cryptocurrencies
Andre Cronje sees a ‘necessity for regulation’ ahead of crypto’s new era
Andre Cronje, former Fantom Foundation technical adviser and Yearn.finance founder, resurfaced on Monday via Medium after announcing his departure from the DeFi and crypto space last month. In a post titled “The rise and fall of crypto culture,” Cronje expressed his lamentations of crypto culture as he called for increased regulation and legislation in the industry. When Cronje and his colleague Anton Nell tweeted about the fate of all the applications and services they had built, they offered no other details as to their personal motivations. They even proceeded to deactivate their Twitter accounts on March 6. Now, readers of Cronje’s words can surmise that these two partners were going through some sort of ethical crisis. The opening and closing refrain, “Cry...
Law Decoded: Paris is always a good idea, even for talking crypto policy — April 11–18
Last week was the Paris Blockchain Week, and the epicenter of crypto policy and regulatory conversation moved to the French capital accordingly. Cointelegraph reported extensively from the ground and ran a series of interviews with some of the crypto industry’s captains who shared their thoughts on the state of regulatory affairs. For one, Binance’s Changpeng Zhao said that he was excited to see regulators embracing financial innovation and introducing crypto-friendly policies, calling it a major trend of 2022. Bertrand Perez, chief operating officer of the Web3 Foundation, opined that many policymakers, including some in the European Union, still tend to act too fast on crypto regulation without getting properly educated on the subject first. Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse even filled in the ...
Iran to stiffen penalties for illegal use of subsidized energy in crypto mining
The Iranian government will increase penalties for the use of subsidized energy in crypto mining. The move marks another step in the tightening of mining regulation in the country that had faced energy shortages in recent years. On April 16, the Tehran Times reported, citing the country’s Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission company, that the government plans to drastically increase the fines rates for the mining operators who use subsidized electricity. The company’s representative Mohammad Khodadadi Bohlouli specified: “Any use of subsidized electricity, intended for households, industrial, agricultural and commercial subscribers, for mining cryptocurrency is prohibited.” According to Bohlouli, the fines for the use of subsidized energy in mining will rise by...
The world doesn’t need banks, policymakers or NGOs — It needs DeFi
Where I grew up, on the southern border in Texas, a tremendous number of people have come to the United States to work and send money back home. They don’t make much money, but they pay considerable fees on their transfers. Their focus is not on getting rich, but on supporting those back home in their native country. They support their families as they do hard labor day in and day out. It costs them too much to do so. Truth be told, my father was a migrant worker. He picked fruit in the fields. We sent money back to our family in Mexico. But the remittance providers chipped away at what little money he was able to make so that they had no hope of achieving the American Dream and prospering. The world needs DeFi due to corruption. Big governments and international corporations are controlle...
AMC Theatres mobile app accepts Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and more
AMC Theatres, an American pro-crypto movie theater chain, updated its mobile app services to accept Dogecoin (DOGE), Shibu Inu (SHIB) and other cryptocurrencies as payment across the United States. AMC Theatres first started accepting crypto payments back on Nov. 12, 2022, which allowed customers to purchase movie tickets online using Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC). On Jan. 6, 2022, Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Theatres, promised users via a tweet to include meme tokens DOGE and SHIB by March. While slightly delayed, Aron’s team delivered. Exactly as promised, the AMC mobile app for AMC’s U.S. theatres now accepts online payments using Doge Coin, Shiba Inu, and other crypto currencies — thanks to Bitpay. Also Apple Pay, Google Pay and Paypal. To d...
Crypto is going mainstream: Here’s how the future founders will build on it
Crypto has long been criticized for its lack of inherent value. However, the shift toward contactless transactions amid the pandemic has emphasized the value of digital currencies and blockchain technology in the modern world. For this reason, merchants have been slow to adopt cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. As it gains widespread usage, however, we can expect to see more businesses accepting crypto in the future. The global pandemic has changed the way a lot of us do business. The shift away from cash and face-to-face transactions toward digital cashless ones has introduced many people to the convenience of paying digitally. So, it’s no surprise that crypto is starting to gain traction as a viable payment option — one that will only continue to evolve. While sti...
