Over the years, several cryptocurrency companies have claimed that deposits with them were insured by the United States Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as if they were regular savings accounts. While so far, no crypto firm has been able to offer depositors this type of insurance, some speculate it could be the key to mass adoption. The most notable case is that of bankrupt lender Voyager Digital, which saw regulators instruct it to remove “false and misleading statements” regarding FDIC insurance. Crypto exchange FTX has been a beacon of hope looking to backstop contagion in the …

Insurance is key for financially securing important assets. Yet, the cryptocurrency sector — which is predicted to reach a global market size of $4.94 billion by 2030 — may be lagging behind when it comes to insuring digital assets. For instance, it’s been noted that less than 1% of all crypto investments are currently insured. This statistic is alarming, considering the rapid growth and high-risk profile associated with today’s cryptocurrency market. Ben Davis, team lead for digital assets at Superscript — a British startup and Lloyd’s of London-licensed insurance broker — told Cointelegraph that crypto has been marginalized when it …

United States-based insurers are the most interested in cryptocurrency investment according to a Goldman Sachs global survey of 328 chief financial and chief investment officers regarding their firm’s asset allocations and portfolios. The investment banking giant recently released its annual global insurance investment survey, which included responses regarding cryptocurrencies for the first time, finding that 11% of U.S. insurance firms indicated either an interest in investing or a current investment in crypto. Speaking on the company’s Exchanges at Goldman Sachs podcast on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs global head of insurance asset management Mike Siegel said he was surprised to get any …

The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem continues to struggle with the ongoing market volatility and after-effects of the Terra ecosystem collapse. Over the past week, major DeFi protocols showed signs of increased trading activity, with Uniswap breaching the $1 trillion trading volume mark. Terra remained the focus of most of the discussions around blockchain and crypto at the World Economic Forum (WEF), with analysts suggesting Terra was offering unsustainable yields. DeFi insurance protocol to pay out millions after Terra collapse, while interest in Ethereum Name Services (ENS) shattered new records. Top DeFi tokens by market cap had a mixed week of …

Cryptocurrency markets have been maturing over the last few years, making demand for crypto insurance solutions larger as more advanced players dip their toes into the nascent ecosystem. Investopedia reports that cryptocurrency insurance is seen as a “big opportunity,” with a spokesman from one of the world’s largest insurers, Allianz, saying that the company has explored product and coverage options in the cryptocurrency space as it becomes “more relevant, important and prevalent on the real economy.” The cryptocurrency ecosystem is still seen as dangerous and volatile, where funds aren’t completely secure even on leading cryptocurrency exchanges. While some platforms, including …

China's nascent central bank digital currency, the digital yuan, has already been deployed for an extensive array of successful pilot schemes, ranging from e-commerce to salary payments and to festive traditional lotteries. This week has reportedly seen the currency debut in the insurance industry, in the city of Shenzhen, where it is being piloted by the local branch of the People’s Bank of China together with a local subsidiary of China’s leading insurer, Ping An. The project involves a new insurance policy tailored to medical workers in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district, offering them various levels of compensation for diagnosis of or …

In a move that could point toward greater decentralization and wider access, the Nexus Mutual community is currently considering a proposal to sunset the coverage protocol’s legal entity and lift Know Your Customer (KYC) burdens currently necessary to interact with the platform. The proposal was announced on Thursday in a Tweet by Christopher Heymann, co-founder of investment fund 1kx. In it, Heymann notes that Nexus originally launched with a “a UK-based limited company” in order to protect the team from legal liabilities and tax-related issues. 1/ Attention Nexus Mutants: Nexus Mutual is evolving. We are launching Operation Wartortle with the …

New York Digital Investment Group announced the completion of a growth capital funding round as well as the launch of a business initiative relating to Bitcoin. In an announcement today, the New York Digital Investment Group, or NYDIG, said it had secured $100 million in funding from major insurance providers including Starr Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and others in addition to its existing strategic partners, New York Life and MassMutual. A provider of Bitcoin-related technology and investment services, NYDIG also said it would be launching “Bitcoin-powered solutions for U.S.-based life insurance and annuity providers.” This comes as the firm announced …

Unslashed Finance, a decentralized insurance protocol built on Ethereum, has raised $2 million to fund its tokenized insurance product, highlighting another positive use case for blockchain technology. The funding round, which was led by Lemniscap, P2P Capital and other investors, will aid Unslashed Finance in expanding its decentralized insurance protocol for crypto assets. The protocol works by connecting people willing to buy insurance for their assets and investors seeking to earn an uncorrelated yield. Unslashed claims that its protocol enables “almost instant liquidity to insurance buyers and risk underwriters,” as well as constant collateralization. By tokenizing coverage, the platform allows …

This week’s headlines from Japan included real estate player Tosei and Tokyo Financial Holdings listing an asset-backed digital financial product, Cointelegraph Japan interviewing a former Japanese central bank staffer, Coinage registering as an exchange with Japan's financial services agency, and a life insurance company testing digital asset billing transaction. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. Tosei and Tokyo Financial Holdings launch a digital securities product Real estate outfit Tosei and Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, hold plans for a digital securities product. The pair "will list digital securities backed by the rental …

Insurance firms in China use blockchain to manage coronavirus-related claims amid the outbreak. English-language local news outlet South China Morning Post reported on Feb. 9 that this month Chinese online mutual aid platform Xiang Hu Bao added the coronavirus to the illnesses eligible for the maximum one-time payout of around $14,300 (100,000 yuan). Blockchain used for insurance claim processing Xiang Hu Bao is not an insurance policy, but a blockchain-based collective claim-sharing platform that counts 104 million users. Per the report, blockchain technology is employed by the system to prevent fraud and allow for faster claim processing. Xiang Hu Bao …