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Cathay Securities is permitted to issue $930,000 worth of tokenized green bonds every six months. Taiwan's financial watchdog, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), has awarded the country's first security token offering (STO) license to Cathay Securities. According to local news reports on Nov. 9, Cathay received regulatory approval for its "Sunshine Green Yield" STO bonds with a time to maturity of six years, initial annual interest of 3.5%, and an initial principal amount of 30 million New Taiwan Dollars ($0.93 million). Through the token subscriptions, enterprise owners can purchase green electricity on the market for environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives under favorable conditions and receive variable interest rate payments of up to 5.8% per year. Trading for the Subshine Green Yield bonds will debut on Dec. 12 on Cathay's in-house STO exchange platform. Since 2019, the FSC has classified token ized assets as securities, with ...

A Curve Finance hack sparked a sharp sell-off, and while DeFi traders stepped in to support CRV, the possibility of a contagion-level event remains. On July 30, Curve Finance, a decentralized exchange on Ethereum, suffered a hack due to a vulnerability in certain pools built using the Vyper programming language. The price of CRV dropped 20.91% on the day of the hack, falling to a two-month low of $0.58. On the next day, the decline in CRV continued to drop toward a seven-month low at $0.48 amid fears of liquid ation risks of hefty loans worth $100 million taken by Curve Finance founder Micheal Egorov against CRV as collateral. However, positive development with partial repayment of loans and significant negative bets in the derivatives market suggest that CRV may rally in the short term. The DeFi community comes to save CRV On Aug. 1, Egorov sold 39.25 million CRV tokens for stablecoins to a number of notable DeFi investors like Justin Sun, Machi Big Brother and DWF Labs for a total...

Kuwait’s Capital Markets Authority has officially confirmed the commitment to “absolute prohibition” of virtually all crypto operations in the country. The state of Kuwait is the latest jurisdiction to ban virtually all operations involving cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). On July 18, Kuwait’s main financial regulator, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), issued a circular on the supervision and issuance of virtual assets in the country. In the circular, the CMA confirmed the commitment to “absolute prohibition” on major use cases and operations involving cryptocurrencies, including payments, investments, and mining. The circular also bans local regulators from issuing any licenses allowing firms to provide virtual asset services as a commercial business. In the meantime, securities and other financial instruments regulated by the Central Bank of Kuwait and the CMA are excluded from the latest prohibitions, the announcement notes. Apart from the prohibitions, the CMA also requ...

Artificial intelligence tools are providing solutions to various functions and departments within major cryptocurrency exchanges. Cryptocurrency exchanges are finding novel ways to improve internal departments and functions using artificial intelligence, according to Bitget managing director Gracy Chen. Speaking to Cointelegraph editor Zhiyuan Sun during EthCC in Paris, the exchange ’s MD highlighted a number of ways in which the exchange is incorporating AI tools into everyday processes. Chen said that the company has actively asked its management team to give feedback on which AI tools and services they are using and experimenting with across departments. Related: Vitalik Buterin shares account abstraction challenges in Ethereum: EthCC AI has been a major focal point for the wider technology industry in 2023, with large language learning models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot which has a myriad of use cases that promises to revolutionize a number of industries. Chen said that AI too...

Bullish crypto traders are struggling to clear the overhead barrier in Bitcoin and select altcoins, indicating that bears have not given up yet. Bitcoin continues to trade near $31,000, making it an important resistance level to watch out for in the short term. Some analysts believe the current consolidation could result in an upside breakout in Bitcoin. The institutional investors also seem to be positive about the prospects of a further rally in Bitcoin (BTC). CoinShares head of research James Butterfill said in a recent report that 98% of all the digital asset inflows of $334 million went into Bitcoin-related products. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Although the short-term price action on Bitcoin and select altcoins looks positive, market participants should stay cautious due to the uncertainty regarding macroeconomic issues. The crypto markets are likely to be influenced by the United States inflation figures and the Federal Reserve’s monetary action over...

