Crypto
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US lawmaker planning to introduce comprehensive crypto bill in 2022: report
Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the United States lawmakers behind many pro-crypto pieces of legislation, is planning to introduce a comprehensive bill next year to handle digital assets. In a Thursday report, Bloomberg said Lummis’ proposed bill aimed to provide regulatory clarity on stablecoins, guide regulators as to which cryptos belong to different asset classes and offer consumer protections. In addition, the U.S. senator reportedly proposed creating an organization under the joint jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to oversee the crypto market. On Twitter, Lummis called for U.S. voters to reach out to their respective senators to support the bill, saying she was looking for bipartisan cosponsors. The Wyomi...
3 embroidery artists weave NFT charity drop to help victims of human trafficking
Three embroidery artists — Russia’s Katerina Marchenko, Brazil’s Aline Brant and Ninni Luhtasaari of Finland — announced Thursday that they will be auctioning their nonfungible token (NFT) art pieces to support Hope for the Future (HFTF), a registered charity based in Austria. Proceeds from the auction will help victims of human trafficking find entry-level work positions after their harrowing experiences. Katerina Marchenko embroidering. Source: Katerina Marchenko The NFT sale will take place on Orica between Dec. 27–30, with each piece having a floor price of $500. The auction’s goal is to raise $10,000 for the employment program. “Even when one offers survivors the possibility to get out, they are mostly very traumatized by their experiences, they have littl...
Argo Blockchain among most traded stocks by Fidelity customers
Financial services company Fidelity Investments’ U.K. arm reported that over the last 12 months, customers were most interested in trading shares of crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain. In a Thursday report, Fidelity said Argo Blockchain ranked third among the top five stocks most actively traded by its customers in 2021 — the others were Rolls-Royce, British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines, oil giant BP and Lloyds Banking Group. Argo, which Fidelity described as a “trending” stock, also ranked third among stocks traded by Self-Invested Personal Pension, or SIPP, investors. However, the financial services company hinted that Argo may not make the top five next year. According to Fidelity, “new arrivals” knocked the mining firm off the list of most actively traded sto...
Is crypto a boys’ club? The future of finance is not gendered
“I am used to being the only woman in the room,” Joni Pirovich told Cointelegraph over the phone. Her tone wasn’t impassioned like she was claiming an injustice. It was matter-of-fact, resigned to the truth of it. Pirovich is a blockchain and digital assets lawyer and has been involved in the crypto industry for years. She’s also a mom of two. “In some ways, it’s been a real struggle to have my voice heard, to be seen as a legitimate person at the table that has views worth listening to — let alone respecting or following.” Her claim wasn’t shocking, since gender disparity in this industry isn’t exactly a new talking point. Back in August, CNBC released a survey that found that women are still less than half as likely to invest in cryptocurrencies than men, with 16% of men inve...
Bakkt president Adam White announces departure from digital asset platform
Adam White, the president and founding executive of digital assets company Bakkt, is leaving the firm after three years. In a Thursday post on Twitter, White said next week would mark his departure from Bakkt, where he has served as both chief operating officer and president. White joined Bakkt after leaving Coinbase in 2018, where he worked as a vice president and general manager. The Bakkt president did not reveal what his next move would be, or whether he would continue to work in the crypto space. “I’ve loved working at intersection of crypto + markets and good to see the industry finding the balance between innovation & regulation,” said White. “Lots of work still to do here but never been more optimistic about the future.” After a great 3+ years at bakkt, next week will be my las...
Crypto Biz: What’s up with Jack? Dec. 16–23
When you’re no longer at the helm of a publicly-traded company, you have more leeway to express controversial views. Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey took to social media this week to express his discontent over venture capital’s role in Web 3.0. Some of his Twitter followers agreed with his views, others disagreed and some even blocked him entirely. Below is the concise version of the latest “Crypto Biz” newsletter, which is sent to your inbox every Thursday. For a comprehensive breakdown of business developments over the last week, register for the full newsletter below. “You don’t own Web 3.0,” says Dorsey Dorsey’s gripe with Web 3.0 — a broad term that refers to a more decentralized and interconnected version of the internet — stems from th...
