In brief NFT marketplace OpenSea is changing its tactics around assets that are reported as stolen. Users have complained about OpenSea’s policy, which some allege punishes users who inadvertently purchased previously-stolen NFTs. With NFT scams on the rise, Web3 platforms are increasingly forced to grapple with identifying and managing stolen assets. As the largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea has borne the…
This past April, records show that 19 million bitcoins have been mined into existence and 133 days later, there are 1.88 million bitcoins left to mint today. The network’s block subsidy halving is expected to occur on or around April 20, 2024, as there are less than 91,000 bitcoins left to mine until that point. While Bitcoin’s inflation rate per…
You might not know it, but Canada is quietly becoming a major player in the blockchain and crypto scene: Ethereum has strong Canadian roots, Toronto-based 3iQ launched North America’s first physically-settled Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the percentage of active crypto holders in the country has increased steadily over the past two years. Against this backdrop, I had the pleasure…
In brief Privacy advocates call coin mixers a necessary tool for protecting anonymity. Government officials call coin mixers tools for money laundering. Billions in crypto have changed hands using coin mixers. The Treasury Department has issued sanctions against Tornado Cash, an Ethereum coin mixing service, effectively banning Americans from using it. But what does Tornando Cash do, and more broadly,…
The Commodity and Futures Trading Commission today filed a civil enforcement action against a man for allegedly running a $12 million Bitcoin ponzi scheme to fund his lavish lifestyle. In a Friday statement, the CFTC said Rathnakishore Giri, of New Albany, Ohio, posed as a successful crypto trader. He then allegedly convinced over 150 would-be investors to hand over $12…
The government of Uzbekistan, which has previously made significant steps toward a moderate approach to crypto, announced Wednesday that it has restricted access to a number of large international crypto exchanges due to accusations of unlicensed activity. In a statement from Aug. 10, the National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP) projects informed that “various electronic platforms” provide services for trade…
Bitcoin (BTC) could not overcome the barrier at $25,000 on Aug. 11 even though it had two catalysts in the form of a “favorable” Consumer Price Index print and news that BlackRock — the world’s largest asset manager, overseeing over $10 trillion in total assets — had launched a spot Bitcoin investment product. In comparison, Ether (ETH) has managed to…
The bitcoin mining industry continues to expand as companies are obtaining more megawatts of capacity, building new facilities, and acquiring thousands of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs. On Friday, the firm Validus Power revealed it has acquired two natural gas power stations in Ontario, Canada, that will become crypto mining facilities. On the same day, the firm Applied Blockchain…
The Tornado Cash DAO went offline after many social media users reported the community discussing ways to challenge sanctions recently imposed by the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control. At the time of publication, the Tornado Cash DAO was offline reportedly following a discussion in which community members voted unanimously to add its governance layer as a…
An ascending triangle formation has driven the total crypto market capitalization toward the $1.2 trillion level. The issue with this 7-week-long setup is the diminishing volatility, which could last until late August. From there, the pattern can break either way, but Tether and futures markets data show bulls lacking enough conviction to catalyze an upside break. Total crypto market cap,…
