What is a crypto honeypot and why is it used? Smart contracts programs across a decentralized network of nodes can be executed on modern blockchains like Ethereum. Smart contracts are becoming more popular and valuable, making them a more appealing target for attackers. Several smart contracts have been targeted by hackers in recent years. However, a new trend appears to be gaining traction; namely, attackers are no longer looking for susceptible contracts but are adopting a more proactive strategy. Instead, they aim to trick their victims into falling into traps by sending out contracts that appear to be vulnerable but …

Barbados, a paradise island in the West Indies, is known for its azure beaches, tidal waves, shipwrecks, homegrown grown Barbadian (Bajan) hospitality, and more recently, an influx of remote workers. Now, one can add cryptocurrency innovations to that list as well. Bitt, a Bajan fintech firm developing blockchain technology, has successfully created the eNaira central bank digital currency, or CBDC, for Nigeria and is on the path to creating an electronic Hryvnia for Ukraine. In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Brian Popelka, chief executive officer of Bitt, discussed the technology behind the eNaira and the roadmap for the firm going …

In an annual report published on Friday, the United States Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, voiced its concern over the adoption of stablecoins and other digital assets. Regarding stablecoins, the FSOC said consumer confidence could be undermined by factors such as illiquidity, lack of appropriate safeguards, opacity regarding redemption rights, and cyber attacks. "A run on stablecoins during strained market conditions may have the potential to amplify a shock to the economy and the financial system," the report said. The report also alerted to developments in decentralized finance, or DeFi, where the use of high leverage could trigger a …

On Dec. 15, Genius Yield, a decentralized automated market maker and liquidity management protocol built on the Cardano (ADA) blockchain, announced the launch of its initial stake pool offering, or ISPO. The fundraising will continue for six months until June 15, 2022. At the time of publication, more than 95.8 million ADA, worth approximately $118 million at the time of writing, have been delegated to the stake pools. In an ISPO, blockchain enthusiasts stake their cryptos in a protocol and receive tokens of the new project they fund as rewards. After a lockup period, investors can then reclaim their staked …

Global Impact Week, an industry event which features fintech, policy, climate, healthcare, and media innovations, kicked off in Valencia, Spain, and is ongoing from Dec. 14 to 18. Recent figures put attendance at 100,000, with 500 speakers and 150 live sessions. Cointelegraph's Editor-in-Chief Kristina Cornèr has been in virtual attendance at the event, moderating the panel titled Fireside Chat: Fintech Defining the Future with Mastercard's executive VP of market development Liza Oakes. Here's what they had to say: Kristina Cornèr: In November, Mastercard announced the launch of crypto-funded payments cards. How do you see this opportunity develop in the next …

On Wednesday, crypto-fiat gateway payments provider Ramp announced it had raised a $52.7 million Series A funding round led by Balderton Capital, NFX, Galaxy Digital, Seedcamp, Firstminute Capital, and angel investors. Ramp allows its partner brands to offer crypto-enabled services, claiming that it takes mere hours for developers to integrate their decentralized applications, or dApps, with its software. It has over 400 partners, including Axie Infinity, Mozilla, Opera Browser, Dapper Labs, Aave, Argent, Trust Wallet, and Zerion. The firm has regulatory approval in the U.S., U.K., and Poland. Current uses of Ramp include purchasing cryptocurrencies for storage in wallets directly …

Today, the future of content production is ripe for disruption. With advances in technology and the rise of a generation of influencers, the skills of content production have been adopted en masse. Individuals and groups are now producing valuable streams of all forms of content across multiple channels, including YouTube, Instagram, Twitch and lesser-known distribution channels. This has seen a devaluing of the content itself. Although the creator is putting a lot of time and effort into the production process, it is often the case that the commercial return does not reflect this effort. How do we ensure that the …

On Dec. 15, SEBA Bank, a licensed Swiss digital assets banking platform, launched a regulated digital token backed by physical gold and exchangeable for delivery. SEBA claimed that due to its regulatory-compliant nature and the low volatility of gold prices, the gold token could eventually be used as a stablecoin for on-chain transactions. In other words, the design of the gold token bears similarity to gold standards, where fiat currencies are backed by their exchangeability to physical gold in addition to faith entrusted in governments that issue them. In 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon took the dollar off the gold …

Cove Markets, an API platform that enables users to trade across multiple centralized exchanges and manage aggregate financial data, will become part of Robinhood Crypto, as announced by the discount brokerage late Tuesday. Traders and investors can connect up to seven exchanges, including Coinbase Pro, Kraken, Bitfinex, etc., using Cove Markets to trade over 50 major currencies and altcoins. The two trading firms said they plan to increase the volume of order routing and execution on Robinhood with the acquisition. Christine Brown, chief operating officer of Robinhood Crypto, made the following remarks regarding the development: The Cove Markets team's wealth …

On Tuesday, New York Digital Investment Group, or NYDIG, a financial institution specializing in Bitcoin financial services such as savings accounts, trading brokerage, 401(k)s, etc., announced it had secured a $1 billion equity investment led by WestCap. The funding places its valuation at nearly $7 billion. The firm has proved to be popular among institutional investors. Last year, Stone Ridge, a $10 billion asset manager, purchased 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) via NYDIG's services. NYDIG is also set to bring BTC adoption to over 650 U.S. banks and credit unions, as well as launching BTC trading for 18 million U.S. banking customers. …

Haiti, a Western Caribbean country torn by a tragic past, natural disasters, poor leadership, and ineffective foreign aid, is not a country that comes to people's minds when they think of blockchain adoption. For years, Haiti has been among the world's poorest countries in terms of GDP per capita, as per data from the World Bank. But Haitian-Canadian entrepreneur Nandy Martin, colloquially known as Captain Haiti for wandering the streets of his community in his superhero attire and signature shield prop, has ambitious goals to change that. Operating from the sunny domains of his humble abode in Miami's Little Haiti, …

On Friday, Assembly, a decentralized layer one smart contract network built within the IOTA ecosystem, announced it had raised $100 million from private investors, including LD Capital, HyperChain Capital assembly, and Huobi Ventures. The project stated that the funds will be used to accelerate the development of decentralized finance protocols, nonfungible tokens, and play-to-earn crypto games. IOTA is a blockchain designed for facilitating internet-of-things transactions. Its proprietary technology consists of a system of decentralized acyclic graphs that can connect to one another in multiple vectors as opposed to in-series as with a regular blockchain. As a result, one new block …