Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced plans on Jan. 18 to enhance its local presence in Poland while remaining compliant with local regulations. Binance Poland sp. z o.o., Binance’s Polish entity, will adhere to Polish regulatory standards for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), which requires Polish users to sign new terms and conditions with Binance Poland, in order to continue using the company's services. Witam, Poland #Binance is fully compliant with Polish regulatory standards for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). This registration enables #Binance to provide crypto asset exchange and custody services in the country. — Binance (@binance) January 18, 2023 Kyrylo …

Nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace Rarible has announced the launch of a marketplace builder that lets artists and projects customize a marketplace for their NFT collections based on Polygon. In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, Rarible highlighted that the new tool will allow various customization options, such as royalty fee adjustments and will not require any coding. The marketplace builder aims to let creators show their “unique brand identity,” which the Rarible team claims to be impossible to do in traditional NFT marketplaces. Explaining why the platform chose the Polygon network for the tool, the Rarible team highlighted that the blockchain …

After the collapse of major cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022, former CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried was arrested by Bahaman authorities on Dec. 12. Just a day later, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed charges against him for allegedly defrauding investors and violating securities laws. On Dec. 22, Bankman-Fried was granted bail on a $250 million bond paid by his parents against the equity in their house. The bail order added that he would require “strict pretrial supervision,” including mental health treatment and evaluation. The former CEO faces eight criminal counts in the …

According to a press release published on Jan. 18, U.S.-based capital markets advisory and token offering platform Deal Box has launched a new $125 million venture capital arm dedicated to blockchain and Web 3.0 startups. The fund, dubbed Deal Box Ventures, will invest in companies categorized in the emerging growth, real estate, fintech, funtech, and social impact fields. Commenting on today's development, Thomas Carter, founder and chairman of Deal Box, said: "Deal Box Ventures is an important milestone in our journey to invest in the most promising and disruptive blockchain startups, providing them with the tools and funding ecosystem they …

2022 was “the perfect storm” for Bitcoin (BTC) miners, according to Jaime Leverton, CEO of Hut8 mining, one of the largest crypto miners and digital asset experts in the space. Leverton sat down with Gareth Jenkinson, senior reporter at Cointelegraph, in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Topics included were the 2022 bear market, Web3 diversification and, crucially, Bitcoin’s growing positive impact on the environment and broader economy. Leverton shared that 2022 was a turbulent year for miners: “Obviously depressed Bitcoin prices, global hashrate continues to hit all-time highs and then an energy crisis is thrown …

Switzerland-based cryptocurrency firm 21Shares is betting on proof-of-stake (PoS) coins by launching a new crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) dedicated to staking. 21Shares on Jan. 18 launched the 21Shares Staking Basket Index ETP, a crypto staking index designed to track up to 10 PoS cryptocurrencies. The ETP immediately starts trading on the local stock exchange BX Swiss under the ticker STAKE. At launch, 21Shares’ STAKE ETP tracks six digital assets, including Binance Coin (BNB), Cardano (ADA), Cosmos (ATOM), Polkadot (DOT), Solana (SOL) and Tezos (XTZ). The index will rebalance on a semi-annual basis in March and September in accordance with market …

Despite Bitcoin (BTC) returning to pre-FTX collapse price levels, the contagion still affects the industry, forcing Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange to close operations in Japan. Coinbase officially announced on Jan. 18 that the firm will be terminating operations in Japan and conduct a complete review of its business in the country due to market conditions. All Coinbase Japan customers will have about a month to withdraw their fiat and crypto holdings from the platform by Feb. 16. After Feb. 17, the remaining crypto assets held by Coinbase Japan customers will be automatically converted to the Japanese yen (JPY). Fiat currency deposits …

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, brings together global leaders and thinkers across various industries to hone in on global issues each year. As the world of crypto and blockchain continues to push into the mainstream view, it, too, has become a topic of discussion at the legacy event. Cointelegraph editor-in-chief Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr moderated a panel on Jan. 17, which touched on sustainability efforts in the blockchain industry. Even though not all panelists come from the same background, they unanimously highlighted education and learning as the key way to drive sustainability in emerging technologies during "The emergence …

Venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG) has told shareholders it is halting its quarterly dividend payments until further notice as it attempts to preserve liquidity. According to the letter sent to shareholders on Jan. 17, the firm is focused on “strengthening our balance sheet by reducing operating expenses and preserving liquidity.” Its financial issues are derived from the woes of its subsidiary, crypto broker Genesis Global Trading, which reportedly owes creditors more than $3 billion and DCG is also considering selling some of the assets within its portfolio. Customers are currently unable to withdraw funds from Genesis after it …

The new management of the bankrupt FTX exchange has identified $5.5 billion in assets that can be used to repay creditors, sparking fears a large swathe of crypto assets could be dumped on markets. On Jan. 17, FTX debtors identified $3.5 billion in crypto assets with $1.6 billion associated with the bankrupt exchange. The best known holdings are Solana's SOL and FTX exchange token FTT, along with liquid assets including XRP, DOGE, Aptos (APT), Polygon (MATIC), TON, and BitDAO (BIT). Liquidators valued the tokens at the time of the bankruptcy petition. Cinneamhain Ventures partner, Adam Cochran, commented: “So liquidators were …

Controversial Fox news television host Tucker Carlson has proposed a curious conspiracy theory that seeks to link airline delays in the United States and Canada with a surge in the Bitcoin price. He suggested the computer outage behind the widespread delays may have been caused by ransomware and theorized the US Government may have bought a large amount of Bitcoin to pay the ransom. However he did not provide any evidence for his claims. Speaking on his “Tucker Carlson Tonight” segment of Fox News on Jan. 17, Carlson argued that the Bitcoin (BTC) price increased 20%+ soon after the U.S. …

The share price of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has surged by 69% since its all time lows and other crypto-related stocks including business intelligence firm MicroStrategy have recorded similar jumps with green candles all around since the start of 2023. The share price of Coinbase fell as low as $31.95 on Jan. 6, before shooting up to $54.14 by the close of trading on Jan. 17. The rising share price will likely be accompanied by a huge sigh of relief for Coinbase executives after a challenging 2022 saw it cut 20% of its workforce and decide to wind down its Japanese …