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Ukraine tells allies it may not be able to recover from more Russian attacks on energy systems
The new warnings, relayed to lawmakers this week through classified intelligence reports, came as Russia launched missiles on the Ukrainian capital Tuesday, hitting apartment buildings and knocking out electricity — just days after Russia retreated from the strategic city of Kherson. Parts of Kyiv still didn’t have power Wednesday. The warnings from Kyiv over the last week underscore the level of anxiety among top Ukrainian officials about the coming winter months and the potential ramifications of sustained damage to its infrastructure. An unreliable energy sector could have deadly consequences, Ukrainian officials say. In recent conversations, they’ve added that it could halt food production and transport operations — critical services needed to support military operations. “This is one ...
Climate talks grow tense as U.S. resists Europe’s plan for aid
“The U.S. might end up being isolated from the entire conversation, and therefore has no other choice but to come on board,” Tuvalu Finance Minister Seve Paeniu told reporters Friday. The EU proposal also calls for China to play a role in contributing money to a fund to offset climate damages — a condition the country that is now by the far the biggest greenhouse gas emitter may find untenable. Some within the EU see that gambit to bring Beijing into the “loss and damage” proposal as an opening for the U.S., which wants China and other countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to pay into any possible fund. “We would like to see the U.S. moving toward our direction,” Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge Teresa Ribera told POLITICO. “Politically and geopolitical...
John Kerry comes down with Covid at climate summit
John Kerry has been a key player in trying to navigate competing demands among developing countries, the European Union and China. | Nariman El-Mofty/AP Photo SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry has tested positive for Covid-19 at the global climate talks and is self-isolating, the State Department said in a statement Friday. “He is fully vaccinated and boosted and experiencing mild symptoms,” spokesperson Whitney Smith said. “He is working with his negotiations team and foreign counterparts by phone to ensure a successful outcome of” the U.N. climate summit in Egypt. The talks have run past their scheduled Friday closing time and will resume Saturday. [flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name...
FTX collapse could trigger ‘appetite’ for harsher regulation, says Andrew Yang
Calls for harsher regulations around cryptocurrencies and digital assets will likely grow louder in the aftermath of FTX’s collapse — something former United States presidential candidate Andrew Yang said isn’t conducive to making America a hotbed for blockchain innovation. Speaking at the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin on Nov. 18, Yang acknowledged that the bankruptcy of FTX and sister company Alameda Research would make common sense crypto regulation harder to pass in the short term. “I’ve always been in the camp that some intelligent regulation is a good thing. I think it would help the industry mature and make it more mainstream. But, unfortunately, we missed a beat — like a major beat,” he said, referring to the collective failures of FTX, FTX US and Alameda Research. “...
FTX is done — What’s next for Bitcoin, altcoins and crypto in general?
2022 was a tough year for crypto, and November was especially hard on investors and traders alike. While it was incredibly painful for many, FTX’s blowup and the ensuing contagion that threatens to pull other centralized crypto exchanges down with it could be positive over the long run. Allow me to explain. What people learned, albeit in the hardest way possible, is that exchanges were running fractional reserve-like banks to fund their own speculative, leveraged investments in exchange for providing users with a “guaranteed” yield. Somewhere across the crypto Twitterverse, the phrase “If you don’t know where the yield comes from, you are the yield!” is floating around. This was true for decentralized finance (DeFi), and it’s proven true for centralized crypto exchanges and platforms...
Nickel Digital, Metaplex and others continue to feel the impact of FTX collapse
Nickel Digital Asset Management is not the only company feeling the effects of FTX’s collapse and bankruptcy. NFT protocol Metaplex also laid off “several members of the Metaplex Studios team” due to the “indirect impact” from the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. The co-founder and CEO of Metaplex Studios, Stephen Hess, shared in a thread on Twitter: “While our treasury wasn’t directly impacted by the collapse of FTX and our fundamentals remain strong, the indirect impact on the market is significant and requires that we take a more conservative approach moving forward.” (3/7) While our treasury wasn’t directly impacted by the collapse of FTX and our fundamentals remain strong, the indirect impact on the market is significant and requires that we take a more conservative approach moving fo...
