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Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial. In every tech cycle, there lies a pivotal moment when a slow realization becomes an “aha” moment, catalyzing a widespread market shift to a new model, platform, or archetype. That moment is fast approaching for web3. You might also like: Web3 breaks ground with the convenience of a consumer-centric approach | Opinion Underpinned by the ideals of hardwired transparency, reliability, and expediency the internet was meant to fulfill, web3 is poised to redefine how we interact with the digital world. Web3 has come a long way since it was first introduced into vernacular–transitioning from a conceptual idea to a tangible (albeit young) ecosystem of new-age technologies and applications backed by billions of investments. It’s no surprise that major companies and global brands—JPMorgan, Google, Disney, and Goldman Sachs, among...

The Bitget Card will be accepted at all locations that support Visa cards. Applicants for the card will go through a standardized KYC process, with virtual or physical cards available to eligible individuals. The USD-denominated card will initially support USDT, but Bitget will add other top stablecoins and cryptocurrencies. Bitget has introduce d Bitget Card, a Visa Platinum card offering US dollar-denominated transactions, to help drive crypto adoption across the globe. The new card will initially be available to the exchange’s internal staff, Bitget said in an announcement shared with CoinJournal. Afterwards, it will gradually expand availability to include other eligible users, targeting global access in the first half of the year. Bitget Card to support online and offline transactions As part of the application process, Bitget Card users will complete a standardized know-your-customer (KYC) process. If successful, applicants will receive a virt...

Financial tech company MoonPay announced its partnership with ReHold, a defi protocol that aims to integrate seamless direct fiat- to -crypto purchase options.  The collaboration encompasses several payment methods, from credit and debit cards to Apple Pay, Google Pay, and bank transfers. A full spectrum of offerings Per a press release, ReHold is now a step closer to becoming an all-in-one crypto currency platform with this recent addition of fiat- to -crypto purchase functionality and Features like swaps and dual investments, providing users a decentralized application (dapp) for trading, investing, and purchasing crypto currencies. We’re excited to unveil our partnership with @rehold_io, an innovative DeFi protocol Through our collaboration, ReHold will incorporate direct fiat-to-crypto purchase options via MoonPay, including credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, & bank transfers! Learn More… pic.twitter.com/qW96S356yv — MoonPay 🟣 (@moonpay) December 13, ...

Deutsche Bank is set to offer customers cryptocurrency custody options through a partnership with cryptocurrency infrastructure platform Taurus. The German bank was one of a handful of company’s to invest in a $65 million, series B fundraising round for Taurus in Feb. 2023. The company offers enterprise-grade infrastructure to issue, manage custody and trade crypto currencies, tokenized assets, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and other digital assets. According to Taurus co-founder Lamine Brahimi, the partnership underwent a "thorough and very detailed" due diligence process before the German bank decided to use its infrastructure services: "It started, end of 2021 and ended somewhere in 2022. We won the deal a couple of quarters ago." As Cointelegraph previously reported, Deutsche Bank has been brewing plans to offer cryptocurrency custody and trading services to its clients over the past three years. The bank most recently applied for a digital asset custody license ...

El Salvador’s first Bitcoin anniversary comes amid BTC losing over 60% of value in one year, but that doesn't really mean that the country’s Bitcoin experiment has failed. Sept. 7, 2022 marks exactly one year since El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender by enforcing the Bitcoin Law. Advocating for Bitcoin as legal tender last year, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele promised that Bitcoin adoption would benefit the 70% of the local population that had a lack of access to banking services as of 2021. The Salvadoran government also touted Bitcoin as a tool to attract foreign investment, create new jobs and cut reliance on the U.S. dollar in the country’s economy. One may question the current real benefits of Bitcoin Adoption in El Salvador as Bitcoin has lost roughly 60% of its value since the country adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender. Exactly on this day one year ago, BTC was trading at around $46,000, according to data from...

