On FedNow

One of the most interesting developments in the last week has been the launch of FedNow, an instant payment settlement service for banks and financial institutions from the Federal Reserve. Up until now, settlement times between banks in the United States vary between one to three days. The promise of FedNow is instant settlement for… Read More On FedNow

Ethereum Staking After Withdrawals

Slightly more than a month after Ethereum enabled withdrawals of staked ether on its platform, the landscape for staking presents a rosy picture on the surface. The numbers of staked ether and platforms offering staking services has multiplied. Ether’s staking yield, which was expected to decline after withdrawals, popped after the event. Underneath, however, the… Read More Ethereum Staking After Withdrawals

The Future of Bitcoin and its Transaction Fees

It is yesterday once more in the bitcoin ecosystem. The recent spike in bitcoin transaction fees has surfaced memories of similar occurrences in the past. Those fee hikes were also instigated by spurious activity on bitcoin’s network and set off a debate in its community about the size of blocks on bitcoin’s network. The Importance… Read More The Future of Bitcoin and its Transaction Fees

Notes 4/19: SEC Chief Gary Gensler’s Congressional Hearing

There was a thaw in the crypto winter yesterday, a glimmer of celebration, cloaked in schadenfreude, at the House Financial Services Committee hearing yesterday. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, sometimes referred to as crypto’s favorite whipping boy, testified before the committee yesterday. Crypto twitter cheered when a group of Republican Congressmen laid… Read More Notes 4/19: SEC Chief Gary Gensler’s Congressional Hearing

Notes 2/12: Tether Finances, Tornado Cash Revisited

The mystery of Tether’s finances is slowly being unraveled. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) yesterday published a report claiming that the stablecoin is using investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald to help manage its $39 billion treasury bond portfolio. The firm is a primary dealer in the Treasury Market, a designation that enables it to conduct direct… Read More Notes 2/12: Tether Finances, Tornado Cash Revisited

Staking Ether: A Risky Trade

Along with bitcoin price, prices for Ethereum’s ether also jumped last week. Depending on your data source, the world’s second biggest cryptocurrency’s price posted weekly gains of anywhere between 13% (at Messari) to 20% (at Coinmarketcap and CoinGecko). Underlying that price increase was a corresponding surge in market valuations for tokens at liquid staking derivatives… Read More Staking Ether: A Risky Trade

Notes 12/31: Binance’s BUSD: An Unstable Stablecoin

Binance USD (BUSD), Binance’s stablecoin, is among the few regulated parts of the exchange’s sprawling and mostly unregulated operations. It is issued by Paxos – a registered Trust company in New York that was a cryptocurrency exchange in its earlier avatar – and regulated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). That stamp… Read More Notes 12/31: Binance’s BUSD: An Unstable Stablecoin

Notes 12/21: Binance’s BNB Token – 1

In recent months, Binance has attempted to position itself as a leader of the crypto ecosystem after FTX’s collapse. But its moves have had the opposite effect and drawn attention to problems at the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Investors, fearful of another collapse, are pulling out their funds from the exchange, feeding… Read More Notes 12/21: Binance’s BNB Token – 1