Fighting for Web 3.0: Digital wallet wars are the new browser wars
Most people might not remember that websites once had icons that said, “This site has been optimized for Internet Explorer,” but, two decades ago, it wasn’t uncommon. Just like today’s battle between Web 2.0 monopolies and Web 3.0 communities, at the beginning of the early consumer internet, there was a similar battle waged over who would own the portal to it: A closed-source global monopoly, or an open-source nonprofit. A battle for the soul of the internet Long before Web 3.0, the browser wars defined the early internet. Netscape Navigator was the first consumer browser in the market and the browser of choice for the first users of the web. For many, it was synonymous with the dawn of the internet. Slowly but surely, however, Microsoft leveraged its monopoly position in the OS space to p...
Terra (LUNA) hits record $20B TVL, surpassing Binance Smart Chain
Terra (LUNA), an open-source stablecoin network, hit an all-time high of $20.05 billion in total value locked, or TVL, across its 13 product offerings, according to industry data. On Dec. 1, Terra’s TVL was at $11.9 billion, signifying a 68% increase in less than a month. This means that the platform’s users are investing in large quantities into the protocol to receive staking rewards. The price of LUNA, Terra’s native token, is also steadily trending upwards, trading above $94 with a 31% increase in one week, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro. The coin now has a total market capitalization of $34.8 billion, placing it in the top 10 crypto projects. LUNA continues to be one of crypto’s hottest performers. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro In terms of TVL...
Paraguay moves a step closer to regulating digital currency
On Dec. 17, 2021, the Senate of Paraguay approved a cryptocurrency bill introduced in July. The provisions, which define several key terms including virtual assets and call for licenses to mine cryptocurrencies, will now be sent to the Deputy Chamber for further deliberation. Senator Fernando Silva Facetti, the bill’s sponsor, revealed that it’s passed in the Paraguayan Senate after a contentious debate. According to the senator, the law also aims to foster the growth of crypto mining activities by using the surplus electricity generated in the country. (1/3) Today, after an intense debate, the Senate @SenadoresPy approved todaya New Law Project which regulates the industry and commercialization of #Crypto assets #Bitcoin #Paraguay after …(open threat) — FernandoSilv...
Retailers to drive crypto payments adoption: Survey
Crypto payments might be the innovation companies are looking for. A recent survey by payment network Mercuryo revealed that 57% of respondents believe accepting cryptocurrency payments would give companies a competitive edge. Among the other standout statistics, more than one-third of businesses reported that customers had asked to pay in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or another digital currency. Hot on the heels of news that Dogecoin (DOGE) will trial for Tesla merchandise payments and WhatsApp began testing payments with Meta’s Novi wallet, the Mercuryo report highlights that retail payment services will continue to be a key crypto adoption driver. The report surveyed 501 senior financial decision-makers in the United Kingdom. Almost half of the sample size consisted of large businesses em...
Bitcoin price flatlines as XRP hits $1 with ‘massive’ altcoin move set for 2022
Bitcoin (BTC) stuck rigidly to its tight range on Dec. 23 as price action continued to contradict strong buying activity. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Hodlers busy accumulating Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD failing to hold $49,000 after hitting 10-day highs. The pair remained stuck in a trading zone only around $4,000 wide, a key factor fuelling bets that a “short squeeze” would hit over the holiday period. Against declining volatility, data reinforced conviction among investors, with the supply being bought up at roughly three times the rate of new BTC being mined. “Strong handed HODLers are absorbing supply at more than triple the rate of new coins being mined each day,” on-chain analytics firm Glassnode summarized ...
Telegram-verified payments bot to accept Toncoin cryptocurrency
Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov has expressed excitement about the Telegram Open Network (TON) technology still developing after Telegram officially abandoned the project last year. “I’m proud that the technology we created is alive and evolving. When it comes to scalability and speed, TON is still years ahead of everything else in the blockchain realm,” Durov said in a Telegram post on Thursday. He noted that the project rebranded from TON to Toncoin. Unlike the original TON, the new project is independent of Telegram. “But I wish its team the same success. Coupled with the right go-to-market strategy, they have all they need to build something epic,” he noted. Durov’s remarks came amid Donate, a Telegram-verified payments service, preparing to enable donations on Telegram using t...
