Author: Forbes
Solana, a blockchain-based smart contract platform that’s risen to challenge the dominant network Ethereum over the last year, has been hit by a huge hack. The solana price, which rocketed through 2021 and outpaced both bitcoin and ethereum, has dropped 10% since details of the $325 million hack were revealed. The ethereum price has also moved lower, down around 5%. Hackers took advantage of an exploit on Wormhole, a bridge between the solana and ethereum blockchains, causing serious losses for solana traders in one of the biggest ever hacks to hit the booming decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Wormhole, a communication…
It’s an exciting time for technology and specifically how we interact with our technology and how our technology interacts with our world. One key source of excitement is the more centralized (and somewhat antiquated) technological hubs, such as Facebook (now Meta) and Amazon, coming under increased scrutiny for their business models that are based on taking and owning individuals’ privacy. The other key source of excitement is the advancement and evolution of the decentralized world, which notably operates in quite a different way to these megacorporations. These megacorporations exist because they extract value from people, sometimes without consent, and create…
Cryptocurrencies are the talk of the town in the finance industry. And it’s no wonder, as their number jumped from 66 in 2013 to over 6,800 in October, according to Statista. Working with clients in the cryptocurrency industry has given me insight into digital currencies. Let’s say you don’t know much about cryptocurrency, but are tempted to buy some. As cryptocurrency is still relatively new and unregulated, its risks are high. So, before buying your first crypto coins, think about these five things. 1. What are you buying? A cryptocurrency is a form of digital-only money that is decentralized, meaning…
Robinhood Markets stock has declined by almost 23% thus far in 2022, considerably underperforming the S&P 500 which remains up by about 6% over the same period. The stock now trades at almost 60% below its July 2021 IPO price. There are multiple trends impacting Robinhood. Firstly, with interest rate hikes and tighter monetary policy expected this year, the boom in so-called “meme” stocks and speculative cryptocurrencies is cooling off, hurting trading activity and user metrics. This was evident in Robinhood’s weaker than expected Q4 2021 results, as monthly active users dropped about 8% sequentially with annualized per user revenues…
Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrency prices have remained under pressure since a major sell-off in January. The bitcoin price, now down around 50% from its peak of almost $70,000 per bitcoin in November, has found a temporary floor—with some bullish investors predicting a price rise is just around the corner. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, and other smaller cryptocurrencies have also dropped, falling in line with stock markets and amid fears of strict new “national security” regulations. Now, one crypto chief executive has revealed the price level he would be buying bitcoin “very, very aggressively”—and that non-fungible token (NFT) demand is…
In court filings expected to be made public Thursday, the IRS declared it would refund $3,293 in income tax (plus statutory interest) to a Nashville couple who had paid the amount on 8,876 Tezos tokens they had obtained through staking. According to a May 2021 civil lawsuit filed by the couple, Joshua and Jessica Jarrett, any tokens gained through proof-of-stake should be considered “new property” created by the taxpayer—and therefore not income which “comes in” to the taxpayer. In order to be taxed, tokens gained through staking (or any other newly created property) must be first converted into a “readily accessible form…
Celestium, developed by Artificial Mind and the artist Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm, is a hybrid AI-blockchain algorithm that uses data from cosmic radiation it experiences onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and turns it into images of space. From February 1 – 15, 2022, the ISS will be transformed into an interactive art gallery where anyone from around the world can interact directly with the space images through the Celestium and experience thousands of colorful images generated by the artwork’s AI- algorithm. “All of the data gathered from the software will create a series of digital tokens and AI-generated space images seeded from space radiation that…
Bitcoin prices have been struggling lately, dropping to a six-month low on January 24 and then failing to surpass $40,000. The digital currency, the largest by market value, climbed to an intraday high of $39,262.10 this morning, according to CoinDesk data. After rising to that level, the cryptocurrency fell back, declining below $38,500 and then rising toward $39,000, additional CoinDesk figures show. At the time of this writing, the digital asset was trading close to $38,500. [Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]…
From the first gold rush onwards, canny operators have recognized that the safest way to make your fortune is to sell picks and shovels. If you’re providing the tools for those hoping to strike paydirt, you’ll make money whether or not they hit the jackpot – it’s low risk, but still high return. Germany’s Northern Data is one company that is very much applying that principle in a modern setting – and it has an eye on a bigger prize. Today, the company is best-known as one of Europe’s leading providers of the high-performance computing infrastructure required for cryptocurrency mining, the 21st century’s…
Nestcoin, a company building products to help Africans and residents of other frontier markets understand and adopt crypto, announced the raise of $6.45 million in pre-seed funding on Feb. 1. Venture capital firms Distributed Global and Alter Global led the round. Distributed Global invests primarily in blockchain companies, while Alter Global focuses on startups in emerging markets. Serena Ventures, Alameda Research, A&T Capital, MSA Capital, 4DX Ventures and a few other participated in the funding round. Nestcoin is co-founded by Yele Bademosi and Taiwo Orilogbon. Since launching in November 2021, Nestcoin has made a few different moves, which, collectively, confirms…