As the dust settles on the cataclysmic collapse of the Terra ecosystem, an on-chain deep-dive carried out by blockchain analytics firm Nansen highlights two major takeaways. The cryptocurrency ecosystem was awash with varying speculatory theories around the cause of Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin UST’s decoupling from its $1 peg. The who and why seemed a mystery but the outcome was catastrophic, with UST dropping well below $1 while the value of Terra’s stablecoin token plummeted in value as a result. Nansen undertook an investigation leveraging on-chain data from the Terra ecosystem to the Ethereum blockchain in an effort to chart the …

In another attempt to support the revival of Terra (LUNA), the community voted to burn a large amount of UST from its community pool. Earlier in May, Terra founder Do Kwon explained that a potential solution to the Terra debacle is to absorb the stablecoin supply. In response to this, users proposed the burning of the 1 billion TerraUSD (UST) that was stored in Terra’s community pool and the remaining cross-chain UST that’s deployed on the Ethereum blockchain as incentives. According to the proposal, the burn will help “reduce the outstanding bad debt of the Terra economy.” Apart from this, …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has shared two thought experiments on how to evaluate whether an algorithmic (algo) stablecoin is sustainable. Buterin’s comments were sparked by the multi-billion dollar losses caused by the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and its algo stablecoin TerraUSD (UST). In a Wednesday blog post, Buterin noted that the increased amount of scrutiny placed on crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) since the Terra crash is “highly welcome,” but he warned against writing off all algo-stablecoins entirely. “What we need is not stablecoin boosterism or stablecoin doomerism, but rather a return to principles-based thinking,” he said: “While there …

Tether’s decision to launch a new digital asset pegged to the Mexican peso will be a boon to crypto adoption in the Latin American country by providing more onramps to the USDT stablecoin, according to Paolo Ardoino. In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum summit, the Tether and Bitfinex chief technology officer said the reason he came to Davos was to showcase the utility of cryptocurrencies. “I didn’t participate in Davos to meet CEOs of big banks,” he said. “We are here to send our message [that] there is a big world out …

Amid market issues surrounding stablecoins, Tether (USDT) launched a new digital asset that will be pegged to the Mexican peso on Ethereum (ETH), Tron (TRX) and Polygon (MATIC) networks. In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph on Thursday, Tether mentioned that the token will have the MXNT ticker and will join Tether's roster of fiat-pegged stablecoins that includes dollar-pegged USDT, euro-pegged EURT and Chinese yuan-pegged CNHT. Citing data that reports blockchain and crypto demand among Mexican companies, the stablecoin issuer believes that there's a unique opportunity to provide a cheaper option for asset transfer within the region. According to Tether's chief …

Crypto prices have been exploring new lows for weeks and currently it's unclear what it will take to reverse the trend. Despite the downtrend, cryptocurrencies within the Polkadot (DOT) ecosystem began to rally on May 24 and have managed to maintain gains ranging from 10% to 25%, a possible sign that certain sub-sectors of the market are on the verge of a breakout. Here’s a look at three Polkadot ecosystem protocols that have seen their token prices trend higher in recent days. Acala launches a $250 million aUSD ecosystem fund Acala (ACA) is the leading decentralized finance (DeF) platform on …

Cointelegraph’s director of video production Jackson DuMont dissected stablecoins in the latest episode of Cryptopedia. DuMont also explored and explained algorithmic stablecoins and the recent incident involving the TerraUSD (UST) and why it was unable to maintain its dollar peg. DuMont defined stablecoins as “a crypto whose value is tied to an outside asset such as the United States Dollar (USD).” According to DuMont, stablecoins are very vital to the crypto industry as they provide users with the ability to store their assets without worrying about the depreciation of the assets’ value. This function is useful in bear markets where …

The regulation of cryptocurrencies across the world is a constant battle for investors in a rapidly expanding and constantly changing ecosystem. Various regulatory agencies around the world view digital assets in a different light that vary significantly from one another. Recently, executive board member of the European Central Bank (ECB) Fabio Panetta mentioned in a written statement for a speech to Columbia University that regulators should follow a globally coordinated approach while regulating digital assets. He said that the world should have digital assets regulated by the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) rules of the …

In April, the United Kingdom’s Economic and Finance Ministry, also known as Her Majesty’s Treasury, announced its intention to put the United Kingdom at the forefront of technology by bringing stablecoins under the country’s payments regulation — a bold move that looks especially intriguing in contrast to the recent shock, caused by TerraUSD’s (UST) depegging. Later, in May, during the annual Queen’s Speech, Prince Charles informed the Parliament about two bills that will support “the safe adoption of cryptocurrencies” and “create powers to more quickly and easily seize and recover crypto assets.” Taken together, these initiatives give an impression of …

On the second day of the Global Blockchain Business Council's (GBBC) Blockchain Central Davos 2022, Cointelegraph’s editor-in-chief Kristina Lucrezia Cornèr moderated a panel discussion focusing on the current direction of the financial industry. Panelists included co-founder and CEO of Soramitsu Makoto Takemiya; fintech expert at Oesterreichische Nationalbank Johannes Duong; and chief operating officer (COO) of theStellar Development Foundation Jason Chlipala. The panel tackled various issues such as educating the mainstream about blockchain, how blockchain companies are breaking stereotypes at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2022 and current market issues surrounding central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins. The common perception …

It’s been two weeks since the shock of the TerraUSD (UST) depegging, but the long waves of this event are still coming in. The Congressional Research Service described the UST crash as a “run-like” scenario and claimed that the crypto industry has not reached the same level of “adequate regulating” as the traditional finance market. Michael Barr, former advisory board member of Ripple Labs and United States President Joe Biden’s pick for a vice chair for supervision at the Federal Reserve, definitely agrees with that. During the confirmation hearing, he mentioned “some significant risks” that innovative technologies and cryptocurrencies, in …

After a strong 2,000% rally in early 2021, Fantom (FTM) price collapsed alongside multiple altcoins and even though the blockchain has an impressive capability, it has yet to find mass adoption due to the lack of a compelling use case. FTM price hit an all-time high at $3.46, only to collapse to its pre-bull market lows under $0.25 after the failure of the Solidly DeFi project and the departure of developer Andre Cronje. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since dropping to $0.238, FTM has rallied 119.23% to $0.5216 on May 23. Three reasons for the uptrend …