In the fourth episode of Hashing It Out podcast series, Cointelegraph’s Elisha Owusu Akyaw discusses the evolution of decentralized finance (DeFi) with DeFi Dad, a DeFi educator and investor at Fourth Revolution Capital (4RC). DeFi Dad got into the cryptocurrency industry in 2017; however, things really took off for him after the bull market top in early 2018. Despite the downturn that followed, he decided to double down on crypto with a specific focus on decentralized finance. His love for DeFi translated into somewhat of an addiction, which led to the creation of a series of educational videos to onboard …

Nigeria’s central bank will explore the adoption of blockchain technology to power a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the potential of stablecoin adoption and regulatory considerations of initial coin offerings (ICOs) over the next two years. These are the key takeaways of a policy document titled Nigeria Payments System Vision 2025, published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The 83-page document touches on a variety of implications for its existing payments landscape, with blockchain-based systems coming to the fore. The document delves into the implications of a blockchain-based CBDC, outlining 11 potential advantages of such an offering. This includes …

The blockchain gaming industry is experiencing a "massive shift," with the once-popular play-to-earn (P2E) model falling out of favor and focus directed now at improving gameplay experience, a new survey has found. The survey results were included in a newly released annual report from the Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA) on Jan. 12, which was conducted with 347 professionals, representing 252 different projects or companies in the blockchain sector. Most of the respondents were young adult males working for blockchain gaming companies in middle and top management positions, according to BGA. One of the trends gleaned from the report was an …

El Salvador has passed landmark legislation providing the legal framework for a Bitcoin-backed bond — known as the “Volcano Bond” — which will be used to pay down sovereign debt and fund the construction of its proposed “Bitcoin City”. The bill passed on Jan. 11 with 62 votes for and 16 against, and is set to become law after it is ratified by President Bukele. #Plenaria90✍ Con 62 votos a favor, creamos la Ley de Emisión de Activos Digitales. pic.twitter.com/g1poXwLoH3 — Asamblea Legislativa (@AsambleaSV) January 11, 2023 The National Bitcoin Office of El Salvador announced the passage of the bill …

A Bitcoin Lightning Network node (BTC) has struck the earth in one of the most challenging operating environments. Lagos, the capital of Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, welcomed a new Bitcoin Lightning node this week, a vital step to better connect the continent to the layer-2 payments network atop Bitcoin, the Lightning Network (LN). The node runs on an old laptop powered by a diesel generator as Lagos regularly experiences energy and electricity blackouts. In a discussion with Cointelegraph, Megasley, who is the first Nigerian Lightning node of 2023 and the first active Lightning node in the country (as other …

Abu Dhabi-based blockchain platform Venom Foundation and investment manager Iceberg Capital announced they will allocate $1 billion of funding to Web3 and blockchain firms through a new partnership. The Venom Ventures Fund is set to invest in protocols and Web3 decentralized applications (DApps) focused on payments, asset management, decentralized finance (DeFi) and GameFi products and services. The fund is a partnership between layer-1 blockchain solution, Venom Foundation and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) investment management firm, Iceberg Capital. The latter will look to leverage its existing network to offer incubation programs and industry connections as well as marketing, exchange listing …

While the United States holds the biggest share in Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate contribution and ATM network, the city hosting the most number of reachable Bitcoin nodes — the biggest pillar of the Bitcoin system — is Frankfurt, Germany. A Bitcoin node represents a computer system that works with other decentralized computers to help validate and relay Bitcoin blocks and transactions. Out of the total 43706 nodes hosted across 134 countries, the U.S. hosts 9999 or 30.53%, while Germany ranks second with 4529 (13.83%) nodes, confirms data from Bitnodes. However, when it comes to the contribution of individual cities, Frankfurt …

Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) on-chain activity has been increasing to the extent that the leading two networks now process more transaction volume than the Ethereum network. Layer-2 networks Arbitrum and Optimism have seen an increase in transactions over the past three months. Comparatively, aside from a few spikes, transactions on the Ethereum network have declined by around 33% since late October according to Etherscan. This has enabled the two L2s combined to flip Ethereum for this metric, according to Dune Analytics data. The chart shows Ethereum processed over 1.06 million transactions on Jan. 10 whereas Arbitrum and Optimism combined processed over …

The Flare (FLR) token airdrop started on Mon., Jan. 9, nearly two years after a snapshot of Ripple (XRP) holders took place on Dec. 12, 2020. The FLR airdrop was distributed at a ratio of 1.0073 FLR per 1 XRP and the initial distribution saw 15% of the total supply released to the community. A total of 28.5 billion FLR were distributed based on this methodology and according to Flare’s tokenomics, 58.3% of the total genesis FLR supply will be distributed over 36 months. What is Flare? Flare is a Layer-1 blockchain with an oracle system aiming to boost interoperability …

As the global economy continues to reel from the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is increasing data suggesting that more and more people are now favoring a remote work-based lifestyle. In this regard, a survey sample of working United States citizens shows that Millennial and Generation Z workers prefer joining a remote workforce and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) as opposed to going to an office. As part of the study, more than 1,100 U.S. citizens were asked to provide their preferences regarding remote work and the emergence of DAOs in recent years. Using research pertaining to DAOs published …

The cryptocurrency industry will see increased consolidation in 2023 as healthier companies acquire more crypto and blockchain companies, according to a senior executive at Ripple. Sendi Young, Ripple’s managing director for Europe, took to Twitter on Jan. 9 to share a set of industry predictions for 2023, expressing confidence about crypto in the near future. According to Young’s forecast, the coming year will bring many acquisitions in the blockchain and crypto industry, which will help such companies and startups fill the gaps in their capabilities. The acquisitions will further strengthen the industry in the aftermath of casualties like the FTX …

As one of the world’s pioneers in adopting its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), Nigeria declares its readiness to accept the existence of private stablecoins as well. The necessity to create a legal framework for stablecoins is marked in the latest central bank strategy paper. Published under the headline “Nigeria Payments System Vision 2025”, the 83-page report from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) considers the development of a regulatory framework for the potential implementation of a stablecoin. According to the document, there is a need to develop a framework, given that stablecoins are likely to become a successful …