Bitcoin (BTC) popularised the term blockchain. Blockchains, or “decentralized and distributed digital ledgers used to record transactions across a network of computers,” have been around for over thirty years, the household name for a blockchain is Bitcoin. That’s despite the fact that the Genesis block was mined well over 14 years ago when George W. Bush was president and “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas topped the charts–Bitcoin is still top of the blocks. It’s to be expected, then, that most blockchain advocates would have used, understood or a the very least experimented with Bitcoin. Nope. Not so. Here’s …

Solana Spaces will close down its two Solana (SOL)-themed, community-oriented retail stores in New York City and Miami at the end of the month, as the physical stores didn't onboard as many users as it initially anticipated. Solana Spaces tweeted the news on Feb. 21 sharing a note from its founder, Vibhu Norby, explaining the reasons behind the store shutdowns. The following is a note from our founder, @vibhu. Dear @solanaspaces community, We’ve made the difficult decision to sunset our stores in NYC and Miami by the end of February, and to pivot our Solana onboarding efforts into digital products …

In January 2023, during the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual conference in Davos, Switzerland, Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut 8, a crypto mining entity that trades as a public company, sat down with me for a fireside chat at the Crypto Summit on the Promenade. Leverton outlined some of her views on the recent shakeout in the cryptocurrency market and reflected on how Bitcoin (BTC) mining fares during the current turbulent period for the industry. Throughout 2021 and 2022, the crypto industry experienced significant growth, followed by bear market struggles, bankruptcies and job cuts. Leverton took on the position of …

‘Less interest than anticipated’ — PROOF cancels NFT event Kevin Rose, the co-founder of the nonfungible token (NFT) collection Moonbirds has confirmed that their flagship conference “Proof of Conference” scheduled for May has been canceled, citing “less interest than anticipated.” We made a tough decision today, I want to apologize to everyone that planned on making the trip out. Full ETH refunds have been processed, hotels are refundable, and contact us about flights. (details below) https://t.co/tV4ba85648 — KΞVIN R◎SE (,) (@kevinrose) February 20, 2023 The conference was first announced in early November. It was scheduled to run on May. 11 …

Stani Kulechov, the founder of the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Aave, highlighted several issues within the DeFi space at the StarkWare Sessions 2023, held at The Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv, Israel. In a fireside chat titled “DeFi: Resilience in the Face of Global Uncertainty,” Kulechov and Cointelegraph’s managing editor Alex Cohen discussed various topics, including DeFi’s risks compared to traditional finance (TradFi) and how stablecoins can lead to more DeFi adoption. According to Kulechov, the preciseness of quantifying risks in DeFi is better compared to TradFi products, and this could push further adoption for the space. The Aave founder …

Switzerland is a “pivot point” for crypto adoption in Europe and continues to be the “center point of the next stage of institutionalization," said Dr. Dirk Klee, CEO of Bitcoin Suisse. The CEO divulged why Switzerland is still the top spot for crypto in Europe and will continue to attract institutional investors in an exclusive Cointelegraph interview streetside in Davos, Switzerland. We have boots on the ground in Davos! Our reporter @gazza_jenks speaks to Dr. Dirk Klee, CEO of @BitcoinSuisseAG about Switzerland and the adoption of cryptocurrency at the @wef. #CTWEF23 pic.twitter.com/ka00dvWpVz — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 18, 2023 In discussion …

Simply trading carbon credits, on the blockchain or otherwise, won’t solve a lot for the environment as companies must understand why they’re using them and how to make a real impact, carbon blockchain executives argue. During a panel session in Davos, Switzerland, moderated by Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr on Jan. 16, several executives from carbon blockchain platforms spoke about the increasing interest from companies in carbon trading. Karen Zapata, the COO of carbon blockchain platform ClimateTrade, said that sustainability had been a “trending topic” with many companies keen to get involved, but said that many still don’t understand it. …

In this week’s newsletter, read about how the metaverse may integrate touch and smell. Check out how the nonfungible token (NFT) project Moonbirds plans to become a global brand and how NFT marketplace Magic Eden will refund users affected by a recent exploit. In other news, find out how NFT image hosting issues can be resolved, according to executives within the NFT space. And don’t forget this week’s Nifty News featuring a warning to gamers about a fake Pokemon NFT game spreading malware. Touch and smell become the next big thing for the metaverse at CES 2023 One of the …

As one of the main growing sub-sectors in the crypto industry, decentralized finance (DeFi) has faced a challenging year amid market dynamics, cyberattacks and regulatory uncertainty. Its future demands more transparency and clarity in the regulatory landscape, according to a panel discussion at the International Workshop on P2P Financial Systems 2022 on Dec. 1. Moderated by Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief Kristina Cornèr with Gaspard Pedruzzi, CEO of APWine; Daniel Perez, co-founder of Mero; Hugo Philion, CEO of Flare, and Niall Roche, CTO-in-residence at the University College London School of Management as panelists, the discussion focused on the DeFi future among a disruptive …

Argentina’s shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup has plummeted the price of the Argentine Football Association Fan Token (ARG), in line with the hopes of the nation’s die-hard soccer fans. With the ARG token priced at $7.21 at kick-off, the poor performance by the Lionel Messi-led soccer team saw the token’s price fall 31% to $4.96 by the end of the match before rising to $5.22 at the time of writing, according to data from Coingecko. By contrast, the floor price of "The Saudis," a Saudi Arabian-themed nonfungible token (NFT) collection …

Istanbul Blockchain Week opened its doors on Nov. 14 to bring the crypto and blockchain ecosystem together in İstanbul, Turkey. Cointelegraph attended the event with a Cointelegraph Turkey booth and an İstanbul-based editor to experience the impact of the FTX collapse firsthand — the result was unexpected. As an international hub housing more than 15 million people, İstanbul was shaken by a bombing attack in Taksim, the city center, on Nov. 13 evening. Yet, the following day, Istanbul Blockchain Week (IBW) opened its doors to more than 2,000 international attendees and over 100 speakers after consulting with local security authorities. …

Portugal’s capital city of Lisbon has established itself as the spiritual home of one of the world’s largest technology events. Web Summit has called the Altice Arena home since 2016 and attracted a staggering 71,000 people in the latest edition of the conference. The effect of the event on the city was palpable. An estimated 540,000 people call Portugal’s captivating, hilly capital home and the influx of attendees from around the globe made for a busy week on its smaller cobbled streets and busier roads. It is not surprising that the event is a focal point for the city, which …