A new report by blockchain analytics firm CipherTrace highlights the growing role that privacy-focused cryptocurrencies such as Monero are playing in the rising tide of ransomware. “Current Trends in Ransomware” delves into trends observed during 2021 but was only released this week. The firm revealed there was almost a 500% increase in “double extortion” ransomware
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Staking has been used fluently to describe several actions within the world of crypto, from locking your tokens on a decentralized finance (DeFi) application or centralized exchange (CEX) to using tokens to run a validator node infrastructure on a proof-of-stake (PoS) network. PoS is one of the most popular mechanisms that allows blockchains to validate
Bitcoin (BTC) bulls kept up the pressure on April 20 as the Wall Street open saw a return to $42,000. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView $42,000 proves troublesome Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching $42,220 on Bitstamp, its highest since April 11. After adding as much as 9.3% versus local
MakerDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization serving the popular DeFi lending protocol Maker, has announced an upcoming deployment schedule on the decentralized zero-knowledge (ZK) Ethereum rollup, StarkNet. Expected to become fully operational in the third quarter of this year as identified in the protocol’s roadmap, the integration will seek to enhance the multichain capabilities of their
The number of adults in the United States who will use crypto to make purchases in 2022 will increase to 3.6 million, according to a research firm. A report published by Insider Intelligence shows that crypto’s value as a means of payment will go up by 70 percent this year. The firm predicts that by
I arrived in Tbilisi, Georgia, near Russia’s southern border, in late February — just a few days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. I had been reporting on crypto and blockchain from St. Petersburg, but after the war started, staying there had become untenable.During my first week in the city, I searched for an apartment to
Coinbase launches its own marketplace for collectors and creators to trade NFTs For now, the platform remains in beta mode and only supports digital collectibles on the Ethereum blockchain Trades can be made using Ether Some users who joined the waiting list will receive early access Coinbase expects to add fiat payments in the coming
Nigerian public and law enforcement agencies have been urged to “stop the demonization” of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. According to an association that advocates for the risk-based regulation of the crypto industry, financial institutions should not use a Nigerian central bank directive as basis for denying service to industry players. Risk-Based Regulation of Crypto
The native token prices from multiple projects that employ Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution Optimism have spiked around 20% amid rumors that the network will soon launch a token and airdrop it to the community. Optimism is a Layer 2 scaling solution that utilizes Optimistic rollups to process a high amount of transactions off the
A top official from the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) says the agency can track the flow of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a similar manner to email addresses, and it has seized more than $102 million in crypto across 254 cases since 2015. USSS assistant director of investigations David Smith told CNBC that the transparent
Financial regulators have greenlit Australia’s first Bitcoin ETF to begin trading on April 27 and the Australian Financial Review reports it could see up to $1 billion in inflows. An ETF is a regulated exchange traded fund that allows investors to benefit from the price of Bitcoin (BTC) without needing to own any coins themselves
Decred (DCR) prices soared by as much as 45% on April 18 before paring some gains as traders bet on a major hard fork that aims to prevent pump-and-dump schemes by miners. Key Decred network upgrade in three weeks DCR rallied by nearly 45% to over $86 in one day, its highest level in four
STEPN (GMT), a so-called “move-to-earn” token using the Solana (SOL) blockchain, has soared incredibly since its market debut in March. GMT’s price jumped from $0.01 on March 9 to a record high of $3.45 on April 19 — a 34,000% upside move in just 41 days (data from Binance). Its massive uptrend appeared primarily due
According to on-chain data, current Bitcoin SOPR trend suggests the market may be nowhere near the price bottom. Bitcoin SOPR Still Some Distance Above The “One” Level As pointed out by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, the BTC SOPR hints there may be some ways to go still before a bottom forms. The “spent
On this week’s show, Cointelegraph’s resident experts reveal exactly what percentages of their portfolios are allocated to what coins and why. But first, market expert Marcel Pechman carefully examines the Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) markets. Are the current market conditions bullish or bearish? What is the outlook for the next few months? Pechman is
According to the International Monetary Fund’s Global Financial Stability report released Tuesday, the war in Ukraine — following hard on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic — has led to a tightening of global financial conditions. Rapid changes in fintech and the uses and misuses of cryptocurrency play into the jumble of challenges facing the