As part of the acquisition, Qala rebrands as the ₿trust Builders Programme and aims to drive the development and education across the Global South. ₿ trust , a non-profit organization funded by Twitter (now X) co-founder and Bitcoin (BTC) advocate Jack Dorsey, is scaling up its programs in Africa with a new acquisition. The non-profit has acquired Qala, an organization dedicated to training Bitcoin and Lightning engineers in Africa. The acquisition will help ₿Trust succeed on its mission to drive the development and education of Bitcoin open-source engineers from across the Global South, the organization said in a joint announcement. As part of the transaction — which was completed on Sept. 1 — Qala will rebrand as the ₿trust Builders Programme. Founded in 2021, Qala has been engaged with sourcing, training and matching African software developers with global Bitcoin firms, helping them obtain the most relevant skills in the global Bitcoin ecosystem. A rebranding notice on Qala’s web...

The world’s largest asset manager has been waiting to offer an exchange-traded fund for its iShares Bitcoin Trust in the United States. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delay ed an application for a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund from global asset manager BlackRock. BlackRock, a firm with more than $8.5 trillion in assets under management, had a decision on its iShares Bitcoin Trust delay ed following an application with the SEC. In June, BlackRock lodged an application  for a BTC-backed ETF with Coinbase listed as the planned custodian of the fund’s Bitcoin holdings and the Bank of New York Mellon in charge of its fiat accounts. BlackRock's filing outlined the value of the shares in removing “obstacles represented by the complexities and operational burdens involved in a direct investment in Bitcoin”. The ETF delay came after cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments petitioned to have an SEC decision overturned that had originally d...

A BRICS common currency will be challenging to initiate and maintain, though efforts to dethrone the US dollar could have an impact on Bitcoin, says investment strategist Lyn Alden. Macroeconomist Lyn Alden has cast doubt on a proposal that would see five countries work together to develop a common BRICS currency — arguing it will likely struggle to get off the ground and fail to dethrone the United States dollar. In an interview with Cointelegraph just days before the BRICS annual summit in South Africa, Alden explained that it will be “very hard” for BRICS members — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — to form a gold-backed currency for widespread use. Russian President Vladimir Putin first announced that BRICS proposal to create an international reserve currency at the BRICS summit in 2022 to rival the U.S. dollar as the global reserve standard. This proposal was later confirmed to come in the form of a gold-backed currency. However, Alden argued the model is flawed. ...

Cointelegraph analyst and writer Marcel Pechman explains why the downgrading of U.S. government debt will negatively impact the price of Bitcoin over the next few months. On this week’s episode of Macro Markets , Cointelegraph analyst and writer Marcel Pechman explores the United States debt downgrade by Fitch Ratings. According to Pechman, this change signaled diminished confidence in the U.S. government’s ability to handle its fiscal responsibilities. The downgrade nudged investors into a cautious stance, leading many to move their money out of assets such as stocks, silver, oil and long-term bonds. Instead, they turned to cash and short-term instruments, which are perceived as safer options in uncertain times. Interestingly, the cost of insuring U.S. sovereign debt against default — as indicated by credit default swaps — has largely remained stable post- downgrade . According to Pechman, a potential reason is that U.S. Treasurys are considered one of the safest investments global...

Following the Blackrock application, a Bitcoin spot ETF was never so close to being approved and it could be a game changer for the crypto industry, explains ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. $30 trillion worth of capital could suddenly unlock for the Bitcoin market if a Bitcoin spot ETF is approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.  That is the estimated amount of assets controlled by financial advisors in the U.S., who would be willing to get exposure to Bitcoin through a regulated exchange-traded fund.   "ETF is the format in which the boomers and the financial advisors prefer their investments delivered in”, Balchunas explained in an exclusive Cointelegraph interview.  Blackrock's application for a Bitcoin spot ETF last month sparked a new wave of optimism around the crypto market which led other major firms such as ARK Investment, Valkyrie, and Fidelity to file their own applications for a Bitcoin ETF.  The ...

