A Look at the Fed’s Recent Custodia Bank Denial and the Central Bank’s Push Back Against Narrow Banking

Over the past century, the number of American banks has significantly decreased, dropping from 30,000 banks in 1921 to 4,997 U.S. banks in 2021, according to data from the Federal Reserve. Recently, the U.S. central bank denied Custodia Bank of Wyoming, a financial institution that holds $1.08 for every dollar deposited by customers. Although there … Read more

Nasdaq Aims to Launch Crypto Custody Services in Second Quarter

Nasdaq intends to launch its custody services for digital assets like bitcoin by the end of this year’s second quarter. The exchange operator is among those traditional financial firms that want to play a role as intermediaries in the crypto sector which saw the collapse of some major players. Stock Exchange Nasdaq Seeks Regulatory Approval … Read more

NFT Sales Drop 5.4% to $193M, Ethereum Dominates with $107M in Sales: Weekly Recap

Over the past week, statistics show non-fungible token (NFT) sales totaled $193.08 million, down 5.44% from the previous week. Ethereum dominated NFT sales with more than $107 million or 55% of all sales, while Solana-centric NFT sales recorded $26.3 million or 13% of sales in the same period. NFT Market Shows Signs of Slowdown With … Read more

Value Locked in Defi Rises Above $50 Billion Mark, Ethereum Dominates TVL by Blockchain

The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has risen above the $50 billion mark after falling below the range throughout most of March. At present, the value locked in defi is approximately $50.34 billion, up 1.97% over the past 24 hours. Defi Value Swells Close to 2% Higher to Over $50 Billion […] … Read more

Biden Administration’s Economic Report Deems Crypto Assets ‘Mostly Speculative Investment Vehicles’

On Monday, U.S. president Joe Biden published the administration’s economic report and addressed the subject of cryptocurrencies. The section titled “The Perceived Appeal of Crypto Assets” describes the currencies as “mostly speculative investment vehicles” that are “unbacked” and “traded without fundamental anchors.” The White House insists that crypto assets do not deliver on their promises … Read more

Crystal Blockchain Study Reveals $16.7 Billion in Crypto Assets Stolen Since 2011

Crystal Blockchain, a company that provides blockchain data and analytics, published a study covering security breaches, fraud, and scams related to cryptocurrency and decentralized finance (defi). According to the study, approximately $16.7 billion in crypto assets have been stolen since 2011. Last year, Crystal’s intelligence team documented 199 incidents resulting in the theft of $4.17 … Read more

Bitcoin Network Preps for Another Difficulty Spike as Hashrate Remains Strong and Miners Profit Amid Price Surge

Following the last two difficulty increases on the Bitcoin network, another rise in difficulty is expected to take place on March 24, 2023. Statistics show that Bitcoin’s hashrate has remained high despite the last two adjustments, and block times have been faster than the ten-minute average. Bitcoin Difficulty Expected to Rise Following the Past Two … Read more

Bitcoin Surges by More Than 37% Against US Dollar This Week, Taps $28K on Sunday

Bitcoin reached a high of $28,422 per unit on Sunday at around 3 p.m. Eastern Time as the leading cryptocurrency has continued to rise during the last week. Since last Sunday, bitcoin has increased in value by 37.9% against the U.S. dollar, and the cryptocurrency’s overall market capitalization has swelled to $546 billion. Global Cryptocurrency … Read more

Republican Congressman Tom Emmer Queries FDIC on Alleged Efforts to Purge Crypto Activity from US

On Wednesday, Tom Emmer, the U.S. Republican congressman from Minnesota, revealed he sent a letter to Martin Gruenberg, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), regarding reports that the FDIC is “weaponizing recent instability” in the U.S. banking industry to “purge legal crypto activity” from the United States. Specifically, Emmer asked Gruenberg if … Read more

Digital Assets Worth 2 Billion Rubles Issued in Russia in Less Than a Year

Digital financial assets (DFAs) for a total exceeding $26 million have been issued in Russia in the past year. This new market has been developing since it was regulated in 2021 and the country’s monetary authority started licensing issuers in the following year. Volume of Digital Assets Increases in Russia as Investors Seek Alternatives to … Read more