The fall of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried might be good for crypto
“Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information,” new FTX CEO John Ray III said in a legal filing on Thursday. “From compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad, to the concentration of control in the hands of a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals, this situation is unprecedented.” Ray, who oversaw Enron’s bankruptcy in 2001, stepped in as CEO shortly after founder Sam Bankman-Fried resigned (and reportedly tried to flee to Argentina, although he denies it). He is absolutely right that FTX was brought down by a complete failure of corporate controls, but in reality, the situation is far from unprecedented. And unless ...
Did Taylor Swift Really Have a Choice to Work With Ticketmaster?
Maybe Live Nation chairman Greg Maffei’s statement that Taylor Swift and promoter AEG “chose” to work with Ticketmaster for her calamitous onsale earlier this week should have come with an asterisk. On Thursday (Nov. 17), Maffei attempted to correct criticisms about Ticketmaster and its owner Live Nation operating as a monopoly by pointing out that Swift’s 2023 Eras Tour “is not actually a Live Nation promoted concert” but rather “promoted by one of our largest competitors.” Maffei — who is also the president of Live Nation’s largest shareholder Liberty Media — continued: “AEG who is the promoter for Taylor Swift, chose to use us because, in reality, we are the largest and most effective ticket seller in the world. Even our competitors want to come on our platform.” The...
Crypto self-custody a ‘fundamental human right’ but not risk-free: Community
The FTX debacle sparked an increase in calls for crypto self-custody this week, including Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao describing it as a “fundamental human right.” However, some warn that there are still risks involved when opting to hold your digital assets on your own. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, highlighted on Twitter that while the decentralized finance and self-custody ethos were popular this week, there are still risks involved. According to the Ethereum co-founder, bugs in smart contract code are some of these risks. To avoid them, Buterin also mentioned some tips, such as keeping code simple, audits, formal verification and defense in depth. Apart from smart contract bugs, transferring crypto assets after death also became a topic on social media. Bruce Fento...
Designing the metaverse: Location, location, location
When it comes to designing a metaverse map, it’s more about the vibe than practicality. From space pods to jungle islands and celebrity neighbors, users want to feel like they are someplace special. What considerations go into designing a metaverse platform? Insiders explain that one key factor is that virtual worlds need to be created with features familiar to their human users — even if such elements, like beaches and nature preserves, offer no practical benefits in virtual reality. Old habits die hard, and people prefer spaces that are familiar and, ideally, neighboring a celebrity like Snoop Dogg. Alexis Christodoulou, a 3D architect who has been creating virtual spaces for 10 years and NFTs for two, recently got the job to design 2117, a space-themed metaverse platform imagining the U...
Bitcoin price may still drop 40% after FTX ‘Lehman moment’ — Analysis
Bitcoin (BTC) saw a fresh rejection at $17,000 on Nov. 18 as nervous markets weathered more FTX fallout. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView BTC gets a $12,000 price target Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD failing to flip $17,000 to support — a trend in place for almost a week. The pair, like major altcoins, remained firmly tied down by cold feet over the FTX debacle and its knock-on effects for various crypto businesses. For analysts, the outlook remained just as grim, with already dismal forecasts worsening in light of recent events. “This underperformance of all crypto assets is here to stay until the bulk of uncertainly has cleared up — likely only near the turn of the new year,” trading firm QCP Capital wrote in its latest circ...
Banks still show interest in digital assets and DeFi amid market chaos
The cryptocurrency sector is the Wild Wild West in comparison to traditional finance, yet a number of banks are showing interest in digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). This year in particular has been notable for banks exploring digital assets. Most recently, JPMorgan demonstrated how DeFi can be used to improve cross-border transactions. This came shortly after BNY Mellon — America’s oldest bank — announced the launch of its Digital Asset Custody Platform, which allows select institutional clients to hold and transfer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The Clearing House, a United States banking association and payments company, stated on Nov. 3 that banks “should be no less able to engage in digital-asset-related activities than nonbanks.” Banks aware of potential While ba...
