The crypto market slump doesn’t mean interest in crypto is also down. A new study from the cryptocurrency education platform CryptoManiaks revealed that many countries are still scouring the internet, hungry for crypto-related information. According to the study, the Netherlands and Turkey take the top two spots, with 8.2% and 5.5% of the population, respectively, searching for crypto-related terms. Turkey particularly accounted for 4.7 million searches, leading the searches with sheer numbers. The study analyzed the combined number of searches for a select set of popular cryptocurrencies into a percentage of the population for each country in order to calculate …

In mid-November, as crypto markets reeled in the aftermath of FTX’s meltdown, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman made use of his New York Times column to disparage crypto assets — again. Despite his unquestionable academic credentials, Krugman reiterated a common misunderstanding in his attempt to understand crypto assets — by conflating Bitcoin (BTC) with other cryptocurrencies. Despite being the oldest, most valuable and most well-known member of this emerging class of digital assets, Bitcoin has a unique use case that differs widely from all others. Therefore, in order to understand this asset class as a whole, it would make more …

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) development aims squarely at inclusion, both for the central bank in the national economy and for the people it serves. Meanwhile, the technology for cross-border payments is being developed elsewhere for the most part, according to a new report on the payments industry. The Digital Money Institute (DMI), part of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum think tank, released its third annual Future of Payments report on Dec. 8. The report was sponsored by several payments companies and crypto exchange Binance, and those companies penned sections that supplemented DMI's findings. This was the first …

The hardware wallet industry has emerged as one of the most resilient sectors to the ongoing cryptocurrency winter, with issues like the FTX crash bringing in even more cold wallet sales. The bear market of 2022 has once again reminded crypto investors of the importance of self-custody and independence from centralized exchanges (CEX). As a result, some major CEXs like Binance has increased their investment exposure to hard wallet firms, while CEO Changpeng Zhao even suggested that CEXs may no longer be necessary in the future. Should it be the case, the crypto industry of the future will be quite …

For the uninitiated, the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology can be daunting, confusing and difficult to comprehend. Three industry experts and a skeptical economist explore the past, present and future of the burgeoning technology in a new online learning series. Masterclass is a web-based education platform that offers “classes” from subject matter experts in their respective spheres of influence. You can learn how to cook with Gordon Ramsay, explore the art of acting with Natalie Portman or master the tennis racket with Serena Williams. Its newly launched series on cryptocurrencies, blockchain and Web3 technology follows in the same vein. …

The Japanese financial group Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC) is moving to explore the benefits of Web3 by issuing soulbond tokens (SBTs). Proposed by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin, SBTs refer to digital identity tokens that represent the characteristics or reputation of a person or entity, or a “soul.” Such tokens are non-transferable and are designed for the decentralized society and Web3. SMBC officially announced on Dec. 8 an initiative focused on the practical use of SBTs in partnership with the digital asset firm HashPort. The companies plan to conduct research on SBTs to find out their practical uses for communities, …

Despite turbulent market conditions over the last year, the metaverse and its potential utility remain steady in the minds of consumers. According to data from a new survey by Capgemini, a business and technology strategy advisor, over three-quarters of consumers expect their interactions with brands and individuals to be impacted by the metaverse. This also goes for organizations, as 7 out of 10 believe that the metaverse and immersive experiences will be a market differentiator in terms of customer experience. The report surveyed 8,000 consumers, along with 1,000 organizations in 12 countries across different sectors to understand metaverse competency, interest …

Australian financial regulators are “working on options” for incorporating payment stablecoins into the regulatory framework for stored-value facilities. Such incorporation would be a part of broader reforms to the payments regulatory framework in the country. On Dec.8 the official site of the Reserve Bank of Australia published a report on stablecoins, assessing their recent developments, risks and regulatory prospects. Despite the high attention given to risks, in particular, the report is quite optimistic in acknowledging that “stablecoins have the potential to enhance the efficiency and functionality of a range of payment and other financial services.” According to the report, the …

Spain’s central bank, the Bank of Spain (BDE) said it intends to launch an experimental program to begin testing wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies (CDBCs) and is seeking collaboration proposals from local finance and technology institutions. The bank will focus on three main areas with the program that seeks to simulate the movement of funds, experiment with the liquidation of financial assets, and analyze the benefits and drawbacks of introducing a wholesale CBDC to its current processes and infrastructure according to a translated Dec. 5 statement. A wholesale CBDC refers to a digital currency typically for use by banks to …

A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot program in Australia has received more than 140 use case proposals from the finance industry, but the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) warns that it could displace the Australian dollar and result in people avoiding commercial banks entirely. The RBA released a speech on Dec. 8 to be given by Assistant Governor Brad Jones at a central bank conference held from Dec. 8 to Dec. 9 local time, in which Jones speaks at length about what effect a CBDC could have on the Australian economy. Jones notes that the RBA has been surprised …

A federal judge in California has dismissed a class action lawsuit against reality TV star Kim Kardashian, boxing champ Floyd Mayweather and the founders of EthereumMax, explaining that the submissions failed to meet the “heightened pleading standards” for fraud claims. The judge has, however, left room for the plaintiffs to refile the proposed class action lawsuit if certain provisions are amended. In the original Jan. 7 court filing submitted by Scott + Scott Attorneys At Law, the plaintiffs argued that Kardashian, Mayweather, and also former NBA superstar Paul Pierce didn’t disclose they were being paid to promote EthereumMax (EMAX). The …

Binance US has announced that it has expanded its “zero fee price model” to Ether (ETH) effective immediately. According to the announcement, users are now able to freely trade four Ether spot market pairs: ETH/USD, ETH/USDT, ETH/USDC and ETH/BUSD. Just in time for the holidays, the best #crypto platform for low fees just got even better.#BinanceUS is pleased to offer zero-fees when you buy #Ethereum or trade ETH/USD, ETH/USDT, ETH/BUSD & ETH/USDC, for all users with no trading volume requirements. — Binance.US (@BinanceUS) December 7, 2022 Effective immediately, the US exchange has also eliminated gas fees on all Ethereum transactions …