Author: Prashant Jha

Latest court battle could alter crypto landscape in US

Prashant Jha

Regulatory trouble is nothing new for Binance, and on many occasions, in the past, it has managed to overcome or bypass such roadblocks and eventually work with regulators.  However, when it comes to the United States, the exchange has found itself in the cross-hairs of multiple agencies. A number of United States financial regulators have ongoing investigations against the crypto exchange. Some of these investigations date back to 2018, and now, one of the primary derivatives market regulators in the U.S. has filed a lawsuit in conjunction with its investigation…

Trezor crypto wallet’s move into the semiconductor business isn’t for everyone

Prashant Jha

Crypto wallet maker Trezor recently decided to start manufacturing its own hardware wallet chips to respond quickly to demand-triggering events like the FTX collapse. Trezor announced on Feb. 27 that it would begin producing the chip wrapper, a crucial component for the Trezor Model T — its flagship device. The move will reportedly cut the supply cycle lead times from two years to a few months in the production of Trezor wallets. According to Trezor, the decision will also address shipment delays of finished products and shield customers from price swings…

Bahamian securities regulator slams new FTX CEO over ‘misstatements’

Prashant Jha

The Securities Commission of Bahamas has slammed the current CEO of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX John J. Ray III for his statements regarding the ongoing investigation into FTX.  In a press release sent to Cointelegraph, the Bahaman regulator didn’t directly point toward the exact statements of the CEO, but addressed recent reports that suggest the Bahamas’ government asked former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to create a new multi-million token and hand over the control to them. The said report also alleged Bahamas officials tried to help Bankman-Fried regain access to key…

El Salvador focused on bringing investment to Bitcoin City, says ambassador

Prashant Jha

El Salvador, the first nation to make Bitcoin (BTC) a legal tender in September last year, is currently focused on building a Bitcoin City. There have been several delays and disruptions in the plans since its announcement last year owing to the bear market-led investment drought and geo-political tensions. Cointelegraph reporter Joseph Hall got in touch with Héctor Enrique Celarié Landaverde, the deputy ambassador of El Salvador to the kingdom of the Netherlands, to get some insights into the country’s progress with its much-hyped project. Landaverde told Cointelegraph that the…

Terra could leave a similar regulatory legacy to that of Facebook’s Libra

Prashant Jha

New draft legislation on stablecoins in the United States House of Representatives proposed to impose a two-year ban on new algorithmically pegged stablecoins like TerraUSD (UST). The proposed legislation would require the Department of the Treasury to conduct a study of stablecoins similar to UST in collaboration with the United States Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commission. An algorithmic stablecoin is a digital asset the value of which is kept steady by an algorithm. While…

Bitcoin profitability for long-term holders decline to 4-year low: Data

Prashant Jha

Bitcoin’s (BTC) long-term profitability has declined to levels last seen during the previous bear market in December 2018. According to data shared by crypto analytic firm Glassnode, BTC holders are selling their tokens at an average loss of 42%. Bitcoin long term holders. Source: Glassnode The Glassnode data indicate that long-term holders of the top cryptocurrency selling their tokens have a cost basis of $32,000, meaning the average buying price for these holders selling their stack is above $30,000. The current market downturn added to the declining profitability can be…

China accounts for 84% of all blockchain patent applications, but there’s a catch

Prashant Jha

China accounts for 84% of all blockchain applications filed worldwide, according to the latest data shared by the country’s government official. China has steered clear of the cryptocurrency market. However, the Beijing government has been supportive of the underlying blockchain technology. The country has actively promoted the use of blockchain tech over the years, and thus the high percentage of blockchain patents isn’t surprising. President Xi Jinping has also played a key role in promoting the nascent blockchain technology. In 2019, the president called upon citizens, tech companies and stakeholders…

Opera browser integrates Elrond blockchain services to bolster Web3 adoption

Prashant Jha

Web3 crypto browser Opera announced plans to integrate Elrond blockchain services for over 300 million users. The integration would help Opera users directly access a host of decentralized applications (DApps) and other popular services through the integrated Opera wallet.  Elrond is a scalable blockchain network that offers various infrastructure services for DApps, enterprise use cases and the new internet economy. The blockchain’s adaptive state sharding makes it one of the fastest and more efficient networks. With the integration, Opera users will have access to the Elrond Standard Digital Token (ESDT), a native token…

Gov’t says crypto miners consume 2% of total electricity in Russia

Prashant Jha

Crypto miners account for two percent of the total electricity consumption in Russia, according to the latest government estimate. The energy consumption share of the crypto mining industry has exceeded the country’s agricultural sector, showing signs of recovery after Russia fell out of the top three in the global Bitcoin (BTC) mining hash rate share. Russia’s Deputy Minister of trade and industry Vasily Shpak called for bringing the mining industry under the purview of law in the wake of the recent mining estimate. He said: “Do you know how much…