At 11:06 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on April 29, 2023, at block height 787,500, the number of blocks left to discover until the next Bitcoin blockchain halving is now fewer than 52,500 blocks. This means the network has progressed 75% through the 210,000-block halving cycle, which will ultimately result in a reduction of the block reward from 6.25 bitcoins per…
The United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corp’s (FDIC) post-mortem assessment of Signature Bank of New York (SBNY) revealed poor management and inadequate risk management practices as the root cause for its collapse. Signature Bank was shut down by federal regulators on March 12 in a bid to protect the U.S. economy and strengthen public confidence in the banking system. FDIC…
U.S. Senator Rand Paul has warned that the U.S. dollar could lose its status as a global reserve currency. “For a variety of reasons, both foreign policy as well as fiscal irresponsibility, yes, the dollar is in a precarious position,” said the lawmaker. Senator Rand Paul on U.S. Dollar Losing Reserve Currency Status U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) shared his…
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has requested Cross River Bank – known for its services to fintech and crypto firms like Visa and Coinbase – to “self-correct” and “appropriately address” weaknesses in its lending activities. On April 28, the FDIC made public a consent order executed with Cross River Bank on March 8, alleging that the bank engaged in “unsafe”…
Top Stories This Week Circle launches cross-chain USDC transfer protocol Circle launched a cross-chain protocol that enables USDC transfers between the Ethereum and Avalanche blockchains. The protocol works by burning the selected amount of native USDC on the source chain, and minting an equivalent amount of new USDC on the intended destination chain. The protocol essentially makes USDC transfers between…
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has warned that the U.S. and China are “on the brink of war” and “are beyond the ability to talk.” The billionaire added that their relations “are getting so bad” that U.S.-China trade could collapse. He cautioned that the next 18 months “will be a very risky period.” U.S. and China on the Brink of…
Less than a month after banning ChatGPT over privacy concerns, the Italian government reversed its stance on OpenAI’s chatbot on Friday. The decision comes after the startup responded to concerns raised about the privacy and security of user data on the artificial intelligence platform. “ChatGPT is available again to our users in Italy,” an OpenAI spokesperson told Decrypt in an…
Economist Stephen Jen, a former Morgan Stanley managing director, expects a shift “from a unipolar reserve currency world to a multipolar world,” with the Chinese yuan, the euro, and the U.S. dollar forming a “tripolar” reserve currency configuration. ‘A Multipolar World’ Economist Stephen Jen, the CEO of asset management firm Eurizon SLJ, expects multiple currencies will chip away at the…
Celebrities, politicians, and other notable Twitter users have begun joining the decentralized social network Bluesky as the app rolls out to more users. After launching in the App Store in March and on Android last week, Bluesky has begun picking up new adopters through its invite-only rollout. They include Twitter power users like U.S. congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has 13.4…
This week, the Statistics Bureau of Japan unveiled the latest core consumer price index (CPI) report for the country, revealing a surge to 3.5%. This figure comes as a surprise to analysts who had predicted a more modest 2.9% for the end of the quarter. It’s worth noting that Japan’s inflation has been steadily rising since June 2021. The timing…
