Despite enforcing a major cryptocurrency ban one year ago, the Chinese government still protects local crypto investors as crypto is recognized as virtual property protected by the law. One of the world’s most hostile countries toward Bitcoin (BTC), China has not yet banned the possession of cryptocurrencies, according to David Lesperance, founder of Lesperance & Associates law firm. Crypto holders in China are protected by the law in case of theft, misappropriation or breach of a loan agreement, Lesperance told Cointelegraph. He emphasized that crypto exchanges are still banned in China. The lawyer referred to a recent Chinese court case …

A few years back, the concept of owning and trading fragments of physical real estate might have seemed too far-fetched for many. But with the advent of blockchain technology, real estate tokenization is providing new opportunities for fractional ownership and investment. Blockchain technology’s long-overdue debut in real estate has made real-world asset tokenization a heavily-discussed topic in the industry. After all, tokenization ticks all those boxes that are often required to ruffle many a feather in a traditional industry — it’s digital, global, complex and future-oriented. But how exactly does real estate tokenization work, and how can it help transform …

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have grown in popularity as a means of investing since the mid-1990s due to their intraday liquidity and low transaction costs. In general, ETFs track a specific index and are generally traded on exchanges. In a securities market, ETFs allow investors to trade their shares continuously throughout the trading day, unlike mutual funds, which only permit investors to purchase or redeem shares at the close of the trading day. In the cryptocurrency market, a fund that tracks the price of one or the multiple digital tokens and consists of various cryptocurrencies is called a cryptocurrency ETF. This …

In recent years, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrencies and other modern investment options have become trendy. However, physical commodities such as gold are still in high demand. In 2021, the global market capitalization for cryptocurrency surpassed $2 trillion. Now, investors must ask themselves: which option should I choose — crypto or gold? Gold is a commodity that dates back thousands of years as a store of value and as a means of exchange and is still successful today. Even with the invention of decentralized digital cryptocurrency, gold has remained just as prominent. Although, for most individual investors, owning gold can be …

Animoca Brands, a major player in the metaverse and blockchain gaming, has officially disclosed details of a funding round led by Singapore's state-owned investor Temasek. Animoca announced on Thursday that it closed a strategic funding round of $110 million from the issuance of convertible notes to a small number of institutional investors. Completed at a conversion price of 4.5 Australian dollars, or about $3, the new round values Animoca similarly to its previous funding round, the firm said. The notes round included new investors like Temasek, the private equity firm Boyu Capital and the global venture capital firm GGV Capital. …

Venture capital firms poured $14.2 billion into crypto across 725 deals in the first half of 2022, but big four accounting firm KPMG predicts investments will likely slow for the remainder of the year. According to a newly released KPMG report on Sept. 6, the largest investments in H1 2022 came from German-based crypto trading platform Trade Republic ($1.1 billion), digital asset custody platform Fireblocks ($550 million), crypto exchange FTX ($500 million), and Ethereum software company ConsenSys ($450 million). Authors of the report, including KPMG's Global Leader of Fintech, Anton Ruddenklau, noted the investment figures for the first half of …

21.co, the new parent firm of exchange-traded products (ETP) provider 21Shares, has become “Switzerland's largest crypto unicorn,“ the firm announced on Tuesday. It raised $25 million in a funding round led by London-based hedge fund Marshall Wace. The new funding brings the firm's valuation to $2 billion. 21.co is designed to unite 21Shares with third-party token provider Amun and other upcoming crypto projects aiming to build bridges into the crypto world, 21.co founder Hany Rashwan told Cointelegraph. All crypto ETP products launched by 21Shares will maintain the same nomenclature, Rashwan said. He also said that the new name won’t change …

Interest in crypto has been growing since the 2017 bull market and has increased even further since 2021, which saw the nonfungible token (NFT) boom and Bitcoin (BTC) hitting its highest price so far. So, what can a crypto investor tell family and friends who are interested in cryptocurrency? Here are some common and important questions that one can come across regarding crypto and some appropriate responses with opinions from experts in the industry. What is cryptocurrency? One of the most common questions a crypto investor might get asked is what cryptocurrency is in the first place. Cryptocurrency is a …

What is a gold-backed cryptocurrency? A gold-backed cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency that is backed by physical gold. The currency’s value is based on the current market price of gold and can be used for transactions just like any other type of cryptocurrency. Some cryptocurrencies are backed by gold in order to tie the derivative asset (crypto) to a tangible asset (gold), thereby preventing excessive fluctuations in price. Thus, gold-backed cryptocurrency is often more stable than other digital currencies. This is because the price of gold is generally less volatile than the prices of other assets, such as …

The ongoing crypto winter has seen budgets and jobs slashed, but the search for top-tier talent hasn’t stopped across several Web3 verticals, according to some crypto recruitment firms. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Kevin Gibson, founder of crypto recruiting firm Proof of Search said that the majority of staff cuts in the crypto market have been from centralized exchanges, most notably the 18% staff cut at Coinbase in June, 10% cuts at Gemini in July, and the 5% cut at Crypto.com. Despite this, he said there is “still a great deal of demand” for crypto job seekers to get work with “Game-Fi, …

Over the past few decades, the inequality of wealth distribution globally has become all the starker. For example, as of 2022, the top 10% of Americans hold nearly 70% of US wealth. This means that 90% of the country only takes home 30% of the wealth. South Africa is another example, with the top 10% taking home 65% of the wealth. Many citizens also lack access to general banking as well as high-class financial services (i.e., services limited to accredited investors) that are readily available to the more well-off residents. Cryptocurrency can help to reduce wealth disparity by providing users …

After forging a minor recovery of sorts earlier this month, the crypto market has returned to exhibiting high levels of volatility over the past two weeks. This trend has pervaded the market since late last year, with the total market capitalization of the digital asset industry having dipped from an all-time high of $3 trillion back in November 2021 to its current levels of $1.08 trillion, representing a drop of over 65%. This then begs the question: “How long is this volatility going to last?” especially since the macroeconomic conditions surrounding the global finance sector have continued to deteriorate steadily …