In brief GameStop has launched its Ethereum-based NFT marketplace. It currently has artwork NFTs, but will add video game items in the future. Video game retailer GameStop’s long-awaited Ethereum NFT marketplace is finally live, the company announced today. GameStop had first teased plans for an NFT platform more than a year ago, in May 2021. Currently, the marketplace plays host…
The upcoming Ethereum (ETH) Merge is one of the most talked about developments in the cryptocurrency ecosystem as the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap undergoes the difficult transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). One protocol whose fate is largely tied to the successful completion of the Merge is Lido DAO (LDO), a liquid staking platform that allows users…
BlockFi CEO Zac Prince wants to make clear that his lending company, which last week finalized terms for a loan from—and potential acquisition by—one of Sam Bankman-Fried’s companies, isn’t like Voyager Digital, which also received a loan from one of Bankman-Fried’s companies. If those two crypto firms sound like they’re in similar situations, it’s because, in some ways, they are.…
The founders of embattled crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) are missing, and when court-appointed liquidators recently visited the firm’s Singapore office all they found was a locked door and a pile of old mail. In a July 8 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York’s Southern District, Russell Crumpler and Christopher Farmer, who were appointed by…
Makerdao, the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that issues the stablecoin DAI, approved a governance vote that provides “collateral integration from a U.S.-based bank.” The Makerdao governance vote passed by a majority vote of more than 87%, and it allows the U.S. financial institution Huntingdon Valley Bank the means to leverage a stablecoin vault. Huntingdon Valley Bank to Use Makerdao’s Stablecoin…
International agencies are urging central banks to consider interoperability early in the design of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, the BIS Innovation Hub, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank released a report Monday that looked at three options for cross-border interoperability that address challenges including high…
The United States dollar index (DXY) resumed its strong uptrend on July 11, indicating that investors are preparing for the July 13 CPI report to be hotter than expected. A survey of economists by Bloomberg estimates that in June consumer prices surged to 8.8%, a four-decade high. Arthur Hayes, former CEO of derivatives trading platform BitMEX, believes that the U.S. dollar and…
The fifth largest retail bank in Switzerland will allow its over two million customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin by 2024. PostFinance is not only a leading Swiss retail bank, but is also the banking arm of Switzerland’s post office. The bank already partners with Swissquote for cryptocurrency services, but looks to be creating an independent platform. PostFinance, the…
Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is under the spotlight as a report claims it continued serving Iranian clients despite a company ban and economic sanctions against the country. According to an investigative report from Reuters, individuals inside the country continued to trade on Binance after the company itself had shifted Iran onto a black list of jurisdictions it would not operate…
Some Chinese bank clients, whose accounts were frozen in April, were injured while staging a protest at the Zhengzhou branch offices of the country’s central bank. Reports from local media outlets suggest that as much as $6 billion in client funds is missing and the individual believed to be behind the disappearance is now outside China. Internal Systems Upgrade Chinese…
