Real-world adoption and the ability to service the needs of a wide range of industries are key qualities to have for blockchain projects that seek long-term viability in an increasingly crowded and evolving landscape. One cryptocurrency project from 2016 that has seen its price breakout to new highs in May is Waves (WAVES), a multi-faceted blockchain protocol that has seen significant growth in 2021 thanks to recent strides in decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible tokens (NFT) and real-world adoption. Data from Tradingview shows that after hitting a low of $12.22 on April 25, the price of Waves has swelled more than …

The circulating supply of the four-largest stablecoins has spiked to new all-time highs, suggesting buyers could soon spark another leg up for the Bitcoin and crypto markets. The combined capitalization of Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), and Dai (DAI) has surged almost 190% from $27 billion to almost $78 billion since the beginning of this year. In its May 3 Week on Chain report, on-chain analytics provider, Glassnode, noted that Tether is firmly positioned as the stable token sector’s leader, representing two-thirds of the top four stablecoins’ combined capitalization. USDT’s total minted supply hit an all-time high …

A crypto payments platform has undergone a rebrand — and has launched a new suite of easy-to-understand applications that are designed to deliver innovation in decentralized finance. Mimo is a new protocol that serves as a successor for TenX, which captured the imagination of early adopters by allowing them to complete crypto transactions anywhere using a card. Much of the foundational technology used to build TenX is now being implemented in Mimo, which aims to bring exciting new features to the DeFi space. At the center of its offering is Parallel (PAR), which has been billed as the first decentralized …

Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies have opened the doors to a whole new world of finance. In their most basic form, cryptocurrencies allow people to transact in a fully trustless, transparent and efficient manner, cutting out the centralized intermediaries and counterparty risk previously associated with digital money transfers. Thanks to blockchain technology, value can now be transferred on a worldwide scale within seconds/minutes and with relatively low fees — and that’s not all. However, Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) are still too volatile to be used as currency, a factor that has hindered their mass adoption. Although Bitcoin and blockchain technology …

The global landscape of crypto-asset regulations is diverse and, even though it is getting more complex, many regulators are still choosing to wait and see how this space develops and what others will do. Right now, all eyes are on the European Union and its bespoke approach to regulating crypto assets. As part of an expansive digital finance package announced in September 2020, the European Commission, or EC, issued a regulatory proposal titled Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA. The proposal is now making its way through the legislative process and is subject to intense debates. This important regulatory step has …

As blockchain technology and the public's awareness of cryptocurrency continues to grow, a range of new use cases a coming to market and enhancing the efficacy of legacy financial systems. Despite its many applications, the original use case for Bitcoin (BTC) as a medium of exchange remains one of the most fundamental applications of blockchain technology and while BTC might not be the best asset to use for payments, there are service providers who have eased the process of settling transactions in other cryptocurrencies. For now, the most widely accepted way to use cryptocurrencies for direct payments in everyday life …

Moore Cayman, a Cayman Islands-based accounting network, has again affirmed that Tether Holdings Limited’s USDT stablecoin tokens are fully backed by its reserves. In the latest report, signed on March 31 and released Thursday, Moore Cayman confirmed that Tether’s consolidated assets exceeded its liabilities. “In our opinion, the [Consolidated Reserves Report] by the management of Tether HOldings Limited group as of 31 March 2021 at 11:59 PM UTC, is presented in accordance with the criteria set out therein and is, in all material respects, fairly stated,” the report read. The independent evaluation found that Tether’s total consolidated assets were valued …

Crypto data aggregator CoinMetrics has compiled a list of 100 insights into the recent performance of the digital asset markets — and the figures add up to a very bullish picture for the ecosystem. Released to celebrate the 100th issue of its “State of the Network” report, the list notes that a $100 investment made into Dogecoin (DOGE) 100 days ago would be worth $2,742 today — outperforming the same $100 investment in Bitcoin (BTC) (which would be valued at $135 today), Ether (ETH) ($186), and Uniswap (UNI) ($401). The report states that Bitcoin has seen $14.5 billion worth of …

The market capitalization of Tether (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin, zipped past $50 billion on Monday in a sign that the cryptocurrency bull market is still heating up. Tether Operations Limited confirmed the milestone on Monday, with roughly 50 billion USDT now reported to be in circulation. Tether’s supply — and hence, its market capitalization — has grown by more than a factor of 10 over the last 12 months. That includes 25% growth in the span of a month. As a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, 1 USDT is equivalent to $1 in assets held by Tether. “Crossing a market cap …

As central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, continue to garner mainstream traction across the global financial landscape in recent years, almost all central banks are actively researching the benefits and risks of offering a digital currency to the public. In its most basic sense, a CBDC is a digital form of fiat money, backed by a suitable amount of monetary reserves like gold or foreign currency reserves. Each CBDC unit acts as a secure digital instrument equivalent and can be used as a way of payment, a store of value and an official unit of account. What distinguishes them from …

The United States’ largest cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, is listing Tether (USDT) on its professional trading platform. According to a Thursday announcement, Coinbase Pro has enabled USDT deposits ahead of the trading launch scheduled for Monday. The company said that trading will begin if liquidity conditions are met, stressing that Coinbase only supports the ERC-20 version of USDT running on the Ethereum blockchain. “Once sufficient supply of USDT is established on the platform, trading on our BTC-USDT, ETH-USDT, USDT-EUR, USDT-GBP, USDT-USD and USDT-USDC, order books will launch in three phases, post-only, limit-only and full trading,” Coinbase wrote. Coinbase emphasized that USDT …

Base-money protocol Ampleforth announced the launch of a new governance token Wednesday, setting the stage for further expansion and community engagement following a successful year of adoption. The project said that the FORTH token is meant to serve as the basis of Ampleforth’s evolution, with more than 75,000 users set to become founding members of the governing body. Holding FORTH tokens will entitle users to propose and vote on changes to Ampleforth’s protocol. A total of 15 million governance tokens will be available to claim over the next year. Regarding the tokenomics of FORTH, Ampleforth said: “A perpetual inflation rate …