The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (San Francisco Fed) is on the lookout for a software engineer who can help develop and implement example systems related to a central bank digital currency (CBDC). On Feb. 18, SF Fed posted a job opening for a “senior application developer - digital currency.” The candidate is expected to aid the Federal Reserve in designing and implementing systems critical to CBDC research. Revealing its intention, SF Fed’s post read: “Given the dollar’s important role, Federal Reserve System seeks to further understand the cost and benefits of the potential technologies for central bank digital …

Bitcoin (BTC) NFTs will have a positive impact on Bitcoin ecosystem by improving its security and incentivizing developers to build on the network, according to independent developer Udi Wertheimer. The number of newly created Ordinals, also referred to as "inscriptions", have been spiking in recent weeks, causing a surge in transaction fees and average block size on the Bitcoin blockchain. According to Wertheimer, Bitcoin NFTs are going to be beneficial for Bitcoin's security budget: by driving up transaction fees, the creation of Ordinals will incentivize miners to secure the network while the revenue from mining reward will be decreasing with …

Blockchain bridges allow decentralized finance (DeFi) users to use the same tokens across multiple blockchains. For example, a trader can use USD Coin (USDC) on the Ethereum or Solana blockchains to interact with the decentralized applications (DApps) on those networks. While these protocols may be convenient for DeFi users, they are at risk of exploitation by malicious actors. For example, in the past year, the Wormhole bridge — a popular cross-chain crypto bridge between Solana, Ethereum, Avalanche and others — was hacked, with attackers stealing over $321 million worth of wrapped Ethereum (wETH), the largest hack in DeFi history at …

Mining refers to the process of verifying and adding new transactions to a blockchain network, such as in the case of Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies. The economics of mining refers to the economic incentives and costs associated with the mining process, as well as its impact on the broader economy. The economics of crypto mining are driven by a variety of factors, including cryptocurrency prices, mining difficulty, hardware costs, energy expenses, block rewards and transaction fees. This article will explain economics of mining, including costs, revenues and market trends. Cryptocurrency mining costs The costs associated with cryptocurrency mining can …

Anti-malware software Malwarebytes highlighted two new forms of malicious computer programs propagated by unknown sources that are actively targeting crypto investors in a desktop environment. Since December 2022, the two malicious files in question — MortalKombat ransomware and Laplas Clipper malware threats — have been actively scouting the Internet for stealing cryptocurrencies from unwary investors, revealed the threat intelligence research team, Cisco Talos. The victims of this campaign are predominantly located in the United States, with a smaller percentage of victims in the United Kingdom, Turkey, and the Philippines, as shown below. The malicious software work in partnership to swoop …

In a year of crypto upheavals, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s settlement with crypto exchange Kraken, announced on Feb. 9, set off yet another tremor. Agency chief Gary Gensler took to mainstream media last week to explain the agency’s action, which seemed to be an attack on crypto staking — part of the validation mechanism used by a number of blockchain platforms, including Ethereum, the world’s second-largest network. The immediate issue, in the agency’s view, was that Kraken had been selling unregistered investment products. Indeed, it was advertising big returns on staking crypto — up to 21%, Gensler …

A lot is riding on 2023 after such an eventful year for the cryptocurrency industry, and we look forward to seeing some vindication for the entire space. January may have given us a glimpse of hope, but more recently, with Kraken staking services and the Paxos-issued Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin taking a beating from ever-unpredictable regulators, the crypto space is seemingly being shown its place, and we are reminded that the worst may not be over even if we wish it to be. But we have a few things going for us. We believe in decentralization, which has never let …

Learning from the greatest investors of all time can provide valuable insights into successful investment strategies and philosophies. Their success stories and experiences can inspire and guide new investors. Studying their methods can help individuals develop their own investment approach and improve their chances of achieving success in the financial world. Here are the top 11 investors of all time. Learn about the investment strategies and philosophies that have made these individuals some of the most successful investors in history. Warren Buffett Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is known as the “Oracle of Omaha,” has a net …

The Bank of Russia is preparing to roll out the first consumer pilot for the nation’s central bank digital currency (CDBC) on April 1, 2023. The central bank of Russia is set to debut soon the first real-world digital ruble transactions involving 13 local banks and several merchants, first deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova said. The official noted that the upcoming CBDC pilot will involve real operations and real consumers in Russia, but will be limited to a certain number of transactions and customers, the local news agency TASS reported. “We plan to launch the digital ruble project on April 1, …

On this week’s episode of NFT Steez, co-hosts Alyssa Expósito and Ray Salmond continue their chat with Justin and J.P. Alanis, the co-founders of StoryCo — an open media platform — on the prospect of a community of creators franchising intellectual property (IP) through collaboration and soulbound tokens. Speaking on his experience with musician Tyler the Creator, J.P. Alanis said that content creation is not limited to one particular creator, but should be open to all types, including fans. However, despite the symbiotic nature between fans and creators, there are still barriers to incentivizing the creators and navigating the bureaucratic …

Japan, a nation where foreign stablecoins like USDT are prohibited, plans to begin its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot in April 2023. It will aim to include private businesses and test an ecosystem. On Feb. 17 the Bank of Japan (BoJ) released the opening speech of its executive director Shinichi Uchida at the CBDC committee meeting. In it, Uchida announces that the Bank decided to launch a pilot program for “digital yen” in April, after finishing its Proof of Concept testing, that has begun in 2021. The pilot test will continue the work on the technical feasibility of “digital …

The Californian Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has launched a new crypto scam tracker to help traders and investors spot possible industry threats. On Feb. 16, the DFPI launched the tracker based on user complaints. It has compiled a list of crypto-related grievances by victims that claim to have been scammed or have identified attempted scams. The complaints listed represent descriptions of losses incurred in transactions that victims have identified as part of a fraudulent or deceptive operation. However, the DFPI stated that it had not verified any of the scams listed, but noted that it receives thousands …