Crypto


Layer 2

A Peculiar Flavor of NFTs Is Thriving in China – One Regulators Can Abide

Unlike most non-fungible tokens, China’s “digital collectibles” are built on closed networks and designed to appease regulators who frown on trading and speculation.

"First Supper," exhibited through a projector at the 'Virtual Niche" exhibit in Beijing in April 2021. The artwork is composed of 22 pieces, each individually encoded as a NFT. (Eliza Gkritsi/TechNode)

Finance

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Edges to All-Time High

The bump in mining difficulty comes as hashrate remains strong, despite bitcoin’s price edging downward.

(Midjourney/CoinDesk)

Policy

Crypto Crime-Focused Justice Department Leader Leaving: Report

Nicholas Quaid, second-in-command in the criminal division, spent his nearly two-year stint at the DOJ developing the regime around crypto crime legislation and prosecution.

(Shutterstock)

Finance

Crypto Options Trading Startup Synquote Raises $2.8M From Initialized, Polygon

The company will look to expand its platform for trading derivatives contracts in tokens that don’t usually have such markets.

Traders have never seen anything like the cryptocurrency options trading happening these days in decentralized finance. (Thomas Shotter Boys, 1842/Art Institute of Chicago, modified by CoinDesk)

Finance

Venture-Capital Firm Northzone Raises $1B Fund for Fintech, Web3 Investments

Web3 is a "core sector" for the firm, one Northzone partner told the Block.

Las estrategias de trading de los participantes de Crypto Twitter incluyen el puente a zkSync. (Mufid Majnun/Unsplash)

Finance

Vitalik Buterin Makes Surprise Appearance at Kyiv Tech Summit in Show of Support for Ukraine

The Ethereum co-founder, who was born in Russia, made time for the visit as his Ethereum blockchain is days away from the major overhaul known as the Merge.

From left To right: Rev Miller, Atlantis World co-founder; Alex Bornyakov, Ukraine’s deputy minister for Digital Transformation, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin 
(Kyiv Tech Summit)