The United States Treasury Department released three publications related to digital assets Friday, in response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s executive order “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets.” One of them focuses specifically on crypto assets, and a shorter action plan looks at countering illicit finance risks. The discussion of crypto assets in “Crypto-Assets: Implications for Consumers, Investors, and Businesses” takes a cynical tone from the beginning, with the introductory paragraphs of the report stating: “The potential for blockchain technology to transform the provision of financial services, as espoused by developers and proponents, has yet to materialize.” About half of …

Major financial firms have teamed up to create EDX Markets (EDXM), a new exchange that will trade digital assets through trusted intermediaries. The exchange will provide services to institutional and retail investors. The new exchange will be backed by Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital and Virtu Financial, according to an announcement released Sept. 13. Jamil Nazarali has moved from Citadel Securities, where he was global head of business development, to the exchange as its CEO. The EDXM board of directors, made up of representatives of the founding members, commented: “Crypto is a $1 trillion global …

It's a challenging time out there — but the co-founders of BoneX are filled with optimism for the future of cryptocurrencies, describing them as one of mankind's greatest inventions. Here, they tell us why the levels of customer support offered by the industry simply aren't good enough — and reveal what it'll take for even more big brands and institutions to start embracing crypto. 1. Hello, gents! Tell us about yourselves. Hello, we are David Bonev and Vasil Alyoshin. We're enthusiasts who have been actively digging into the world of crypto since 2013. Back then, Vasil focused on crypto mining …

American music giant Sony Music Entertainment has signaled intentions to utilize non-fungible tokens (NFTs) after filing a trademark application covering music and artists under the Columbia Records logo. According to an Aug. 30 trademark application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) shared by trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis on Sept. 6, the application covers "audio and video recordings featuring live musical performances authenticated by NFTs." #SonyMusic has filed a trademark application for the Columbia Records logo claiming plans to use it for: ▶️ NFT Backed Media ▶️ Music + Podcast Production ▶️ Artist Management + Music distribution services …

Innovation is the lifeblood of any new market or industry, and crypto is no exception. But when disruptive sectors move fast, there's always a real risk that crucial values — including safety and compassion — end up getting left behind. SmartFi is one of the crypto communities vying to offer cutting-edge products with digital assets at their heart, all while protecting the interests of users. "Crypto for good" is the project's mantra — and SmartFi has been registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in a push for transparency. SmartFi's native token, SMTF, has also undergone a thorough audit. …

If it wasn't devastating enough for investors to see cryptocurrencies lose nearly $2 trillion in value since the height of the 2021 rally, analysts have predicted that the most recent plunge isn't a traditional market pullback. Instead of distinguishing between a market pullback and a longer-term decline, the industry has already shown signs of the more dreaded "the crypto winter." For context, unlike last year's BTC plunge from $64,000 to $30,000, which occured in a matter of weeks, only to be followed by a stunning rebound to a new record of $68,700, the cooling prices evident in 2022 are making …

As cryptocurrency investors know, the market moves in cycles. We had the up-cycle when Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) hit their all-time highs, and now the bears are back in town. One of them mauled MicroStrategy founder and executive chairman Michael Saylor this week. In this case, it was a very powerful bear — Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine — suing the Bitcoin evangelist for allegedly owing $25 million in unpaid taxes. MicroStrategy’s stock price has fallen more than 13% on the news, from $251 on Aug. 29 to less than $220 on Sept. 1. Still, now isn’t the …

Luxury brand Hermès is laying the groundwork for its entrance to Web3 after filing a trademark application covering NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and the Metaverse. According to an Aug. 26 filing to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the trademark covers downloadable software to view, store and manage virtual goods, digital collectibles, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs “for use in online worlds.” It also filed trademarks for “retail store services featuring virtual goods” as well as fashion and trade shows in “online virtual, augmented or mixed reality environments” and for “providing an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of virtual goods.” Luxury …

Russia could soon be taking a cue from Iran by using cryptocurrencies for imports, according to comments from the Russian prime Minister. The adoption of digital assets is necessary as a “safe alternative” for cross-border payments, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin declared at a strategic session on the development of the domestic financial system on Tuesday. The prime minister added that digital assets provide a good opportunity to ensure uninterrupted payments for imports and exports. Mishustin also pointed out the importance of ensuring tech infrastructure independence and cybersecurity of financial institutions, stating: “We need to intensively develop innovative areas, including …

In Decentraland’s third annual Metaverse Art Week held on Aug. 24-28, curators turned to new ways to utilize digital space to bring more interactive and true-to-life experiences of art. The metaverse world modeled its latest virtual festival after the real-life Biennale art event, which utilizes public space to display art. Visitors to the in-real-life (IRL) festival can walk around spacious pavilions and working parts of the city to engage with artists and brands outside of traditional gallery walls. Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro, the events and community producer for Decentraland, commented to Cointelegraph on this year’s design concept. “The core value of …

Samsung Securities is among seven large South Korean securities companies that have applied for government approval to create a virtual assets exchange, according to a report appearing in South Korean publication Newspim. The companies are aiming to create a corporation to open an exchange in the first half of next year. Newspim quoted an unidentified executive as saying that discussions on the project are now being finalized. According to the local coverage, Samsung Securities has been studying ways to develop and operate a securities token trading platform, and was unable to recruit the necessary personnel to proceed last year. Mirae …

The total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) projects is hovering around $62 billion as of mid-August, down from a peak of over $250 billion in December 2021. Capital is fleeing the crypto space amid war, soaring inflation and whatever other surprises 2022 may still have in store for us. However, unlike previous crypto bull runs, it was not just retail interest that drew in this capital in the first place. Rather, major institutional players, which have recently opened up to crypto, quickly developed an appetite for the yields DeFi is known for. But now that winter is upon us, …