near the $1,640 zone and the 100 hourly SMA. If there is a break below $1,640, the price might drop towards $1,615. Any more losses might call for a test of the $1,550 level.

Technical Indicators

Hourly MACD The MACD for ETH/USD is now gaining momentum in the bullish zone.

Hourly RSI The RSI for ETH/USD is now above the 50 level.

Major Support Level $1,640

Major Resistance Level $1,720

Read the original post:

Ethereum Price Seems Ready For Another Leg Higher Over $1,750 - NewsBTC

The Shanghai upgrade, more accurately called "Shapella," marks the completion of Ethereums full transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) network, and will enable staked ETH withdrawals.

Once the date is voted on by developers and confirmed via GitHub, slot 6209536, occurring on or around April 12, will be set in stone for the Shanghai upgrade. This means that Shanghai will be slightly delayed from the developers initial target for this month.

When Ethereum switched to a PoS consensus mechanism in September in an event known as the Merge, the network began using validators instead of miners. Validators had to stake 32 ETH in order to approve or add blocks to the blockchain.

Before validators joined Ethereums PoS blockchain, they were made aware that their staked ETH and any rewards would remain locked up until Shanghai. Some validators have had their funds locked up since December 2020, when Ethereums PoS Beacon Chain went live.

Now, those validators will be able to decide after April 12 what they want to do with their stake.

Since the Merge, Ethereum developers have run numerous tests in order to ensure that staked ETH withdrawals would function properly. All three tests on Ethereums testnets ran smoothly, though the last testnet hard fork on Goerli experienced low participation rates because validator nodes didn't upgrade in time.

While staked ETH withdrawals were able to be processed on the testnet, blocks weren't completed until about 90 minutes after the fork went live.

Ben Edgington, product lead of Teku, an Ethereum client, told CoinDesk that despite the reduced participation, we could see that all client types were producing valid blocks, and that participation increased over time. This reassured us that nothing was fundamentally wrong, just late upgraders.

Edgington added that losing finality for 90 minutes is inconvenient, but not critical for most applications or users of Ethereum.

Ethereum developers aren't worried that this will happen on the mainnet too. It's quite typical for testnet upgrades to be a little bumpy, but people are very diligent about maintaining their mainnet staking infrastructure, Edgington said.

UPDATE: March 16, 2023, 14:29 UTC: Adds target epoch number.

CORRECTION: March 16, 2023, 19:04 UTC: Shanghai's target is slot 6209536, not epoch 6209536.

Continue reading here:

Ethereums Shanghai Hard Fork Now Has Official Target Date - CoinDesk