Blockchain analysis firm Glassnode recently characterized the 2022 bear market as the worst on record. This seems to be the case due to events such as the war in Ukraine and rising inflation, coupled with serious problems among centralized crypto exchanges. Yet, the bear market hasn’t negatively impacted all players in the crypto ecosystem. Hardware wallet providers seem to be benefiting from the massive amount of crypto withdrawals from centralized exchanges. Pascal Gauthier, CEO of hardware wallet crypto firm Ledger, told Cointelegraph that the company’s revenue dropped about 90% during the 2018 crypto winter, but this hasn’t been the case …

Market maker Kairon Labs have been working with projects such as StepApp (FitFi) and Ergo, providing liquidity on over 30 exchanges. Kairon Labs and most other market makers agree that “liquid markets are healthy markets,” as when the markets are liquid, it allows for lower slippage and faster trades to occur, which allows for the fair trade of a token. Cointelegraph spoke with the managing partner Jens Willemen for his comments on current market conditions and a brief explanation of how market makers are able to retain profitability in current bearish market conditions. Cointelegraph: What is a market maker? Jens …

Many are thrilled at the prospect of the Metaverse with its virtual worlds that can be used to play online games, but also to train surgeons on 3D organ models and enable students to visit recreated villages in ancient Greece astonishingly brought to life. Many assume, too, that blockchain technology will play a key role in the Metaverse, along with other emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR). But, is the use of blockchain really a foregone conclusion? Stanford University professor Jeremy Bailenson recently moderated a World Economic Forum panel with some of the world’s leading …

The past few weeks have been interesting and have surfaced what we in the financial services industry call matters requiring attention, or MRAs. An MRA describes a practice that deviates from sound governance, internal controls and risk management principles. These matters that require attention have the potential to adversely affect the industry and increase the risk profile. I have always focused on technology and innovation-led business models — systems and interconnected elements of blockchain-powered business networks — redefining the transaction systems that power many industries, including financial services. A growing number of naysayers have become vocal about recent events, which …

In his monthly crypto tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira covers emerging technologies within the crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain space, as well as their roles in shaping the economy of the 21st century. While regulation is always a hot topic for the crypto scene, it is always interesting to take a sneak peek behind the curtains and get a sense of how the people writing the rulebook see the state of the game. In late May, Israel’s crypto enthusiasts and entrepreneurs got a chance to do just that as they converged for the annual Israel Crypto Conference, …

On June 10, many were surprised by the news that TBD, a subsidiary of Block, Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey, announced the launch of the Web5 platform. Web 1, 2, 3 and now Web 5? But where is Web 4? Those who don’t care about number sequences can just downloaded Web 7. But first, so that no one gets behind in understanding this article, let’s quickly talk about the stages of Web evolution. If you already know the subject, you can skip to the next topic. From the static web to the collaborative web In the beginning, there was what we …

Nowadays, the blockchain market as a whole is in its infancy, and the decentralized finance (DeFi) market is its most promising part. According to DefiLlama data, in 2021, the DeFi market had around $200 billion of liquidity locked in smart contracts. If we view this capital as an initial investment, this market looks like a highly promising venture. Not too many global companies can boast of such a capitalization. But any young market has its teething problems. With DeFi, the main issue is a lack of qualified blockchain developers. This industry is very young and has a relatively small user …

Expected to reach a market size of $128 billion by 2028, the longevity sector is no longer something that those outside the medical world can ignore. In the next few years, life-extending technologies and treatments for aging-related diseases will reach human trials. There is an exciting wave of development happening in research labs and technology centers across the globe, with more and more early adopters embarking on their longevity journeys. As I’ve remarked in my earlier article, the crypto community would do well to learn more and engage in the growing longevity field. Longevity not only incorporates disruptive technologies, such …

When cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) go through bear phases like the one we currently find ourselves in, the idea of earning passive income from one’s holdings becomes all the more attractive for long-term investors. Related: Decentralized finance: A beginner’s guide to earning passive income with DeFi Different methods such as staking, lending, cloud mining and yield farming have become popular in the past few years and involve rewarding investors with money or tokens for the crypto tokens invested in the mechanism. However, with hard forks or airdrops, users who are active in the crypto ecosystem can forage for tokens or …

African degens are on a journey to the moon. With crypto, African people’s savings are hedged against insane inflation levels, they can find employment in Web3, and there is always the potential to make life-changing money that will transform the trajectory of their lives forever. People from various backgrounds are embarking on this journey to outer space. These crypto astronauts have, until recently, been hesitant to declare their involvement in the blockchain space. General sentiments around crypto were extremely negative due to the huge slew of scams disguised as cryptocurrency projects that swept through the continent, taking away hard-earned capital …

A new financial system; a more democratized, even more inclusive, financial sector; the future of the internet — the crypto ecosystem has been described as all of these things. However, as is evidenced by digital assets’ inherent correlation with the Nasdaq 100, most people fail to conceptualize blockchain as anything other than an extension of the traditional tech economy. While blockchain’s proponents laud its virtues and potential, they have been unable to make a comprehensive case for blockchain to everyday people. Many crypto natives anticipate “the decoupling,” in which digital assets become financially independent from traditional tech equities. But without …

Building a career or constructing a team in decentralized finance (DeFi) and crypto relies on finding talent, skills and the right attitude anywhere, in anyone. While this is no different than other industries, what makes ours unique are the much-needed, specialized skill sets combined with finding a good culture fit in an international and remote setting. Despite recent turbulence in markets, crypto companies continue building and growing. The increased energy and legitimacy in the industry over the years has many people wanting to make the switch from Web2 to Web3. This requires recruiters to sift through hundreds of applicants every …