The blockchain and crypto sector has witnessed tremendous growth in the last few years. As a result, major financial institutions are beginning to show interest in the sector.
Meanwhile, the Spanish bank, Santander, is the latest financial giant to show interest. On July 7th, the Spanish bank said it would conduct an award event in Decentraland.
Decentraland is a popular metaverse platform. The event, “Santander X Global Challenge, will take place on July 14th.
The event marks the end of a contest held in collaboration with the Oxentia Foundation. It attracted a total of roughly 400 submissions and 20 finalists.
Achievements In Latest Technologies
At the end of the competition, there will be 20 finalists- ten scaleups and ten startups. Afterward, they will pick six as best that provided solutions that focused on numerous technologies.
These technologies include security and privacy for blockchains, adoption of DeFi, and tokenization. It also includes the expansion of digital interactions using the metaverse and web3.
These six finalists will earn €120,000 (about $121,985) during the awards event. Also, the three best startups will get €10,000 each. Then, the three successful scaleups will earn €30,000 apiece.
Additionally, they will join the Santander X 100. This is the bank’s international network for entrepreneurs. The association gives members access to clients, training, funding, and contacts.
Last November, the Spanish bank announced its plans to issue the first BTC ETF. As of then, no financial institution had issued a BTC ETF in Spain.
According to Banco Santander’s Executive Chairperson, Ana Botn, clients were demanding for an ETF. However, no further info has been made available since the announcement.
Santander’s Report On Crypto Fraud
Also, the UK division of the Santander group posted a report on crypto fraud. The report said that crypto frauds employing celebrities as social proof increased by 61% in Q1 2022. According to the bank’s report, the number will likely double in 2022.
Also, it will climb by 87% in 2022 compared to the amount in 2021. Chris Ainsley, Head of Fraud Risk Management at Santander UK, claims that criminals continue to utilize famous people as props in fraudulent crimes.
Furthermore, the report mentioned how con artists use social media to promote cryptocurrency investment schemes. Usually, these fraudsters use the faces of famous individuals as social proof.
The scammers use high-pressure sales techniques on them to make them provide their info. When the victims do this, they gain access to their system.
Notably, the scammer provides software to the consumers. Then, the consumer will open accounts using the software and deposit funds into it.
Afterward, the money will be frozen, so the customers can no longer access it. Hence, crypto users are advised to safeguard the details of their accounts.
