At the end of January 2022, member of the Belgian parliament Christophe De Beukelaer became the first European politician to convert his salary to Bitcoin (BTC). Celebrating the anniversary of this experiment, Cointelegraph reached out to a lawmaker to know more about his experience. Back in 2022, Beukelaer, who represents Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) party,
The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised the benchmark bank rate seven times during the course of 2022, leading many to question when the central bank will cease or change course. The Fed has stated that it aims to bring inflation down to the 2% target, and the increases to the federal funds rate are intended
On-chain data shows that Ethereum realized volatility has now declined to rare levels observed only three times before in history. Ethereum 1-Month Realized Volatility Has Plummeted To Just 39.8% As per data from the on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, the month of December 2022 was historically quiet for both Ethereum and Bitcoin. The “realized volatility” is
The United States Department of Justice has officially notified the court handling the bankruptcy of BlockFi that it has seized assets as part of the criminal cases against crypto exchange FTX and its executives. In a Jan. 6 court filing, the Justice Department said it had seized 55,273,469 shares of Robinhood to which former FTX
The last year proved to be another turbulent year for the crypto industry. From a lasting market downturn and exploits in decentralized finance (DeFi) to the FTX scandal, no area was left unscathed. For some, the happenings in the space proved unsustainable for business. The Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp, the holding company for New York-based
In late 2020, the Flare Network attracted a lot of attention in the Ripple (XRP) community. The creators wanted to open up the DeFi space for Ripple and announced an airdrop of Flare (FLR) tokens for all XRP holders. However, holders of XRP had to be patient for a long time. The launch was postponed
Financial authorities in Germany are raising the alarm amid the rapid spread of a new financial malware affecting banking and cryptocurrency applications. Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) released an official statement on Jan. 9, warning consumers of “Godfather,” a malware collecting user data in banking and crypto apps. BaFin emphasized that the new virus
Bitcoin rose to a three-week high on Jan. 9, as prices surged beyond the $17,000 mark to start the week. The move comes days ahead of the upcoming U.S. inflation figures, and as traders continue to react to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls (NFP). Ethereum was also higher, rising to a multi-week high in the process. Bitcoin
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has become a member of an organization providing training for sanctions compliance. With the move, part of efforts to improve its capabilities in this field, the largest trading platform for digital assets joins a club of multinational corporations and financial institutions. Crypto Exchange Binance Seeks Additional Sanctions Training for Its Compliance Team
The government of Hong Kong remains committed to the development of cryptocurrency infrastructure despite the ongoing industry crisis triggered by the FTX collapse. According to Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan, the local government and regulators are open to collaboration with crypto and fintech startups in 2023. Speaking at an event hosted by the state-run
Ripple Labs’ Managing Director for Europe, Sendi Young, shared her predictions for 2023 in a Twitter thread. As Young notes, 2022 was a “monumental” year for crypto with many ups and many downs. Young expects no less major changes in the still-young year, though she doesn’t specifically address Ripple and XRP. However, a few connections
Bitcoin (BTC) starts a new week on a promising footing with BTC price action near one-month highs — can it last? In a new year’s boost to bulls, BTC/USD is currently surfing levels not seen since mid-December, with the weekly close providing cause for optimism. The move precedes a conspicuous macroeconomic week for crypto markets,
While Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs were an afterthought to Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of sound money, they are now considered one of the main pillars of Bitcoin’s mainstream adoption. However, the global Bitcoin ATM network, which used to add thousands of machines each month in 2021, recorded a net addition of just 94 Bitcoin ATMs over the
Airtm, a Latam popular cryptocurrency exchange and wallet, has announced it is winding down cryptocurrency trading and custody in its platform. The company stated that starting Jan. 4, 2023, all cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals would be paused due to the changes in the service offer of one of its providers. Airtm Removes Cryptocurrency Trading Options
Authorities in Vietnam have caught and sentenced a hacker who stole money and data from a local cryptocurrency exchange. The man, who was arrested and charged for extorting the trading platform’s owner, has been ordered to return the money he misappropriated. Vietnamese Court Jails Hacker for Attacking Crypto Exchange Website A resident of Ho Chi
Mastercard, the payments giant, has partnered with Polygon, an Ethereum scaling platform, to introduce emerging artists into Web3 technology. Mastercard’s artist accelerator, as the program is called, will teach five different emerging artists, including singers, musicians, DJs, and producers, to use blockchain tools to grow their brand and fan engagement. Mastercard Partners With Polygon to
Australian crypto exchange Swyftx is set to shutter its crypto-interest product this week, citing a “constantly changing regulatory landscape” for crypto products in the country. From Jan. 10 local time, the crypto exchange will cease to operate the “Earn” program, while users will have their entire Earn balances returned to their trade wallets. Swyftx said the decision
An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to stealing over 712 bitcoin that was “seized” by the U.S. government in another criminal case. He has agreed to forfeit some bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin as part of his plea. “Due to the increase in market prices, the total value of these forfeitable properties exceeds $12 million,” said
Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is attempting to regain access to his Robinhood shares, worth over $460 million. The former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange claimed that he needs them to “pay for his criminal defense,” stressing that without them the consequences would be serious and “irreparable.” FTX customers, on the other hand,
From the start of March, Nigerian public officials will be barred from withdrawing cash from government bank accounts, the head of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit reportedly said. Public officials that want to be exempted from this new regulation will have to obtain a waiver from the Nigerian Presidency. Government Workers Vulnerable to Money Laundering