Crypto.com raised a few eyebrows this past week when it announced cryptocurrency users worldwide could reach 1 billion by the end of 2022. The timing was curious, given that Bitcoin (BTC) and many other cryptos are entwined in one of the largest drawdowns in their (albeit short) history and with the prospect of United States Federal Reserve interest-rate tightening edging ever nearer. But the cryptocurrency exchange, which in November gave its name to the arena where the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team plays in a 20-year deal, was obviously taking the long view. Also, its prediction was contingent on two …

Blockchain, cryptocurrency and decentralized technology are all fascinating topics that have been heating up for almost a decade. Nowadays, everyone wants to be part of cutting-edge innovations. A Thursday announcement by Yolande Piazza, Google Cloud's VP Financial Services, said the firm has established a Google Cloud digital assets team that will assist clients in creating, trading, storing value and launching new products on blockchain-based platforms. The blog reads; “This new team will enable our customers to accelerate their efforts in this emerging space and help underpin the blockchain ecosystems of tomorrow.” We're launching a new, dedicated Digital Asset Team to …

China’s food delivery giant Meituan has become the latest tech firm to integrate central bank digital currency (CBDC) payments for its services. Meituan users can link the digital yuan wallet to their service app and use it for a range of daily services such as booking hotels, cabs and paying at restaurants. The food delivery and daily services app recorded 660 million transacting customers last year, and the integration of e-CNY payments would only help the Beijing government to test its sovereign digital currency more widely. Over the past few months, major tech giants in the country such as WeChat …

Even though the digital asset market seems to be witnessing a bit of a lull at the moment, the adoption of crypto-centric tech has continued to move forward with a full head of steam globally. Africa, in particular, is a continent where a growing list of mainstream financial entities have continued to make their presence felt, as they have begun to realize that the economic opportunities presented by the region are immense. To put things into perspective, a recent report released by Singapore-based crypto data provider Triple A shows that the North African country of Morocco currently boasts one of …

Bitcoin (BTC) is a New York state of mind thing for Eric Adams, the crypto advocate serving as the 110th Mayor of New York City. He received his first Bitcoin payout on Friday during some epic downward price action, and was unflappable when asked about losses during an interview. The Bitcoin price has taken a nosedive from Friday highs of $41,000 to $35,000, meaning Adams has effectively taken a 15% haircut on his first wages. In light of the plummeting price action, a CNN interviewer asked on Jan. 23, “How much money did you lose, and do you have any …

What are altcoins? The word “altcoin” is derived from “alternative” and “coin.” Altcoins refer to all alternatives to Bitcoin. Altcoins are cryptocurrencies that share characteristics with Bitcoin (BTC). For example, Bitcoin and altcoins have a similar basic framework. Altcoins also function like peer-to-peer (P2P) systems and share code, much like Bitcoin. Of course, there are also marked differences between Bitcoin and altcoins. One such difference is the consensus mechanism used by these altcoins to validate transactions or produce blocks. While Bitcoin uses the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, altcoins typically use proof-of-stake (PoS). There are different altcoin categories, and they can …

Assen Vassilev, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds and Minister of Finance, said the EU member nation is exploring options for rolling out a crypto payment mechanism. According to a Friday Bloomberg report, Vassilev said the government was in discussion with the Bulgarian National Bank as well as industry players to explore crypto payments “in the short to medium term.” However, he added that Bulgaria was unlikely to become a major hub for crypto miners — many are reportedly considering leaving Kazakhstan amid political turmoil and disruptions to the Internet. The Bulgarian government may still be one of the …

What is crypto staking? Crypto staking involves locking up one’s cryptocurrency holdings to earn interest or rewards. Technically, “staking” is how certain blockchain networks verify transactions. From an investor’s perspective, staking cryptocurrency is a way of growing one’s crypto holdings without needing to buy more. Staking crypto for maximum passive income is a legitimate way of earning yields through one’s existing crypto holdings. Investors who participate in staking enjoy interest that is greater than what is offered through a regular bank account. If you’re interested in staking cryptocurrency but are unfamiliar with the term, let us get you up to …

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is reportedly planning to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot soon. According to a report by the Iranian Labour News Agency, the CBI vice governor said that CBDCs could help the country resolv financial inconsistencies. The development of a sovereign digital currency in Iran began in 2018 at the Informatics Services Corporation — the executive arm of the CBI. The development phase has been completed and a pilot will be launched soon. However, CBI didn’t reveal many details about the time frame. The Iranian CBDC was reportedly developed using the Hyperledger Fabric …

2021 was a breakout year for the cryptocurrency sector and this year is expected to see an extension of the “mass adoption” trend. Public awareness of blockchain technology is on the rise and a new cohort of projects designed to fill more niche roles in society are likely to emerge in the coming months. Three sectors that have the potential to see significant growth in 2022 are human resources (HR), employee payment solutions and platforms that serve the gig economy by offering corporate blockchain solutions. HR might pivot toward blockchain Human resource management is ripe for blockchain integration due to …

Dogecoin (DOGE) prices rose substantially Friday as Elon Musk announced that Tesla would start accepting it as payments for merchandise. Tesla merch buyable with Dogecoin — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 14, 2022 After the announcement, DOGE price jumped nearly 13%, hitting a 30-day high a $0.2150. Its upside move came as a part of a larger intraday rally that was taking place already before Musk's Dogecoin tweet went viral. The DOGE price went up by over 25% on Friday before correcting lower to $0.1986 on profit-taking. Better than Bitcoin Tesla's integration of a DOGE payment option on its online shopping …

A former member of the Tongan Parliament is behind a proposal to make Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender in the tiny Pacific nation of Tonga, following in the footsteps of El Salvador. It’s due for a vote in Parliament in May and the early signs are encouraging. Mataʻiʻulua ʻi Fonuamotu, Lord Fusitu’a told Cointelegraph that plans are in motion to use state-run volcano mining facilities to create wealth in Tonga. Tonga has 21 volcanoes. “That means one volcano for every 5,000 people.” He owns one volcano himself through his family’s hereditary land rights. The proposed Bitcoin mining operations would use the …