Watch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV_xNiGuOX8

But, what many don’t realise is, the fundamentals of Fantom have not changed, in fact it’s only getting better. In this video, let’s talk about 3 development updates, the three major things confirmed to happen to Fantom, that are big, powerful and going to bring positive changes to the ecosystem and to the value of FTM.

The first one is the big network upgrade that, the team promised to bring to tackle the network congestion, and to improve speed and performance. It has started already and that’s the main reason why you are seeing a green price action for FTM right now. This upgrade will smooth transactions and increase scalability creating an ideal environment for a greater market adoption, even faster transactions with more reasonable gas fees.

Now, the second one, it is bigger than any other updates Fantom ever had, it is the implementation of the Fantom Virtual Machine, FVM.

The Fantom Virtual Machine adds a new element of innovation surpassing the Ethereum Virtual Machine. This includes utilising an automatic checking for smart contracts increasing efficiency and security. The team is already working on it full time and, plan to bring the first version by the end of the year.

The last but not least of the upcoming developments is the inevitable listing of FTM on CoinBase.

So far the team has been focused on building a fantastic platform, transforming fantom to one of the most used DeFi ecosystem. How much longer do you think it is going to take the US exchange to finally list it? It won’t be long at all. Despite all the FUDs and drawbacks caused by individuals, the demand and popularity of fantom keeps increasing. Sooner or later CoinBase will have to finally decide to list FTM.

Fantom is rapidly moving in a positive direction with the easy to begin infrastructure and user friendly DeFi applications. It’s in these moments you should remember the famous quote of Warren Buffet, “Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy.”

The Fantom Foundation announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the OJSC Orienbank, one of the largest banks in Tajikistan, to trial a hybrid CBDC platform for eventual deployment across the Republic of Tajikistan. This monumental agreement establishes Fantom as one of the first blockchain projects globally to begin development of a CBDC solution for a national government.

Fantom and Orienbank will work with the National Bank of Tajikistan to develop and trial commercial and retail payment networks for the E-SOM, the digitized version of the Tajikistani Somoni. By integrating the renowned developer Andre Cronje’s Iron Bank protocol, the Fantom-based product will also include a low-fee foreign exchange with simple fiat on- and off-ramp. Fantom, Orienbank, and the National Bank will aim for a nationwide rollout upon completion of a successful demonstration. 

The Orienbank deal signals Fantom’s emergence as a major player in public sector blockchain initiatives. Fantom offers transformative technologies for governments seeking to transition to the modern digital economy. The platform’s near-zero fees and fast transactions provide the security, reliability, and scalability that intensive digital currency applications require. 

Digital currencies have been a hot topic of discussion lately. Consumers increasingly prefer electronic payments, and Central Banks are eager to offer solutions encouraging the use of national currencies rather than third-party digital payment systems.

In countries like Tajikistan with large, unbanked populations, CBDC can encourage financial inclusion. Fantom CBDC makes banking available through mobile apps that connect to digital wallets. Beyond user-accessiblity, connectivity allows financial institutions to extend services like microloans to underserved areas. 

Another area that Fantom CBDC will significantly impact is remittances. Globally the average cost of sending a remittance is 6.38% of the total amount. Such fees add up quickly, especially when one considers that remittance inflows to Tajikistan made up approximately 26% of GDP (2020). 

The Fantom solution drastically reduces costs by eliminating intermediaries and transaction fees while accelerating payment processing and settlement. Functionality added by the Iron Bank protocol mentioned above will make it easy for both remittance senders and receivers to work with their local currencies. Other benefits that Fantom offers include automatic tax deduction, streamlined monetary policy, and more.

The CBDC solution will initially undergo a period of testing and refinement. Following initial trials, Orienbank and Fantom will seek to roll out the product nationally under the sandbox regulation of National Bank of Tajikistan.

Commenting on this milestone for Fantom, CEO Michael Kong stated that, “This agreement with Orienbank validates our efforts to build a viable CBDC solution combining research into the economics and usability of digital currencies with the technology of our high-speed, low-cost platform.” With reference to Tajikistan’s recovery from a pandemic-induced recession, COO Barek Sekandari further added that “We seek to implement tools that will not only sustain but accelerate this economic expansion.” 

From interbank and large business payment systems to small business transactions and P2P money transfers, Fantom CBDC is poised to transform existing currency and payments ecosystems in Tajikistan and beyond.

According to the agreement signed in March 2021, Fantom will digitize archives, establish a digital Central Business Registry (CBR), and integrate a range of blockchain solutions to increase efficiency, eliminate fraud, and bring transparency to the Ministry’s national operations. 

