digital currency
Corporate America has finally taken notice of Web3 — US trademark lawyer
This year saw an influx of trademark applications filed by various companies looking to get in on the Web3 action. By November, a total of 4,999 trademark applications had been filed in the United States for cryptocurrencies and digital-related goods and services — according to United States Patent and Trademark Office-licensed trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis. Kondoudis believes the future of the Web3 ecosystem looks “bright” and “mainstream adoption is inevitable.” To learn more about the impact of Web3 trademark applications filed on the future of the Web3 ecosystem, Cointelegraph interviewed Kondoudis. Cointelegraph has covered a wide range of trademark application stories in 2022, ranging from luxury brands such as Hermès to car brands like Ford, all making a bid for ...
Banks still show interest in digital assets and DeFi amid market chaos
The cryptocurrency sector is the Wild Wild West in comparison to traditional finance, yet a number of banks are showing interest in digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). This year in particular has been notable for banks exploring digital assets. Most recently, JPMorgan demonstrated how DeFi can be used to improve cross-border transactions. This came shortly after BNY Mellon — America’s oldest bank — announced the launch of its Digital Asset Custody Platform, which allows select institutional clients to hold and transfer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The Clearing House, a United States banking association and payments company, stated on Nov. 3 that banks “should be no less able to engage in digital-asset-related activities than nonbanks.” Banks aware of potential While ba...
Could Hong Kong really become China’s proxy in crypto?
With its partial autonomy, the island city of Hong Kong has traditionally served as “a gate to China” — the local trade center, backed by transparent English-style common law and an openly pro-business government strategy. Could the harbor, home to seven million inhabitants, inherit this role in relation to the crypto industry, becoming a proxy for mainland China’s experiments with crypto? An impulse to such questioning was given by Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of crypto derivatives giant BitMEX in his Oct. 26 blog post. Hayes believes the Hong Kong government’s announcement about introducing a bill to regulate crypto to be a sign that China is trying to ease its way back into the market. The opinion was immediately replicated in a range of industrial and mainstream media. What happe...
Canada to examine crypto, stablecoins, and CBDCs in new budget
The Canadian federal government is set to launch a consultation on cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) as revealed in its new mini-budget. The government’s “2022 Fall Economic Statement” released on Nov. 3 by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland works as a fiscal update in conjunction with its main yearly budget. The statement included a small section on “Addressing the Digitalization of Money” that outlined the government’s crypto plans. It said the rise in cryptocurrencies and money digitalization is “transforming financial systems in Canada and around the world” and the country’s financial system regulation “needs to keep pace.” The statement opined that money digitalization “poses a challenge to democratic institutions around the world” h...
China accounts for 84% of all blockchain patent applications, but there’s a catch
China accounts for 84% of all blockchain applications filed worldwide, according to the latest data shared by the country’s government official. China has steered clear of the cryptocurrency market. However, the Beijing government has been supportive of the underlying blockchain technology. The country has actively promoted the use of blockchain tech over the years, and thus the high percentage of blockchain patents isn’t surprising. President Xi Jinping has also played a key role in promoting the nascent blockchain technology. In 2019, the President called upon citizens, tech companies and stakeholders of the ecosystem to actively participate and innovate with the nascent tech as it would play a key role in the future of the next industrial revolution. As Cointelegraph reported earlier, C...
Independent Tether attestation reveals 58% decrease in commercial paper holdings
An announcement from USDT issuer Tether Holdings Limited revealed information from an independent attestation about the company’s previous quarter’s performance. The reviewer, top accounting firm BDO Italia, assessed Tether’s assets as of June 30, 2022. Tether had previously announced a commitment to decreasing its commercial paper holdings by the end of August 2022. Data from the report revealed a 58% decrease in commercial paper exposure since the previous quarter from $20 billion to $8.5 billion. The chief technology officer of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, tweeted that Tether has plans to continue to decrease its commercial paper holdings to $200 million by the end of August and zero them out by the following October. As of June 30th, more than 58% decrease in Tether’s commer...
