2022 appears to have been a torrid year for investors, and not just those in crypto, with United States (U.S.) bonds experiencing their worst year in centuries and U.S. stocks pulling back nearly 20% since the year began. As of Nov. 30, a Financial Times report noted that a traditional portfolio consisting of 60% stocks and 40% bonds will have seen its worst performance since 1932 when the U.S. was in the midst of the Great Depression. Meanwhile, tech stocks, which some theorize have a correlation with cryptocurrency prices, haven’t had a great year either. An index tracking the performance …

On Dec 29, the state-owned China Academy for Information and Communications Technology, or CAICT, published a document titled "2022 Blockchain Whitepaper." According to the paper, more than 1,400 blockchain firms are currently based in Mainland China. Together with the U.S., the two countries represent a 52% market share in terms of global blockchain enterprises. The CAICT also disclosed that around 48 post-secondary institutions across China have introduced "blockchain engineering" related degrees and certifications. In the report, the institution detailed four types of blockchain technologies with high application potential. First, "settlement chains" would allow transparent publication of telecom fees for firms …

This year has been a particularly tumultuous one for the crypto market, with many decentralized and centralized entities failing or struggling to stay afloat. It feels as though we are in the final stages of the bear market, with bad actors and practices being purged in a process that is both dramatic and necessary for the maturity of the entire system. Despite this, the Web3 technologies that emerge from this crypto winter will change everything. Web3 represents the next evolution of information exchange, with similarities to the transformation from a largely agricultural society to a more industrial one. It is …

Arguments surrounding whether gold or bitcoin is a better store of value continue to occur within the cryptocurrency space and traditional investment circles. On the latest episode of Bill Maher’s podcast “Club Random Podcast”, which aired on Dec. 26, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban advocated for Bitcoin being a better store of value than gold. In response to Bill Maher openly admitting that he is, “rooting against Bitcoin,” Cuban chimed in with a cheeky agreement saying, “I want Bitcoin to go down a lot further so that I can buy some more.” Cuban went on to …

According to a letter posted on Chinese blockchain news publisher Odaily.com on Dec. 27, Kevin Como, anonymous CEO of BitKeep, warned that users' private keys are still at risk after a security incident on Dec. 26 led to over $13 million in losses at the time of publication. BitKeep is one of the more popular non-custodial, decentralized finance multi-chain wallets with over 6 million users. Specifically, Kevin wrote: "This was a large and atrocious hacker attack incident. The BitKeep APK 7.2.9 (Android Package Kit) installation package was hijacked and swapped by the hacker, and as a result, some users already …

Octopus Network, a decentralized app chain network natively built on NEAR Protocol, has announced that it will be “refactoring” to adapt to current market conditions. As part of its refactoring process, Octopus network will let go of roughly 40% of its team, which accounts for 12 out of 30 members. The remaining staff will also be subjected to a 20% salary cut, while its team token incentive will be suspended indefinitely. According to Louis Liu, the founder of the Octopus Network, although he has lived through previous crypto winters, “this winter is very different from the others.” Liu said he …

Very few projects have come close to matching the security and decentralization of the Ethereum network. However, the inherent overhead of maintaining these two critical features has left Ethereum burdened by low throughput and prohibitively high costs. As a result, alternative layer-1 blockchains (L1s) — which normally sacrifice security and decentralization to provide scale — have emerged to nip away at Ethereum’s market share. However, with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-equivalent scaling solutions bringing high throughput and low transaction fees to Ethereum itself, the question is: Do we really need these alternative L1 networks? Despite a rocky year for the industry, …

Cryptocurrency trading firm Auros Global, which reportedly suffered a $20 million dollar exposure in the FTX collapse, has released a statement saying it plans to resume regular operations after implementing a restructuring plan. Statement from Auros regarding recent references in the media – pic.twitter.com/9RFHhYjHqz — Auros (@Auros_global) December 20, 2022 Following the collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency trading firm shared that it “found itself in a position where immediate liquidity was insufficient to satisfy recalls from lenders.” However, its top management remained confident that they would be able to weather the storm caused by the FTX contagion. In the issued …

The appointment of one of Activision Blizzard's highest-ranking executives to a leadership position at Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) parent Yuga Labs has been seen as a boon for its metaverse efforts and another sign of validation of the crypto industry. On Dec. 19, Yuga Labs confirmed it has appointed Daniel Alegre, the current president and chief operating officer of Activision Blizzard as its new CEO, who will take the helm of the company in the first half of 2023, succeeding the current CEO Nicole Muniz. Activision Blizzard, a gaming giant with a market cap of around $60 billion, according …

Jo Johnson, the brother of former United Kingdom prime minister Boris Johnson, has reportedly stepped down from his role as an adviser to Binance, according to a report by the U.K.’s Telegraph. According to the report, Jo Johnson had been advising Binance during the exchange's efforts to expand into the United Kingdom. The former British prime minister’s brother, also known as Lord Johnson of Marylebone, reportedly took up a role on the U.K. advisory board of one of Binance's subsidiaries, Bitfinity, in September. The Telegraph reports that he resigned last week after Binance's proof of reserves raised red flags for …

After the collapse of Terraform Labs’ cryptocurrency, Terra (LUNA), and its stablecoin, Terra (UST), the notion of “algorithmic stabilization” has fallen to a low point in popularity, both in the cryptocurrency world and among mainstream observers. This emotional response, however, is strongly at odds with reality. In fact, algorithmic stabilization of digital assets is a highly valuable and important class of mechanism whose appropriate deployment will be critical if the crypto sphere is to meet its long-term goal of improving the mainstream financial system. Blockchains, and other similar data structures for secure decentralized computing networks, are not only about money. …

It’s been a life of hacks for Dr. Adam Back, the CEO and co-founder of Blockstream. One of the few people quoted on the Bitcoin Whitepaper, hacking highlights of Back’s life are brought to life in the latest animated Crypto Story from Cointelegraph’s video team. Over a game of Jenga in a park, Back told Cointelegraph that he’s always had a “kind of security mindset.” From his days as a student, he tinkered with door codes, pin pads and locks, testing out code and gaining access to places he “wasn’t supposed to have access to.” Back talks through the creation …