As one of a number of Cointelegraph representatives attending the Paris Blockchain Week Summit (PBWS) at the historic Palais Brongniart — a neoclassical building previously serving as the headquarters for the Parisian stock exchange from 1826 to 1987 — European news reporter, Joe Hall sat down for an in-depth interview with the Chief technology officer of Bitfinex and Tether, Paolo Ardoino. Previously ranked 88th in Cointelegraph’s prestigious Top 100 2021 for his influential impact on the growth of the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, Ardoino spoke on an array of topics including the adoption of Bitcoin and Tether as legal tender …

“The Market Report” with Cointelegraph is live right now. On this week’s show, Cointelegraph’s resident experts discuss the worst mistakes you should avoid making in crypto. But first, market expert Marcel Pechman carefully examines the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) markets. Are the current market conditions bullish or bearish? What is the outlook for the next few months? Pechman is here to break it down. Next up: the main event. Join Cointelegraph analysts Benton Yaun, Jordan Finneseth and Sam Bourgi as they talk about the worst crypto mistakes to avoid making in 2022. First up we have Bourgi, who thinks …

Circle, a major peer-to-peer payments firm and the principal operator of the UDC Coin (USDC), has announced a $400 million funding round and a new partnership with the American investment firm BlackRock. The USDC issuer has entered into an agreement for a funding round featuring investors like BlackRock, the investment advisory firm Fidelity Management and Research, the London-based hedge fund Marshall Wace and Fin Capital, as Circle officially announced Tuesday. The investment round is expected to close in the second quarter 2022. Apart from providing strategic investment and being primary asset manager of USDC cash reserves, BlackRock has inked a …

Terra (LUNA) price slid on April 11 as a broader correction across crypto assets added to the uncertainties concerning its token burning mechanism. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) led to a decline in the rest of the cryptocurrency market, with LUNA's price dropping by over 8% to nearly $91.50, and about 30% from its record high of $120, set on April 6. The overall drop tailed similar moves in the U.S. stock market after the Federal Reserve last week signaled its intentions to raise interest rates and shrink balance sheets sharply to curb rising inflation. Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of …

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has become a stress test for crypto in many tangible ways. Digital assets have emerged as an effective means of directly supporting humanitarian efforts, and the crypto industry, despite enormous pressure, has largely proved itself a mature community — one ready to comply with international policies without compromising the core principles of decentralization. But there is another vital role that crypto has filled during these tragic events: It is becoming more and more familiar to those who have found themselves cut off from the payment systems that had once seemed unfailing. Traditional financial infrastructures don’t …

After a 42% rally over a three week period, Ether (ETH) peaked at $3,580 on April 3, and since then a 12% correction to $3,140 has taken place. Tech giants launching their own smart contract platforms and regulatory uncertainty might have impacted investors’ sentiment and derivatives metrics also show worsening conditions which confirm professional traders' shift toward bearish sentiment. On April 6, Financial Times reported that Meta is reportedly planning to introduce virtual currency and lending services. This move is aimed at exploring alternative sources of revenue for Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger. United States Senator Pat Toomey, the ranking …

Projects that launch on up-and-coming blockchain networks can often benefit from a low competition environment that allows them to attract new users and liquidity at a faster rate than crowded networks like Ethereum. A recent example of this is Astroport (ASTRO), an automated market maker (AMM) on the Terra (LUNA) network that has seen an influx of activity alongside the increased attention that is being focused on the Terra ecosystem and its Terra USD (UST) stablecoin. . Data from CoinGecko shows that since hitting a low of $1.28 on March 7, the price of ASTRO has exploded 194% to hit …

Near Protocol (NEAR) has rallied by almost 30% after announcing on April 6 that it had raised $350 million in a funding round led by Tiger Global, a New York-based hedge fund. NEAR price eyes 100% price rally NEAR's price reached over $19.75, just about 2.5% below its all-time high. However, many analysts agreed with the potential for the NEAR/USD pair to reclaim its best level to date, and even rise above it in the coming weeks. Adoption remained the key focus behind the bullish predictions. For instance, Zoran Cole, the founder of the popular Telegram group Crypto Insiders highlighted …

Terraform Labs (TFL) and the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) have announced they have purchased a combined $200 million worth of AVAX tokens from the Avalanche Foundation. TFL, the company responsible for the development of the Terra blockchain, swapped $100 million worth of Terra’s native token, LUNA for AVAX tokens, in order to “strategically align ecosystem incentives”, according to Terra’s twitter. LFG, a non-profit organization mandated to build reserves for Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin UST, used its own holdings of UST to purchase an additional $100 million worth of AVAX from the Avalanche Foundation. These purchases are meant to reinforce the stability …

United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen listed stablecoins as one of the major policy concerns in the digital asset space for regulators, currently subject to “inconsistent and fragmented oversight.” Speaking to attendees at American University in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Yellen said the Treasury Department was working with Congress to advance legislation to help ensure that “stablecoins are resilient to risks” for consumers and the U.S. financial system. According to the Treasury Secretary, while stablecoins raised “policy concerns” and issues around the coins’ reserve assets, many parts of the digital asset space present potential risks that could exacerbate inequality. “Our …

Republican Senator Pat Toomey, the ranking member for the Senate Banking Committee, has drafted a bill proposing a regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States. According to a draft released Wednesday, the ‘Stablecoin Transparency of Reserves and Uniform Safe Transactions Act’, otherwise known as the Stablecoin TRUST Act, proposed the digital assets be identified as “payment stablecoins” — a convertible virtual currency used as a medium of exchange that can be redeemed for fiat by the issuer. Critically, the bill proposed such offerings be exempt from securities regulations by amending existing laws to ensure the definition of "security" does …

On Wednesday, centralized cryptocurrency exchange Binance launched its new TerraUSD (UST) staking program. Although Binance did not name the underlying decentralized finance protocol responsible for the staking rewards, Do Kwon — Terra Luna's (LUNA) co-founder — attributed the origins of the high yield to Terra's flagship Anchor protocol. Anchor rate is now available to 30M+ binance users The anchor yield of web3 is living up to its name. https://t.co/awubGdRJgP — Do Kwon (@stablekwon) April 6, 2022 Terra Luna's ecosystem consists of its algorithmic stablecoin UST and governance/equilibrium token LUNA. The Anchor protocol alleges that it operate as a "crypto savings …