Israel puts the brakes on cash to spur digital payments
Authorities in Israel on Monday has in put in place further restrictions on cash payments as a means to combat illegal activity and spur digital payments in the country. Since January 2019, Israeli businesses and consumers have been subject to limits on cash payments under the Law for the Reduction in the Use of Cash. It’s aimed at shifting the country’s citizens and businesses toward digital payments, allowing authorities to more easily track tax evasion, black market activity, and money laundering. From August 1, the limits on cash payments have been tightened to 6,000 Israeli Shekel (NIS), equivalent to $1,760 United States dollars (USD) for business transactions and NIS 15,000 ($4,400 USD) in personal transactions. Further restrictions are expected to follow in the future, prohib...
A short-term BTC rally or trend reversal? Find out now on ‘Market Talks’ with Crypto Jebb
The latest episode of Market Talks welcomes Nicholas Merten, the founder of DataDash, one of the largest cryptocurrency YouTube channels. Merten is an international speaker, thought leader and crypto analyst. He has utilized his 10-plus years of experience in traditional markets to understand the potential of cryptocurrencies and help his 515,000 YouTube subscribers make better investment decisions. One of the topics up for discussion with Merten isthe recent Bitcoin (BTC) price rally. Are the markets finally out of the sideways trend it’s been stuck in for months, or is this just another bull trap forming, with BTC to head back down below $20,000? With all seasoned traders and experts eyeing the BTC 200-week moving average, Merten is asked the significance of this indicator and why many c...
Board urges Bank of Central African States to introduce common digital currency: Report
The Bank of Central African States, or Banque des États de l’Afrique, which serves Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo, could be closer to releasing a central bank digital currency reportedly at the urging of its board. According to a Friday report from Bloomberg, the board sent an email calling for the regional bank to introduce a digital currency in an effort to modernize payment structures and promote regional financial inclusion. The Central African Republic, or CAR, passed legislation adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in the country in April, but has not recognized a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Nigeria’s central bank was one of the first in the region to launch a CBDC called the eNaira in October ...
Why is there so much uncertainty in the crypto market right now? | Market Talks with Crypto Jebb and Crypto Wendy O
In the fourth episode of Market Talks, we welcome YouTube media creator and crypto educator Crypto Wendy O. Crypto Wendy O is a YouTube media creator and crypto educator. Wendy became interested in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in November of 2017. She has been into crypto full-time since the summer of 2018 and focuses on providing transparent marketing & media solutions for blockchain companies globally. Wendy also provides free education via YouTube and Twitter to her growing audience of over 170 thousand, giving her the largest following of any female crypto influencer in the world. Some of the topics up for discussion with Wendy are the new consumer price index (CPI) numbers and how they might impact the crypto market going forward, and why there is so much uncertai...
Mark Zuckerberg Says the Metaverse will Come Costly
Mark Zuckerberg visits Meta’s first ever retail shop. Image sourced from Facebook (Mark Zuckerbeg). Mark Zuckerberg told shareholders on Wednesday that the metaverse project will bleed a lot of money and that some products will not be ready for 15 years. According to Business Insider, the Meta CEO told shareholders that he spent $10-billion on the idea of a virtual world in 2021 alone. “We want to get the hardware to be as affordable as possible for everyone, and make sure the digital economy grows,” Zuckerberg said. Meta currently has 10,000 employees working on the metaverse and wants to hire an additional 10,000 to work on the project. The giant company also announced that it is holding up on hiring, so the plans to push this project forward might be delayed further. Zuckerberg re...
Crypto Bahamas: Regulations enter critical stage as gov’t shows interest
The crypto community and Wall Street converged last week in Nassau, Bahamas, to discuss the future of digital assets during SALT’s Crypto Bahamas conference. The SkyBridge Alternatives Conference (SALT) was also co-hosted this year by FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange. Anthony Scaramucci, founder of the hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, kicked off Crypto Bahamas with a press conference explaining that the goal behind the event was to merge the traditional financial world with the crypto community: “Crypto Bahamas combines the crypto native FTX audience with the SkyBridge asset management firm audience. We are bringing these two worlds together to create a more equitable financial system.” Traditional finance eyes crypto as regulations take shape The combination of traditional ...
