As 2022 is kicking off, America nears the first anniversary of Joe Biden’s presidency. Following the tenure’s ambitious start, the last few months witnessed some serious tumult around the overall health of the United States economy, the administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the tense debate around Biden’s opus magnum — the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better infrastructure legislation plan. But even as the Democrats’ ability to maintain undivided power after the 2022 midterm elections can raise doubts, the party’s prevailing view of crypto has become more consolidated than ever. The incumbent president’s party will be setting the tone …

Regulators around the world have been thinking seriously about the risks associated with stablecoins since 2019 but recently, concerns have intensified, particularly in the United States. In November, the United States’ President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, or PWG, issued a key report, raising questions about possible “stablecoin runs” as well as “payment system risk.” The U.S Senate followed up in December with hearings on stablecoin risks. It raises questions: Is stablecoin regulation coming to the U.S. in 2022? If so, will it be “broad stroke” federal legislation or more piecemeal Treasury Department regulation? What impact might it have on …

From a price perspective, the cryptocurrency market is ending 2021 with a whimper as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other digital assets continue to trade well below their prior peaks. But the business of blockchain and crypto is heating up, as evidenced by the arrival of institutional capital and the flood of venture funding into the space. According to Nischal Shetty, CEO of India's WazirX crypto exchange, the digital asset revolution is already underway and will continue with or without your participation. Below is the concise version of the latest "Crypto Biz" newsletter, which is delivered to your inbox every …

Shark Tank celebrity Kevin O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, says he would be ready to increase his crypto allocations up to 20% as soon as there are clearer regulations around stablecoins. O’Leary, a former Bitcoin (BTC) skeptic, is now a vocal advocate of cryptocurrency, which currently makes up over 10% of his investment portfolio. Mr. Wonderful is particularly focused on U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, which he sees as an effective hedge against rising levels of inflation. By staking stablecoins, he pointed out, he can make up to 6% returns. He explained to Cointelegraph: ”When inflation is 6%, you're buying power …

Volatility is once again the major theme across the cryptocurrency market on Dec. 30 as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) bounced back from an early morning dip below $46,000 with bulls now battling bears for control of support near $47,500. The altcoin market has likewise been a mixed bag of results on Thursday, with many of the coins in the top 200 seeing slight losses while the top performers have posted double-digit gains thanks to major protocol developments and acquisitions. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24 hours were Frax Share …

The growth of the stablecoin sector within crypto has been one of the most impactful developments of 2021. In particular, stablecoins became integral to the expanding decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem as their total value eclipsed $162 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. One project that has seen its token price surge thanks to its focus on stablecoins and the Curve Finance (CRV) ecosystem is Convex Finance (CVX), a protocol that aims to help users boost CRV staking to maximize yields. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $18.79 on Dec. 4, the price of CVX …

The overall size of the global bond markets is $130 trillion, while the total market capitalization of the crypto market has surpassed the $2 trillion mark this year and keeps growing. Businesses are always looking for easily accessible financing opportunities. Traditionally, large and mid-sized companies get funding through bank and bond financing. With its global reach and intermediary-free environment, the crypto market, decentralized finance (DeFi) in particular, could become a new source of funding in the near future. However, in its current state, the DeFi lending market is not suitable for established businesses. Most protocols that lend crypto use it …

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX is calling on banks to reach out and discuss the possibility of accepting stablecoins in exchange for a $1 million reward. In a Tuesday Twitter post, FTX said it was exploring forming relationships with banks in different regions to allow users to have “near instant and near free deposits and withdrawals” through stablecoins. The exchange floated the idea of offering a $1 million prize for the first bank in each region to accept the tokens, but hinted it would be open to giving more. How much would it cost to convince a bank to accept stablecoins? …

Tristan Frizza of Zeta Markets: Tristan is the core contributor to Zeta Markets, an under-collateralized DeFi derivatives platform, providing liquid derivatives trading to individuals and institutions alike. “We’ve seen a Cambrian explosion in the DeFi ecosystem in 2021, with peak TVL approaching $300 billion vs the 2020 peak of $21 billion. This sounds like the growth surely has to slow. Yet, DeFi still represents just a fraction of CeFi trading volumes. At Zeta, we see a clear opportunity for more and more CeFi infrastructure to be built on-chain in a permissionless manner. This will unlock innovative products that have previously …

2021 was a breakout year for the cryptocurrency market in many respects and most investors are absolutely thrilled that Bitcoin (BTC) price established a new all-time high of $68,789. In the same timeframe, Ether (ETH) went on a parabolic rally which saw its price gain 565% from Jan. 1 to hit a record high at $4,859 on Nov. 10. While it was a banner year for large cap cryptocurrencies, some of the biggest gains and most impactful developments came from the altcoin market where decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) rallied by thousands of percent and helped to usher …

Yat Siu of Animoca Brands Yat is the executive chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, which delivers digital property rights to the world’s gamers and internet users, thereby creating a new asset class, play-to-earn economies and a more equitable digital framework contributing to the building of the open Metaverse. “2021 was the year of NFTs, and in the second half of the year, we saw a growing emphasis on GameFi. This trend will continue well into 2022. Real mass adoption of DeFi will happen via GameFi, which will explode in growth during 2022 as the potential for mass financial inclusion …

Looking at the Bitcoin chart from a weekly or daily perspective presents a bearish outlook and it's clear that (BTC) price has been consistently making lower lows since hitting an all-time high at $69,000. Curiously, the Nov. 10 price peak happened right as the United States announced that inflation has hit a 30-year high, but, the mood quickly reversed after fears related to China-based real estate developer Evergrande defaulting on its loans. This appears to have impacted the broader market structure. Traders are still afraid of stablecoin regulation This initial corrective phase was quickly followed by relentless pressure from regulators …