Despite its ongoing crackdown on crypto, China continues to embrace blockchain technology — up to the point of launching the National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center in the capital city of Beijing. According to the China Daily’s report from Feb. 8, the Center will create a research network with the local universities, think tanks and blockchain businesses to carry out the inquiries into core blockchain technologies. The fruits of this research will be used for further digitalization of China and, as emphasized in the report, its industry in particular. In charge of the new institution is the Beijing Academy of Blockchain …

Members of the crypto community are seemingly outraged over the recent charges laid against crypto exchange Kraken in relation to its staking-as-a-service program in the United States. On Feb. 9, the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it had settled charges with Kraken over “failing to register the offer and sale of their crypto asset staking-as-a-service program,” which it claims is qualified as securities under its purview. Kraken agreed to settle the charges by paying $30 million in fines and to immediately cease the staking services to U.S. retail investors, though it would continue to be offered offshore. The …

On Feb. 8, Cointelegraph unveiled its list of the Top 100 most impactful players in the crypto industry for 2023. The list is being released in increments from the bottom up, starting by unveiling 10 names each weekday up until the final 10. On Feb. 9, entries 81 through 90 were revealed. DISCOVER COINTELEGRAPH’S TOP 100 IN CRYPTO AND BLOCKCHAIN 2023 This batch of players features names such as entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, also known as Gary Vee; Coin Bureau, a media entity offering crypto education; and Do Kwon, the leader of the fallen Terra project. A motivational voice in the …

The crypto community celebrated a victory in court on Jan. 30 when the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) admitted in the remedies hearing of the LBRY case that secondary sales of its LBC coin were not securities sales. John Deaton, who represents Ripple in court in the SEC’s case against it, was so excited that he created a video for his Twitter-hosted CryptoLawTV channel that evening. Deaton, a friend of the court, or amicus curiae, in the case, recounted a conversation he had with the judge that day. “Look, let’s not pretend. Secondary market sales are a problem,” …

Open-source refers to the practice of making source code freely available to the public, allowing anyone to view, modify and distribute the code. In computer science and software development, open source is important for several reasons, as explained in the below sections. Collaboration and innovation Global collaboration and contributions to the creation of software projects are made possible by open source, leading to faster innovation and the creation of more advanced and reliable software. The creation of the Linux operating system is a prime illustration of how open source promotes cooperation and innovation. Linus Torvalds founded the open-source Linux project …

Five years on from its inception, fan token platform Chiliz has launched its own layer-1 Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible blockchain ecosystem to support its growth. Chiliz’s fan token ecosystem has long been powered by Ethereum-based ERC-20 tokens, but the validation of the Chiliz ‘2.0’ Blockchain genesis block sees the ecosystem shift to its own layer 1. The new blockchain uses a system of 11 active validators with Proof of Stake Authority (PoSA) consensus, which is touted to provide faster block times, lower fees and energy usage. According to the project’s documentation, Chiliz Chain 2.0 is a hard fork of …

A recent analysis of more than a million tweets showed a list of countries that love and hate the metaverse, with Vietnam showing the most love for the concept and Ireland topping the opposite side of the spectrum. Crypto data website CoinKickoff analyzed 1.6 million tweets from different parts of the world to determine which countries are in favor of the metaverse concept and which countries oppose it. The results showed that Vietnam topped the in-favor list, with 56.8% of the metaverse tweets coming from the Southeast-Asian country being positive. East-Asian countries were generally positive toward the concept. Apart from …

The crypto mining industry has faced moratoriums in some parts of the U.S. and Canada in recent months. Now, Russia provides tax incentives for those who want to invest in crypto mining. The new $12 million crypto mining center will open in East Siberia with the direct support of the government. According to local media, the state-owned Corporation for the Development of the Far East announced the launch of the crypto mining center in Buryatia — a republic in East Siberia and a part of the Russian Federation. The facility will possess 30,000 mining machines, hire 100 workers and consume …

Michael Demissie, the head of digital assets at Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) is adamant that the cryptocurrency market fall in 2022 won’t waver institutional interest in digital assets. At a conference run by Afore Consulting on Feb. 8, Demissie said the digital asset industry is “here to stay” as institutional investors have held a strong interest in crypto. "What we see is clients are absolutely interested in digital assets, broadly,” he said, according to a Feb. 8 report from Reuters. Demissie backed up his thoughts by referencing a survey conducted by BNY Mellon in October, 2022, which …

Max Levchin, the CEO of buy-now-pay-later company Affirm, has confirmed that they will be shutting down their “Affirm Crypto Program” amid dampening consumer spending and a changing macroeconomic environment. The CEO released a letter to shareholders on Feb. 8 alongside a 19% staff cut. He cited uncertain macroeconomic conditions and the need to offset some liabilities on the firm’s balance sheet as the two main reasons behind the decision: “In a period of increased economic uncertainty, we are doubling down on our core businesses, delaying projects with less certain revenue timelines, and aligning our operating expenses with revenue. Concurrent with …

Robinhood’s board of directors has approved a plan to buy back the $578 million stake in their company which was bought by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX co-founder Gary Wang last year. Robinhood confirmed it got board approval to buy back the stake in its fourth quarter report, which was published on Feb. 8. “Our Board authorized us to pursue purchasing most or all of our shares that Emergent Fidelity Technologies bought in May 2022," said Robinhood’s chief financial officer Jason Warnick, adding “The proposed share purchase underscores the confidence the Board of Directors and management team have …

In 2022, the concept of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) faced criticism from those who questioned their utility. However, the team behind the “A Hard Working Man” (AHWM) digital collectibles project is eager to change that perception. In collaboration with Cointelegraph and Animal Concerts, the team behind the hit single “A Hard Working Man” — including Grammy-award-winning production duo The Avila Brothers — is releasing an NFT collection with real utility featuring hip hop icon Snoop Dogg and country music mogul Billy Ray Cyrus. Explore the collection here To add to the excitement of the NFT drop and ensure real-world utility for …