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The new platform Tokenet hopes to capitalize on institutional interest following the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. A new crypto-lending platform dubbed Tokenet says it will service what it expects to be an influx of institutional clients following the potential United States approval of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange traded fund (ETF).  The platform was launched by a team of executives who previously headed financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald who since joined a new brokerage firm called Digital Prime Technologies. In a Nov. 7 statement, Tokenet said it will allow firms to borrow and lend digital assets while managing collateral positions. The platform also offers risk management tools which allow institutions to mitigate counterparty risks as they would in traditional finance. Digital Prime Technologies’ Tokenet platform is already backed by a number of crypto firms including Hidden Road Partners, Xapo Bank, EDX Clearing and DV Chain. "Given the current markets a...

The experiment demonstrated that CBDCs could be wrapped to purchase NFTs on blockchains such as Ethereum. Mastercard has completed a trial involving wrapping central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) on different blockchains, similar to wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) and wrapped Ether (wETH). According to the October 12 announcement, the trial was conducted with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the country's Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre CBDC, along with participation from Cuscal and Mintable. In a live environment, Mastercard said the solution allowed a CBDC owner to purchase a nonfungible token (NFT) listed on Ethereum. "The process “locked” the required amount of a pilot CBDC on the RBA’s pilot CBDC platform and minted an equivalent amount of wrapped pilot CBDC tokens on Ethereum," the payment processor wrote.  "A pre-requisite of the test transaction was that the Ethereum wallets of both the buyer and seller, as well as the NFT marketplace smart...

Binance’s lost spot trading volume has been reportedly distributed among exchanges like HTX (formerly Huobi), Bybit and DigiFinex. Major global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has reportedly continued to lose its market share amid ongoing regulatory issues in the United States. Binance’s spot market share fell for a seventh consecutive month in September 2023, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 5, citing analysis from cryptocurrency data provider CCData According to the report, Binance’s spot market share dropped from 38.5% in August to 34.3% in September. In January 2023, Binance’s spot market share accounted for as much as 55.2%. Binance's global spot market share percentage chart year-to-date. Source: Bloomberg Apart from the spot market, Binance has also been losing market share in the derivatives market. According to the report, Binance’s derivatives market share tumbled from 53.5% in August to 51.5% in September. In January, the exchange’s market dominance in the derivatives m...

Hollywood strikes echoed the unbalanced value distribution in the streaming video industry — blockchain can change that. Streaming video is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, with the OTT video industry alone projected to reach $200 billion in 2023. Short for “over-the-top” video, the OTT video ecosystem includes on-demand video as well as ad-supported video content, and it is mainly driven by the growth of established Web2 streaming platforms, including Netflix, Hulu and Disney+. The streaming video market is expected to grow at 14.3% CAGR. Source: Replay While the reports project an $300 billion revenue for the streaming video business by 2027, the lopsided revenue-sharing mechanics of the industry creates an unhealthy balance between the creators of value and the platforms distributing that content. The centralized nature of the video streaming ecosystem allows for opaque distribution and lets platforms capture the vast majority of the revenue, leaving minimal value f...

The firm managed to narrow net loss in the quarter as it ramped up Bitcoin production. Colorado-based Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms narrowed its second quarter net loss to $27.7 million as it ramped up its Bitcoin production and reached record hash rate capacity. The crypto miner posted total revenue of $76.7 million — up 5.2% from Q2 2022 — which was primarily driven by a 27% year-on-year increase in Bitcoin (BTC) production, offset by a decline in Bitcoin prices, according to the firm’s Aug. 9 results filing. The firm’s mining revenue of $49.7 million attributed to 64.7% of the firm’s total revenue over the quarter. An additional $13.5 million was made through the firm’s power curtailment credits. Meanwhile, its Q2 net loss was a massive reduction from the prior year period, which was $353.5 million. It was also around half the net loss posted in the first quarter of 2023. Riot Platforms managed to cut its net loss to $27.7 million in Q2. Source: Riot Platforms The firm produc...

