Polygon primed for hard fork aimed at reducing gas fee spikes: New details revealed

Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Polygon will undergo a hard fork on Jan. 17 in order to address gas spikes and chain reorganizations issues that has affected user experience on the Polygon proof-of-stake (POS) chain.  Polygon officially confirmed the hard fork event in Jan. 12 a blog post, which came after weeks of preliminary discussion on Polygon Improvement Proposal (PIP) forum page in late December. GET READY FOR THE HARDFORK The proposed hardfork for the #Polygon PoS chain will make key upgrades to the network on Jan 17th. This is good…

3 FTX Execs Have Snitched on SBF, Now Scrutiny Is Aimed at Nishad Singh and Ramnik Arora – Bitcoin News

On Dec. 21, U.S. law enforcement officials from the Southern District of New York (SDNY), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) revealed they imposed fraud charges against FTX co-founder Gary Wang and ex-Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison. After Wang’s and Ellison’s surrender announcement, the public has been wondering where FTX’s director of engineering, Nishad Singh, is located and whether or not he has come forward yet. Following Ellison’s and Wang’s Guilty Plea, All Eyes Are Focused on 2 More Top FTX Execs Reports…

Rep. Tom Emmer mulls bringing back bill aimed at reducing crypto red tape

Crypto-friendly Congressman Tom Emmer is considering re-floating a bipartisan bill that would lift the requirement for certain crypto businesses and projects to register as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in the wake of the FTX collapse.  The bill titled “Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act” was led by Republican Emmer and Democratic Congressman Darren Soto. It was initially tabled at the 117th congress on Aug. 17, 2021, but did not make it any further down the line. Probably a good time to re-up my bipartisan Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act. The bill asserts…

Maple Finance 2.0 overhaul aimed at speeding up the defaulting process

Maple Finance is a decentralized credit market powered by blockchain technology. Instead of requiring overcollaterlization of loans, it instead allows managers, called “Pool Delegates” to issue loans from its lending pools based on a set of risk-management criteria, according to the protocol’s documents. Introducing Maple 2.0. Maple 2.0 is a fundamental overhaul of the smart contract architecture. The new contracts are modular and robust and will facilitate Maple bringing capital markets on-chain. pic.twitter.com/5GGsMXaXhv — Maple (@maplefinance) December 14, 2022 However, in the wake of FTX’s collap, the platform experienced two…

Massachusetts Senator Forwards Bill Aimed at Forcing Crypto Miners to Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Bitcoin News

On Dec. 8, 2022, three Democratic politicians from Massachusetts, Oregon, and California revealed legislation aimed at combatting “energy-intensive” cryptocurrency mining operations. The bill introduced by senator Ed Markey (D-MA) alleges that crypto mining “strains the grid” and the industry “undermines U.S. climate goals.” 3 U.S. Bureaucrats Believe Crypto Miners Need to Report Carbon Emissions and Environmental Assessments Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-ORE), and Jared Huffman (D-CA) have introduced a bill that would require “an interagency study on the environmental and energy impacts of crypto asset mining.” Markey’s press…

US lawmakers introduce bill aimed at reporting on crypto miners’ potential environmental impact

Three United States lawmakers have introduced legislation that would direct the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, to report on the energy usage and environmental impact of crypto miners. In a Dec. 8 announcement, California Representative Jared Huffman and Massachusetts Senate Ed Markey said they were “sounding the alarm” the energy use from crypto mining in the United States, claiming that Bitcoin (BTC) miners accounted for roughly 1.4% of the country’s electricity consumption. Together with Senator Jeff Merkley, the lawmakers introduced the Crypto-Asset Environmental Transparency Act, aimed at instructing the EPA…

UK gov’t introduces bill aimed at empowering authorities’ to ‘seize, freeze and recover’ crypto

The government of the United Kingdom has introduced a bill aimed at cracking down on money laundering and fraud, specifically by expanding the authorities’ ability to target cryptocurrencies used for illicit purposes. In a Thursday announcement, the U.K. government said lawmakers had introduced the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill in Parliament as part of efforts to drive “dirty money” out of the country. The bill contained provisions forcutting down on the “red tape around confidentiality liability” and granting law enforcement the authority “to compel businesses to hand over information…

Australian senator drafts bill aimed at stablecoin, digital yuan regulation

Australian Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has released a new draft bill aimed at clamping down on digital asset exchanges, stablecoins, and China’s central bank digital currency, the e-Yuan. In a statement on Sept. 18, Senator Bragg stated that “Australia must keep pace with the global race for regulation on digital assets” as “it is essential that the parliament drives law reform” on the matter. The new draft bill, titled Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2022, calls for the introduction of licenses for digital asset exchanges, digital asset custody services, stablecoin issuers,…

Stack releases crypto trading app aimed at teens and parents

Crypto-curious teens may be able to try their hand at real crypto trading after the launch of the education and trading app Stack — aimed at teaching under 18s how to trade and hodl crypto. The crypto trading app was launched by mobile software firm Stack on Thursday, with the aim of offering young crypto enthusiasts better educational alternatives to what they may find from crypto influencers on social media platforms such as Reddit and TikTok. The app will of course comes with parental controls, and the accounts on Stack are…

Christie’s launches venture fund aimed at Web3 and blockchain investments

Christie’s, the auction house known for its sales of art and luxury items, has launched an investment fund to support emerging companies with technology enabling “seamless consumption of art.” In a Monday announcement, the auction company said the fund, Christie’s Ventures, will financially support firms in Web3, “art related financial products and solutions,” and technology related to art and luxury goods. According to Christie’s, its first investment will be in LayerZero Labs, a company developing solutions for enabling omnichain decentralized applications, allowing a more seamless transfer of assets between blockchains.…