Grayscale Investments’ latest report “Reimagining the Future of Finance” defines the digital economy as “the intersection of technology and finance that’s increasingly defined by digital spaces, experiences, and transactions.” With this in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many financial institutions have begun to offer services that allow clients access to Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets. Last year, in particular, saw an influx of financial institutions incorporating support for crypto-asset custody. For example, Bank of New York Mellon, or BNY Mellon, announced in February 2021 plans to hold, transfer and issue Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as an …

Charities and donations have been a trending topic in the cryptocurrency realm as of late. And its not simply as an act of giving; in countries such as the U.S., the country's revenue authority provides generous tax deductions for those who donate their crypto to registered charities. One company, The Giving Block, provides such crypto-fundraising onboarding solutions to more than 1,000 nonprofits. But just how does investors' money make a difference? In a series of case studies provided to Cointelegraph, The Giving Block illustrated how six such charities benefited as overall donations volume on its platform surged over 1,000% year …

When the first blockchain came to life, it shared a vision for an all-encompassing solution that would enable anyone to transact on a single chain regardless of what they were hoping to accomplish. In practice, the result has been much different, with new blockchain protocols coming to life, attempting to solve concerns around scalability or employ an original approach to a specific use case. Although many of these blockchains have demonstrated success in the mission they hope to accomplish, their growth is done in parallel, never advancing to the next level. The resulting silos have limited all users from benefiting …

In Spain, companies across various industries — not just digital finance — have begun to apply blockchain technology to their operations. This disruptive technology has promoted pioneering projects in the country that are expected to add 20 billion euros to Spanish gross domestic product by 2030. As expectations around this technology increased in Spain throughout 2021, so did investment, hype and concerns regarding the stability and regulation of digital assets. Here, we will take a look at some of the most notable developments in the Spanish cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystems throughout 2021. Central bank warns about risks of crypto investment …

What is Avalanche Network (AVAX)? Launched in 2020 by Ava Labs, Avalanche is a blockchain platform that is smart contract-capable. Avalanche aims to deliver a scalable blockchain solution while maintaining decentralization and security, focusing on lower costs, fast transaction speeds, and eco-friendliness. Avalanche quickly became popular in the cryptocurrency space, with Avalanche TVL currently worth $8.41 billion and still rising across Avalanche decentralized applications (DApps). Avalanche is powered by its native token Avalanche (AVAX) and multiple consensus mechanisms. With Avalanche, users can create an unlimited number of customized and interoperable blockchains. To operate a blockchain on the Avalanche coin, AVAX, …

As Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins took a break from reaching new all-time highs, the market sentiment seems gloomy since the start of 2022. However, while the market seems to be sleeping, its trajectory shows that there’s more to look forward to in the coming months. Multinational professional services network KMPG published its biannual Pulse of Fintech report, where the firm tracks and analyzes developments and investments within the financial technology sector. The report highlighted the most notable developments in major regions like the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, and pointed out the “surging interest” in crypto and blockchain in the …

In a now-deleted deleted profile, an anonymous Reddit user allegedly lost close to $500k on Sunday after sending wrapped Ether (wETH) directly into a wETH wrapping smart contract. wETH came into existence as a way for Ether (ETH) to conform to the ERC-20 token standard so that it can be traded directly with altcoins minted on the Ethereum blockchain. To wrap Ether, users first send ETH to the wETH smart contract address and receive an equivalent token in return. However, to unwrap wETH, users must either swap for ETH on a decentralized exchange like Uniswap (UNI), or call the withdrawal …

In a Tweet posted by user @cryptotutor Friday, a screenshot appears to show a 27% spread between stablecoin Magic Internet Money (MIM) and USD Coin (USDC) trading pair on decentralized exchange, or DEX, Uniswap (UNI). Both have a theoretical peg of 1:1 against the U.S. Dollar. "Magic Internet Money," joked cryptotutor, as he attempted to swap approximately $1 million in MIM but received a quote for only 728.6k USDC. Others quickly took to social media to complain as well. In another screenshot, user @DeFiDownsin allegedly received a quote to swap $984k worth of MIM for just 4,173 in USDT on …

The former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and current U.K. Member of Parliament (MP) Matt Hancock urged the House of Commons to make England the “home” of crypto. Hancock has served as an MP for West Suffolk since 2010 but stood down from his role as the Health Secretary in mid-2021 following controversy surrounding COVID breaches tied to an alleged extramarital affair. Which is to say his endorsement, while welcomed by the industry, may not hold as much cachet as it once did. Following up from his speech at the House of Commons on Jan. 27, Hancock …

Anchor, the flagship savings protocol of the Terra Luna (LUNA) ecosystem, has seen its reserves decline by 35.7% in the past seven days according to Terra.Engineer. Since the beginning of December, the amount of Terra USD Stablecoin (UST) held in the "terra1tmnqgvg567ypvsvk6rwsga3srp7e3lg6u0elp8" smart contract has declined by over 50%, with only $35.7 million remaining. As a savings protocol, users deposit their UST assets via their wallets and earn up to 20% yields as their principal is lent out to borrowers, who pay interest on the loan amount. Borrowers must deposit collateral to ensure the lender can get their money back …

What are altcoins? The word “altcoin” is derived from “alternative” and “coin.” Altcoins refer to all alternatives to Bitcoin. Altcoins are cryptocurrencies that share characteristics with Bitcoin (BTC). For example, Bitcoin and altcoins have a similar basic framework. Altcoins also function like peer-to-peer (P2P) systems and share code, much like Bitcoin. Of course, there are also marked differences between Bitcoin and altcoins. One such difference is the consensus mechanism used by these altcoins to validate transactions or produce blocks. While Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, altcoins typically use proof-of-stake (PoS). There are different altcoin categories, and they can …

The Uniswap decentralized exchange (DEX) is the most popular DEX built on the Ethereum blockchain. For users wondering, "What is Uniswap?," this article provides an overview of what it is and how it works as well as several ways users can get started using the Uniswap DEX. With Uniswap, users can swap crypto tokens without having to rely on an intermediary. Not having to rely on a third party leads to next to no economic rents being collected. Instead, Uniswap relies on smart contracts to execute trades. Smart contracts are algorithms that self-execute once certain preset conditions are met. How …