In a CoinDesk exclusive, the co-founder of Yuga Labs, Wylie Aronow, shares a frank letter touching on his recent diagnosis of heart failure and responding to accusations of racist and nazi imagery embedded within the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project. Source
According to data from DefiLlama, Ethereum staking service Rocket Pool reached $1 billion in total value locked (TVL) on Feb. 9. The move comes less than two years after the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol launched its mainnet on Nov. 9, 2021. Dubbed a liquid staking solution for Ethereum, Rocket Pool allows users to join an Ethereum decentralized node operator or run their own node. Unlike conventional staking solutions, the capital requirements are far less, as users can run their own node with just 16 Ether (ETH) as opposed to the…
As we’ve seen the number of DeFi users stagnate, and its total value locked decline, it is clear that widespread popular adoption isn’t happening on its own. Without a fundamental raison d’etre, DeFi looks less like a financial revolution and more like a pyramid scheme. To build lasting value, DeFi needs to focus on economic integration, not selling steak knives. We will not see sustained DeFi growth until markets see blockchain as a system compatible with the requirements of real world economics Source
Staking is the consensus mechanism to validate transactions for proof-of-stake blockchains, including Ethereum, which also offers a way for investors to earn yield on their digital asset holdings. However, the SEC has been vocal about its concerns that staking services are the equivalent of unregistered securities according to present regulations. Source
A survey of 81 nonfungible token (NFT) collections on the Ethereum blockchain showed a sharp overall loss in market capitalization in 2022, according to a report from DappRadar released Feb. 9. Losses were not evenly distributed, however. The Ethereum NFT market was worth $9.3 billion at the beginning of 2022, according to DappRadar’s valuation, and that figure dropped to $3.7 billion by year-end — a loss of 59.6%. The price of Ether (ETH) impacted the valuations: “It is also important to consider that ETH lost 60% of its value last…
The New York Department of Financial Services is investigating crypto company Paxos, though the scope of the investigation is not yet clear. Source
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has reached an agreement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to stop offering staking services or programs to U.S. clients. In a Feb. 9 announcement, the SEC said it had charged Kraken with “failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program,” which the commission claims qualified as securities under its purview. The crypto firm has agreed to cease operations of its staking program for U.S. customers as well as pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. “Kraken…
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has reached an agreement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to stop offering staking services or programs. In a Feb. 9 announcement, the SEC said it had charged Kraken with “failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program,” which the commission claims qualified as securities under its purview. The crypto firm has agreed to cease operations of its staking program as well as pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. “Kraken not only offered investors outsized returns…
“It remains to be seen if these rumors are true, but what is clear is it would be a huge mistake from a US perspective, as it would result in the rest of the world getting ahead in the important crypto and blockchain technology revolution,” Marcus Sotiriou, market analyst at digital asset broker GlobalBlock, wrote in an emailed comment. Source
The Internal Revenue Service has filed a court document seeking permission to enforce a summons for information against Kraken and its subsidiaries. Source