The total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) projects is hovering around $62 billion as of mid-August, down from a peak of over $250 billion in December 2021. Capital is fleeing the crypto space amid war, soaring inflation and whatever other surprises 2022 may still have in store for us. However, unlike previous crypto bull runs, it was not just retail interest that drew in this capital in the first place. Rather, major institutional players, which have recently opened up to crypto, quickly developed an appetite for the yields DeFi is known for. But now that winter is upon us, …

The world is still struggling to comprehend the geopolitical and human impact of the Ukraine war. With more than 10 million people fleeing their homes and 6 million seeking refuge in foreign countries, it's been a time to support a sovereign country under attack. It has also proven to be the moment where cryptocurrency proved its true value to real people. Not as the high-concept tech toy for the wealthy elite as many had previously dismissed it, but rather as an empowering force for good in a dangerously unstable world. When the Russian invasion began in February, Twitter accounts belonging …

According to a new clarification statement on Wednesday, the Ethereum Foundation that the network's upcoming proof-of-stake transitory upgrade dubbed "Merge" will not reduce gas fees. With regards to this, the Ethereum Foundation wrote: "Gas fees are a product of network demand relative to the network's capacity. The Merge deprecates the use of proof-of-work, transitioning to proof-of-stake for consensus, but does not significantly change any parameters that directly influence network capacity or throughput." The Merge, which seeks to join the existing execution layer of Ethereum mainnet with its new proof-of-stake consensus layer, the Beacon Chain, will eliminate the need for energy-intensive …

Protecting user data and private keys is crucial as Web3 advances. Yet, the number of hacks that have occurred within the Web3 space in 2022 alone has been monumental, proving that additional security measures, along with greater forms of decentralization, are still required. As this becomes obvious, a number of organizations have started leveraging multiparty computation, or MPC, to ensure privacy and confidentiality for Web3 platforms. MPC is a cryptographic protocol that utilizes an algorithm across multiple parties. Andrew Masanto, co-founder of Nillion – a Web3 startup specializing in decentralized computation – told Cointelegraph that MPC is unique because no …

The cryptocurrency market is often recognized for its uncertainty; its underlying technologies represent a major disruption across industries, such as finance, gaming and supply chain. Consequently, asset prices rise and fall alongside changes in regulatory measures and new applications for the technology. Most successful investors would agree that investing is about balancing high-risk and low-risk assets to minimize loss and maximize earning potential through diversification. As a result, investors often build portfolios that combine real estate assets, stocks and digital currencies to ensure their portfolio is properly diversified for success. With this in mind, PMG and Greybrook have partnered with …

Brazilian brokerage giant XP Inc has officially launched its crypto trading platform ‘XTAGE' in Brazil, bringing a potential 3.6 million users to the crypto markets. The news was broke in an Aug. 15 post by the Nasdaq Exchange Twitter account, noting that XP had rung the exchange's “Opening Bell” to celebrate the launch of the XTAGE digital assets trading platform. .@xpinvestimentos joins us for the Opening Bell to celebrate the XTAGE digital assets trading platform. Leveraging @NasdaqExchange’s technology, XTAGE represents a key milestone in democratizing access to the digital assets market in Brazil. pic.twitter.com/DS3RXtWVpb — Nasdaq Exchange (@NasdaqExchange) August 15, …

According to a new community Discord post on Thursday, decentralized finance platform Oasis.app says that sanctioned addresses will no longer be able to access the application. As a result of the change to the terms of service, wallets flagged as high risk are prohibited from using Oasis.app to manage positions or withdraw funds. Instead, such category of users must interact directly with the relevant underlying protocol where funds are stored or find another service. In explaining the decision, Oasis.app team member Gabriel said: "We've recently needed to update the Terms of Service of the Oasis.app front-end to comply with the …

The Metaverse has become one of the biggest buzzwords of the year as a number of brands, companies and even countries begin to explore virtual worlds to conduct business. Even though Metaverse development is still underway, a recent report from the technology research and advisory firm Technavio found that the Metaverse will hit a market share value of $50.37 billion by the year 2026. Another report predicts that the growth of the Metaverse will be driven by e-commerce, which is expected to reach a market share of $60.47 billion by the year 2026. E-commerce across social media platforms is also …

The cryptocurrency industry has offered developers and investors the opportunity to introduce new financial tools providing plentiful options to earn passive income. Simply holding crypto has offered patient investors the chance to make gains over the years. However, there are various other ways to increase crypto assets’ stacks, even in bear markets. Other than staking, crypto savings accounts allow retail investors to accrue their funds by earning interest on the crypto assets they deposit on specific cryptocurrency platforms if they agree to lend out their coins or tokens. Crypto interest accounts are particularly appealing because they distribute much higher returns …

The Taiwanese Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) plans to implement decentralized technology into its web portal in an effort against cyberattacks. InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a Web3 technology that government officials will employ for decentralized file sharing. IPFS identifies content through file hashes, which allows files stored by multiple parties to be found anywhere and can be accessed by simple HTTP. This development comes after the controversial visit of United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, despite warnings from mainland China. Since the visit, government websites have faced multiple attacks sourced from the mainland. This includes a distributed …

Cross-chain bridges have been the target of more than a few hacks this year, but new data from blockchain analytics provider Elliptic alleges one has been used to launder over half a billion dollars in ill-gotten crypto assets. According to an Aug. 10 report, crypto bridge RenBridge has facilitated the laundering of at least $540 million in proceeds of crime since 2020 through a process known as chain hopping — converting one form of cryptocurrency into another and moving it across multiple blockchains. Elliptic said that decentralized cross-chain bridges provide “an unregulated alternative to exchanges for transferring value between blockchains.” …

According to data from DeFi Llama, total value locked (TVL) on Optimism, a layer-two scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain, has surged 284% in the past month. The vast majority of TVL consists of users lending and borrowing assets on Aave through Optimism's layer-two chain. Investors have been bidding up digital assets related to the Ethereum ecosystem in anticipation of The Merge upgrade, which will see the blockchain transition from a proof-of-work network to that based on proof-of-stake. According to a recent Ethereum developer call, the tentative date for The Merge coming online has been scheduled for September 19. As …