In addition to “smart accounts” Ethereum adoption will be boosted by Web3 gaming along with zkEVM scaling and security, says Laura Shi. Account abstraction , also known as “smart accounts” could eventually onboard a billion users from the Asia region to Web3, according to an executive at Ethereum software solutions provider ConsenSys. Speaking to Cointelegraph, the director of strategic initiatives at ConsenSys, Laura Shi, noted that the Ethereum and Web3 ecosystem has seen a strong expansion in Asia this year. “More dApps are improving UX for the Asian market, including introducing Asian language support,” she said. Shi added this expansion is primarily being driven by the introduction of zero knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) rollups and the mass adoption of Optimistic rollups. The two rollups are layer-2 scaling solutions with zkEVM offering developers security, scaling and direct compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts. Shi believes the development of account abstra...

A comprehensive analysis of how community engagement and trust shape the landscape of social media influence. As social media platforms continue to dominate people’s daily lives, the power of influencers and their ability to sway public opinion has become a highly valuable asset. But how does one accurately measure this power? Is it based solely on the number of followers or likes an influencer has? In this article, we'll explore the limitations of evaluating community power based on followers and engagements alone and examine an alternative metric called Social Capital. Problem of the decade and recent trends For years, marketers have relied on metrics like followers, likes, and comments to gauge the impact of an influencer's content. However, these metrics only tell part of the story. A large number of followers doesn't necessarily equate to a highly engaged or influential audience, and high levels of engagement can often be artificially inflated through paid promotions ...

Tanzania gets a local crypto exchange to provide fiat off-ramp for crypto donations. While social giving is seen as a key element in supporting the international development agenda, managing donations requires end-to-end clarity on the movement of funds. In its current state, donation management lacks reliable traceability features, making it difficult for donors to understand how their contributions are being used. The lack of transparency, coupled with the inefficient bureaucratic processes of cross-border fund transfers, creates a barrier that discourages potential donors from reaching out to regions in need. Blockchain offers a dependable solution to the struggles encored by the social giving landscape. Because every transaction made on a blockchain is publicly traceable, donors can easily track where their donations end up. However, even with a reliable blockchain that provides transparency along the social giving process, there’s still a missing link in ensuring the recipient ge...

Ethereum Name Service has integrated fiat payment options for new decentralized domain registrations in a new partnership with MoonPay. Web3 users can now register decentralized .eth domain s on the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) protocol using a host of fiat payment options, including Apple Pay, and Google Pay, as well as debit and credit cards, ENS announced the launch of a new fiat on-ramp for domain registrations through Web3 fiat payment gateway MoonPay on April 20. Registrations of .eth domains previously had to be paid for using Ether (ETH) via cryptocurrency wallets, which was cited as a barrier to entry for prospective Web3 users. MoonPay’s service has been integrated into the ENS website, while the platform also launched version 3 of its user interface to streamline sign-ups. This is aimed at eliminating the need for multiple transaction approvals previously required with cryptocurrency wallets. A statement from ENS founder Nick Johnson highlighted the service’s focus on makin...

Despite the crypto bear market in 2022, there wasn’t a significant decline in NFT adoption, according to the report. Crypto data website CoinGecko has released survey findings indicating that the majority of nonfungible token (NFT) holders own 51 or more NFTs, while those who only hold a single NFT comprised the smallest group among the respondents. Published on April 6, the CoinGecko report examined 438 responses from Dec. 2022 to Jan. 2023 in conjunction with Blockchain Research Labs. At least 1 in 4 NFT holders (26.5%) said that they are “avid collectors” with 51 or more NFTs at the time of the survey, with the report noting this group likely represents people who are the most enthusiastic about NFTs. It noted: “This suggests that people rarely stop participating in NFTs after their first one.” It was closely followed by holders holding between 2 and 5 NFTs (17.6%), while those who held just one NFT accounted for a mere 4.8%. Source: coingecko.com Almost 4 out of every 10 people su...