With advances in scaling and interoperability, cryptocurrencies are more ready than ever for widespread adoption. With crypto gas prices dropping to lows after numerous recent innovations in scaling and interoperability across different chains, we can more vividly imagine a possible shift toward widespread crypto payment s. Crypto payments at scale are currently prevented by regulation, lack of understanding and mass adoption, as well as digital assets being used primarily for investment purposes. For starters, Satoshi Nakamoto’s original concept was steeped in the idea of peer-to-peer digital cash — that’s exactly what appears in the title of his 2008 Bitcoin white paper. Despite the initial excitement and deep conviction surrounding this pioneering system since its inception, the core idea quietly slipped through the cracks as our focus shifted to cryptocurrency as an investment. The often-expressed nostalgia for the famous white paper became overshadowed by this unintentional dev...

"DCA works," wrote Binance CEO in response to the purchase. On June 28, software analytics firm MicroStrategy announced the corporate purchase of 12,333 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $347 million at the time of publication. After the transaction, the total balance of Bitcoin owned by MicroStrategy has increased to 152,333 ($4.52 billion) with an average purchase price of $29,668 apiece.  The total average purchase price is close to the $28,136 apiece purchase price disclosed in today's announcements. The coins were bought between April 27 and June 27. The purchase was partly financed with the issuance of new stock, as the company wrote: "On May 1, 2023, MicroStrategy entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC and Canaccord Genuity LLC, as sales agents, pursuant to which MicroStrategy may issue and sell shares of its class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share ("Shares"), having an aggregate offering price of up to $625.0 million from time to ...

The cryptocurrency exchange secured VASP licensing in Lithuania in April. On May 23, cryptocurrency exchange Bitget announced its successful registration as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) in Poland. The regulatory license allows Bitget to operate legally within the Polish market. In April, Bitget received its VASP license in Lithuania, allowing it to offer cryptocurrency-related services both within and from the Baltic nation.  Gracy Chen, Bitget’s managing director, said, “We understand that regulation is the future of the cryptocurrency industry if mainstream adoption is to be achieved. The recent registrations in the two European countries enhance our foothold and service in Europe.” According to its latest quarterly update, Bitget grew its staff count from 1,000 to 1,300 members during Q1 2023 and still has around 300 openings in research and development, compliance, business development, operations and customer support.  Additionally, the price recovery of Bitcoin (B...

The Agenda podcast chats with DarkFi to explore how Rojava is experimenting with cryptocurrency and why encryption and anonymous spaces are critical for building self-autonomy. In the mid-2010s, the Islamic State was rapidly advancing through Iraq and Syria, conquering territory and terrifying residents. However, one group of Kurds in Northern Syria representing the de facto autonomous Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, in an area known as Rojava, successfully fought back the Islamic State and captured the attention of the world. Many people from around the world went to Rojava to fight, but one lesser-known story made ripples in the crypto world: Some volunteers traveled there to help build blockchain and technological literacy and experiment with the potential of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) to serve as a tool for revolutionary change. After all, Rojava promotes decentralization, autonomy and self-empowerment — sound familiar? On Episode 10 of The Agenda , hosts Ray Sal...

Web3 interoperability integration between Radix and LayerZero, launching in the second half of 2023, enables cross-chain communication and asset transfers, unlocking omnichain functionality for DApps and assets. Web3 interoperability is important to building a decentralized ecosystem that is scalable, secure and provides a seamless user experience.  Radix, a Layer-1 protocol, has partnered with LayerZero, an interoperability protocol, to integrate LayerZero with the Radix Babylon public network. The integration encourages cross-chain communication and asset transfers to the Radix ecosystem, benefitting both platforms and their users. Web3 interoper ability refers to the ability of different decentralized applications (DApps) and Blockchain networks to communicate with one another. Put simply, interoper ability is the state where blockchains can listen to each other, allow users to transfer digital assets and data and enable better collaboration. LayerZero's technology enables ...

Today's CPI report highlighted a slight decline in inflation, a development which could put a strong price floor beneath Bitcoin and select altcoins. The March consumer price index climbed marginally by 0.1%, below economists' expectation of a 0.2% increase and February’s advance of 0.4%. Although inflation is showing signs of slowing, the year-on-year CPI increased by 5%, well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.  The FedWatch Tool shows a 67% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in the Fed’s May meeting but by the end of the year, the majority of the market participants have come to expect rates to be lower than the current level. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 An expansive monetary policy is usually positive for risky assets. In addition, crypto traders will focus on Bitcoin’s (BTC) halving which is set to occur next year. That is also likely to be a positive for cryptocurrency prices. While the near-term picture is uncertain, the long-term...

