The blockchain space has long been an attractive medium for creators of all kinds. From digital artists to software developers, blockchain tech has something to offer. However, one big challenge still remains in the space - most blockchains follow the ‘to each their own' concept. Interoperability in web3 is still scarce, which limits creators and makes the entry point for many a bit steeper. One of the main elements that creators of all areas are still seeking is the opportunity to collaborate freely and effortlessly. What needs to improve? As things stand at the moment, blockchain developers scarcely have the …

Crypto wallet MetaMask is ending support for services of Wyre crypto payment platform amid reports of Wyre planning to shut down operations soon. MetaMask took to Twitter on Jan. 5 to announce that it has removed Wyre from its mobile aggregator, which allows users to buy crypto directly through its digital wallet. “We're currently working on extension removal and appreciate your patience,” MetaMask said, asking users not to use Wyre on the mobile aggregator. According to the announcement, MetaMask still supports a wide number of other payment gateways, including Transak, MoonPay, and Sardine. The services are available on Apple Pay, …

The developer of a Mutant Ape Yacht Club knock-off collection — Mutant Ape Planet — has been arrested in New York, charged with allegedly “defrauding” investors of $2.9 million in a "rug pull scheme." The arrest took place on Jan. 4 at the John F. International Airport in New York, with homeland security agent Ivan J. Arvelo alleging that French national “Aurelien Michel perpetrated a rug pull scheme” and stole “nearly $3 million from investors for his own personal use," stating: “Purchasers of Mutant Ape Planet NFTs thought they were investing in a trendy new collectible, but they were deceived …

According to a Jan. 5 report published by Chinese blockchain security firm LianAn Technology, decentralized finance, or DeFi, exploits across blockchains worldwide totaled $3.64 billion in 2022. This represented a rise of 47.4% compared to the loss of $2.44 billion in 2021. The incidents increased in quantity despite a steep 80% loss in DeFi total value locked during the year. Out of the 2022 amount, funds lost during cross-chain bridge hacks amounted to $1.89 billion across 12 incidents — the highest in the category. Overall, attacks on the Ethereum, BNB, and Solana chains accounted for the majority of exploits. Out …

According to a recent paper, Chinese researchers claimed to have discovered a novel method to break the Rivest–Shamir–Adleman 2048 bit (RSA-2048) signing algorithm present in blockchains and other security protocols. RSA is a cryptographic technique that utilizes a public key to encrypt information and a private key to decrypt them. Breaching the RSA-2048 algorithm requires, similar to other algorithms in the RSA numbers family, finding the prime factors of a number with 617 decimal digits and 2048 binary digits. Experts estimate that it would take ordinary computers 300 trillion years to break an RSA-2048 encryption key. However, Chinese researchers said …

Three Arrows Capital (3AC) founders Zhu Su and Kyle Davies were subpoenaed on Twitter on Jan. 5, after the liquidators granted permission from Singapore authorities following a United States bankruptcy court order. As reported by Cointelegraph, liquidators' lawyers have repeatedly failed to engage with the founders in recent months. “A communication protocol was agreed between the liquidators and founders but has not yielded satisfactory cooperation,” according to a hearing presentation. The subpoena requests Su and Davies to "furnish all documents available to you regardless of whether this information is possessed directly by you, your agents, representatives, employees, or investigators; or …

Despite the crypto winter, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) continue to draw interest. This has become apparent as many brands and retailers have started to offer digital NFTs attached to physical products. Known as “phygitals,” these offerings allow real-world products to be tied to digital NFTs. For example, RTFKT — a digital fashion and collectible company — recently launched a project called Cryptokicks iRL. According to sources, RTFKT is creating digitally-designed sneakers backed by a physical product. RTFKT’s official Twitter account recently tweeted that Lace Engine NFT holders will be able to reserve a pair of Cryptokicks iRL, which can then be …

Ethereum layer-2 scaling platform StarkNet has overhauled its in-house Cairo coding language to make Web3 development accessible to developers. An announcement shared with Cointelegraph outlined the upgrades to Cairo 1.0, which is touted to emulate characteristics of the popular programming language Rust. The overhaul intends to allow developers with general coding experience to begin building decentralized applications on StarkNet’s Ethereum layer-2 network. StarkWare co-founder and president Eli Ben-Sasson told Cointelegraph that making layer-2 development more accessible to developers of varying backgrounds was the main reason for Cairo’s revamp: “Primary drivers were safety and ease of use, and conducting the overhaul …

In the third episode of Hashing It Out podcast series, Cointelegraph’s Elisha Owusu Akyaw discusses the future of noncustodial cryptocurrency wallets with Kosala Hemachandra, CEO of MyEtherWallet. Recent issues with centralized platforms have put the spotlight on decentralized applications (DApps), and self-custody — where users keep their funds completely under their responsibility — has become a major trend. MyEtherWallet is one of the oldest noncustodial wallets with a focus on the Ethereum blockchain. According to Kosala Hemachandra, the wallet went live just two weeks after the Ethereum mainnet launch. The CEO of MyEtherWallet explains that they chose to make a …

The FTX debacle has triggered a bank run on Silvergate, causing the company to sell off its assets at a loss and cut staff by 40% to cover $8.1 billion worth of customer withdrawals. According to a report published by the Wall Street Journal, the bank liquidated debt that it was holding on its balance sheet to keep up with withdrawals, losing $718 million in the process. The loss reportedly surpasses the firm’s profits since 2013. In addition, crypto-related deposits in the firm have dropped by 68% in the fourth quarter of last year. Because of this, Silvergate dismissed around …

Many decentralized exchanges boast cross-chain capabilities, but in fact, the majority of them simply use bridging technology to perform swaps. To bring complete decentralization to crypto trading, one exchange has developed a fully cross-chain liquidity aggregation mechanic that does not rely on bridging. Find out more about cross-chain liquidity in the latest Cointelegraph interview with Chainge founder Dejun Qian. Q: What is the biggest problem facing DEXes at the moment, and why is it such a challenge? DEXs have several problems, among which the most notable are: lack of liquidity, inefficient/hazardous interoperability solutions, and user experience. The first two issues …

YouTuber Logan Paul has threatened to sue fellow YouTuber and internet detective Coffeezilla for defamation after he accused Paul’s CryptoZoo nonfungible token (NFT) project of being a “scam.” The two have been battling back and forth on both social media and YouTube videos ever since Dec. 17, when Stephen Findeisen — also known as Coffeezilla — launched the first of a three-part video series attacking CryptoZoo and Paul, who was the face of the project. “CryptoZoo was supposed to be a fun blockchain game that can earn you money [...] but millions of dollars of investor money later, things are …