The Coinbase earnings report shows that services and subscriptions are the exchange’s core revenue streams. Is this a positive or a negative? Coinbase, a leading U.S. cryptocurrency exchange , shared its second-quarter results on Aug. 3. Despite showing a net loss, some positives emerged, like a 13% cut in operating expenses from the last quarter and a 3% boost in its cash reserves to $5.5 billion.  Coinbase key financial metrics, in millions of dollars. Source: Coinbase However, the exchange took a hit with a $97 million net loss, worse than its previous quarter, and saw a 32% drop in its adjusted EBITDA to $194 million in Q2. Services and USDC stablecoin impact growth One downside was the 7% fall in subscription and service revenue from Q1. The letter to shareholders revealed that a 28% decrease in the USD Coin (USDC) market cap partly caused this. Since Coinbase holds a stake in Circle, USDC's issuer, it gains from the interest rate offered by the stablecoin reserves. Addition...

It's been one of the most lucrative quarters for those that profit from Bitcoin transaction fees in nearly two years. Bitcoin (BTC) miners made a lofty $184 million from transaction fees in the second quarter, far more than what they pocketed over the entire 2022 — as Bitcoin’s price surged and BRC-20 tokens flourished. The $184 million payout is more than a 270% increase from the first quarter of 2023 and it is the first quarter to have surpassed the $100 million mark since Q2 2021, according to a July 5 report from cryptocurrency analytics platform Coin Metrics. Bitcoin miners earned more from fees in Q2 than the previous five quarters combined. Source: Coin Metrics Bitcoin miners receive transaction fees whenevea new block has been validated, the amount of which is determined by the data volume and the user demand for block space. Coin Metrics said the jump in fees was due to Bitcoin’s recent price surge bolstered ‘top-line revenues” and the advent of BRC-20, a new token stand...

Research into “Long COVID” and furthering medical infrastructure development will be the two main focus areas for Buterin. Ethereum co -founder Vitalik Buterin is working with India-based crypto fund Crypto Relief and Polygon co founder Sandeep Nailwal to send $100 million towards COVID-19 research and medical infrastructure development in India. Buterin and Nailwal will receive $90 million in USD Coin (USDC) from Crypto Relief, while Buterin will provide $10 million out of his own pocket to further the cause. The two will then help distribute the funds.  According to a January 2022 Twitter post from Nailwal, Crypto Relief will transfer the funds to Buterin in order for the India-based crypto fund to remain in full compliance with their local laws. The first installment went towards tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in India through “emergency humanitarian relief.” Crypto Relief describes itself as a community-run fund which has delivered financial relief to India during the COVID-19 ...

The newly launched crypto wallet by Kresus requires users to sign in with “magic links,” meaning password hashes don’t need to be stored. A new crypto wallet has just launched in Apple’s App Store store that uses Web2 trickery to ensure users don’t need to interact with seed phrases or passwords. According to a May 11 announcement from the app’s developer, Kresus, the new wallet stores users’ private keys in an Amazon Web Services Hardware Security Module (HSM) and uses “magic links” and 2FA to authenticate users. Most crypto wallets require users to write down a recovery phrase or “seed words” when they set up an account. If the user loses their recovery phrase and their device crashes, they lose access to their account forever. For this reason, some crypto users prefer to store their crypto in an exchange account. But events like the collapse of FTX have also led to fears that keeping crypto in an exchange could also be unsafe. A screenshot of the Kresus iOS app. Source: Kresus Labs...

Grants valuing between $5,000 and $25,000 will be allocated to qualifying project teams. On May 3, layer-1 Blockchain Fuse announced that it would pledge $10 million to "reinvigorate the Fuse ecosystem and drive growth in multiple areas." The program, dubbed "Fuse Ignite," is structured between liquid incentives and grants. As told by developers: "Teams can apply for grants of between $5,000 and $25,000, depending on the focus of their project or service. DeFi projects can apply for incentives designed to boost liquidity and general user activity when deploying on Fuse Network." Upon application approval, Fuse Ignite operator grants are issued in Fuse Tokens (FUSE) and USD Coin (USDC). Operators use the Fuse Network Blockchain and other tools to power payment services.  Parts of the $10 million budget are also allocated for adoption incentives and community airdrops. To participate, users must hold and stake a minimum balance of Fuse, provide liquidity...

