Welcome to this week's edition of Digital Bytes which includes an analysis  on the following topics:

The role blockchain technology is playing with BNPL - buy now pay later (BNPL) platforms have been a lifesaver for traditional shoppers as an alternative way to spread the cost of buying goods without having to reply on borrowing money via their credit card. There are a number of companies that are active in the BNPL space as they target an industry projected to reach US$ 90.51billion in 2029. What role will blockchain and digital assets play in this fast-growing economy?

SSI for regulatory compliant DeFi/CeDeFi and SSI as continuums - Rather than distinct, standalone ecosystems, centralised finance (CeFi) and decentralised finance (DeFi) exist on a spectrum, and they are becoming a continuum of one another. Centralised decentralised finance (CeDeFi), for example, was first coined as a term by Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, CEO of Binance, to describe this coalescence. Such developments inevitably require identity solutions that can respect both pseudonymity of DeFi and regulatory compliance to meet the CeFi requirements. Learn more about the role of self-sovereign identity solutions.

The use of blockchain in the medical industry - blockchain's ubiquity is becoming more evident with time. When the topic of blockchain is mentioned, people previously had thought of cryptocurrencies. However, blockchain has proven itself to not only be limited to supporting digital currencies. It is now being deployed in multiple sectors including the medical industry. The transparency, and therefore added degree of trust, that the use of Blockchain technology engenders is a useful tool to tackle the fraud which is so prevalent in the medical sector.

NFTs as a better conduit of value than REITs - AML regulatory requirements are continuing to safeguard the crypto space whilst NFTs - being one of the booming industries - provide a unique opportunity for creators, as well as increasing investors’ flexibility and affordability. They are significantly better as conduits of value than REITs. However, regulatory measures remain to be seen as to how they will be put in place in order to protect both creators and investors.

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