A massive earthquake hit southeastern Turkey along the border with Syria on Feb. 6, which has so far caused the death of more than 5,000 people. The quake had a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, which is internationally categorized as a “major” earthquake, and occurred along 100km (62 miles) of the fault line. Infrastructure in the area suffered major damages, resulting in a deadly cross-border humanitarian disaster. However, the world was quick to respond. Across the internet and various social media platforms, people have been gathering funds for local and international aid organizations to provide relief to those …

The Lightning Network strikes again. In a small yet significant development for Bitcoin (BTC), a new type of BTC address has been introduced: the "Lightning Address." These unique identifiers are specifically designed for use on the Lightning Network, a layer-2 payment protocol that operates on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. A user-friendly addition to ways in which Bitcoin users can send, receive and even raise money, Lightning addresses can be custodial, or users can connect to their own nodes. Crowdfunding is among the most popular real-world use for Lightning Addresses. Cointelegraph spoke to MetaMick, the CTO of Geyser Fund, to …

Does the crypto industry’s funding space need an overhaul? This is one of many questions swirling in the wake of FTX’s downfall: When the prominent exchange collapsed, it left behind a long line of helpless creditors and lenders — including many promising projects dependent on funds promised by Sam Bankman-Fried and company. But there is a bigger problem at the heart of the current funding picture, wherein deep-pocketed venture capital firms throw their weight around in the low-liquidity Web3 market, heavily backing early-stage projects before cashing out at a profit once retail has FOMO'd into the market. For all the …

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has tested the capabilities of crypto in a real-world conflict where sanctions and inventive blockchain crowdfunding models abound. The war, which is drawing into its ninth month, has uncovered a raft of blockchain benefits, such as the capacity to support humanitarian endeavors. It has also revealed how much control national authorities can exert over crypto networks. Vadym Synegin, co-founder at IT and crypto solutions provider Tecor, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrencies have a unique advantage in situations where there is an increased risk of money transfer interruptions due to the centralization of conventional systems. “With most markets controlled …

Interoperability-focused blockchain Flare Network has partnered with software infrastructure firm Lena Instruments to implement a crowdfunding mechanism that lowers the risks associated with startup investing. Lena Instruments announced what it called a “CloudFunding" launchpad that lets Flare investors allocate a percentage of the rewards that they earned into investments to new crypto startups without moving their initial investments. Apart from providing a low-risk investing solution for its contributors, the platform also aims to help projects that have launched on the platform have regular cash flows during the reward distribution periods. Hugo Philion, the CEO of Flare Network, believes that the …

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have your very own token? One new platform is allowing crypto enthusiasts to find out. MintMe enables anyone to create distinctive tokens "in just a few clicks" — and it says knowledge about development isn't required. The project says these tokens can then be used for crowdfunding, or to raise money for charity. According to MintMe, its blockchain is a fork of Ethereum — and boasts a custom algorithm that allows anyone to mine its flagship coin "in an egalitarian way." Because the prospect of generating new digital assets is …

No-loss lottery decentralized finance (DeFi) platform PoolTogether has reached 100% of its legal defense funding goal via the sale of nonfungible tokens (NFTs). It has taken the project just ten days to reach its funding goal of 769 Ether (ETH) or $1.4 million, signaling strong support from the DeFi community, which is rallying against a lawsuit that some feel is an attack on the greater sector as a whole. the community has spoken @PoolyNFT https://t.co/pJSRUfjk3f — francom.eth (@francom619) June 5, 2022 PoolTogther is currently selling three tiers of NFTs as part of a funding campaign dubbed “PoolyNFT'' to fight a …

The crypto space witnessed phenomenal growth in 2021. Buzzwords like nonfungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi) and the Metaverse broke through to the mainstream and culminated in the crypto market peaking at over $3 trillion in November of 2021. NFTs redefined arts and how they are acquired. DeFi revolutionized how we lend and borrow. The Metaverse birthed an alternate universe that we could all live and work in virtually. Play-to-earn (P2E) games paid gamers to do what they love. Decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, also had their moment to shine. One of the most out-of-the-blue crypto headlines of 2021 is …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Portal has partnered with the asset marketplace HighCircleX (HCX) to tokenize stocks of pre-initial public offering (IPO) companies, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on Monday. The collaboration aims to make investing in private equity easier by building on top of the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. Through this, HighCircleX is looking to solve problems such as the lack of liquidity and value uncertainty for traditional assets. According to the announcement, HCX will create and manage a limited liability company (LLC) for the investments. While the investors will not own the shares of the LLC, they will …

Using cryptocurrencies for employee compensation Several companies have already started paying employees in crypto. There are several advantages to using cryptocurrencies for employee compensation, especially for companies with a global workforce. First, cryptocurrencies are borderless, which means that crypto can be used to pay employees anywhere in the world. Second, they are secure and irreversible, reducing the risk of fraud. Finally, cryptocurrency can be easily converted into local currencies, making them convenient for employees wanting to use them for everyday transactions. As more companies adopt this payment method, the use of cryptocurrencies as employee compensation will likely increase. Access banking …

“Crypto became the largest driver for humanitarian help as well as some of military help for Ukraine”, said Illia Polosukhin, the co-founder of Near Protocol. Polosukhin, who was born and raised in Kharkiv, Ukraine, has been at the forefront of the crypto fundraising efforts aimed at supporting Ukraine against Russia’s offensive. Right after Russia's attack on Ukraine started on February 24, Polosukhin and other Ukrainian crypto entrepreneurs created the Unchain Fund, which to date has gathered nearly $7 million in crypto donations. That is only one of the several crypto funds that are currently supporting the Ukrainian Government raising a …

German GT racer Laura-Marie Geissler, creative agency Amsterdam Berlin and NFT startup Unblocked partnered up to launch the first nonfungible token, or NFT, funded motorsport team. Named after the driver herself, the LMG racing team has decided to forgo external sponsors to fund Geissler’s race season by way of NFT sales. Whether she earns the necessary amount to race or not in the upcoming season will depend solely on her fans. Geissler and her partners originally announced their campaign during the first weekend of South by Southwest, or SXSW, in Austin, Texas to in-person visitors of the Porsche Unseen installation …