Crypto
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The Ukraine invasion shows why we need crypto regulation
Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the Ukrainian government tweeted a request for funds in the form of Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Tether (USDT). The total received now stands at more than $60 million, according to Michael Chobanian, founder of Kyiv-based Kuna Exchange and president of the Blockchain Association of Ukraine, who posts regular updates via his Twitter account. Unlike support being pledged by governments around the world, these funds were available to the Ukrainian military within minutes — not weeks. For individuals, cryptocurrencies can provide a potentially life-saving method of escape from crises. A computer programmer from Lviv said he had escaped the fighting thanks to Bitcoin. With cash machines heavily restricted and massive queues at the banks, he...
NFT market well-positioned to grow 35% into a $13.6B industry by 2027
Reflecting the growing interest in the non-fungible token (NFT) space among today’s investors, new research predicts that the existing $3 billion market size will reach $13.6 billion by the end of 2027. For the next five years, the key factors tied to the global NFT boom continue to factor in the growing involvement of mainstream influencers, gaming communities and the rising demand for digital artworks. Interestingly enough, research firm MarketsandMarkets envisions several other factors that will contribute to the explosive growth of the NFT market, including its increasing use cases in supply chain management, retail and fashion. Global NFT market trends. Source: MarketsandMarkets Some of the other catalysts well-positioned to further speed up the growth of the NFT market are metaverse ...
Binance reportedly halts crypto derivatives service in Spain
Binance stands as one of the most persistent crypto exchanges when it comes to gaining regulatory approval and operational licenses from regulators across the world. In this effort to operate as a fully licensed financial institution, the exchange has stopped offering it’s crypto derivatives services in Spain as it reportedly awaits approval from the Spanish regulator, Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV). As evidenced by Binance’s official Spanish website, the crypto exchange removed the derivatives drop-down menu, which is still available on the global version. According to local news publication La Información, the move to hide derivatives offering in Spain comes as a way to comply with the requirements set by CNMV, a.k.a. the National Securities Market Commission....
Amid crypto hype, Google’s cloud unit creates Web3 team
Google’s cloud unit announced on Friday the formation of an internal team that will build services for blockchain developers and those running blockchain-based applications. This comes amid an explosion of interest, activity and adoption of crypto and Web3 tools from traditional sectors of the economy. Web3 infrastructure of the future Vice president at Google Cloud, Amit Zavery, reportedly told his team in an email on Friday of the aim to make the Google Cloud platform the first choice for developers in Web3. Google Cloud is the company’s suite of cloud computing services, on which all Google-related projects run. As per CNBC, his email read: “While the world is still early in its embrace of Web3, it is a market that is already demonstrating tremendous potential with many customers asking...
Finance Redefined: DeFi protocols lost $1.6B, EU to rethink DeFi approach, and more
The past week in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem saw many new developments from an adoption perspective and protocol developments. The European Commission added a new chapter on DeFi, showing the growing impact of the nascent ecosystem, while a county in the United States State of Virginia wants to put its pension fund in a DeFi yield. DeFi exploits became the center of attention again as recent research shows that in the first two quarters of 2022, DeFi protocols have lost $1.6 billion to various exploits. Rari Fuze hacker, who got away with $80 million worth of funds, was offered a $10 million bounty. The DeFi tokens also made a bullish comeback toward the end of the past week. However, the overall weekly performance remained in the red. European Commission report suggests ret...
Crypto mixer sanctioned by US Treasury for role in Axie Infinity hack
The United States Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Friday that it was sanctioning cryptocurrency mixer Blender.io for its role in laundering proceeds from the hacking of Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge. North Korean state-sponsored hackers Lazarus Group have been identified as the perpetrators of the attack. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement: “Today, for the first time ever, Treasury is sanctioning a virtual currency mixer. […] We are taking action against illicit financial activity by the DPRK and will not allow state-sponsored thievery and its money-laundering enablers to go unanswered.” Under the sanctions, all Blender.io property in the United States or in the possession of...
