Author: Mayowa Adenle

Article written by Mayowa Adenle

WazirX resumes operations after a recent maintenance exercise

August 16, 2024 1 min read

WazirX, a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in India, has recommenced its activities following a 24-hour period of maintenance. The exchange declared that it had concluded the “pre-planned maintenance” and reversed all transactions executed on its platform following the suspension of withdrawals on July 18. Nevertheless, it seems that WazirX has not completely resumed its activities despite the successful completion of the scheduled repair. Users have requested information regarding the reactivation of

Leading Financial services firm Morgan Stanley allows advisers to offer Bitcoin ETFs

August 8, 2024 2 mins read

Morgan Stanley has authorized its financial advisers to provide Bitcoin investment products to select clients, demonstrating a growing inclination among financial institutions to embrace crypto offerings. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund are now accessible to clients who have a minimum net worth of $1.5 million and a greater willingness to take on risk. However, these investment options are limited to taxable brokerage accounts

Tether pauses Bitcoin purchases despite a $1.3 billion profit in Q2 2024

August 1, 2024 1 min read

Even though it made $1.3 billion in Q2 2024, Tether, a big stablecoin issuer, has stopped buying Bitcoin. Crypto enthusiasts are wondering why the company will keep its current reserve amounts. The financial report for Tether showed that it had a net worth of $11.9 billion and $97.6 billion in US Treasury securities. In the second quarter of 2024, Tether issued $8.3 billion in USDT. Its assets were higher than

Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust experiences $1.5 billion in net outflows since it was converted into an ETF

July 29, 2024 1 min read

New US spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have had a rough start. After just one week of trading, buyers pulled about $1.5 billion from Grayscale’s fund. On Tuesday, more than $450 million worth of trades took place in the $9.1 billion Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE). This was more than half of all trading action. However, $590 million went into other ETFs, mostly BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), which brought in

Russian parliament legalizes crypto for international trade and mining

July 25, 2024 1 min read

The Russian parliament has passed a law allowing the use of crypto for international trade and legalizing crypto mining to counteract the effects of Western sanctions and regulatory constraints on Russian banks. The move aims to improve cross-border transactions and bypass trade restrictions, mirroring Venezuela’s use of crypto to evade sanctions. The law introduces a regulatory framework for Digital Financial Assets (DFAs) and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), giving the

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX to stop offering services in Niger

July 22, 2024 2 mins read

OKX, a cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its withdrawal from Nigeria. Starting from July 17, 2024, all services provided to Nigerian customers will be terminated. This decision is a result of recent modifications in local legislation and regulations. The decision comes after Naira withdrawals were halted in May 2024, also due to regulatory concerns. Subsequently, the Nigerian government levied allegations against Binance, asserting that the crypto exchange had engaged in the

German government’s massive Bitcoin sell-off of 16,000 BTC causes over 13% drop in prices

July 9, 2024 1 min read

The German government liquidated more than 16,000 BTC in a day, prompting substantial deliberations regarding its impact on the Bitcoin market. On July 8th, the government sent 2,738.7 BTC valued at $155.3 million to several exchanges, such as Kraken and Cumberland. Shortly thereafter, they transferred an extra 1,533 BTC worth around $87.6 million, which served as their initial engagement with Cumberland and ‘bc1qu’ addresses. Subsequently, a total of 8,100 BTC

SSV Network Reaches 1M $ETH Staked Milestone

July 9, 2024 1 min read

SSV Network, an Ethereum-focused distributed validator network, announced it has reached 1 million $ETH staked on its platform. The protocol, which went live in December 2023, allows partners and solo stakers to securely distribute ETH validators and earn rewards for becoming node operators. The DAO-owned and open-sourced protocol provides infrastructure for developers to build distributed validator technology (DVT) powered staking applications, increasing resilience, uptime, and decentralization. Restaking, the latest trend

The SEC sues Consensys, alleging unregistered securities sales and broker activity

July 1, 2024 1 min read

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Consensys Software, alleging that the company failed to register as a broker and sold unregistered securities. The lawsuit primarily targets MetaMask, Consensys’ popular software interface. Consensys, which is not surprised by the SEC’s action, claims that the SEC is pursuing an anti-crypto agenda through inconsistent enforcement actions and attempting to expand its jurisdiction unjustly. The SEC’s suit focuses

Demand for Tokenized US Treasuries Soars as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton Invest

June 25, 2024 1 min read

The market for tokenized US treasuries has experienced a growth of more than 1,000% as a result of elevated interest rates and a significant increase in demand for secure, high-yielding assets that are recorded on a blockchain. By June, the market has achieved a valuation of $1.64 billion, with BlackRock‘s BUIDL fund surpassing Franklin Templeton’s BENJI. The increase in numbers demonstrates the increasing acceptance and utilization of real-world asset (RWA)

BNB Chain Introduces BEP 336; Reducing Fees By Up to 90%

June 20, 2024 1 min read

BNB Chain, the world’s largest smart contract blockchain, announced it has successfully activated the BEP 336 Haber Hardfork, introducing blob-carrying transactions. According to the team, this upgrade reduces gas fees by up to 90% and optimizes BNB Chain’s data storage and processing capabilities. Users can now enjoy reduced data availability costs for Layer 2 (L2) solutions on BNB Chain, making transactions more affordable and accessible. The implementation of BEP 336

This AI company secures $640 million in funding, tripling its valuation to $6 billion

June 12, 2024 1 min read

In a Series B round, Mistral AI, a firm that was established in April 2023 by individuals who had previously worked with Meta and Google’s DeepMind, has successfully raised a total of $502 million in stock and $141 million in debt. A number of significant investors, including General Catalyst and Lightspeed Venture Partners, participated in the round. A number of models have been made available under an open-source license by