Amid the ongoing uncertainty about the future of cryptocurrencies in Russia, one local industry executive has disclosed a potential method for the Bank of Russia to block crypto transactions. Andrey Mikhaylishin, CEO of the local crypto payment startup Joys, said that the Russian central bank is now considering several potential options to make its crypto ban possible, Forbes Russia reported Friday. One of the possible restriction methods includes blocking debit card payments to crypto exchanges or wallets using merchant category codes (MCC), Mikhaylishin said. The report notes that the executive became aware of this blocking method from Bank of Russia …

Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov has expressed excitement about the Telegram Open Network (TON) technology still developing after Telegram officially abandoned the project last year. “I'm proud that the technology we created is alive and evolving. When it comes to scalability and speed, TON is still years ahead of everything else in the blockchain realm,” Durov said in a Telegram post on Thursday. He noted that the project rebranded from TON to Toncoin. Unlike the original TON, the new project is independent of Telegram. “But I wish its team the same success. Coupled with the right go-to-market strategy, they …

Athletes and politicians made headlines as they opted to get paid in crypto earlier this year. Now, in an attempt to attract a younger workforce, companies are starting to offer crypto salaries. A recent CNBC article highlighted two different cases where young talent is paid in crypto. University student Stephen Gerrits and artist Tiyanna Brown decided to receive their pay in cryptocurrencies. Gerrits works part-time at a tech startup, while Brown sells digital art in exchange for Ether (ETH). According to Gerrits, he earned more than what he would’ve made in cash due to crypto price changes. However, it doesn’t …

Barbados, a paradise island in the West Indies, is known for its azure beaches, tidal waves, shipwrecks, homegrown grown Barbadian (Bajan) hospitality, and more recently, an influx of remote workers. Now, one can add cryptocurrency innovations to that list as well. Bitt, a Bajan fintech firm developing blockchain technology, has successfully created the eNaira central bank digital currency, or CBDC, for Nigeria and is on the path to creating an electronic Hryvnia for Ukraine. In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Brian Popelka, chief executive officer of Bitt, discussed the technology behind the eNaira and the roadmap for the firm going …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) dominated media headlines throughout 2021 and the sector, along with nonfungible tokens (NFTs), helped to initiate the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. While high yields on staking and instant profits from flipping jpegs have proven to be very lucrative for investors, it’s important to remember that none of it would have been possible without the underlying capabilities of smart contract technology. The Ethereum network remains, hands-down, the most widely used layer-one smart contract platform in the crypto ecosystem, but everyone knows about the high fee and clogged network issues of the past few years. In 2021, competing networks …

Wall Street financial advisor that helped Amazon acquire MGM studios this year is exploring crypto payment options. LionTree, a popular financial advisor and investment banking firm, is looking into cryptocurrencies as a payment option. In its year-end letter, Chairman and CEO Aryeh Bourkoff talks about crypto as a potential tool for empowering individuals and explores some of the biggest trends in crypto, such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). “In 2021, crypto made itself impossible to ignore, with a market cap at times surpassing $3 trillion," wrote Bourkoff, adding that this was because people with more cash than …

The government of Thailand is preparing a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) in order to minimize risks and improve investor protection. The Bank of Thailand (BoT) will release a consultation paper in January that will define “red lines” for the crypto industry, governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said in a Dec. 14 interview with The Bangkok Post. “We want to ensure that we strike the right balance between allowing financial innovation and managing risks,” the official stated. The new rules will provide adequate safeguards for consumers as “risks are under-appreciated” currently, Sethaput said. The central bank is cooperating with …

Global Impact Week, an industry event which features fintech, policy, climate, healthcare, and media innovations, kicked off in Valencia, Spain, and is ongoing from Dec. 14 to 18. Recent figures put attendance at 100,000, with 500 speakers and 150 live sessions. Cointelegraph's Editor-in-Chief Kristina Cornèr has been in virtual attendance at the event, moderating the panel titled Fireside Chat: Fintech Defining the Future with Mastercard's executive VP of market development Liza Oakes. Here's what they had to say: Kristina Cornèr: In November, Mastercard announced the launch of crypto-funded payments cards. How do you see this opportunity develop in the next …

On Wednesday, crypto-fiat gateway payments provider Ramp announced it had raised a $52.7 million Series A funding round led by Balderton Capital, NFX, Galaxy Digital, Seedcamp, Firstminute Capital, and angel investors. Ramp allows its partner brands to offer crypto-enabled services, claiming that it takes mere hours for developers to integrate their decentralized applications, or dApps, with its software. It has over 400 partners, including Axie Infinity, Mozilla, Opera Browser, Dapper Labs, Aave, Argent, Trust Wallet, and Zerion. The firm has regulatory approval in the U.S., U.K., and Poland. Current uses of Ramp include purchasing cryptocurrencies for storage in wallets directly …

Wells Fargo has partnered with HSBC to use its blockchain tools for the settlement of bilateral foreign exchange (FX) transactions. Wells Fargo would use the HSBC-developed FX Everywhere platform for interbank FX transactions. Developed by HSBC in 2018, the blockchain settlement platform is primarily used to settle transactions between banks within the HSBC group. The latest partnership would be the first use case outside the HSBC group. The partnership would make way for settlement in U.S. dollar (USD), Canadian dollar (CAD), British pound sterling (GBP) and Euro (EUR) transactions. The official press release said that the platform would expand to …

Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that Bitcoin (BTC) is not that good for everyday payments as the meme-based cryptocurrency, Dogecoin (DOGE). Musk compared the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, to DOGE in a Time Magazine interview shortly after being named Time’s 2021 Person of the Year. “Bitcoin is not a good substitute for transactional currency. Even though it was created as a silly joke, Dogecoin is better suited for transactions. The total transaction flow that you do with Dogecoin, like transactions per day, is much higher potential than Bitcoin,” Musk said. Tesla CEO emphasized that Bitcoin is more suitable as a …

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has officially proposed the state government to allow businesses to pay state fees with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The Republican governor announced the idea as part of his 2022–2023 budget proposal, released on Dec. 9. According to the official budget highlights, DeSantis proposed to provide $200,000 to the Department of Financial Services to offer Florida corporations the ability to “pay state fees via cryptocurrency directly to the Department of State.” “Florida encourages cryptocurrency as a means of commerce and furthering Florida’s attractiveness to businesses and economic growth,” the document reads. DeSantis additionally proposed allocating another $500,000 …