Several areas, Gün Sirer said, need to improve in order to get the next billion users into crypto, such as scalability, ease of use and adaptability. However, when asked about the feasibility of the secret sharing technology known as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) to reach that scale, he was skeptical. Source
Ethereum’s highly anticipated tech update, often referred to as the Shanghai or Shapella upgrade, starting April 12 enabled withdrawals of some 18 million tokens, worth $35 billion, previously locked up in staking contracts. After the upgrade, ETH’s price rallied to $2,100, its highest level in 11 months, defying earlier concerns the unlocking could lead to significant selling pressure and a price crash. The token recently has dropped below $1,900, aligning with a broader crypto market decline. Source
According to Societe Generale-Forge (SG-Forge), a regulated subsidiary of Societe Generale Group, the company has launched a stablecoin pegged to the euro and issued on the Ethereum blockchain. During the launch announcement, SG-Forge’s CEO stated that a stablecoin “built under a robust banking-grade structure” will be a key element to increase trust and confidence in the native cryptocurrency ecosystem. SG-Forge Reveals Institutional-Grade Stablecoin EURCV A new euro-denominated stablecoin is coming to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, issued by SG-Forge, a digital currency-focused subsidiary of the French multinational investment bank and financial services…
Dogecoin suffered a big blow on April 20, popularly known as “Dogeday” thanks to the failed test launch of SpaceX’s Starship rocket and downturn in the broader crypto market. The SpaceX rocket, which featured the Dogecoin mascot on its side, disintegrated four minutes after its launch. Still, the company’s employees including Elon Musk cheered the failure as they expressed optimism for another test in coming months. The move comes within a fortnight of Musk’s recent stunt when he momentarily changed Twitter’s logo to the Dogecoin mascot. The launch had built…
According to former Department of State official Anja Manuel, if the United States isn’t able to maintain its dominance in financial innovation and payments, it could affect its national security policy, specifically on sanctions. Speaking to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and listeners in an April 21 Twitter Spaces discussion, Manuel said that because the U.S. was one of the biggest global leaders in payments, it allowed the government to enforce sanctions on “bad actors” like Iran or North Korea. According to Manuel, letting the country lead in innovation under clear rules…
The new offering, delegated staking, allows users to earn staking rewards without running nodes themselves. It also lowers the amount of the blockchain’s native token, aptos (APT), needed to participate in staking. Now users will only need 11 APT, worth roughly $117 at publication time, to stake their tokens with the blockchain. Source
OPNX, an exchange jointly founded by members of the Three Arrows Capital (3AC) and Coinflex teams, has revealed the venture capital firms purportedly backing it. An April 21 video posted by the company featured CEO Leslie Lamb thanking some of the major backers of the project, including AppWorks, Susquehanna (SIG), DRW, MIAX Group, China Merchant Bank International, and Token Bay Capital. 1/ As we approach the launch of claims for our first estate, Celsius, we’d like to express gratitude to everyone who believed in our mission of helping 20M+ claimants.…
From tokenizing investment assets to game avatars, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have an array of applications that go beyond digital art, with more projects coming online despite the market downturn in 2022. At the NFT.NYC 2023 conference, Cointelegraph’s team learned first-hand from experts, projects, companies, and the NFT community how the technology is shaping the digital world. Check out the highlights of the three-day event below: NFT games show signs of maturing After years of development, the first batch of NFT-based gaming projects are entering the market, paving the way for…
This year’s CoinDesk Consensus event, which will bring key policy and technical debates to the forefront, is especially important. While the withdrawal of a handful of previously agreed-upon speaking assignments undermines full representation on both sides of the issues, non-U.S. jurisdiction involvement will make 2023’s Consensus one to remember. Source
Bitcoin and select altcoins have fallen below their respective support levels — a worrying sign that the bulls could be losing their grip. Bitcoin (BTC) and most major cryptocurrencies have pulled back from their recent local highs, signaling profit-booking by traders. Is the current pullback a buying opportunity, or has the trend turned lower? This is likely to be the question in every trader’s mind. Bollinger Bands creator John Bollinger said in a recent tweet that Bitcoin had turned down from the upper Bollinger Band and reached the middle bank,…