German crypto bank Nuri has told its 500,000 users to withdraw funds from their accounts as the firm prepares to shut down and liquidate the business, marking it as another victim of the 2022 bear market. Nuri first reported liquidity issues in August, after announcing that it had filed for insolvency amid the economic strains of Crypto Winter. It said at the time that business would continue as usual, as it worked on a restructuring plan and securing a buyout, however an acquisition has failed to materialize. In an Oct. 18 blog post, Nuri CEO Kristina Mayer noted that despite …

Germany has become the most favorable crypto economy in the world in the third quarter of 2022, according to a new report. The United States, the joint top-rank holder from last quarter, fell six places to rank seventh on the top crypto economy. The crypto economy rankings compiled by Coincub looked into various factors such as favorable crypto outlook, clear crypto tax rules, more transparent regulatory communications and more to rank countries. Germany although not a tax haven, is considered one of the strongest all-around ‘traditional-tax’ crypto economies that reward long-term crypto holders. German law charges zero tax on crypto …

Despite the turbulence that broke out in the crypto market this summer, there is an important long-term marker that should be considered in any complex assessment — the combination of adoption and regulation. The latest report by EUBlockchain Observatory, named “EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments,” tries to measure this combination within the European Union, combining the data on each and every member country from Portugal to Slovakia. As the original report counts more than 200 pages, Cointelegraph prepared a summary with the intent to capture the most vital information about the state of crypto and blockchain in Europe. We started from …

The paths of traditional finance and the cryptocurrency industry have intersected again, with a crypto startup coming to save the iconic Euro monument in Frankfurt. Frankfurt-based crypto startup Caiz Development will provide 1 million euros, or about $961,000, in funding over the next five years to rescue the famous Euro sculpture. Announcing the news on Tuesday, Caiz said that the firm saw a good marketing opportunity in supporting the sculpture by obtaining unique exposure. Through the funding, the firm was able to put its product board next to the 14-meter-high euro sign bearing 12 yellow stars, which represent the original …

Global cryptocurrency taxation rules significantly vary among countries, and some jurisdictions have come up with extremely tough crypto tax policies for their residents. In a new study by crypto analytics firm Coincub, Belgium is referred to as the worst country in the world in terms of crypto taxation for residents. That is according to in-house rankings covering taxation aspects like taxes on crypto income or crypto capital gains. Belgium is known for its massive 33% tax on capital gains on crypto transactions, and it also withholds up to 50% in taxes from professional income on crypto trades. As previously reported, …

Bitcoin (BTC) crashed below $19,000 on Sept. 6, driving the price to its lowest level in 80 days. The movement not only completely erased the entirety of the 32% gains accrued from July until Aug. 15, it also wiped out $246 million worth of leverage long (buy) futures contracts. Bitcoin price is down for the year but it’s important to also compare its price action against other assets. Oil prices are currently down 23.5% since July, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has dropped 36.4% in 30 days and Moderna (MRNA), a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, is down 30.4% in the same period. …

Despite the ongoing cryptocurrency market decline and associated forced layoffs in major crypto firms, a career in crypto doesn’t turn less attractive to many traditional finance executives. European crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider 21Shares announced three major hires on Wednesday to expand its presence in countries like France, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. Marina Baudéan, 21Shares’ newly appointed head of France, Belgium and Luxembourg, is debuting her crypto career after working for more than 15 years at the British universal bank Barclays. Baudéan is confident that crypto is “all about the next generation of technology,” and it’s here to …

Nuri, a German start-up crypto bank with 500,000 customers filed for insolvency on Aug. 9, citing major crypto sell-offs, insolvency of Celsius and other crypto funds earlier this year as a reason for the move. The crypto bank said the move will “ensure the safest path forward” for all its customers, but also stressed that the insolvency will not affect its services, customer funds, investments, or the ability for customers to withdraw their assets from the platform. Nuri filed for insolvency on Tuesday, August 9th, 2022. This does not affect our services, customer funds or investments. You can find a …

Major European cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares is expanding its exchange-traded products (ETP) with a new physically-backed ETP based on Algorand. CoinShares on Thursday announced the listing of its physically-backed staked Algorand ETP on Xetra, the electronic trading platform run by Germany’s exchange operator Deutsche Boerse. Named the CoinShares Physical Staked Algorand, the new crypto investment product will be trading on Xetra under the ticker RAND. The ETP is enabled through CoinShares’ proprietary technology platform Galata, allowing investors to benefit from the 2% staking rewards associated with participating in Algorand's blockchain security. The new Algorand ETP joins a family of CoinShares’s …

Munich-based MetaBrewSociety (MBS) will soon offer voting rights on the business decisions of a physical brewery via nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The MBS was formed in February this year by a group of beer-loving NFT investors and entrepreneurs who came up with the idea of combining a brewery with the Metaverse, a DAO and NFTs to create a “tangible IRL utility that carries a concrete value” for participants. As part of the project, MBS will offer a range of tokenized “beer share” certificates that provide varying levels of governance rights over a physical brewery in …

The crypto community has fired back at European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde for her recent anti-crypto remarks, with people expressing disappointment and even criticizing the euro. As crypto markets show signs of stagnation, Lagarde reminded the world of her stance on cryptocurrencies. According to her, cryptocurrencies are “worth nothing” because the assets are “based on nothing.” Additionally, she expressed concerns for those who invest in crypto and called for regulation. Responding to these comments, the crypto community expressed their sentiments. Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, wrote that she’s disappointed, but not surprised, to hear …

On Tuesday, the European Central Bank, or ECB, published the results of a new survey conducted in six eurozone areas: the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, France and Germany. Together, approximately 10% of respondents from the surveyed countries said they own cryptocurrencies. Out of this group, only 6% of respondents said they own digital assets worth more than 30,000 euros ($32,037). Meanwhile, 37% of respondents said they owned up to 999 euros ($1066) in crypto. Across all of the countries surveyed, investors in the fifth income quintile (or the wealthiest 20% of the population) consistently had the highest proportion of cryptocurrency …