OPNX exchange has quipped about its earlier low trading volume before experiencing a big surge in volume during the last 24 hours. Open Exchange (OPNX) has claimed to have experienced a massive surge in trading volume and has joked about its dismally low volume on its opening day. According to an April 10 tweet by OPNX, its day one trading volume on April 4 hit a total of $13.64 but has since apparently seen a surge to $12,398 on April 9, an increase of over 90,000%. We're thrilled to announce a significant increase in trading volume at OPNX! On day 1, our volume was a hard-fought $13.64. Today on day 5, it has surge d to a magnificent $12,398. That's a remarkable percentage increase of over 90,000%. We are incredibly proud of our team's hard… pic.twitter.com/0rG9F28xzl — OPNX (@OPNX_Official) April 10, 2023 However, new data suggests the trading volume has seen a far bigger increase during the last 24 hours. According to CoinGecko data, OPNX’s 24-hour trading v...

Kokomo Finance's social media presence and websites are offline, while the price of the KOKO token fell more than 95% within a matter of minutes. Optimism-based lending protocol Kokomo Finance has been suspected of a $4 million “exit scam” that has seen user funds plucked out from the platform via a smart contract loophole. Blockchain Security firm CertiK alerted its followers to the “exit scam” in a March 26 Twitter post, noting that the Kokomo Finance (KOKO) token has plummeted 95% in value in a matter of minutes. CertiK also noted that Kokomo Finance removed all social media accounts immediately following the alleged rug pull too. Kokomo Finance has either deactivated or deleted its Twitter account. Source: Twitter CertiK said the deployer of KOKO attacked the smart contract code of a wrapped Bitcoin token, cBTC, by resetting the reward speed and pausing the borrow function. After that, an address beginning with “0x5a2d..” approved the new cBTC smart contract to spend over 700...

The report showed high reserve ratios for USDT, USDC, BTC, and ETH. On Feb. 22, cryptocurrency exchange MEXC Global released its proof -of- reserve s (PoR) snapshot after 45 days of testing . In a document seen by Cointelegraph, MEXC claimed its reserve ratios for Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Bitcoin (BTC), and Ethereum (ETH) were 120.70%, 240.18%, 116.50%, and 110.53%, respectively via the Merke Tree method.  As of the date of snapshot on Feb. 10, MEXC held 232.4 million USDT, 33.0 million USDC, 1,869.0 BTC, and 12,472.0 ETH in custodied user assets. Meanwhile, the total assets held within MEXC wallets for the four coins were 280.6 USDT, 79.4 million USDC, 2177.5 BTC, and 13,785.6 ETH, respectively. A spokesperson for MEXC told Cointelegraph: "MEXC will provide monthly updates on users' asset data through the Merkle Tree. This Proof considers strong Proof that our users' assets are available for 1:1 redemption at any time. As the industry becomes more regulated, we ...

The app is expected to cease operations on March 16, 2023. Digital asset platform Bakkt has announced its plans to shift its focus to B2B technology solutions. The company said it will soon be sunsetting its consumer-facing app, which was designed to give users the ability to utilize their digital assets in different ways. The app, launched in March 2021, offered a user-friendly experience that brought together various digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, loyalty points, and gift cards. Despite the discontinuation of its consumer-facing app, current Bakkt App users will still have access to their crypto and cash holdings through a new web-based platform, available on all devices. According to Bakkt, users can still check their crypto balances and obtain transaction reports for tax purposes. The app is expected to cease operations on March 16, 2023.  Gavin Michael, President & CEO of Bakkt, emphasized the company's commitment to providing the best solutions to their p...

The shares were bought by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and co-founder Gary Wang last year and have been tussled over since the collapse of FTX. Robinhood’s board of directors has approved a plan to buy back the $578 million stake in their company which was bought by former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX co-founder Gary Wang last year. Robinhood confirmed it got board approval to buy back the stake in its fourth quarter report, which was published on Feb. 8. “Our Board authorized us to pursue purchasing most or all of our shares that Emergent Fidelity Technologies bought in May 2022," said Robinhood’s chief financial officer Jason Warnick, adding “The proposed share purchase underscores the confidence the Board of Directors and management team have in our business.” The FTX co-founders bought 55 million shares of Robinhood stock — worth $578 million at current prices — in May through Emergent Fidelity Technologies by taking out loans directly from FTX’s sister firm Alameda Res...

