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 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

Reckoning With DAO Governance

As a concept for collective governance, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) are replete with hip buzzwords and ideas. Their practical implementation, however, is clunky. The latest example is that of Ooki DAO – a margin lending platform that is being sued by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The agency contends that Ooki DAO violated investment… Read More Reckoning With DAO Governance

Notes 10/4: CBDC Development, An Opening for Crypto?

Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) are becoming popular among countries. According to the Atlantic Council’s CBDC tracker, 105 countries, representing 95 percent of the world’s GDP, are developing digital versions of their national currency. Eighty-one countries were exploring the use of CBDCs in their economy last August. CBDC development accelerated in the aftermath of Russia’s… Read More Notes 10/4: CBDC Development, An Opening for Crypto?

Tornado Cash Sanctions Become Rallying Cry For Crypto Privacy Activists

The fallout from the Treasury Department’s sanctions on Tornado Cash continued this week. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) claims that the crypto-mixing service, which is a decentralized application (dApp) running off Ethereum’s blockchain, was used by hackers in North Korea to launder more than $7 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. Privacy activists in… Read More Tornado Cash Sanctions Become Rallying Cry For Crypto Privacy Activists

Delving Into MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Bet

Bitcoin’s emergence as an asset class has been tumultuous. Amidst a raucous debate about its utility, the cryptocurrency’s price volatility has transfixed investors and traders looking for short-term profits. But they do not have much choice in terms investing avenues because the cryptocurrency remains largely outside the perimeters of regulation. Instead, players have crafted unique… Read More Delving Into MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin Bet

Will Tether, Crypto’s Biggest Stablecoin, Be Its Next Casualty?

UST. Celsius. Three Arrows Capital. The list of crypto’s casualties in the current downturn is growing by the day. There’s more bad news ahead. Experts say that the crypto ecosystem is due another capitulation event. “Some giant player will go to zero [soon],” Shark tank personality and crypto investor Kevin O’Leary told Coindesk recently. The… Read More Will Tether, Crypto’s Biggest Stablecoin, Be Its Next Casualty?