In January 2022, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) proposed a number of measures aimed at curtailing the country’s cryptocurrency market, which included a blanket ban on the use and mining of all cryptocurrencies. It pointed out risks posed by the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies to the financial stability of the country, the extensive use of crypto in illegal activity and the energy costs involved in crypto mining. However, the utility of blockchain technology didn’t escape the CBR. The following month, it announced that it had started the pilot stage of the digital ruble, its planned central bank digital currency …

After two years and many COVID-19 restrictions finally subsiding, the world is welcoming the return of in-person theater, movies, comedy, music and sports. This has left some wondering what will happen to the legions of digital creatives who occupied and entertained us while normal life was at a standstill — and to the multibillion-dollar economy they inhabit. Will the world forget the platforms and artists they discovered during the pandemic now the doors of festivals, fashion shows and concerts are open to them again? Is the creator economy, which recent estimates suggest will exceed $100 billion this year, strong enough …

Terra (LUNA) has fared better than its top crypto rivals when it comes to withstanding the negative market impacts of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. LUNA's price rallied nearly 18% this week to over $58, more than Bitcoin (BTC), whose returns in the same period came out to be a little over 1.5%. Similarly, the Terra token did better than its rival Ether (ETH), which is up around 4% this week. Over the weekend, Bitcoin fell below its psychological support level of $40,000 as fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine dampened risk-on sentiment. It continued declining on Monday after …

On Feb. 9, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index, a key measure capturing the change in how much Americans pay for goods and services, has increased by 7.5% compared to the same time last year, marking the greatest year-on-year rise since 1982. In 2019, before the global COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the indicator stood at 1.8%. Such a sharp rise in inflation makes more and more people consider the old question: Could Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, become a hedge asset for high-inflation times? What’s up with the inflation spike? Ironically, the fundamental …

February is Black History Month, and it’s worth recounting that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology have already had a significant impact on the African-American community. Peoples of color own cryptocurrencies at consistently higher levels than white people, surveys show, while anecdotal evidence suggests crypto has also unleashed a wave of innovation and entrepreneurial energy in the Black community — from New York City’s new mayor converting his first paycheck into crypto to basketball star Kevin Durant launching a new special-purpose acquisition company to focus on cryptocurrencies and blockchain. And all this may just be scratching the surface. “Blockchain has the potential …

This week the total crypto market capitalization rallied 10% to $1.68 trillion, which is a 25% recovery from the Jan. 24 bottom. It's too early to suggest that the market has found a bottom but two key indicators — The Tether/CNY premium and CME futures basis — have recently flipped bullish, signaling that positive investor sentiment is backing the current price recovery. Traders should not assume that the bear trend has ended by merely looking at price charts. For example, between Dec. 13 and Dec. 27, the sector's total market capitalization bounced from a $1.9 trillion low to $2.33 trillion. …

Ethereum's native token Ether (ETH) looks poised to hit $3,500 in the coming sessions as it reclaimed a historically strong support level on Feb. 5. Ethereum price back above key trendline ETH price rising above its 50-week exponential moving average (50-week EMA; the red wave in the chart below) means the price also inched above $3,000, a psychological support level that may serve as the ground for Ether's next leg up. The 50-week EMA was instrumental in maintaining Ether's bullish bias across 2020 and 2021. For instance, it served as a strong accumulation zone during the market correction in the …

The Human Rights Foundation announced on Jan 4 that it intends to distribute 425 million satoshis — the smallest divisible unit of a Bitcoin — to various contributors as a part of its ongoing Bitcoin Development Fund. Launched in May 2020, the Bitcoin Development Fund launched with a primary focus on improving the Bitcoin network’s privacy, usability and security. The foundation said that it will focus this particular round of grants on expanding Bitcoin education and translation as well as Bitcoin core, lightning, and wallet development. According to the organization’s press release, it will divide these grants between a number …

The White House is reportedly considering an Obama-era economic adviser and former Fed economist to fill the empty seats on the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System in 2022. According to a Wednesday report from the Washington Post citing people familiar with the matter, U.S. President Joe Biden is still considering Duke University law professor Sarah Bloom Raskin to take one of the vacancies in the group of seven governors serving at the Federal Reserve this year, in addition to economists Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson. Cook teaches at Michigan State University and has previously worked as a …

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) do not pose any significant risk to the financial system at their current level of adoption, according to Bank of Canada’s Deputy Governor Paul Beaudry. Beaudry spoke about the risks to the stability of the Canadian financial system at the Ontario Securities Commission Dialogue 2021 on Nov. 23. When asked whether cryptocurrencies are a risk, the deputy governor responded that the Bank of Canada doesn’t think that crypto is “developing in a way that creates a systemic type of risk for a financial system” up to now. This is because cryptocurrencies are “quite removed from a …

Senator Jane Hume has stated that decentralized finance (DeFi) “presents huge opportunities” for Australia to cement its place as a “front-runner for innovation and economic progress.” Senator Hume spoke at the Australian Financial Review Super & Wealth Summit in Sydney on Monday, Nov. 22. She is the Minister for Women's Economic Security of Australia, representing the Liberal Party and the state of Victoria. The conference was primarily about super and government retirement funds — both notoriously slow and steady investments. The comments on DeFi are more notable in this regard. Senator Hume called for industry and government to acknowledge that …

Bitcoin (BTC) logged its worst daily performance since September as BTC price slid by 10% to under $59,000 on Tuesday. On the other hand, the U.S. dollar jumped to its best level in sixteen months after spending across the American retail sector grew despite persistent Covid-19 fears and inflation concerns. The BTC price established an intraday low of around $58,600 on Coinbase, only to retreat higher to reclaim $60,000 as its psychological support. Its move downside appeared as U.S. President Joe Biden signed the $550 billion infrastructure bill into law, including new tax-reporting requirements for cryptocurrency users. Some used the …