...By Henry George for TDPel Media.
Romania’s National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics (ICI Bucharest) is set to launch an NFT trading platform called ICI D|Services on April 26.
The platform aims to promote the adoption of Web3-powered technologies in Romania by facilitating a link between private and public sector institutions and users.
ICI D|Services will function as an NFT marketplace, allowing institutional and public users to mint, manage and trade NFTs.
Dr. Paul Niculescu-Mizil Gheorghe, the coordinator of ICI Bucharest’s blockchain laboratory, highlights the institute’s focus on research and development over the past five years.
However, the increasing popularity of blockchain, Web3 and NFTs has led to a shift in the institute’s attention towards these areas.
According to Gheorghe, the increasing popularity of NFTs can be attributed to their ability to create unique and scarce digital assets that can be used across numerous use cases.
This has made NFTs valuable assets for institutions, which is why ICI Bucharest proposed the creation of the NFT platform in late 2021.
ICI Bucharest partnered with MultiversX in mid-2022 to develop and implement the architecture of the marketplace system, marking the first strategic project between the two entities.
The partnership also includes the development of a decentralized Domain Name System (DNS) and Top-Level Domain (TLD) ecosystem, as explained by MultiversX CEO Beniamin Mincu.
The Romanian Government, through the Secretariat-General and the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, supports the project.
ICI Bucharest aims to create a bridge between young generations and public institutions’ values by initiating a comfort zone for interactions with the digital space.
The platform’s launch will feature five unique NFT collections developed in collaboration with Romanian sportspeople, organizations and institutions.
Gheorghe and Mincu both believe that innovative projects like ICI D|Services enhance Romania’s economic potential by generating new revenue streams, fostering economic growth, and promoting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
