One-quarter of the global populace is going to be spending at least an hour a day in the metaverse by 2026, according to tech consulting firm Gartner, for shopping, gaming, education and more. But at some point, people are going to have to demonstrate that it’s really them behind the avatar. That’s just one reason
The FTX collapse was bad, but how bad? Almost from the moment that the Bahamas-based exchange suspended cryptocurrency withdrawals in early November — and three days before it filed for bankruptcy — the historic comparisons started flying. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire tweeted on Nov. 8 that FTX was “Lehman’s moment,” referencing the 2008 collapse of
Despite the headwinds that have dominated the year, remittances to low and middle-income countries in 2022 still grew by 5% to $626 billion, the World Bank Migration and Development Brief has said. Africa, where the cost of sending $200 averaged 7.8% in 2022, is the “most severely exposed to the concurrent crises.” Impact of the
Bitcoin (BTC) hit new month-to-date lows on Dec. 7 as Asian markets fell during trading. $16,500 stands as support as BTC price wobbles Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD dipping to lows of $16,736 on Bitstamp, a level not seen since Nov. 30. The pair thus began to erase the ground it
The Russian central bank continues to maintain an extremely negative stance on cryptocurrencies, proposing to ban local miners from selling coins to local people. The Bank of Russia has supported the idea of legalizing cryptocurrency mining in Russia as part of a draft bill introduced in mid-November 2022. However, the Russian central bank wants to
After passing its landmark legislation on stablecoins in June, Japanese regulators are considering complementing it by restricting the algorithmic backing of stablecoins. The intention comes as a recommendation from the Financial Service Agency (FSA) and was repeated by the country’s Vice Minister for International Affairs, Tomoko Amaya. During his speech on crypto assets at a
On Tuesday, the hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger announced the launch of a new device called Ledger Stax. The machine was designed by iPod creator, Tony Fadell, and the France-based firm Ledger says the new device was built with “uncompromisingly secure architecture.” iPod Creator Tony Fadell Partners With Ledger to Launch a New Crypto Hardware Wallet
While some countries like Nigeria are aggressively pushing the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), a new report summarized why a number of private stakeholders are against the idea of a CBDC. The report dubbed “The State of CBDCs in 2022,” published by blockchain insights firm Blockdata, dove into the most significant CBDC developments
The United States lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 that includes information on crypto rewards and payouts. The proposed amendment under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires the Department of State, an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country’s foreign policy and
Congresswoman Maxine Waters, chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, has politely asked former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) to attend a congressional hearing on the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange. Bankman-Fried says he will testify when he has finished “learning and reviewing what happened.” Bankman-Fried Responds to Rep. Waters’ Invitation The U.S. House
A federal judge overseeing Three Arrows Capital’s (3AC’s) bankruptcy proceedings has signed an order approving subpoenas to be delivered to 3AC’s former leadership, including co-founders Su Zhu and Kyle Davies. The subpoenas require the founders to give up any “recorded information, including books, documents, records, and papers” in their custody that relates to the firm’s
The CEO of crypto exchange Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), has countered several “wrong narratives” about the collapsed crypto exchange FTX and its co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The Binance boss calls SBF “a master manipulator” and “one of the greatest fraudsters in history.” Binance’s CEO on ‘Wrong Narratives’ About FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried The CEO of
The depths of a bear market may not be the best time to raise funds but that is exactly what Blockstream is doing. The crypto infrastructure firm is seeking fresh funding, but at a much lower valuation than previous rounds, according to a Dec. 7 Bloomberg report. Blockstream was valued at $3.2 billion when it
A member of the Iranian parliament has told local media the government plans to impose new punishments on women who do not wear a hijab in public, with individuals who refuse to comply after two warnings possibly having their bank accounts frozen. Hossein Jalali, a member of the Cultural Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly,
The outgoing United States House Representative Madison Cawthorn has been fined over $15,000 by the House Committee on Ethics for his promotion of a cryptocurrency in which he had an undisclosed investment. A report released by the Committee on Dec. 6 after a seven-month-long investigation found Cawthorn “improperly promoted a cryptocurrency in which he had
On Dec. 6, 2022, the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) reportedly retained the attorney Mark Cohen, the lawyer that represented Ghislaine Maxwell during her recent sex trafficking case. SBF’s spokesperson further explained that the FTX co-founder is being consulted by a professor at Stanford Law School, David Mills. Sam Bankman-Fried Hires Attorney Who Represented
Most cryptocurrencies are likely to be regulated as securities in the United States according to the CEO of Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE), Jeffrey Sprecher, and Senator Elizabeth Warren. The renewed focus on regulating cryptocurrencies as securities comes in light of FTX’s recent implosion, which wiped countless billions from the market, put consumer funds in limbo
Fir Tree Capital Management has filed a lawsuit against Grayscale Investments demanding information that could be used to force changes to the way it runs its flagship Bitcoin Trust. According to Bloomberg, a Dec. 6 complaint was filed against Grayscale at the Delaware Court of Chancery and seeks to have Grayscale lower its fees, start
The chief executive of the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, has slammed former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) for claiming that FTX is missing $8 billion due to an “accounting error.” He stressed: “It’s stolen customer money used in his hedge fund, plain and simple.” Brian Armstrong on SBF’s ‘Accounting Error’ Claim The CEO
A court in the Chinese city of Hangzhou has determined that non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, represent virtual property protected by the laws in the People’s Republic. The ruling comes from a case over a dispute between a customer and a platform hired to sell a collection of tokens. Hangzhou Internet Court Hears Case Involving Property