Crypto news
South Korean prosecutors apply to revoke Do Kwon and other Terra employees’ passports
According to local news outlet gynews.kr, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office’s Joint Financial Securities Crime Investigation Team says it will be contacting the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to nullify the passports of Terra Luna co-founder Do Kwon and five other project developers. Prosecutors also plan to contact Interpol and escalate the South Korean arrest warrant issued the day prior into an international arrest warrant. All Terra Luna members named in the warrant reside in Singapore, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with South Korea. Targeted individuals on the warrant include Mo Han and Mo Yu, both of whom are Terra Luna employees staying with Do Kwon in Singapore. Another named individual is Greek national Nicholas Pla...
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin celebrates the Merge: ‘Dream for years’
As the clock counted down to the final moments of the big Ethereum (ETH) Merge, co-founder Vitalik Buterin joined the “Ethereum Mainnet Merge Viewing Party” livestream hosted by the Ethereum Foundation to share his final thoughts. When asked if he was excited about the Merge, Buterin responded that he is “absolutely excited about being exited from the proof-of-work era.” The co-founder went on to say that the historic transition of the network from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) has been on the agenda for years. “[It] has obviously been a dream for the Ethereum ecosystem since pretty much the beginning. We started the proof-of-stake research with that blog post on Slosher back in January 2014.” The Merge can be seen as reinventing the laws of physi...
Community celebrates the Merge by dropping ETH-inspired art and music
As the Merge successfully shifted the Ethereum network to proof-of-stake (PoS), the ETH community seized the opportunity to celebrate by dropping artworks and music inspired by Ethereum. Nonfungible token (NFT) artist Beeple, the creator of one of the most expensive NFTs ever sold, celebrated the Ethereum Merge by publishing an illustration that shows a massive Ethereum logo that seemed to slowly form, assisted by what looks like scientists. Another community member who makes art influenced by street art and illustration dropped a moving artwork showing a static visual effect over a couple of Ether (ETH) logos. Adding a sense of celebration to the artwork, the creator wrote a description that said, “the time has come.” Meanwhile, an NFT collection dubbed I Survived the Merge fe...
How does tokenization help transform illiquid real estate ownership into a liquid one?
A few years back, the concept of owning and trading fragments of physical real estate might have seemed too far-fetched for many. But with the advent of blockchain technology, real estate tokenization is providing new opportunities for fractional ownership and investment. Blockchain technology’s long-overdue debut in real estate has made real-world asset tokenization a heavily-discussed topic in the industry. After all, tokenization ticks all those boxes that are often required to ruffle many a feather in a traditional industry — it’s digital, global, complex and future-oriented. But how exactly does real estate tokenization work, and how can it help transform illiquid real estate ownership into a liquid one? Let’s take a look. What does tokenization mean? Tokenization is the process of ta...
Norwegian town wants ‘noisy’ Bitcoin miners out, experts respond
There’s a new Bitcoin (BTC) energy FUD in town: noise. In Sortland, a Norwegian municipality, locals are waging war on Bitcoin miners to thwart further BTC mining developments. Their latest protest against proof-of-work (PoW) mining is that it’s loud. It’s not enough that Bitcoin miners in Sortland use 100% renewable energy sources, create jobs and even use waste heat from the PoW process to dry out timber and seaweed for local businesses; they must do so quietly. Sortland (red) in the extremes of Norway. Source: Google Kjetil Hove Pettersen, CEO at local KryptoVault, explained that it could be another case of media spin aiming at Bitcoin. He explained the situation to Cointelegraph: “It is usually the negative voices that get the most media attention; this does not refle...
Compound Treasury to let institutions use digital assets as collateral when borrowing USD or USDC
Compound Treasury, a cash management solution for institutions powered by the Compound Protocol, announced on Sept. 14 that accredited institutions can now borrow USD or USDC with fixed rates starting from 6% APR, using Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and supported ERC-20 assets as collateral. Starting today, to meet the growing demand for liquidity, institutions can now borrow from Compound Treasury, using digital assets as collateral.https://t.co/xgDIep18Qa — Compound Labs (@compoundfinance) September 14, 2022 The DeFi-backed company whose notable clients include crypto companies, fintech institutions and banks, shared that the decision was made in response to recent market volatility, which has created a more robust demand for liquidity. Reid Cuming, vice president of Compound Treasur...
