ALGORAND CHOSEN AS PUBLIC BLOCKCHAIN TO SUPPORT DIGITAL GUARANTEES PLATFORM IN ITALY

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BOSTON and MILAN, Dec. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Algorand Inc., a world leader in Layer-1 blockchain technology, has been selected to be the public blockchain that will support an innovative digital guarantees platform in Italy. The company today joined the Bank of Italy and the Italian insurance authority IVASS, along with more than 30 financial institutions at an event in Milan to illustrate how bank and insurance guarantees can be issued on digital ledger technologies (DLT) also known as blockchain. 

The event, hosted by CETIF, the Research Center for Technologies, Innovations and Finance of the Catholic University of Milan, will include presentations and live technology demonstrations as part of a three-day forum. CETIF Advisory has been leading an ecosystemic effort to develop a blockchain-based open "Digital Sureties" platform that will serve the needs of Italy's banking and insurance markets.

The new platform is expected to become operational in early 2023 and will be the first time an EU Member State enables the use of blockchain technology for bank and insurance guarantees. Algorand is the only public blockchain that the Digital Sureties platform uses.

It is expected that a significant percentage of bank and insurance guarantees will leverage digital ledger technologies as part of Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The EU allocated roughly 200B Euros to Italy, the largest allocation made to any country, to be used for co-grants and co-loans as part of the EU Recovery Plan. The EU launched the program, considered to be the most significant stimulus package in Europe's history, to boost economic recovery following the Covid-19 crisis. Blockchain is ideally suited to these types of programs given the technology's ability to provide fast, efficient, low-cost, and scalable data transactions. Even more importantly, digital ledger technologies help protect against fraud – a known challenge with bank and insurance guarantees.

"We selected Algorand because of its unparalleled level of innovation and security among permissionless DLTs, as well as because of its leadership in sustainability," said Federico Rajola, professor, CETIF. "Our goal is to help Italy not only recover from the economic impact of Covid-19, but also excel through innovation and leadership. Our ecosystemic projects are meant to help generate strategic platforms, such as the Digital Sureties platform supported by Algorand. We believe these platforms can and will dramatically contribute to the country's competitive sustainability for the benefit of all."

"We are proud and honored to be the public blockchain chosen by the Digital Sureties platform of Italy," said Silvio Micali, Founder of Algorand Inc. "Through Algorand's technology, we can help solve for many critical issues facing financial institutions and governments across the world today, bringing opportunity and inclusion to communities in need everywhere."

Algorand is transforming economic models and economies of all kinds. Founded by Turing Award–winning cryptographer Silvio Micali, Algorand's high–performing Layer-1 blockchain is unparalleled for providing fast, frictionless, and inclusive technologies. A recognized leader in sustainable technology with a commitment to interoperability and consistent delivery, Algorand is reshaping industries from TradFi and DeFi to new creator economies and beyond. As the technology of choice for 2000+ global organizations, Algorand is transforming how value exchange is done through the next generation of financial products and protocols. For more information visit www.algorand.com.

CETIF is the Research Center on Technologies, Innovation and Finance of the Catholic University of Milan. Its mission is to accelerate and foster the evolution of the financial, banking and insurance sectors and their competitive capacity through innovation, digitalization and business sustainability. It promotes research, organizes conferences and offers over 100 university higher education courses to help train future leaders. CETIF's work convenes leaders across academia, government and industry to help advance innovative thinking and technologies across the financial, banking and insurance sectors. CETIF members include over 50 banking, insurance and financial institutions, over 30.000 high level executives enrolled in more than 15 dedicated communities, generating over 200 yearly events, aimed at the evolution of the targeted markets. www.cetif.it

CETIF Advisory is a spin-off of the University's Research Center that focuses on turning academic research into practice, helping new technologies emerge and consolidate in the marketplace through ecosystemic projects. CETIF Advisory currently focuses its activities on digital ledger technologies (DLT), artificial intelligence and advanced analytics, competitive, regulatory and HR assessment, benchmarking and human/machine interaction.

CONTACT: [email protected]

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