Crypto Biz: The real reason crypto hodlers should care about the Federal Reserve, April 28–May 4, 2022
Wall Street’s slow embrace of crypto means we all have to start watching the Federal Reserve again. Cointelegraph parsed through the latest Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policy statement on Wednesday to try and uncover some nuggets of useful information. You can think of it as an exercise in financial esoterics to uncover the hidden meaning behind the Fed’s decision-making. As it turns out, the decision to raise interest rates by 50 basis points was already expected, so the actual FOMC document provided very little new information. But, Fed Chair Jerome Powell sparked a late rally in crypto and stocks on Wednesday when he said 75 basis-point increases aren’t on the table. You wanted the institutions to adopt crypto, didn’t you? Now, the asset class is trading almost in lockstep with...
Controlling 17% of BTC hash rate: Report on publicly listed mining firms
The Cointelegraph Research Terminal, the leading provider of premium databases and institutional-grade research on blockchain and digital assets, has added a new report to its expanding library. The latest paper looks at a particular group of players in the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry. Published by crypto consulting firm Crypto Oxygen, the report highlights the current landscape of publicly listed crypto mining companies that control approximately 17% of the total hash rate of the entire Bitcoin network. The crypto mining industry is a quickly growing and evolving sector. In January this year, a United States-based company Core Scientific went public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger, making it the largest publicly traded crypto mining company in revenue and h...
Grayscale’s GBTC and ETHE products now available on Robinhood
Digital asset manager Grayscale has made its flagship Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) products available on Robinhood, the popular trading app open to millions of retail users. Beginning on Friday, Robinhood users will be able to trade Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Ethereum Trust (ETHE) directly through the app. Shares of GBTC provide investors with direct exposure to Bitcoin in the form of a security without having to buy or store the digital asset directly. ETHE, meanwhile, operates as an open-end investment company whose shares reflect the value of Ether held by the trust. Finally! You can now trade Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale Ethereum Trust on Robinhood$GBTC $ETHE https://t.co/MzOJxvI7GG — Barry Silbert (@BarrySilbert) May 6, 2022 Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust is the l...
Will Polkadot (DOT) price reverse course now that cross-chain messaging is live?
Development within the Polkadot (DOT) ecosystem has been slowly unfolding over the past year and a half, and the work put in by developers is finally starting to bear fruit as parachain auctions finish and the first chains launch on the mainnet. The next phase of interoperability within the ecosystem is set to kick off now that cross-chain functionality is about to go live. This next step will allow Polkadot-based parachains to communicate with each other and transfer assets between chains. After passing community vote, v0.9.19 has been enacted on Polkadot. This upgrade included a batch call upgrading Polkadot’s runtime to enable parachain-to-parachain messaging over XCM and upgrading #Statemint to include minting assets (like NFTs) and teleports. pic.twitter.com/uqIB5di2Q1 — Polkado...
‘Regulations are in place to help crypto businesses understand operations,’ says The Bahamas PM Philip Davis
The Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis told Cointelegraph that the region has a regulatory regime in place that will enable crypto businesses to operate within its jurisdiction. During an interview at SALT’s Crypto Bahamas conference, Davis shared that The Bahamas recently published a white paper framework that will allow crypto businesses to “grow and prosper,” while letting companies understand the region’s expectations. He added: “The policy also takes into account the balance between concerns people have about cryptocurrency and the risks that come along with it. [The] policy is to protect consumers, [the] integrity of the space and at [the] same time, ensure that we minimize all risks that may be associated with these businesses.” Davis pointed out that crypto innovation is already w...
Senator Tommy Tuberville proposes a bill in support of crypto retirement plans
The Alabama senator says the government shouldn’t interfere with how users invest their retirement savings He plans to introduce the Financial Freedom Act to this effect The DoL and Senator Elizabeth Warren already took moves opposing Fidelity Investments’ plan to offer crypto investments for retirement plans At the end of April, Fidelity Investments announced the launch of a new service that would allow employees in the 23,000 companies it serves to complete Bitcoin investment of up to 20% of the 401(k) pension plan. With the provision, users would be able to invest in crypto without the involvement of crypto exchanges The DOL had warned against such an offering The recent move by Fidelity meant that the retirement plan provider had directly contravened guidance issued by the Department o...