"Any links to offers are scams. We are investigating the situation and taking action accordingly," wrote USDC issuer Circle. According to an official post on Mar. 22 from Circle, issuer of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, the Twitter account for its chief strategy officer (CSO) and head of global policy Dante Disparte has been compromised. In a previously deleted Tweet, Disparte's account reportedly began promoting fake loyalty rewards to long-time users of USDC.  @ddisparte Twitter account was hacked. https://t.co/pItTHAG9Al — Jeremy Allaire (@jerallaire) March 22, 2023 Previously before the compromise, Disparte's account tweeted about the firm's regulatory developments and its participation in the ongoing Paris Blockchain Week. The security breach came less than a month after the stablecoin briefly depegged due to reserve deposits left in custody of defunct American tech bank Silicon Valley Bank. The incident has since been resolved and USDC has repegged...

NFT application endures demanding fees on the Apple App store for the convenience of iOS payments and a broad user base. Apple’s continued enforcement of in-app purchases to sell services remains a trade-off for NFT applications looking to tap into the convenience of streamlined in-app purchases for iPhone users and a massive user base around the world. As previously reported, Apple maintains strict rules for nonfungible token (NFT) apps, enforcing a 30% commission on the sale of NFTs through in-app purchases. The enforcement of this 30% commission has been a sore point, with Coinbase Wallet seeing an update to its application blocked by Apple in December 2022. This was due to Apple suspending the latest app release until Coinbase Wallet disabled the ability to send NFTs through the application. Apple may have to permit third-party app stores on its devices by 2024 in the European Union in response to the recently drawn up Digital Markets Act. This is expected to allow developers to ...

The comments from the hosts of lawyers comes as Judge Victor Marreo said that Dapper Labs’ NBA Top Shot Moments NFT may constitute a security. Blockchain Association’s chief legal officer says “it would be absurd ” for a United States court to rule that digital assets on private blockchains are securities , following a federal judge's decision to allow a lawsuit against Dapper Labs's NBA Top Shots NFTs to play out.  U.S. attorney Jake Chervinsky made the comment after federal judge Victor Marreo denied a motion to dismiss a 2021 lawsuit that accused Dapper Labs of selling nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as unregistered securities. Chervinsky was among a host of lawyers on Twitter to reiterate that the judge’s denial of the motion does not mean a ruling has been made on the lawsuit, only that it was “facially plausible.” “The judge didn't decide anything. He allowed the case to proceed past a motion to dismiss because the securities claims were at least ‘plausible,’ an extremel...

A recent report from DappRadar revealed that over the last year, NFT and gaming-centered decentralized applications rivaled DeFi DApps on many major blockchains. Over the last year, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) continued to play an important role in the growing Web3 industry. NFTs initiated a shift away from hype-based drops, to utility-centric projects with long-term value. A new DappRadar report on blockchain and decentralized application (DApp) adoption in 2022 revealed that the NFT sale count last year reached 101 million. This is a 67.57% increase from the previous year. According to the report, the Ethereum ecosystem holds the top spot in the NFT ecosystem, holding 21% of the market share and over 21.2 million transactions processed. It is followed by Wax (14.5 million), Polygon (13.3 million) and Solana (12.9 million). Both the Solana and Immutable X ecosystems saw massive growth from the previous year in terms of transaction activity, with a 440% and 315% increase, respectively....

Sei Network previously raised $5 million in funding in August 2022. According to a blog post published on Jan. 4, Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange MEXC announced that it would allocate $20 million to support developments on Sei Network. A layer one Blockchain designed for trading, Sei Network's stated Features include native order matching, frontrunning protection, smart block propagation, and 600 milisecond on-chain trade settlement. Leo Zhao, investment manager of MEXC Ventures, commented:  "AMM [Automated Market Makers] was the dominant market-making method in crypto for the past 2 years. The lack of a more efficient market-making strategy is in large part because of technology restrictions like low speed and smart-contract restrictions. We believe Sei's customized Layer 1 solution will be a game changer in the industry." . Last August, Sei Network raised a $5 million funding round from investors such as Multicoin Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Delphi Digit...