Hester Peirce, a commissioner for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission known by many in the space as Crypto Mom, is pushing back against the regulatory body’s agenda for not including clarification on digital assets. In a Monday joint statement, Peirce and SEC Commissioner Elad Roisman said they were “disappointed” in the content of chairperson Gary Gensler’s regulatory agenda for not including items aimed at helping companies raise capital, furthering investor protection, undoing recent rules passed by the commission, and providing clarification on crypto. According to the two regulators, Gensler’s uncertain stance on digital assets may create problems for …

Institutional interest in cryptocurrencies is increasing as the space continues to mature. A survey released on Dec. 8 by European investment manager Nickel Digital Asset Management found that 85% of institutional investors and wealth managers have dedicated teams to review cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The study noted that the investors surveyed manage around $108.4 billion in assets. The London-based firm also released a report in September of this year showing that 62% of global institutional investors with zero exposure to cryptocurrencies expect to make their first crypto investments within the next year. It’s also notable that Wall Street veterans are …

Each year that we get a little further away from Satoshi Nakomoto’s whitepaper, crypto becomes more popular than ever, breaking more barriers — not just in sheer enthusiasm, but in mainstream acceptance. From nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to the Metaverse, 2021 was the year of crypto, even following a decade where just about every other year could make the same claim. Despite that peak enthusiasm and excitement though, we shouldn’t be blind to the fact that there are still fundamental issues that must be solved before crypto truly becomes the dominant “coin of the realm” across the globe, along with the …

Bitcoin (BTC) is often used to criticize all blockchain-based projects. This is understandable since Bitcoin was the first project to use a blockchain, is arguably the most recognizable and is the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. In the first half of this article, I will use Bitcoin as a proxy for all blockchain-based projects because most people associate blockchain with Bitcoin. Anything environmentally positive that can be said about Bitcoin will be doubly true for the vast majority of newer blockchain-based projects since Bitcoin uses the oldest version of blockchain technology. Blockchain energy consumption Bitcoin has been attacked for high …

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released its long-awaited guidance on virtual assets, laying out standards that have the potential to reshape the crypto industry in the United States and around the world. The guidance addresses one of the most important challenges for the crypto industry: To convince regulators, legislators and the public that it does not facilitate money laundering. The guidance is particularly concerned with the parts of the crypto industry that have recently brought about significant regulatory uncertainty including decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). The guidance largely follows the emerging approach of U.S. regulators toward …

Soon after becoming the first United States lawmaker to accept a part of his salary in Bitcoin, Suarez wants to dedicate a part of his retirement savings to Bitcoin based on “a personal choice,” he said in an interview with Real Vision: The long-standing mayor of Miami Francis Suarez has now announced plans to take a part of his 401(k) payout in Bitcoin (BTC) just a month after he started receiving salary in BTC. “I just think it is a good asset to be invested in. I think it’s one that’s obviously going to appreciate over time. It’s one that …

The first Bitcoin (BTC) futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) was launched in the United States back on October 19, 2021. Since then, a number of other cryptocurrency investment products have been launched in various markets. That first ETF, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, quickly became one of the top ETFs of all time by trading volume on its debut, and soon after, several other Bitcoin futures ETFs were launched in the United States, providing investors with different investment options. To Martha Reyes, head of research at cryptocurrency trading platform Bequant, these options are important. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Reyes pointed out that …

Growing inflation has become a mounting concern for nations around the world, especially the United States. The U.S. has seen one of the sharpest rises in consumer inflation over the past year. Lawmakers around the globe have claimed that they didn’t see the inflation coming, but people often draw their attention towards the seeming unrestricted money printing spree throughout the pandemic. The U.S. has printed 35% of the total U.S. dollar in circulation in 2021 alone which has played a key factor in record-breaking inflation. Market pundits expect a 6% rise in the consumer price index (CPI) in November, which …

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has officially proposed the state government to allow businesses to pay state fees with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The Republican governor announced the idea as part of his 2022–2023 budget proposal, released on Dec. 9. According to the official budget highlights, DeSantis proposed to provide $200,000 to the Department of Financial Services to offer Florida corporations the ability to “pay state fees via cryptocurrency directly to the Department of State.” “Florida encourages cryptocurrency as a means of commerce and furthering Florida’s attractiveness to businesses and economic growth,” the document reads. DeSantis additionally proposed allocating another $500,000 …

Illinois Representative Marie Newman has disclosed she purchased up to $50,000 in exposure to crypto through shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. According to a financial disclosure report filed with the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 8, Congressperson Newman bought between $15,001 and $50,000 of GBTC between Nov. 9 and Dec. 4. In addition, she conducted four separate purchases of shares of Coinbase Global’s Class A stock between November and December, up to $215,000. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are permitted to buy, sell and trade stocks and other investments while in office but required to …

Despite some senators in the United States opposing Meta launching its digital currency products, the development of the social media giant's digital wallet, Novi, continues apace. Stephane Kasriel, the head of Meta’s cryptocurrency and fintech unit Novi, officially announced on Dec. 8 that Meta’s messenger subsidiary WhatsApp has started testing transactions through Meta’s Novi wallet. According to the exec, the new feature is available for a “limited number of people” in the United States, allowing users to send and receive money on WhatsApp “instantly and with no fees.” There's a new way to try the @Novi digital wallet. Starting today, …

Coinbase has come under fire recently following a technology snafu that reportedly resulted in the company closing many of its customer's accounts. When users attempted to purchase Japanese stablecoin GYEN and Powerledger (POWR), they suffered from technical difficulties. This was then followed by an error in the system response. Now, deeply frustrated customers have launched an online campaign demanding refunds. #Coinbase only gave me $50 worth of $BTC ‍♀️ I need all my money back that I invest in $GYEN #GYEN and plus you guys gave me a hard time and everything and you guys only game $50 dollars you …