Chinese mining chip designer Nano Labs has applied for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States to raise $50 million on Nasdaq amid sluggish market conditions. According to information obtained by the Renaissance Capital IPO monitoring tool, the Huangzhou-based crypto mining chip maker has filed with the regulator, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for its upcoming public offering on Nasdaq, the world's second-larges stock exchange. The application for American depository shares is occurring amid a slew of regulatory difficulties in China and the United States, causing a shortage of Chinese issuers' overseas fundraising. Only two IPOs …

As decentralized finance continues its victorious march — although the road is sometimes bumpy — some significant questions on its nature remain. How can DeFi applications be protected from becoming nonoperational under extreme stress? Is it really decentralized if some individuals have way more governance tokens than others? Does the anonymous culture compromise its transparency? A recent report from the EU Blockchain Observatory and Forum elaborates on these questions and many others around DeFi. It contains eight sections and covers a range of topics, from the fundamental definition of DeFi to its technical, financial and procedural risks. Conducted by an …

Zcash (ZEC), a privacy coin that launched in 2016, unveiled an upgrade to its system on May 31 that will allow users to more easily make private, trustless digital cash payments on mobile phones. Not everyone would view this as a good development. The unfamiliarity, uncertainty and public intrigue surrounding privacy — including its complexity, misuse and speculative activity — presents a number of challenges and reputational issues for innovating crypto projects. While a core tenet and source of pride among crypto projects such as Zcash, privacy has been demonized by those in power, including lawmakers, regulators, banks and academics. …

The Republic of Palau announced Friday that it will issue identification cards to its digital residents in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on Binance’s BNB Chain blockchain. Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was on hand in the Pacific Island nation for the unveiling of the NFTs and to meet with Palauan President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. Palau introduced its Root Name System (RNS) Digital Residency program in January. California-based Cryptic Labs took part in the development of the program, which provides global citizens with identity cards issued by the government of Palau. Physical cards already exist. Planned …

In January, the United States Federal Reserve Board of Governors released a discussion paper on a potential U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) titled “Money and Payments: The U.S. Dollar in the Age of Digital Transformation.” The comment period for the paper ended May 20, with the Fed receiving over 2,000 pages of comments from individuals alongside responses from leading stakeholders. Cointelegraph read a selection of shareholder responses to the Fed paper, and it quickly became apparent that there are plenty of confidently stated opinions but little agreement among them. The main points of commonality are in the places they …

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has yet to publicly commit to signing a controversial bill that would ban proof-of-work (PoW) crypto mining, instead noting that her team will be looking “very closely” at the proposal over the next few months. If she signs the bill into law, PoW crypto mining operations backed by fossil fuels would no longer be able to set up shop or renew existing licenses in the state of New York. Under the new regulations, only PoW operations backed 100% by renewable energy would be able to operate. The New York State Senate passed the bill on …

The Bermuda government is pushing on with its ambitious plans to become a cryptocurrency hub despite the massive market downturn in 2022. The small island territory known for its pristine pink sand beaches and attractive taxation policies has been actively expanding its crypto sector since 2017, according to Bermuda’s Minister of Economy and Labor Jason Hayward. He noted on Friday that the government remains unfazed by the recent crash caused by the collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May, as the market has weathered many storms since 2017. Speaking with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Hayward pointed to the experience …

Earlier this year, during the annual Queen’s Speech in the United Kingdom, Prince Charles informed the Parliament about two bills. One of them — the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill — would expand the government’s powers to seize and recover crypto assets. Meanwhile, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seized more than $3 billion worth of crypto in 2021. As digital currencies’ monetary stock grows and enforcers’ scrutiny over the maturing industry tightens, the amount of seized funds will inevitably increase. But where do these funds go, assuming they aren’t returned to the victims of scams and fraud? …

The China state-owned media outlet, the Economic Daily, has signaled that the Chinese government may introduce even tighter regulations on cryptocurrencies and stablecoins due to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. In an article published May 31, the outlet detailed the collapse of TerraUSD (UST) and LUNA, explaining the workings of the algorithmic stablecoin. It used the so-called black swan event to praise the Chinese government’s decision to ban cryptocurrency. “My country has been cracking down on virtual currency trading speculation and a large number of trading platforms,” reporter Li Hualin wrote before adding, “this has effectively blocked the transmission …

The government of Kazakhstan, one of the world’s largest countries by Bitcoin (BTC) mining hash rate distribution, has reported budget earnings derived from cryptocurrency mining. On Monday, Kazakhstan’s State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance released a report on the amount of total energy fees paid by local crypto miners in the first quarter of 2022. According to the report, 652 million Kazakhstani tenge ($1.5 million) in energy fees from crypto mining was added to Kazakhstan’s budget in Q1 2022 after the government introduced a digital mining fee on Jan. 1, 2022. The committee stressed that a significant amount …

The South Korean government continues to investigate Terraform Labs, the firm behind the Terra Network as well as Luna Classic (LUNC), previously known as Terra (LUNA), and TerraUSD (UST) tokens, by reportedly summoning subpoenas to employees. South Korean authorities have reportedly summoned all employees at Terraform Labs as part of a full-scale investigation of the collapse of UST and LUNC, the local news agency JTBC reported on Saturday. According to the report, the probe is conducted by the joint financial and securities crime investigation team of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office. The authorities are looking into the case to …

The collapse of the Terra ecosystem, which subsequently depegged its algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) value and crashed it to an all-time low of $0.30, has cast doubt over the future of not just algorithmic stablecoins but all stablecoins in general. UST’s success and stability were intertwined with its sibling, LUNA, which creates arbitrage opportunities that, in theory, should keep UST’s price steady. If UST’s price drops below $1, it can be burned in exchange for LUNA, which lowers the supply of UST and raises its price. Conversely, if UST’s price goes above a dollar, LUNA can be burned in exchange …