In July 2021, TikTok hit three billion downloads. The social network boasts more than one billion active monthly users. And, in the United States, TikTok is now more popular with Generation Z than Instagram. Over the last six months, Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a drop of more than 70% from its all-time high north of $69,000 in 2021. Market volatility is to be expected. But, if decentralized finance (DeFi) is looking to have a future, it needs to be embraced by more people. The aforementioned volatility (as well as the cynicism of cryptocurrency in general) puts many investors off. Fortunately, …

Human rights investigators appointed by the United Nations (UN) have confirmed war crimes have been committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. A report developed by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine was created in March 2022 to provide a framework for UN human rights investigators to report war crimes in the region. Erik Møse, chair for the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, stated in the UN’s article that “investigators visited 27 towns and settlements and interviewed more than 150 victims and witnesses.” Møse also noted that “sites of destruction, graves, places of detention and torture, as …

Australian blockchain academics and educators have called for more robust Web3 education in schools, preparing students for a world that will be dominated by blockchain technology. Huxley Peckham, head trainer for Blockchain Academy International told Cointelegraph that there are “very few qualified people in the blockchain industry, but there is big demand for qualified people,” noting that worldwide, there are at least 60 different industries using blockchain tech. Both Peckman, and Blockchain Academy International founder Tim Bowman said it was time to rapidly expand blockchain education in schools in order to prepare for a shift in the world economy. Peckham …

As users take advantage of online services and explore the internet, they eventually create a digital identity. This type of identity is then tied to central entities like Google and Facebook, which make it easier to share data with new services through simple sign-in buttons. While these digital identity management systems are convenient, they are relying on centralized intermediaries that hold and control user data. Personal identifiers and attestations are in their hands, and they can decide — or be forced — to share this information with other parties. Blockchains offer a solution: decentralized digital identities. These allow individuals to …

On Sept 26, internet hacktivist group Anonymous released a video addressing blockchain technology company Yuga Labs and its NFT-driven social club, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). The group's statement included a laundry list of allegations regarding Yuga Lab's alleged use of esoteric symbolism in BAYC's art — which Anonymous believes shows the company's support for numerous controversial subjects, such as Nazism, racism, simianization, and pedophilia. The hacktivist group alleged that, after thorough research and interviews with key figures, it can confirm “without a shadow of doubt” that the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Yuga Labs are guilty of hiding …

The Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain Axelar and infrastructure company behind Sui blockchain, Mysten Labs, disclosed a partnership on Tuesday to deliver cross-chain communication for developers through General Message Passing, aiming to advance the prospect of a "super dApp". Integration is expected to be completed before the end of the year. The collaboration will enable dApps built in Move — Mysten's programming language — to call any function on any external chain. According to the companies, developers will be able to provide users with the ability to “'tap in' with whatever token, wallet, and blockchain they desire, with no need to bridge …

American retail giant Walmart has taken its first steps into the Metaverse with the launch of Walmart Land and Walmart's Universe of Play on Roblox. According to the company's Monday announcement, Walmart Land focuses on "immersive experiences" with key features including a physics-defying Ferris wheel, unlockable tokens and badges, an interactive piano walkway and a D.J. booth for users. See Walmart like never before Walmart Land is our new world on #ROBLOX with fun & games for all. From film to fashion — whatever you’re into, let’s have some fun with it. Come for the inspo, stay for the verch …

Interoperability-focused blockchain network Cosmos has dropped a new whitepaper proposing a revamped Cosmos Hub aimed at strengthening interoperability and security, along with key changes to its native ATOM token. The new Cosmos whitepaper was released on Monday at the Cosmoverse conference in Medellin, Colombia. The upgrades outlined in the whitepaper are still technically in “proposal” status but changes are expected to be made on-chain on Oct. 3. Cosmos is an ecosystem of blockchains designed to scale and interoperate with each other. Cosmos Hub was the first blockchain to be built on Cosmos, which initially served as an intermediary between other …

The presence of big players in the nonfungible tokens market might evangelize newbies, but they do not lead to mass adoption or innovation, claimed Tony Ling, co-founder of NFTGo in a conversation with Cointelegraph. Major developments, such as Adobe's acquisition of Figma, would potentially impact creators per the combination of both the companies' features. Adobe, for example, owns Behance, a creative showcase platform that allows users to connect crypto wallets and NFTs to their profiles, while Figma provides kits for NFT creators. The mainstream presence in the space, however, isn't seen as a game changer, as the industry faces challenges …

Since the founding of Ethereum in 2015, an animating question that plagued the community was answered at exactly 06:42:59 UTC on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Ethereum, the technological layer where a new class of applications and self-organizing organizations are being built, eliminated its reliance on an energy-intensive consensus mechanism called proof-of-work (PoW) to a more sustainable and secure consensus mechanism called proof-of-stake (PoS). In what has been described as one of the most significant milestones in blockchain history, the Merge has set the template for how Ethereum will continue to be the most powerful, most used, most credibly neutral, and …

After several delays and some setbacks, Cardano’s long-awaited Vasil upgrade finally went live on Sept. 22. From the outside looking in, the hard fork is designed to help improve the ecosystem’s scalability and general transaction throughput capacity as well as advance Cardano’s decentralized applications (DApps) development capacity. To commemorate the event, an announcement was made by blockchain firm Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK) — which currently oversees the design, building and maintenance of the Cardano platform — just minutes after the development. To obtain a more holistic overview of what the upgrade represents and its potential impact on Cardano (as …

It’s time to move on from the Bored Ape Yacht Club. They’re bad for nonfungible tokens (NFTs). They give critics ammo and distract from the technology, which is where the real value lies. For those on the outside looking in, NFTs are nothing more than overpriced monkey JPEGs. Or whichever choice of animated animal profile picture is in the firing line. NFTs, of course, are much more than that. But, because of Bored Apes, and the countless imitations they’ve spawned, NFTs are getting a bad rep. “Bubble,” “money laundering” and “scams” are all terminology associated by critics with the new …