This month marks one year since the Terra-Luna fallout and six months since the implosion of FTX. These spectacular events, which marked the beginning and culmination of several other collapses respectively, severely shook confidence in cryptocurrencies and arguably triggered the
It’s fair to say sentiment toward crypto among the general public has plummeted in the past year. This may have a secondary effect of pushing financial advisors to shy away from the category, and digital assets in general, at least until there is more certainty in the marke
This week CoinDesk published one of the most thought-provoking and balanced articles on bitcoin mining I’ve ever read. The report is focused around the Greenidge bitcoin mining company in upstate New York, which was at the center of a protracted media cycle last year after
Crypto companies looking to operate in South Africa will need to apply for a license from the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in the six months starting June 1.While South African crypto companies have welcomed the new licensing regime, they worry the fi
Last year, a group of CoinDesk reporters traveled to Seneca Lake to examine the effect Greenidge Generation – a resurrected power plant that now mines bitcoin – had on the surrounding communities. Though we expected to hear locals say they disliked the plant and its c
Cryptocurrency is a digital payment mechanism based on the concept of decentralization -- meaning it is not regulated by a central authority, like a government -- which sets it apart from traditional...
When he first took office as head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2021, Gary Gensler warned crypto projects that he would be skeptical of “decentralization theater.” That’s a category of misleading claims sometimes made by DAOs [decentral
Worldcoin, a crypto project by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has gained some traction in China, with users rushing to source know-your-customer (KYC) verifications on the black market.Worldcoin’s crypto wallet, World App, is not available in mainland China, according to CoinDesk's
The Bitcoin network’s security is derived from a process called Proof-of-Work (PoW) which is powered by advanced hardware and large amounts of electricity.
Industry stakeholders have largely welcomed new norms for the crypto sector proposed by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on Wednesday – but are uncertain how the rules will look in effect.The regulator's 18 policy recommendations for the glob
At last month’s Consensus 2023, CoinDesk hosted two invitation-only Investor Manager Roundtables, one designed specifically for institutional investors (35 pensions, single family offices, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments and foundations) and the other for asset alloc
Polkadot, the blockchain created by legendary coder Gavin Wood after he split from Ethereum, is getting a new privacy feature. The tool uses zero-knowledge proofs and soulbound tokens (yes, the things dreamt up by Vitalik Buterin) to help limit the amount of information crypto us
The digital asset industry is at a major crossroads. Regulators around the globe are moving to enact rules for the 15-year-old industry. The EU Parliament in April approved a slate of regulations called Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), the most comprehensive multi-jurisdictional
With the U.S. mired in political stasis while other regions build crypto frameworks, it’s worth looking at the evolution of, and outlook for, on-the-ground demand for crypto assets. This is getting more and more relevant as many large countries struggle with skyrocketing in
Happy Bitcoin Pizza Day.On May 22, 2010 Laszlo Hanyecz paid Jeremy Sturdivant 10,000 bitcoins (BTC) for two Papa John’s pizzas which were delivered to Hanyecz’s home. This exchange is widely celebrated because it is viewed as the first use of bitcoin in a commercial t
The anti-money-laundering bill sponsored by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) purports to close loopholes in the risk of cryptocurrencies being used for illicit activity that even the Biden administration agrees is small. But the ill-conceived bill is
As traffic issues caused one major exchange to briefly pause bitcoin withdrawals, controversy is being drawn toward a new development on the Bitcoin blockchain: Ordinals and the concept of a Bitcoin NFT.