Author: Fortune Magazine
China’s crackdown on Bitcoin mining last year, culminating in a full ban in September, unleashed a diaspora of producers seeking new homes. Many flocked to green sources in the Nordic nations, while others tapped coal and natural gas in Kazakhstan, Iran, Kosovo, and tiny Abkhazia; by last fall, more than one-quarter of all of the signature currency’s coins were being minted in Kazakstan and Iran alone. But in the past few months, those formally welcoming venues have been booting miners en masse. The newcomers are hoarding gigantic volumes of electricity, creating shortfalls that are spreading blackouts from Tehran to Almaty. The…
China made big headlines when it banned crypto last year, but it is only one of dozens of countries and jurisdictions that have either banned digital currency outright or severely restricted it over the past few years. Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Bangladesh, and China have all banned cryptocurrency. Forty-two other countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, and Bolivia, have implicitly banned digital currencies by putting restrictions on the ability for banks to deal with crypto, or prohibiting cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a 2021 summary report by the Law Library of Congress published in November. The number of countries…
The cryptocurrency space has been around for just over a decade, but it might be teaching regulatory agencies how to handle certain situations in other financial markets. Australian regulators are using the cryptocurrency playbook to tackle certain crimes in the stock market. Pump and Dump Affects Market Confidence A new presentation created by crypto researcher and finance professor at the University of Technology Sydney, Talis Putnins, has revealed how the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is using its knowledge of pump and dump from the cryptocurrency market to handle similar problems in the stock market. According to the presentation, pumps…
For equity investors in South Korea, this was the year the metaverse arrived. Six of the nation’s 10 best-performing stocks in 2021 are linked to the virtual universe or non-fungible tokens, including Wemade Max Co., which has surged 1,500% as it seeks to be a blockchain game developer, and its top holder Wemade Co. Virtual effects creator Giantstep Inc. has soared over 1,200% since its March listing as day traders piled into metaverse-tied stocks and exchange-traded products. Looking ahead, the metaverse—a virtual universe that blends various aspects of digital technologies, and NFTs—which record data ownership on blockchains, is expected to be widely adopted among…
A September poll by Ipsos found 2 in 5 Americans plan to send holiday cards this year. Shutterfly, the longtime photo personalization and holiday card company, has an ace up its sleeve to keep business running smoothly despite record-shattering supply chain delays. “We have a real advantage,” CEO Hilary Schneider told Fortune. “We have a lot of foresight into manufacturing, supply chain, and seasonal staffing shortages.” Shutterfly, the category leader, produces 165 million cards in an average holiday season, Schneider said. According to the Ipsos survey, that’s about half of the total cards that will be sent this year. The advantage: because of the scale…
After the worst three-day selloff since September, the benchmark S&P 500 is essentially flat for December. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, is off 3.6% this month, leading tech bulls to wonder whether there will even be a Santa Claus rally this year. On Tuesday, though, a glimmer of risk-on optimism returned to global markets. The reason? It mainly comes down to the two Joes and the Big O. The latter, of course, is the Omicron variant, which now accounts for nearly three out of every four new infections in the United States, and is triggering a wave of lockdowns across Europe, and the cancellation of marquee events like the…
A New York artist who creates abstract acrylic portraits and interactive installations says she’s made six figures selling her NFTs, and she started doing it only a year ago. ArinaBB is among a class of creators who are taking their artistic talents to the digital space by minting and selling non-fungible tokens on digital marketplaces. Other artists, including Mad Dog Jones, Pak, and Beeple, have made millions doing the same. Originally from Russia, ArinaBB, 24, who declined to give her legal name, says she moved to Shanghai and found her footing in the art world about seven years ago, establishing a collector base and a substantial number…
From a $69 million piece of artwork to a $379,000 song created using the genetic sequence of COVID-19, NFTs are the Internet’s latest obsession. And they have the potential to make real money, too— the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase said last month that the NFT market could quickly surpass the company’s cryptocurrency trading business. So how can someone get in on the action? Here’s what you should know. What even is an NFT? NFT stands for non-fungible token, which basically means that it’s a one-of-a-kind digital asset that belongs to you and you only. The most popular NFTs right now include artwork and music, but can also include videos and even tweets. …
The Krause House is now setting out to take the concept behind the original DAO and apply it to the NBA. It wants to be the first virtual community to ever leverage a DAO to own a professional sports franchise. Named after the architect of the Chicago Bulls’ manifold championships, Jerry Krause, the Krause House self-identifies as “a community of hoop fanatics that are just crazy enough to buy an NBA team.” With blog posts by the awesomely named “Flex Chapman” (hoops fanatics will get this Kentucky reference), they covered the hows and whys through their Hypepaper and Flightpaper, both published over the summer.…
All eyes are on Congress this week as the leaders of six cryptocurrency companies testify before the House Financial Services Committee on what the future of the crypto industry might look like. Legislators have already begun to ask questions about stablecoins, and what kind of regulations they might require. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last month that stablecoins were well designed and had the “potential to support beneficial payments options.” But, she also cautioned that the absence of regulation was a problem. “Current oversight is inconsistent and fragmented, with some stablecoins effectively falling outside the regulatory perimeter,” she said. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that…