Cryptocurrencies, digital assets and other associated spheres related to the ecosystem have continued to increase in popularity all around the world in the recent past. Many countries across the globe are not only legalizing the currencies and associated spheres but also adapting infrastructure to make digital tender more accessible.
Romania is also moving on the same road, the country’s National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics (ICI Bucharest) is aiming to accomplish its goal of enhancing Web3 adoption in the country by launching an in-house Non-Fungible token (NFT) trading platform.
The institutional NFT platform named ICI D|Services will go live on April 26. This platform aims to create a link between the private and public sector institutions and users. It will allow participants to mint, manage and trade NFTs.
The launch of the platform will feature five unique NFT collections developed in collaboration with a handful of prominent Romanian sportspeople, organizations and institutions. This includes David Popovici, the Romanian news agency Agerpres, the national philately organization Romfilatelia and Bucharest’s Central University Library. David Popovici is a Romanian competitive swimmer who specializes in freestyle events.
During one of the interviews, ICI Bucharest blockchain laboratory coordinator Dr Paul Niculescu-Mizil Gheorghe mentioned that NFTs have gained significant popularity in recent years due to their capability of creating unique and scarce digital assets that can be applied across numerous use cases. This in turn has made them valuable assets for institutions, which led to the proposal of the NFT platform within ICI Bucharest in late 2021.
This project, initiated with the support of the Romanian government, is believed to enhance the country’s economic and financial potential. It is also hoped that the adoption of this project brings new revenue generation streams.
ICI Bucharest has been primarily focused on research and development over the past five years but shifted its attention to exploring blockchain, Web3 and Non-Fungible tokens as the space gains traction around the world.
The National Institute for Research & Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest was set up in 1970 and it is the most important institute in the field of research, development and innovation in information and communication technology (ICT) from Romania. Since its establishment, ICI Bucharest has continued to be a real source of experts in informatics, who through their studies and research have contributed to the development of this field.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic assets based on blockchain technology. They cannot be exchanged or traded equivalently like other cryptographic assets, Like Bitcoin or Ethereum. (NFTs) are generally created using the same type of programming used for cryptocurrencies. The term NFT represents that it can neither be replaced nor interchanged because it has unique properties. Physical currency and cryptocurrency are fungible, which means that they can be traded or exchanged for one another.