A recent study from deVere Group found a majority of their clients had asked their financial advisers about adding crypto to their portfolios. Despite a challenging year for crypto, 82% of millionaire clients had looked into investing in digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) in 2022, according to a recent poll conducted by financial advisory firm deVere Group.  The poll results, released on Jan. 30, found that eight out of 10 of the firm's high net worth (HNW) clients surveyed with between $1.2 million and $6.1 million of investable assets sought advice on crypto from financial advisers in the last 12 months. 82% of millionaires seek advice on crypto as Bitcoin soars#PressRelease https://t.co/nv6HSZBxEs — deVere Group (@deveregroup) January 30, 2023 Nigel Green, the CEO and founder of deVere Group said that despite the surveyed group being "typically more conservative," he believes the interest stems from Bitcoin's core values of being "digital, global, border...

With the funds, Aztec Network plans to hire more engineers and build a new encrypted blockchain. The private layer-2 chain Aztec Network announced on Dec. 15 a $100 million Series B funding round led by venture capital firm a16z crypto. Other investors in the round include A Capital, King River, Variant, SV Angel, Hash Key, Fenbushu, and AVG.  By partnering with a16z, the company plans to hire new engineers and build a "next-generation encrypted architecture" that allows users to verify that Blockchain rules were followed without revealing any underlying information. Encrypted blockchains allow users to transact with privacy and anonymity. “What we’re building is a revolutionary piece of technology that transforms how we interact with each other online, in which the end user is the customer, rather than the product. End-to-end encrypted blockchains protect individuals, obviating the need for centralized financial systems.”, stated Aztec CEO Zac Williamson in an official an...

One observer suggested Bankman-Fried may be reluctant to discuss FTX due to the legal implication of lying under oath to the U.S. Congress. Former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has signaled he's unwilling to testify before the United States Congress until he’s “finished learning and reviewing what happened.” Bankman-Fried was responding to a Dec. 2 tweet from U.S. Representative Maxine Waters inviting him to testify in a scheduled U.S. House Committee on Financial Services hearing on Dec. 13 to discuss "what happened" at FTX. In a Dec. 4 response on Twitter, the former FTX CEO said he feels it is his “duty to appear before the committee and explain,” but only once he's “finished learning and reviewing what happened," adding he wasn't “sure” whether it would happen by the 13th.  Rep. Waters, and the House Committee on Financial Services: Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee...

Despite taking issue with tokens created by centralized exchanges, BlackRock’s CEO sees securities tokenization as the next evolution of the financial market. The CEO of the worlds largest asset management firm, BlackRock, believes that the reason why FTX failed is because it created its own FTX Token (FTT), which was centralized and therefore at odds with the “whole foundation of what crypto is.” Larry Fink, who serves as chairman and CEO of the $8 billion investment company — made the remarks during New York Times’ 2022 Dealbook Summit held on Nov. 30, and added that despite his belief that FTX's own-created token caused its downfall , he believes that crypto and the Blockchain technology which underpins it will be revolutionary . BlackRock CEO Larry Fink speaking at the 2022 DealBook Summit. Source: New York Times. Centralized exchange tokens, such as Binance Coin (BNB) and fellow exchange Crypto.com’s Cronos (CRO), account for over $57 billion of the $862 billion total crypto...

According to the CEO, the exchange grew too fast to accommodate the fast-growing crypto ecosystem Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced on Nov 30, that it has made “one of the hardest decisions” to cut down its global workforce by approximately 1,100 people, making up approximately 30% of its total workforce , amid current market conditions. According to the CEO and co-founder Jesse Powell, Kraken had to triple its workforce due to the fast-growing crypto ecosystem, and the current pullback takes the company’s team size back to where it was 12 months ago.  Powell shared in a tweet; "Macro was already tough and we held out but recent industry woes diminished near-term optimism about a crypto bound." Rough day at @krakenfx. Headcount rolled back 12 mos. Macro was already tough and we held out but recent industry woes diminished near-term optimism about a crypto rebound. Better positioned now. Glad we were able to take good care of our former colleagues. Been a privile...