Controversial Fox news television host Tucker Carlson has proposed a curious conspiracy theory that seeks to link airline delays in the United States and Canada with a surge in the Bitcoin price. He suggested the computer outage behind the widespread delays may have been caused by ransomware and theorized the US Government may have bought a large amount of Bitcoin to pay the ransom. However he did not provide any evidence for his claims. Speaking on his “Tucker Carlson Tonight” segment of Fox News on Jan. 17, Carlson argued that the Bitcoin (BTC) price increased 20%+ soon after the U.S. …

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and decentralized finance (DeFi) are redefining how charities raise donations and distribute funds to those most in need. Through ever-evolving crypto and blockchain-related technology, crypto philanthropists told Cointelegraph that they've witnessed “new wealth distribution mechanisms" never seen before. “Philanthropy has traditionally been seen as a high-cost-of-entry, individualistic activity but with web3, collective decision-making bodies like DAOs can use tools that streamline financial coordination and encourage more participation,” explained Omar Antila, Product Lead at Crypto for Charity. “Crypto enables new innovative fundraising strategies, like charitable NFT-drop campaigns, or allowing people to pool their crypto …

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has launched its Metaverse Seoul project, allowing residents of the South Korean capital city to access city services in a virtual environment. In a Jan. 16 press briefing, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the launch of the first phase of Metaverse Seoul following beta testing of the project. According to the mayor, the online environment will be a “place of communication for citizens” of the capital city, allowing them to virtually visit many of Seoul’s attractions, access official documents, file certain complaints, and receive answers to questions on filing municipal taxes. '메타버스 서울' 내놓은 오세훈 "독자적 …

Troubled cryptocurrency firm Nexo is planning to sue the Bulgarian government in the aftermath of massive raids at the company’s offices in Sofia. Nexo has complained about the actions of the law enforcement authorities in response to the investigation against the firm, the Bulgarian News Agency reported on Jan. 13. The company is reportedly preparing to file a lawsuit against the authorities to seek compensation for damages caused by the abrupt police interruption. One report suggested that investigators did not provide a search warrant for hours, while inspectors had never identified themselves. Nexo believes that the raids conducted in its …

Republicans in the United States House of Representatives reportedly plan to step up their oversight of the crypto industry with the creation of a new subcommittee. According to a Jan. 12 report from Politco, North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, said he planned to set up the subcommittee in part due to “a big hole” in how the committee is currently structured. Arkansas Representative French Hill and Ohio Representative Warren Davidson will reportedly be the chair and vice chair of the subcommittee, respectively, focused on issues related to digital assets, financial technology, and financial …

The crypto community has voiced their opinions on Sam Bankman-Fried’s latest “pre-mortem overview” of the collapse of FTX, published on Jan. 12 as a letter on substack. https://t.co/XVd0BPHxEU — SBF (@SBF_FTX) January 12, 2023 As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried denied allegations made against him in his lengthy letter, dubbed as a "pre-mortem overview",. In the letter, SBF maintained that FTX US had been "fully solvent" at the time the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with approximately $350 million in cash available. Bankman-Fried further stated that FTX International had a substantial amount of assets, …

The United States House of Representatives finally elected a speaker last week, concluding a four-day, 15-ballot ordeal that left many wondering if political gridlock was now the new normal in the U.S., and if so, what the consequences would be. For example, were the concessions made by Republican Kevin McCarthy to secure his election as speaker ultimately going to make it difficult to achieve any sort of legislative consensus, making it impossible for the U.S. to raise its debt ceiling and fund the government later this year? Not all were optimistic. The House of Representatives will be largely “ungovernable” in …

Argentina’s Ministry of Economy, the country’s economic policy manager, has drafted a bill to encourage Argentines to declare their cryptocurrency holdings with the inducement of discounted tax rates. Aimed at combating money laundering, the “Externalization of Argentine Savings” draft law was introduced by economy minister Sergio Massa according to a Jan. 6 report by local outlet Errepar. The bill would require crypto holders to produce an affidavit — a sworn statement identifying the whereabouts of their holdings to the government. The bill proposes tax incentives to encourage citizens to declare their holdings. Those who voluntarily declare their holdings within 90 …

The brother of a former Coinbase product manager, Nikhil Wahi, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for wire fraud conspiracy charges, in what is believed to be the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrency. As reported by Reuters, Nikhil Wahi pleaded guilty in September to initiating trades based on confidential information obtained from his brother, Ishan Wahi, who was a former Coinbase product manager. Ex-Coinbase manager's brother sentenced to 10 months in insider trading case https://t.co/Kyy6DqSb9D pic.twitter.com/ruQjwr5i4h — Reuters (@Reuters) January 10, 2023 Nikhil Wahi admitted to trading with the use of inside information obtained from Coinbase. According …

The government of Hong Kong remains committed to the development of cryptocurrency infrastructure despite the ongoing industry crisis triggered by the FTX collapse. According to Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan, the local government and regulators are open to collaboration with crypto and fintech startups in 2023. Speaking at an event hosted by the state-run incubator Cyberport, Chan declared that Hong Kong has become a foundation connecting high quality virtual asset firms, the public broadcasting service Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported on Jan. 9. The financial secretary said that the Hong Kong government has received lots of requests to …

In the spring of 2022, the Central African Republic (CAR) became the first African country to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender. As the second country globally to recognize Bitcoin in such a fashion, the CAR followed in El Salvador’s footsteps. El Salvador has since boasted surging tourism numbers, a resilient economy and a healthy amount of free PR since allowing its citizens to make everyday purchases with the seminal cryptocurrency. The CAR, a substantially less economically developed economy than its Central American counterpart, would hope to emulate El Salvador’s success. Despite the nation’s vast natural resource wealth, the …

Cryptocurrency adoption has been on the rise in El Salvador in recent years, with the country becoming the first in the world to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender. This landmark decision has attracted the attention of the global cryptocurrency community and has sparked discussions on the potential benefits and challenges of widespread adoption. El Salvador’s controversial move with its cryptocurrency adoption would not have been possible if it was not due to President Nayib Bukele, who garnered international attention after announcing the Bitcoin adoption plan and passed it into law. The legislation required all businesses within the country …