Romania's National Informatics Research and Development Institute (ICI Bucharest) aims to drive Web3 adoption in the country by launching an in-house non-fungible token trading platform.
The institutional NFT platform called ICI D|Services will go live on April 26 and aims to connect private and public sector institutions and users. The platform is primarily an NFT marketplace that allows public and institutional users to mint, manage and trade NFTs.
Cointelegraph spoke to Paul Niculescu-Mizil Gheorghe, coordinator of the ICI Blockchain Lab in Bucharest, about the impetus behind the country's efforts to adopt Web3 technologies. ICI Bucharest has largely focused on R&D over the past five years, but has shifted its attention to exploring blockchain, Web3 and non-fungible tokens as the field gained traction globally.
GHEORGHE SAID that NFTS HAVE Become Very Popular in Recent Years BeCAUSE of their Abo Create Unique and Scarce Digital Assets THAT Be Apply THE NUMER. OUS USE Cases. This in Turn Makes them a value Asset for Institutions, Which Led to A Proposal for An NFT platform at ICI Bucharest in late 2021.
The agency will start working with MultiversX in mid-2022 to develop and implement the architecture of the market system, the first strategic project to use a blockchain infrastructure provider.
As Multiversx CENIMIN MINCU Explained in A Correspondnce, The Partnership Also Includes the Development of A Vel Domain (TLD) Ecosystem. Gheorghe, Who Holds A DOCTOATE in BlockChain Technology and IndustedRial Engineering, SAID The SAID The project is supported by the Romanian government through the General Secretariat and the Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization:
"Our institute wants to build a bridge between the younger generation and the values of public institutions, opening up a comfort zone for interacting with digital spaces."
The launch of the platform will consist of five unique NFT collections developed in collaboration with some prominent Romanian athletes, organizations and institutions. These include the Romanian Olympic and Sports Council, 18-year-old world record holder in the 100m freestyle David Popovic, Romanian news agency Agerpres, national philatelic organization Romfilatelia and the Central University Library in Bucharest.
According to Gheorghe, the Romanian government's support for innovative projects such as ICI D|Services strengthens the country's economic potential by creating new revenue streams, promoting economic growth, and a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship: “Blockchain technology improves institutional efficiency, addressing proven use cases based on digital asset management, transparency, and security in various institutional operations such as education, health, transportation, land registration, supply chain management, etc.”
Mincu echoed these sentiments, highlighting the Romanian government's commitment to embracing technology to create new opportunities for user interaction between citizens, businesses and institutions.
