Government-issued electronic currency seems to be an idea whose time has come. “More than half of the world’s central banks are now developing digital currencies or running concrete experiments on them,” reported the Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, in early May — something that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. The BIS also found that nine out of ten central banks were exploring central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, in some form or other, according to its survey of 81 central banks conducted last autumn but just published. Many were taken aback by the progress. “It …

This is a parody of the article published by the World Economic Forum titled “Welcome to 2030. I Own Nothing, Have No Privacy And Life Has Never Been Better.” Welcome to Mars. Welcome to my city, or should I say “our city” because I, like every other inhabitant, am a stakeholder in it. No, I don’t mean “shareholder,” as this isn’t a dystopian future run by private companies. My city on Mars has a decentralized governance structure just like the greater Mars. It is not a corporation nor is it a militarized state. It is a set of institutions governed …

There was a time when all cryptocurrencies traded against Bitcoin (BTC). Speculators ventured into other coins when they saw assuring tokenomics or promising hype, but Bitcoin was their settlement coin of choice. Things have changed. Stablecoins now constitute a critical $150 billion pillar in the cryptocurrency market. Perpetual futures over-amplify market sentiment and, more often than not, dominate price action. Much more capital, including from institutional funds, has come into the market lately with only a moderate impact on Bitcoin’s price. So, some former bulls now dismiss Bitcoin as boring. Is this the end of Bitcoin maximalism? Probably not. But, …

The concept of the Metaverse has been around since the 1980s, but it has only been in recent years that we’ve seen hundreds of projects popping up on the scene. What we are currently experiencing are gamified worlds with limited integration and engagement abilities. Right now, the Metaverse is still a blank canvas for early adopters to test and entertain the concept. When looking at the future of engagement in the Metaverse and bridging the gaps between the physical and digital worlds, however, we need to push the boundaries and go beyond what is currently seen as a metaverse. Let …

The past week has been a dark period in the history of crypto, with the total market capitalization of this industry dipping as low as $1.2 trillion for the first time since July 2021. The turmoil, in large part, has been due to the real-time disintegration of Terra, a Cosmos-based protocol that powers a suite of algorithmic stablecoins. Approximately a week ago, LUNA ranked among the 10 most valuable cryptocurrencies in the market, with a single token trading at a price point of $85. By May 11, however, the price of the asset had dropped to $15. And, 48-hours on, …

The recent crashes in stock and cryptocurrency markets have provided yet another chance to observe the better return opportunities of crypto versus stocks, according to several industry executives. This week, the crypto market saw one of its biggest sell-offs ever, with the total market capitalization plummeting more than 30% from $1.8 trillion on May 4 to as low as $1.2 trillion on Thursday. Bitcoin (BTC), the biggest digital asset by market capitalization, tumbled below $27,000 for the first time since late 2020, losing 30% of value over the same period. But the market instability has not been exclusive to crypto. …

XP informed Cointelegraph that XTAGE will launch in Q2 2022 and will be fully integrated into the XP Inc ecosystem — the largest investment brokerage in Brazil with more than 3.5 million clients and $168 billion assets under custody. XP stated that the exchange will initially offer the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, but the intention is that the platform will also support other digital assets and investment products based on crypto assets. “The creation of XTAGE represents an important milestone in advancing the digital asset market and our ability to offer investors greater access to the digital asset ecosystem. …

The Federal Ministry of Finance (BaFin) published a 24-page document on Tuesday outlining clear income tax rules for cryptocurrency and virtual assets. Tax practitioners, businesses and individual taxpayers now have clear direction on the tax requirements for acquiring, trading and selling cryptocurrencies. The key takeaway is that individuals who sell BTC or ETH more than 12 months after acquisition will not be liable for taxes on the sale if they realize a profit. Parliamentary State Secretary Katja Hessel also addressed questions around the long-term staking of cryptocurrencies: “For private individuals, the sale of purchased Bitcoin and Ether is tax-free after …

The queen of pop has collaborated with record-setting artist Beeple to create a series called Mother of Creation, which includes three nonfungible tokens (NFTs) titled Mother of Technology, Mother of Nature and Mother of Evolution. The NFTs show a 3D likeness of Madonna giving birth to robot centipedes, butterflies and trees. As the markets went crazy over stablecoins showing instability, Madonna and Beeple decided that it was the right time to show the community something even crazier — NFTs showing a 3D model of the 63-year-old singer-songwriter’s vagina. Following the drop, the community reacted with various perspectives, with some being …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking to hire more people to focus on digital assets, raising the number of personnel charged with safeguarding investors in cryptocurrency markets almost twofold. The SEC's Cyber Unit, which comprises the Crypto Assets and Cyber team, is expected to hire 20 new people to increase the overall force to 50 dedicated positions, as reported by Cointelegraph on May 3. This development comes as the regulatory body attempts to keep up with the rise in the popularity of virtual assets. The SEC's decision to expand its cryptocurrency unit has been praised by …

MicroStrategy’s CEO and Bitcoin proponent Michael Saylor is confident his firm’s BTC holdings will more than cover a potential margin call on Bitcoin-backed loans. The American business intelligence and software giant made headlines in 2021 with a number of major investments into Bitcoin. Saylor was a driving force behind MicroStrategy’s decision to convert its treasury reserve into BTC holdings. Global markets have suffered major losses in early May and Microstrategy’s stock has not been spared. MSTR has seen its value drop by 24% and the value of Bitcoin has also slumped considerably along with the wider cryptocurrency markets. This is …

According to blockchain digitization provider Tokeny, on Monday, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) became the first European museum to tokenize investment in fine art, starting with Belgian painter James Ensor's (1860–1949) painting, "Carnaval de Binche." Investors can obtain fractional ownership of the work starting from 150 euros (or about $158). The venture is a joint effort between KMSKA, Tokeny and blockchain art entity Rubey, with the tokens, themselves, being ERC-3643 compliant and launching on the Polygon (MATIC) blockchain. As told by the parties, the ultimate goal of the collaboration is to lower the investment barriers to entry …