Crypto exchange Coinbase has found itself in legal hot water after being accused by blockchain-based software firm Veritaseum Capital of infringing on a patent relating to its blockchain technology — and is now seeking $350 million in damages. According to a lawsuit filed on Thursday by U.S. law firm Brundidge & Stanger in the U.S. District Court in Delaware, Veritaseum alleges that Coinbase infringed on its cryptocurrency payment transfer technology patent, known as the “566 Patent.” Veritaseum said the patent revolves around “novel devices, systems and methods” which enable parties to “enforce value transfer agreements” with “little or no trust” …

The United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase continues its aggressive expansion in Europe, with the latest regulatory approval coming from the land of tulips. Coinbase officially announced on Thursday that it had received registration from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the central bank of the Netherlands. The regulatory approval allows Coinbase to offer its retail and institutional crypto products in the Netherlands. According to the official DNB records, Coinbase is one of the major international exchanges approved by the Dutch central bank to operate cryptocurrency services alongside smaller local crypto firms. Coinbase Europe Limited and Coinbase Custody International are listed on DNB’s …

Fantom (FTM) is known for its speed and inexpensive layer-1 blockchain. Like other blockchains (for example, Solana (SOL) and Avalanche (AVAX)) that scale better than their counterpart, it has been dubbed an “Ethereum killer.” After raising $40 million in funds, Fantom launched its mainnet in December 2019. Since then, it has grown to become one of the most popular blockchains, sitting in the top 10 blockchains by total value locked (TVL) with $1.3 billion in TVL. Fantom’s high-throughput blockchain is an open-source smart contract platform. It is scalable and EVM-compatible, meaning you can deploy and run your Ethereum decentralized applications …

Blockchain infrastructure platform Coinbase Cloud has officially rolled out its Web3 developer platform, allowing users to build new decentralized applications free of charge. The new developer platform, dubbed Node, allows users to create and monitor Web3 applications while accessing the Ethereum blockchain and indexers, the company disclosed Wednesday. While Node offers a tiered subscription model, the free plan includes access to advanced APIs that allow for the creation of decentralized applications and nonfungible token (NFT) applications. Coinbase Cloud claims that Node enables faster creation of Web3 applications while reducing both complexity and cost. This feeds into the platform’s broader service …

As simplified wallet addresses become more popular within the blockchain space, crypto exchange Coinbase integrated with Ethereum Name Service (ENS) to give their customers usernames to replace their traditional Coinbase crypto wallet addresses. In a post, the exchange announced that it will be handing out free “name.cb.id” usernames. Through Coinbase Wallet’s browser extension, people can claim their new address and use it for their transactions. With this, users can send and receive crypto tokens using the simplified name instead of the usual 42-word alphanumerical address. The exchange also said in the announcement that this is a necessary step in creating …

Representatives of the crypto community shared their responses to the proposed Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) on Sept. 15. Speaking at the second panel of a hearing held by the Senate Agriculture Committee, invited speakers praised the bill as a whole, but had recommendations for improvement. Definitions were an issue for all five of the speakers and Blockchain Association head of policy Jake Chervinsky, who released a statement on the bill within moments of the conclusion of the hearing. All the commenters expressed a desire for a clearer definition of securities and commodities. “While the bill includes a carve-out …

On Sept 14, Coinbase Co-Founder and CEO Brian Armstrong announced the company’s plans to begin integrating crypto policy efforts into its app. According to him, this will help the company’s 103 million verified users know where their local political leaders and representatives stand when it comes to cryptocurrency. 1/ Starting today, Coinbase will begin integrating our crypto policy efforts right into our app. These will help our 103M verified users get educated on the crypto positions held by political leaders where they live. pic.twitter.com/3GqWZIioZQ — Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) September 14, 2022 Coinbase will rely on some of the data compiled …

Nikhil Wahi, who was arrested for allegedly working with his brother and an associate on a scheme to commit insider trading using crypto, has reportedly entered a guilty plea for wire fraud conspiracy charges. According to a Monday report from Reuters, Wahi admitted to authorities during a virtual hearing that he used confidential information obtained from Coinbase to make profits from trading crypto. Wahi’s brother Ishan worked as a product manager at Coinbase, during which time he allegedly shared information regarding the launch dates of tokens to his brother and an associate, Sameer Ramani. The trio allegedly used the insider …

A report from blockchain analytics platform Nansen highlights five entities that hold 64% of staked Ether (ETH) ahead of Ethereum’s highly anticipated Merge with the Beacon chain. Ethereum’s shift from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake is set to take place in the coming days after final updates and shadow forks were completed in early September. The key component of The Merge sees miners no longer used as validators, replaced by stakers that commit ETH to maintain the network. Nansen’s report highlights that just over 11% of the total circulating ETH is staked, with 65% liquid and 35% illiquid. There are a total …

It took a few years, but government crackdowns on “insider trading” involving digital assets have finally arrived. It’s about time! Insider trading occurs often in our securities markets, so it was only a matter of time before crypto and other digital assets would be exploited improperly by miscreants for financial gain. On June 1, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York announced a criminal indictment against a former product manager of the OpenSea marketplace, Nathaniel Chastain. He is charged with using the confidential information about which nonfungible tokens were going to be featured on OpenSea’s homepage to …

The Ethereum network will be able to withstand censorship risks both in the short and long term, according to Ethereum community member and investor, Ryan Berckmans. The ban of Ethereum-based privacy tool tornado Cash by U.S. authorities earlier this month left many wondering whether Ethereum transactions could be also at risk of censorship, especially after Ethereum’s imminent transition to a proof-of-stake system. A widely spread concern is that entities controlling a large chunk of staked Eth, such as Coinbase or Kraken, would start censoring transactions in order to comply with U.S. sanctions. That is an unlikely scenario according to Berckmans, …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believe that a gradual mind shift and important community contributions led to their backing of Ethereum’s upcoming move from a proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus. The two industry titans joined Coinbase protocol specialist Viktor Bunin on the Around the Block podcast for an enlightening discussion centered on The Merge, which is set to take place in mid-September 2022. Buterin reflected on his history of considering proof-of-stake as a potential consensus mechanism for the Ethereum blockchain, which was initially met with skepticism due to a number of unsolved problems that made …