Coinbase to educate users on policies held by local politicians with new app integration
On Sept. 14, Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong announced the company’s plans to begin integrating crypto policy efforts into its app. According to him, this will help the company’s 103 million verified users know where their local political leaders and representatives stand when it comes to cryptocurrency. 1/ Starting today, Coinbase will begin integrating our crypto policy efforts right into our app. These will help our 103M verified users get educated on the crypto positions held by political leaders where they live. pic.twitter.com/3GqWZIioZQ — Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) September 14, 2022 Coinbase will rely on some of the data compiled by the Crypto Action Network — a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to promoting the growth and security of cryptocurrency. Specif...
Hardware wallets to take similar approach to potential Ethereum hard fork
Ethereum’s blockchain Merge is expected to take place around 5:05 am UTC on Sept. 15. It is a milestone that marks a full transition toward proof-of-stake for Ethereum and eliminates the need for energy-intensive mining by a projected 99.9% when compared to Proof of Work (PoW). Some miners are also getting ready for a hard fork that would allow them to continue using PoW consensus. Forked coins have proven to be lucrative in the past. The holders of Ether (ETH), for example, came to possess an equivalent amount of Ethereum Classic (ETC) when it forked in 2016. In the event of a new hard fork, in which the Ethereum blockchain would split into two different networks, users holding ETH on-chain would have an equal balance of ETHPoW (ETHW) on the forked chain. This would be an addit...
The ‘launch of a rocket’ — Observers on the future of Ethereum post-Merge
The Ethereum Merge is set to occur later today with the energy-efficiency focused transition expected to have a major impact on crypto investment and adoption, experts say. Speaking to Cointelegraph in the lead up to the Merge, StarkWare president and co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson noted that the Ethereum Merge will be the “first step in a process that will lead to exceedingly widespread adoption of Ethereum.” The immediate importance of the Merge is the dramatic effect on energy consumption. The Merge is expected to see Ethereum’s energy cut by 99.95% compared to its current Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which requires large amounts of energy to be used in a competition to solve arbitrary mathematical puzzles. “I think of the Merge like the development of the first solar field...
Tesla launches new Cyberwhistle that can only be bought using Dogecoin
According to a new product catalog posted on Wednesday, electronic vehicle manufacturer Tesla is rolling out a new Cyberwhistle inspired by its futuristic Cybertruck series. The firm wrote: “Inspired by Cybertruck, the limited-edition Cyberwhistle is a premium collectible made from medical-grade stainless steel with a polished finish. The whistle includes an integrated attachment feature for added versatility.” All sales are final, and products are expected to ship within 4 to 6 weeks. On top of that, Tesla requires buyers to pay only in Dogecoin (DOGE). The price tag at the time of publication is 1,000 DOGE or around $60. Taxes and shipping are included in the DOGE price. Tesla says that Dogecoin is the only cryptocurrency that it currently accepts for select merchandise. Like...
Volatility expected as $490M in ETH options expire shortly after the Ethereum Merge
Given the current state of the wider crypto market, some traders might be surprised to learn that Ether (ETH) has been trading in an ascending trend for the past 17 days. While the entire cryptocurrency market experienced a 10% decline on Sept. 13, Ether’s price held firm near the $1,570 support level. Ether/USD price index. Source: TradingView In less than 12 hours, the Ethereum network is scheduled to undergo its largest ever upgrade and the possibility of extreme volatility should not be ignored. The transition to a proof-of-stake network will be a game changer for multiple reasons, including a 98.5% cut in energy use and reduced coin inflation. During an upgrade, there is always the risk of multiple malfunctions, especially in more complex systems like the Ethereum Virtual Machin...
Only 10 hours to the Ethereum Merge: Here’s what you need to know
Ethereum’s long-awaited transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) is upon us as the Merge looms in less than 10 hours. There’s plenty to consider for the wider cryptocurrency space — and here’s what you need to know. What is the Merge? The Ethereum blockchain will transition away from its energy-intensive consensus mechanism PoW as its execution layer merges with the new PoS consensus layer known as the Beacon Chain. The Beacon Chain went live in December 2020, allowing ecosystem participants to deposit or “stake” ETH to become the new validators of the network, in doing so replacing PoW miners that had previously put in the work to process transactions, produce blocks and secure the network. In its simplest form, the Merge will make the Ethe...