Metis co-founder Elena Sinelnikova delves into the world of layer-2 blockchain technology, and its potential to transform how we interact, collaborate and build the decentralized economy of the future. In episode 13 of Cointelegraph’s  Hashing It Out podcast, Elisha Owusu Akyaw sits down with Metis co-founder Elena Sinelnikova. Metis is an Optimistic Rollup built on Ethereum to explore the world of layer-2 Blockchain technology, and its potential impact on decentralization, scalability and real-world applications. Sinelnikova shares her unique insights and experiences in the rapidly evolving Blockchain space, and gives us a glimpse into the future of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) powered by Metis. The conversation begins with Sinelnikova providing a comprehensive introduction to Metis, its mission and the challenges it aims to address in the current Blockchain landscape. Next, she dives deep into the limitations of Ethereum’s layer 1, highlighting issues such as high g...

Bitcoin and select altcoins are close to breaking out of their overhead resistance levels, indicating that bulls remain in control of the crypto market. Bitcoin (BTC) is up about 71% in Q1 2023, which is the first positive quarter after four consecutive quarters of negative returns in 2023, according to data from Coinglass. This shows that the sentiment has turned positive and the bulls are trying to put a bottom in Bitcoin. When the undercurrent is bullish, negative news results in shallow corrections. That is what happened after the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission slapped a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao for trading violations. This news pulled the markets marginally lower but did not start a strong down move. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Another thing that happens in a bullish environment is that cryptocurrencies move up without any specific catalyst. That happened on March 29 when Bitcoin and several major altcoin...

Bitcoin price finally broke through the $28,000 mark, but BTC futures and options data suggest some traders are uneasy about the strength of the recent bullish momentum. The price of Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed $28,000 on March 21, but according to two derivatives metrics, traders aren't very ecstatic after a 36% gain in eight days. Looking beyond Bitcoin’s stellar performance, there are reasons why investors are not fully confident in further price upside The recent rescue of Credit Suisse, a 167-year-old leading Swiss financial institution, is proof that the current global banking crisis might not be over. On March 19, Swiss authorities announced that UBS had agreed to acquire rival Credit Suisse in an "emergency rescue" merger in order to avoid further market-shaking turmoil in the global banking sector. The transaction could benefit from more than $280 billion in state and central bank support, which is equivalent to one-third of Switzerland's GDP. Unfortunately, th...

Mt. Gox creditors have another month to file for their claims as the registration deadline was pushed back by another month. The registration dates for Mt. Gox creditors have been pushed back by another month . According to the announcement, the deadline has been pushed from March 10 to April 10, allowing creditors to file their claim for another month . Along with the extension for the registration deadline, the distribution deadline has been pushed back by another month as well. The distribution of assets to creditors will now take place starting from Oct. 30 instead of Sept. 30.  The official document cited various circumstances for the shift in deadline s such as the progress by rehabilitation creditors in respect of the Selection and Registration. Creditors have the option of a lump-sum payment, bank remittance, fund transfer service provider, or going through a Cryptocurrency Exchange or custodian. This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becom...

Bitcoin, the original blockchain, struggles to gain traction among blockchain advocates; an opinion from one of Europe's largest blockchain conferences. Bitcoin (BTC) popularised the term blockchain. Blockchains, or “decentralized and distributed digital ledgers used to record transactions across a network of computers,” have been around for over thirty years, the household name for a blockchain is Bitcoin.  That’s despite the fact that the Genesis block was mined well over 14 years ago when George W. Bush was president and “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas topped the charts–Bitcoin is still top of the blocks. It’s to be expected, then, that most blockchain advocates would have used, understood or a the very least experimented with Bitcoin. Nope. Not so. Speaking with Victoria Gago, co-founder of the European Blockchain Conference. Source: José Val Bal Here’s an example. While MC’ing at the European Blockchain Conference in February, I asked the audience for a show of hands. ...