Humanitarian groups have increasingly used blockchain technology to solve problems with lack of banking or inadequate identity verification in developing or war-torn nations. Two new projects have been announced in December, including one that provides cash aid to Ukrainian refugees through the Stellar network and another that plans to offer cash and vouchers through the Partisia network. But past blockchain projects have had mixed results. Some projects have been effective at allowing recipients to bypass red tape and receive the aid they need, but with others the use of blockchain has turned out to be superfluous. On Dec. 15, Stellar …

As crypto traders debate whether Bitcoin (BTC) is going to $25,000 or $15,000 first, the world’s largest financial institutions are laying the groundwork for mass adoption. The proverbial floodgates are unlikely to open before the United States provides a clear regulatory framework for crypto, but regulators and industry insiders are confident that guidance could come in 2023 at the earliest. In the meantime, megabanks like BNY Mellon, whose roots date back to 1784, are entering the space. This week’s Crypto Biz chronicles BNY Mellon’s foray into digital assets, JPMorgan’s ongoing experimentation with blockchain technology and Crypto.com’s new European headquarters. BNY …

Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the non-profit organization supporting the development of the Stellar network, has launched a new funding initiative to encourage developers to build on the Soroban smart contract platform, which officially went live on Futurenet Tuesday. Soroban brings Turing-complete smart contracts to the Stellar blockchain, enabling developers to build new financial services rails on the network, SDF said. Tomer Weller, SDF’s vice president of technology strategy, said Soroban was developed to overcome the “friction” of other blockchain networks. In an emailed response to Cointelegraph, Weller further explained: "When we looked at what was out there in the market …

Guido Cannetti, an Argentinian Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter, is now the first martial arts athlete in the country to receive 100% of his salary in stablecoins, amid rising inflation and Argentina's economic deteriorating, announced the crypto payroll company Bitwage on Monday. Dubbed El Ninja, he returns to the Octagon on October 1st in the United States to face the local fighter Randy Costa. According to Bitwage, Guido will receive his payment in USDC stablecoin via the Stellar Network on Vibrant, a wallet application developed by the Stellar team specifically for Argentines experiencing inflation. As per official government figures', inflation …

The United States equities markets witnessed a sharp comeback last week, led by the Nasdaq Composite, which gained 7.5%. The S&P was up about 6.5% for the week, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a gain of 5.4%. Continuing its tight correlation with the equities market, the crypto markets are also attempting a relief rally. Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a modest recovery, but some altcoins have risen sharply in the past week. This suggests that investors are taking advantage of the sharp fall in the price to accumulate altcoins at lower levels. Smaller-sized investors have been using the decline …

Two QAnon-affiliated conspiracy theorist influencers allegedly caused their followers millions of dollars in losses by running a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump scheme. The pair reportedly persuaded their thousands of followers to invest in a crypto portfolio, presenting a misleading mix of conspiratorial and genuine content along with claims about institutions backing the tokens to generate hype and raise the price of the portfolio. The allegations are included in an investigation by Logically, a group of data scientists and developers. It reported the two influencers running the Telegram channels WhipLash347 and the Quantum Stellar Initiative (QSI) coordinated to promote lists of Stellar (XLM) …

Cross-border transfer service MoneyGram officially launched its stablecoin-powered payment channel on Friday, giving users the ability to send USD Coin (USDC) payments worldwide that can be withdrawn as cash by recipients. The service is being rolled out across several key remittance markets, including Canada, the United States, Kenya and the Philippines, Circle and MoneyGram announced Friday. Global cash-out functionality will be available by the end of June. To encourage adoption, the USDC transfer service will carry zero fees for the first 12 months. As Cointelegraph reported, MoneyGram’s new transfer service was built on the Stellar (XLM) blockchain and allows Stellar …

The bears are trying to extend Bitcoin’s (BTC) record of nine consecutive red weekly candles to ten weeks, but the bulls are trying to avert this negative occurrence. Although sentiment remains negative, Arthur Hayes, former CEO of derivatives giant BitMEX, anticipates Bitcoin to bottom out in the range of $25,000 to $27,000. On-chain data from Glassnode shows that thsmart money may have started accumulating Bitcoin. The net outflows from major cryptocurrency exchanges reached 23,286 Bitcoin on June 3, the highest since May 14. Another positive sign of accumulation is that investment into Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) was strong in May …

The total crypto market capitalization has ranged from $1.19 trillion to $1.36 trillion for the past 23 days, which is a relatively tight 13% range. During the same time, Bitcoin’s (BTC) 3.5% and Ether’s (ETH) 1.6% gains for the week are far from encouraging. To date, the total crypto market is down 43% in just two months, so investors are unlikely to celebrate even if the descending triangle formation breaks to the upside. Regulation worries continue to weigh investor sentiment, a prime example being Japan’s swift decision to enforce new laws after the Terra USD (UST) — now known as …

Bitcoin (BTC) and the wider cryptocurrency market are taking a breather after the rally on May 31. Meanwhile, most altcoins remain severely oversold, with most between 70% and 90% below their all-time highs. What is clear is that fear is everywhere and blood is in the water. Risk-on markets are suffering worldwide, but it is exactly these kinds of conditions that create opportunities where professional money accumulates and adds to positions. Let’s take a look at three altcoins that could be positioned for a rebound if the broader market enters a new uptrend. ADA could be setting up for an …

May was an incredibly challenging month for the cryptocurrency market as the majority of tokens booked heavy losses as a bear market was confirmed, but not every project dropped back to pre-bull market lows. Chain (XCN), a protocol designed to help organizations launch their own blockchain network or connect with other more established networks, has managed to rally more than 120% since May 19. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $0.0712 on May 11, XCN has reversed course to hit a record-high at $0.176 on May 31. The three reasons for the …

MoneyGram International, one of the world’s largest cross-border transfer services, is partnering with the Stellar blockchain to create a stablecoin-based platform for money transfers. The new service will allow Stellar wallet users to send Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) to recipients, who will be able to cash them out for fiat currency through the MoneyGram network. “We’re trying to be a bridge from the crypto world to the fiat world,” MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes said in an interview. Holmes also said MoneyGram is in talks with third-party companies that provide digital wallets in El Salvador alongside the government-backed Chivo wallets, which …