Highlights of the Pilot Program:

• The Afghanistan Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Fantom have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to upgrade the Ministry’s information infrastructure.
  
• Under the contract terms, Fantom will digitize archives, create a Central Business Registry (CBR), and implement blockchain-based tools for transparency and efficiency.
  
• Upon successfully demonstrating the prototype, The Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Fantom will explore contract agreements and a long-term, formal relationship.

A fully functioning prototype that will extend across all Ministry systems is expected to be completed within four months. Following the successful demonstration of the software, Fantom and the Ministry will discuss long-term plans for continued development. 

Fantom’s agreement with the Ministry falls under the auspices of a national initiative for the digital transformation of Afghanistan. By bringing transparency and innovation to the nation, the Afghan administration wishes to showcase to the world the country’s fortitude and capacities to adapt and solve major national challenges. 

“This agreement is one in a series of partnerships that Fantom has established with Afghan government offices,” stated COO Barek Sekandari, “and we are thrilled that the Ministry has chosen Fantom to transform their IT infrastructure into one of the most modern systems worldwide. We look forward to scaling with their operations and helping them stimulate private sector growth to improve the lives of Afghan citizens.”

Who is the Afghanistan Ministry of Industry and Commerce?

The Afghanistan Ministry of Industry and Commerce seeks to create a flexible, proficient, and viable private sector across Afghanistan by driving inclusive, sustainable economic growth and connecting the private sector with needed resources for innovation.  

Who is Fantom?

Fantom is a global technology firm offering smart-contract-driven blockchain solutions to enterprises, governments, and consumers worldwide. Built on a fast, scalable, and secure layer-1 infrastructure, the Fantom platform addresses a range of real-world use cases, including supply chain, health records, smart education, and decentralized finance.

Fantom sees thousands of users utilising daily for a variety of purposes, including information security and crypto-currency transactions.

The platform prides itself on it’s high-performance, scalability, and secure smart-contract platform, specially designed to overcome the limitations of previous generation blockchain platforms.

The system is fully permissionless, decentralized, and open-source, and aims to provide users with one of the most reliable and innovative blockchain systems available on the market anywhere in the world.

One region of the globe that has seen the most monumental growth is Asia, with a growing list of nations and their governments enlisting the help of Fantom to bring their systems into the 21st century.

A great example of this is the central-Asian nation of Pakistan, which has seen agreements signed with Fantom in various areas of government, from the prison system all the way to a legislative assembly.

Fantom has partnered with the Pakistan Punjab Prisons Department to create custom blockchain Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, which will allow the immutable auditing of company data.

Fantom’s platform is also being seen at the heart of government, with the group recently signing a deal with Pakistani province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, or KPK, to digitize KPK’s Provincial Assembly and related government departments. The Pakistan Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) has also signed a partnership with Fantom to implement custom blockchain Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. Fantom will be upgrading PEIRA legacy systems with a blockchain-powered solution enabling database audits and real-time monitoring of changes to the system.

Further north, Fantom has also signed a wide-ranging and exclusive contract with the Republic of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Industry and New Technologies to develop blockchain-based IT solutions.

The contract will see an array of opportunities opened up for the people of Tajikistan, including the establishment of a research and development hub with the initial purpose of training local developers in using blockchain-based platforms such as Fantom.

Other aspects of the contract will see Fantom assess data flows and documentation from the Ministry’s previous legacy system, with the goal to create a customised CRM/MIS system.

The agreement with Tajikistan sets out a framework for possible future work with the company, with talks of opening up a crypto-fuelled digital economy on the horizon for the nation.

Meanwhile, the Afghanistan government has signed along the dotted line on a Memorandum of Understanding with Fantom to upgrade the country’s National Standard Authority.

The Memorandum sets out a path for Fantom to implement its blockchain platform in the country, bringing with it the ability for the authority to have confidence in its database migration and anti-corruption transparency tools.

As well as these agreements, Fantom has also signed a variety of other memorandums to work with Afghanistan on utilising blockchain systems in it’s health, energy, railway, and industry and commerce departments, opening up the possibility for further agreements in the nation.

Over in Ukraine, the government is also dabbling in Fantom’s blockchain technology, signing an agreement with a third-party company who will create a platform on Fantom’s blockchain to manage the nation’s intellectual property database.

Ukraine is one of a handful of nations leading the world in the uptake of crypto-related platforms, and there are continuing discussions on the government implementing Fantom blockchain technology within other government departments.

For more information, visit www.fantom.foundation