QSP, XDB and AST post double-digit gains amid sideways moving market
Activity across the cryptocurrency market has been largely subdued on April 15 as traders in the United States have taken an early weekend thanks to the closure of financial markets for the observance of Good Friday. A survey of the top 20 tokens indicates a relatively flat trading day, with Bitcoin (BTC) clinging to support above $40,000. Several lower-ranking altcoins managed to post double-digit gains on the back of recent protocol developments. Top 7 coins with the highest 24-hour price change. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were Quantstamp (QSP), DigitalBits (XDB) and AirSwap (AST). Quantstamp launches NFT Combinator Blockchain security and code audit provider Quantstamp l...
Regulations set the table for more talent, capital and building in crypto industry
The feeling in the crypto and decentralized finance space has been shifting and evolving. The industry is also becoming more scrutinized and, inevitably, more organized. Some weeks ago, United States President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order to expedite and focus regulatory oversight of the $3-trillion industry. The order will spur the government to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies, with a particular focus on consumer protection, financial stability, illicit activity, U.S. competitiveness, financial inclusion and responsible innovation. While the results of this order have yet to unfold, this moment helps to set the table for more clarity, predictability, security and stability for decentralized finance (DeFi). Like with any industry, clarity on how DeFi and cry...
Altcoin Roundup: Analysts give their take on the impact of the Ethereum Merge delay
The rollout of Ethereum 2.0, or Eth2, includes a transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake that will supposedly transform Ether (ETH) into a deflationary asset and revolutionize the entire network. The event has been a trending topic for years and while anticipation for “The Merge” has been building over the past couple of months, this week Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko informed the world that “It won’t be June, but likely in the few months after. No firm date yet.” Delays in Ethereum network upgrades are nothing new and so far, the immediate effect on Ether’s price following the revelation has been minimal. Here’s what several analysts have said about what the merger means for Ethereum and how this most recent delay could affect ETH price moving forward. Staking Rewards ex...
Coinbase exploration report leads to over 100% price gains for MITX, KROM and BDP
United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase sent waves across the cryptocurrency ecosystem on Apr. 11 when it released a list of 50 crypto assets that were under consideration for listing in the second quarter of 2022 in a bid to increase the transparency of its listing process. Responses to the release were mixed and led to some allegations of insider trading by crypto sleuths, while a majority of crypto traders took a deeper dive into the list in an attempt to discover diamonds in the rough. Following a week’s worth of trading that saw many of the tokens on the list experience pump-and-dumps, the dust is beginning to settle revealing Morpheus Labs (MITX), Kromatika (KROM) and Big Data Protocol (BDP) as the top three gainers from the Coinbase announcement. Morpheus Labs Mor...
Here’s why Chiliz (CHZ) multi-team NFL partnership and Web3 expansion plan could be bullish
One of the biggest challenges cryptocurrency projects face is finding the right type of real-world integration and a use case that can spark a new waves of adoption. Integrating blockchain and cryptocurrency with professional sports has been the expected “next wave” for some time and Chiliz (CHZ), a protocol focused on creating a fan engagement platform for various sports leagues, made headlines for its new developments this week. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of CHZ has increased 69% from its 2022 low of $0.144 to hit a daily high of $0.256 on April 13. CHZ/USDT 1-day chart. Source: TradingView CHZ price has been building momentum and a new partnership between the Socios.com fan engagement platform and thirteen National Football Leagu...
Amazon CEO expresses optimism about the future of cryptocurrencies and NFTs
Speaking during an interview with CNBC after releasing his first shareholder letter as the new CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy said that while he does not own any cryptocurrencies or nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, he is optimistic about the outlook of the industry. Jassy stated: “We’re not probably close to adding crypto as a payment mechanism in our retail business, but I do believe over time that you’ll see crypto become bigger. I expect that NFTs will continue to grow very significantly.” Specifically, regarding the sale of NFTs by Amazon, Jassy claimed that “it’s possible down the road on the platform.” Last November, Cointelegraph reported that Amazon was hiring a Financial Services Specialist who “understands the overall cryptocurrency an...
