Last week, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached an agreement with cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The latter will stop offering crypto staking services to American customers and pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. While the sum of fines could hardly get an entity like Kraken off balance, the future of staking concerns the crypto market. The court agreement attracted the ire of not only the general crypto community but of investors, politicians and industry executives, with Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran calling SEC Chair Gary Gensler “an agent of an anti-crypto agenda” rather than …

For readers looking for unique, meaningful gifts for their valentine this Valentine’s Day, consider giving a cryptocurrency-related gift. Here are nine options: A cryptocurrency gift card Give your significant other the gift of choice by giving them a cryptocurrency gift card. They can use it to buy food or any digital asset they want, whether that’s Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or a stablecoin like USD Coin (USDC). Virtual real estate Readers can buy virtual real estate in the metaverse, such as in Decentraland or The Sandbox, as a unique, romantic gift. Their significant other can build and customize their own …

Bitcoin (BTC) and select altcoins are threatening to deepen their correction after reports emerged that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells Notice to Paxos, alleging that the dollar-pegged Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin is an unregistered security. Separately, Paxos has been ordered by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to halt the issuance of BUSD. After the crackdown on Kraken last week and now Paxos, the regulator’s actions may increase nervousness among crypto investors. FOX Business journalist Eleanor Terrett tweeted on Feb. 12 that “more Wells notices going out in the coming 2-3 weeks, …

Blender, the cryptocurrency mixer sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control in May 2022, was “highly likely” relaunched as Sinbad, according to risk management firm Elliptic. In a Feb. 13 report, Elliptic said its analysis of Sinbad suggested that the crypto mixer was likely a rebrand of Blender as well as having “the same individual or group responsible for it.” According to the firm, Sinbad was behind laundering roughly $100 million in Bitcoin (BTC) for North Korea’s hacking group Lazarus. Elliptic said following U.S. authorities cracking down on crypto mixers — as OFAC …

In January, ApeCoin (APE) had an underwhelming performance compared to metaverse-based tokens like Decentraland (MANA) and The Sandbox (SAND). APE token gained 61% compared to the 90% and 150% respective gains seen in SAND and MANA. The subdued gains can be attributed to the hefty APE staking rewards that is likely creating some selling pressure. An upcoming unlock of around 9% of APE’s circulating supply in March 2023, along with not-so-impressive fundamentals, will add further headwinds for the token. The gains in APE will depend on the success of the blockchain gaming projects in the ApeCoin ecosystem and new partnerships …

Censorship resistance is the foundation of crypto, so for many cryptocurrency purists, the Nov. 23 announcement by ConsenSys, the New York-based company behind the leading Ethereum browser wallet, informing its 20 million MetaMask users that their IP and wallet addresses would be collected was simply a gross violation of the crypto spirit. In the weeks that followed, ConsenSys first reacted by saying the data collected would only be retained for seven days and then that it had updated the MetaMask features to allow users to opt out of Infura. However, the question remains: Have they done enough to establish crypto …

Cyber criminals used a variety of novel ways to carry out hacks and exploits in 2022, with over $2.8 billion of cryptocurrency stolen last year. According to a report from CoinGecko using data sourced from DeFiYield’s REKT Database, nearly half of the total crypto stolen in 2022 was fleeced using diverse methods. This includes bypassing verification processes, market manipulation, ‘crowd looting’ as well as smart contract and bridge exploits. The biggest hack of 2022 was carried out through an access control hack. Sky Mavis, the developer behind popular game Axie Infinity, saw its Ronin bridge hacked in March 2022, leading …

Brian Armstrong, the chief executive officer of United States-based cryptocurrency firm Coinbase, is looking for lawmakers and regulators to discuss regulatory clarity in the crypto space. In a Feb. 13 tweet, Armstrong put a call out for anyone with access to the Dirksen Senate Office in Washington, D.C. to meet him at the building’s snack bar and “chat about crypto”. According to the Coinbase CEO, he was looking for “low sugar options” amid the selection of soft serve ice cream and toppings. "’I'm in Washington D.C. and had a meeting canceled," said Armstrong. "If anyone wants to come chat about …

2023 is off to a great start, with Bitcoin (BTC) rocketing up 40% in January. The good news is not relegated to just Bitcoin, however, as this price increase has sent ripple effects across the cryptoverse. Mining revenue jumped $22.66 million in January, and crypto-related stocks doubled on average. Despite this good news, venture capital investments are down 23% from the previous month. Download and purchase this report on the Cointelegraph Research Terminal. For a more detailed look into the various sectors of the crypto space, including venture capital, derivatives, decentralized finance (DeFi), regulations and much more, Cointelegraph Research publishes …

Cointelegraph is proud to announce the launch of the Cointelegraph Markets and Research YouTube channel, a place that will hopefully become every trader’s first stop for breaking markets news, insights and alpha from Cointelegraph’s team of experts and guest analysts from the crypto industry. The Cointelegraph Markets and Research channel features three unique shows — The Market Report, Market Talks and Macro Markets — which stream live weekly at 12:00 pm Eastern Time (5:00 pm UTC) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, respectively. The Market Report Every Tuesday at 12:00 pm ET (5:00 pm UTC), Bitcoin (BTC) evangelist Joe Hall hosts …

What is the future of DeFi and Web3 In both cases, the success of DeFi and Web3 will depend on the continued development of blockchain technology and the willingness of individuals and organizations to adopt these new models. The future is uncertain, but the potential for a positive impact is significant. For DeFi, there is a growing trend toward more innovation in the space, with the introduction of new financial products and services that have the potential to disrupt traditional finance. This includes decentralized exchanges, yield farming and stablecoins. There is also an increasing focus on user adoption and accessibility, …

The European Parliament has released a report on a draft bill proposing that banks holding cryptocurrencies set aside a large amount of capital in an effort to address potential risk. In a Feb. 9 notice, EU lawmakers said any framework applied to crypto assets should “adequately mitigate the risks of these instruments for the institutions’ financial stability,” proposing banks apply a 1250% risk weight on their exposure to digital assets — one of the highest risk ratings for investments. The proposed law suggested that such requirements go into effect until Dec. 30, 2024. “The rapid increase in the financial markets’ …