One of the core development teams behind the Ethereum Merge, Prysmatic Labs, has been acquired by Offchain Labs, the developer of the Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum. Announced in an Oct. 13 blog post by Offchain Labs, the deal’s financial terms were not disclosed, but it was noted Prysmatic Labs chose to join Offchain Labs “for
BNB Smart Chain, the smart contract-enabled blockchain of crypto exchange Binance, will undergo a hard fork as a fix for the exploit that drained the platform of an estimated $100 million on Oct. 6, according to a post on GitHub. The release for the mainnet and testnet is a “temporary urgent patch to mitigate the cross-chain
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and a group of six other U.S. lawmakers have requested information from the head of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, on the energy usage and potential environmental impact of crypto miners. In an Oct. 12 letter, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon Whitehouse and Edward Markey and Representatives Al Green,
Bitcoin (BTC) began Oct. 13 with classic fluctuations around $19,000 as markets prepared for crucial macro data. No sign of upside ahead of key U.S. data Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD threatening downside at the time of writing with hours to go until the United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) print
The United States Federal Reserve has been aggressively hiking rates in an attempt to cool down inflation and that has kept the U.S. equities markets under pressure. Investors have been watching the inflation figures closely for early signs of topping out but to no avail. Wholesale prices rose 0.4% in September, exceeding the Dow Jones’
Bitcoin (BTC) delivered classic volatility on Oct. 13 as United States economic data shook markets. Trader sticks by $21,000 target Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it presented some textbook moves to accompany the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for September. Coming in at 0.1% above expectations year-on-year, the September
Custodia Bank founder Caitlin Long had a strong reaction to the news that BNY Mellon has launched a digital custody platform for Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) holdings. Speaking at DC FinTech Week on Oct. 11, she made a comparison between the Federal Reserve’s actions and policies. BNY Mellon is the first large United States
United States-based crypto policy advocacy group Coin Center has followed through with its intention to take the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC, to court over sanctioning cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. In an Oct. 12 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, lawyers for Coin Center as
In June 2021, Kim Kardashian published an Instagram story informing her approximately 330 million Instagram followers about the EthereumMax (EMAX) crypto token. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Kardashian, claiming she violated the anti-touting provision of the Securities Act when she failed to disclose she received $250,000 in exchange for her promotion of the
Michael Barr, the vice chair for supervision for the United States Federal Reserve, warned banks of the potential risks of crypto-related activities, suggesting crypto service providers be subject to similar regulations as traditional financial institutions. In written remarks prepared for an Oct. 12 speech at D.C. Fintech Week, Barr seemed to encourage banks to explore
United States acting comptroller of the currency Michael Hsu acknowledged his skepticism about cryptocurrency and clarified his position on regulation in two thematically linked lectures on Oct. 11. “While I am skeptical of crypto’s real world utility today and hyper-aware of the risks it poses to consumers and the financial system, I cannot say with
The city of Rio de Janeiro is seeking crypto firms to operate its tax property seasoning in 2023, according to a decree published on Oct. 11, allowing taxpayers to use crypto alongside fiat currency to pay tributes. The move makes Rio the first Brazilian city to accept digital assets as payment for taxes. It is
Crypto exchange Blockchain.com has become the latest crypto company to secure preliminary approval from Singapore’s central bank to provide Digital Payment Token services in the city-state. Blockchain.com’s regulatory approval follows hot on the heels of Coinbase, which revealed it had received the same “in-principle” approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Oct. 11. If
French authorities have reportedly utilized research from pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT to charge five people on suspicion of stealing $2.5 million worth of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) via phishing scams. According to an Oct. 12 report from the Agence France Presse (AFP) shared by Barron’s, the alleged fraudsters built a website that masqueraded as a service
A new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has shown a surge in stablecoin usage in Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has since seen sanctions and inflation impacting the country. Released on Oct. 12, the report revealed that the share of stablecoin’s transaction volume on primarily Russian services increased from 42% in
The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) has clarified the criteria by which different cryptocurrency assets can be considered securities. Through the issuance of a guidance opinion document, the CVM defines different classifications for existing cryptocurrency assets, specifies which can be viewed as securities, and explains how it will intervene in these markets. Brazilian Securities
Ethereum completed one of its historic upgrades in mid-September. The Merge created the transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). Unfortunately, the post-Merge events brought deflationary situations for the blockchain. As predicted by some crypto experts, the price of Ethereum has dropped drastically following its transition to PoS. Also, the dynamics of ETH supply have
With inflation becoming a bigger problem as time goes on, Bitcoin may become a better and more trusted means of exchange in Europe, according to politician Nigel Farage. At the Bitcoin Amsterdam 2022, Cointelegraph reporter Gareth Jenkinson spoke with Nigel Farage, the former head of the pro-Brexit United Kingdom Independence Party, and discussed how the
Cryptocurrency miners in Kazakhstan are to be required to convert up to three quarters of their income on locally registered exchanges, according to a new bill that’s advancing in the nation’s legislature. Lawmakers also want to make sure crypto companies pay their taxes and fees. Parliament of Kazakhstan Votes on Bill Regulating Activities of Crypto
Despite the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi), cryptocurrency investors appear to be sticking to centralized exchanges (CEXs) over DeFi tools, according to a new report. Crypto investors are more comfortable holding their assets on CEXs because decentralized exchanges are still more vulnerable to the threat of hacks. This is according to a joint report by