Teererai Mukonavanhu
I'm a crypto, blockchain, and tech writer. I spend my time researching and writing about cryptocurrency, NFT, AI, and new technology.
Articles by Teererai Mukonavanhu
1 year ago
2 mins read
Pro-crypto Republican Senator Tom Emmer is raising concerns about the potential American central bank digital currency (CBDC). Emmer, who hails from Minnesota, recently introduced the CBDC Anti-Surveillance Act to “halt efforts of unelected bureaucrats in Washington from stripping Americans of their right to financial privacy.” Emmer strongly opposes the idea of the Federal Reserve issuing a CBDC, which he believes will give the government unprecedented levels of financial control and surveillance capabilities, just like in China. The proposed legislation aims to prohibit the Fed from issuing a CBDC directly to anyone, from using it to implement monetary policy and control
1 year ago
1 min read
French MP Hubert Julien-Laferrière has denied allegations that he was paid to promote a “suspicious” African crypto project, limocoin swap (LMCSWAP), in the National Assembly. According to Le Monde and MediaPart’s investigations, the MP made “off-topic” remarks about LMCSWAP at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly in 2022. LMCSWAP is built on the Binance-run BNB Chain and has been associated with a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Cameroonian businessman, Emile Parfait Simb. Allegations have been made that the MP was paid to speak about LMCSWAP by the lobbyist, Jean-Pierre Duthion. Julien-Laferrière denies these allegations, and claimed
1 year ago
1 min read
Polygon Labs, the company behind Ethereum’s popular Layer-2 scaling solution, has announced a reduction in workforce by 20%. The decision to downsize was made as part of Polygon Labs’ consolidation process, in which multiple business units were merged. The layoffs will affect around 100 positions across multiple teams. Despite the tough decision, Polygon Labs has offered all affected employees three months of severance pay, regardless of their level of tenure. The announcement comes amid a wave of layoffs among crypto companies, all affected by the recent collapse of the FTX exchange. Filecoin developer Protocol Labs cut 21% of its staff
1 year ago
2 mins read
Representatives of unsecured creditors for Voyager Digital have subpoenaed former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and other top executives of the bankrupt crypto exchange. The subpoenas are related to FTX’s attempt to bail out Voyager Digital when the crypto lender went bankrupt in July 2022. FTX US wanted to acquire Voyager and reached a deal for about $1.5 billion with the lender. However, the Texas Security Board opposed the deal stating that FTX was not registered with the regulator. The subpoenas ask that executives produce documents, information, and objects about the loan agreement between Alameda Ventures and Voyager. The filing
1 year ago
1 min read
Dutch authorities recently extended the detention of Alexey Pertsev, the developer of Tornado Cash, an open-source crypto-mixing protocol. Pertsev was arrested in August 2022, following a move by the U.S. Treasury to sanction Tornado Cash, claiming that it facilitated money laundering for malicious cyber actors, including a group the FBI has linked to North Korea. The developer will continue to be detained until his next hearing on April 21, according to a ruling by a Dutch court. The court has also scheduled a pre-trial review for May 24. Pertsev is being accused of laundering $7 billion worth of funds, including
1 year ago
2 mins read
Avraham Eisenberg, the alleged exploiter of the decentralized finance protocol Mango Markets, is seeking to retain his share of cryptocurrency gained from his so-called “highly profitable trading strategy.” On February 15, Eisenberg’s attorneys filed a motion in a New York District Court objecting to a lawsuit from Mango that seeks $47 million in damages plus interest, starting from the time of Eisenberg’s October attack, which drained around $117 million from the protocol. Eisenberg’s attorneys argued that their client shouldn’t have to pay back any more funds to the DeFi platform, as a settlement agreement had been reached with Mango DAO,
1 year ago
1 min read
Senator Elizabeth Warren is once again spearheading an initiative to broaden anti-money laundering laws to cover a range of participants in the cryptocurrency industry. This includes blockchain network participants, validators, digital asset wallet providers, and miners, among others. The proposed legislation will provide regulators with the tools to curtail the flow of crypto to criminal elements such as drug traffickers and nations such as North Korea. During a Senate Banking Committee hearing on crypto guardrails on Tuesday, Warren claimed that anti-money laundering rules have failed to apply adequately to crypto firms. The bill, which Senator Warren will introduce with Senator
1 year ago
1 min read
Wirex has partnered with Visa to expand its crypto payment services in the Asia-Pacific and United Kingdom regions. The partnership will allow Wirex to become a U.K. and APAC Visa member, enabling it to extend services to 40 countries. Wirex’s debit and prepaid cards support payments in over 250 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin. The new partnership aims to capitalize on Wirex’s large U.K. market of 5 million customers and expand its footprint in the burgeoning APAC market. Despite the APAC region’s tech-savvy constituents, Wirex will likely face hurdles in promoting its card’s use in several countries in the
1 year ago
1 min read
The recent 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria left a devastating impact on the region, with the death toll now reaching over 33,000. In the aftermath of the disaster, the Ethereum community has come together to offer support and aid in the relief efforts. Leading the charge is Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who has made at least two substantial contributions to help the victims. His latest donation was on February 12, where he sent 50 ETH, approximately $77,000, to Anka Relief, according to blockchain security firm PeckShield. Anka Relief thanked Buterin for his generosity and noted that crypto donations
1 year ago
1 min read
The buzz surrounding Bitcoin-based NFTs continues to grow, with the recently-launched Ordinals protocol leading the charge. One established Ethereum NFT collection, OnChain Monkey, has taken advantage of this new technology, revealing Bitcoin-based counterparts for its artwork and seeing its prices soar as a result. OnChain Monkey is a collection of 10,000 Ethereum NFT profile pictures (PFPs) minted in 2021. Using the Ordinals protocol, the collection was “inscribed” onto the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing NFT holders on Ethereum to also say that their respective collectibles live on Bitcoin. The result of this move has been a tremendous increase in demand for the
1 year ago
1 min read
Financial giant Deutsche Bank is reportedly looking to invest in the crypto industry to speed up growth for its asset management arm, the DWS Group, after global markets fell last year. The DWS Group, headed by CEO Stefan Hoops, is said to be in discussions to buy a minority stake in Deutsche Digital Assets, a crypto asset manager, and to invest in Tradias, a digital assets trading firm owned by Bankhaus Scheich. Hoops reportedly said during an earnings call last week that the current downturn in crypto markets could present DWS with “interesting opportunities” for investments. He also mentioned that
1 year ago
1 min read
Crypto exchange Gemini and lending firm Genesis have reached a $100 million agreement regarding the Earn program. Genesis will exchange its existing $1.1 billion note due in 2023 for convertible preferred stock to be issued by Digital Currency Group (DCG) as part of Genesis’ bankruptcy plan. Gemini will contribute up to $100 million in additional funds to Earn users. The agreement aims to offer a better outcome for clients and stakeholders involved in the incident and will provide updates on the matter until a resolution is reached. Despite the agreement, both Gemini and Genesis face challenges, with Gemini facing legal
