United States-based ApeCoin (APE) holders could miss out on staking rewards after the U.S. was added to a list of regions geo-blocked from using an upcoming APE staking service. Blockchain infrastructure company Horizen Labs, which is building the site on behalf of the ApeCoin decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), revealed the news in a Nov. 24 update regarding ApeStake.io on Twitter, saying “unfortunately, in today’s regulatory environment, we had no good alternative.” Ape Staking Update: Big thanks to the talented community devs for their helpful improvements. Bug Bounty AIP delayed us a bit, so we shortened the pre-deposit period by a …

These forecasts are driven by deteriorating structural fundamentals. For example, credit card debt has surged past even 2020 levels, with interest rates charged by banks that are just slightly higher than those observed leading up to the post-2000 dot-com crash. And yet, labor force participation rates — or the proportion of the population that is able to work and is working — have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Furthermore, inflation — as measured by the consumer price index — has surged over the past few years. Economic forecasts suggest that we are in for greater economic turbulence. The United …

Although Bitcoin (BTC) mining remains a controversial topic, it’s becoming more common to hear how Bitcoin mining can help balance grid demand. This is being demonstrated in the state of Texas, as Bitcoin miners are able to participate in demand response programs, which incentivize miners to turn off their operations during peak demand. A spokesperson from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — the organization that operates Texas’s electrical grid — told Cointelegraph that crypto loads can have impacts on the grid just like any large load. Yet, they noted that crypto miners can help stabilize the grid by …

Two Democratic members of the United States Senate have called on the Justice Department to investigate the collapse of FTX and potentially prosecute individuals involved in wrongdoing. In a Nov. 23 letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse requested the Justice Department launch an investigation into crypto exchange FTX’s downfall with the “utmost scrutiny.” The lawmakers cited the impact the collapse of a major firm in the crypto space had had on related companies — lending companies including Genesis and BlockFi halting trading — and funds which FTX …

The downfall of former crypto exchange FTX has had the entire industry in disarray since the situation began to unravel days before it declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11. A new op-ed from United States Senator Elizabeth Warren revealed a negative stance towards the industry with regard to the fallout. Warren wrote that the crypto industry is on a “well-worn path of financial innovation,” which starts with exciting rewards but ends in “crippling losses.” She compared it to subprime mortgages of 2008, penny stocks and credit-default swaps. The Senator said what happened with FTX should be a “wake-up call” to regulators …

The turmoil surrounding crypto exchange FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) reaffirmed regulators’ belief about the need for stricter oversight across the crypto ecosystem. Seeking investor protection against a similar fallout, New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James recommended prohibiting crypto investments in defined contribution plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). In a letter addressed to the members of the U.S. Congress, James requested legislation that would bar U.S. citizens from purchasing cryptocurrencies and digital assets using their funds in IRAs and defined contribution plans such as 401(k) and 457 plans. However, a survey from October 2022 showed that nearly 50% …

Perianne Boring, founder and CEO of blockchain advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce, placed the lack of approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States squarely on Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler, suggesting politics played more of a role than economics. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin on Nov. 18, Boring said the events surrounding FTX’s collapse may have “emboldened the regulation by enforcement approach” from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Treasury, with Republican lawmakers likely to focus on oversight using their House majority in the next Congress. According to …

Cryptocurrency lending company Genesis has refuted speculation that it is planning an "imminent" bankruptcy filing should it fail to cover a $1 billion shortfall caused by the fall of crypto exchange FTX. The firm has reportedly faced difficulties raising money for its lending unit and told investors it would have to file for bankruptcy, according to a Nov. 21 Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for Genesis told Cointelegraph that there were no plans to file for bankruptcy "imminently" and that it continued to have "constructive" discussions with creditors. "We have no plans to file bankruptcy …

The United States Senate Agriculture Committee has announced that Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, chair Rostin Behnam will be one of the witnesses in a hearing exploring the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. According to the Senate Agriculture Committee website, on Dec. 1 the full committee will listen to testimony from Behnam and presumably other individuals with information about the liquidity issues and subsequent downfall of FTX. The hearing, titled ‘Why Congress Needs to Act: Lessons Learned from the FTX Collapse’ will be one of the first in which U.S. lawmakers explore what happened with the major crypto exchange …

“I hate to say I told you so” is a phrase oft-repeated but rarely sincere. It’s a delightful feeling to claim credit for warning about a problem in advance. That’s a liberty I’m taking with federal financial regulators at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. In January of this year, while serving as a member of the SEC Investor Advisory Committee that advises SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on crypto and other matters, I filed a petition with the SEC. I asked them to open a formal public comment about unique issues presented by crypto and other digital assets. I …

In October, Greenland was reported to be exploring the feasibility of an online voting platform for its national elections. Among the options being considered is a blockchain-based system. That isn’t entirely surprising. Electronic voting, or e-voting, has long been viewed as a promising use case for blockchain technology. “It’s time for online voting,” wrote Alex Tapscott in a New York Times opinion piece in 2018. “Using blockchain technology, online voting could boost voter participation and help restore the public’s trust in the electoral process and democracy.” It seems especially timely now as large swaths of the world’s population are raising …

The ongoing case of the Celsius bankruptcy continues as the United States Bankruptcy Court in the southern district of New York State approved a new filing deadline. According to an official document, a deadline has been set for those filing any claims against the former digital assets lender. Any person or entity - which covers individuals, partnerships, corporations, joint ventures and trusts - who wishes to do so must submit a proof of claim by Jan. 3, 2023, 5:00 pm Eastern Time. Celsius itself made a thread on Twitter, informing its former users of the recent court deadline approval, along …