Blockchain & Digital Assets

August 26, 2022 @ 4:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

Fiat-based stablecoins are only as good as what is backing the value. As we saw with TerraUSD, a dollar-based algorithmic stablecoin, little was there except hope and mirrors. Circle, the issuer of USDC – the second largest dollar-based stablecoin in circulation, posted an update yesterday… Read More

August 26, 2022 @ 12:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Overstock (NASDAQ:OSTK), an e-commerce company, has announced an investment in tZERO, a digital asset issuance and trading platform. tZERO was once a wholly owned subsidiary of Overstock. In a corporate release, Overstock announced that it had completed the second tranche of a previously announced investment… Read More

August 25, 2022 @ 9:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

MEW (MyEtherWallet), the platform to access the Ethereum ecosystem, announced the launch of its mobile NFT Manager “within the MEW wallet app, a user-focused way to access non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the go with an iOS or Android device.” App users “can now browse, purchase,… Read More

August 25, 2022 @ 8:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital asset firm Gemini noted that they’re pleased to announce support for a new set of crypto tokens. The following digital tokens are now available for trading on Gemini: Immutable X (IMX)= Biconomy (BICO) IoTeX (IOTX) PlayDapp (PLA) These tokens are “available for trading on… Read More

August 25, 2022 @ 8:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

MakerDAO, the “longest-standing” DeFi lending protocol and creator of DAI, the “original,” decentralized stablecoin, announced that Huntingdon Valley Bank (HVB) has been “approved to utilize a $100M participation facility, funded by a Maker Vault.” Through this development, HVB, a Pennsylvania Chartered Bank founded in 1871… Read More

August 25, 2022 @ 12:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Lirium, a licensed provider of B2B2C digital asset access solutions, will begin powering digital currency access and settlement services for Mexican digital wallet Albit, reaching “more than 2 million customers.” Lirium already partners “with financial services companies in Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and… Read More

August 25, 2022 @ 8:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Transact365, a UK-based global payments platform powering merchants across the globe, has partnered with digital asset exchange FINECTUM. The partnership means that merchants using Transact365’s payments platform “can now accept and process crypto payments, including BTC, LTC, USDTE, USDTT, ETH and more, across five continents.”… Read More

August 25, 2022 @ 1:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The developers of Boson Protocol are pleased to announce the introduction of Boson Protocol v2, which is described as “the breakthrough technology enabling digital to physical redemption without intermediaries is launching on Polygon.” Polygon is an Ethereum scaling platform that “enables developers to build scalable… Read More

August 24, 2022 @ 8:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several days ago, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler took to the pages of WSJ.com to reflect on crypto markets and regulations. This has been a hot topic for several years now as clear-cut rules by regulators still don’t quite exist. Chair Gensler is of the opinion… Read More

August 24, 2022 @ 7:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Interest Protocol, a borrow/lend protocol launched in June 2022, has announced a strategic partnership with Chainlink Labs. Interest Protocol previously incorporated Chainlink Price feeds for data. Interest Protocol states that it is integrating Chainlink Keepers to help automate smart contract functions. Chainlink Proof of Reserves… Read More

August 24, 2022 @ 4:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published a draft strategic plan for the 2022 to 2026 fiscal years. The plan targets three goals: Protect working families against fraud, manipulation, and misconduct; Develop and implement a robust regulatory framework that keeps pace with evolving markets,… Read More

August 24, 2022 @ 11:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In a recent interview, Michael Shaulov, Co-founder & CEO of Fireblocks– a digital asset and crypto technology provider – offered his insights into what’s happening now with DeFi, banking, and Web3. Fireblocks, which claims to be the #1 provider of digital asset and crypto custody… Read More

August 23, 2022 @ 10:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The sanctioning of open source crypto mixer Tornado.cash has generated much scrutiny and questions about the legality of a governmental entity punishing code. On August 8th, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the crypto mixer, citing occurrences… Read More

August 23, 2022 @ 4:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The IDB Group and Colombia’s Davivienda Bank have completed the first blockchain-based bonds in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDG Group includes the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Invest and IDB Lab.  Davivienda Bank, part of Grupo Bolívar, is the second largest bank by gross… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 8:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

W3 Storage Lab, a Web3 “decentralized” application company, announced that it closed a pre-seed financing round of $3 million. The investment round was “co-led by Draper Dragon and OKX Blockdream Ventures with major participation from Lingfeng Capital and participation from other investors.” Proceeds from the… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 4:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Services Commission of Korea has issued a warning to 16 unregistered “Virtual Asset Service Providers” or VASPs – the term utilized by the FATF for crypto exchanges. According to a statement by the Commission, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) has notified 16… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 2:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a unique Cease and Desist statement telling five crypto firms to stop making misleading claims regarding deposit insurance. According to the FDIC, these five firms were each the recipient of a C&D letter: Cryponews.com Cryptosec.info SmartAsset.com FTX.US… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 2:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Web3 venture studio SuperLayer is announcing a $25 million fund “led by anchor investor and strategic partner Polygon, an Ethereum scaling platform onboarding millions to Web3.” SuperLayer is “a Web3 venture studio founded by early pioneers in blockchain, gaming, and social tokens who are applying… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 11:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital asset investment products saw outflows last week totaling $9 million last week with volumes at $1 billion, 55% off the year average and the 2nd lowest this year, according to Coinshares. Pretty much all markets have been volatile, dealing with rising inflation along with… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 10:20 am By JD Alois  |  

DTCC Ion Platform Processing 100,000+ Transactions per Day The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC), a vital post-trade custody and asset servicing firm, says its blockchain-based platform Ion is live and in production, operating in parallel with its legacy system. DTCC shares that it has… Read More