CoinDesk — Leader in blockchain news.

Bitcoin Halving May 12

DeFi

Ocean Protocol and Balancer Want to Do for Data What Uniswap Did for Coins

Ian AllisonSep 24, 2020

Ocean Protocol is teaming up with Balancer Labs to create the first automated market maker (AMM) for data.

Ether

Market Wrap: Bitcoin Drops to $10.2K; Scaling Solution xDai Doubles in Value Locked

Daniel CawreySep 23, 2020

Bitcoin price dipped Wednesday while investors park crypto in Ethereum sidechain stablecoin xDai.

MakerDAO

MakerDAO Users Hosed by March Flash Crash Won’t Get MKR Payouts, Say MKR Whales

William FoxleySep 23, 2020

After initially voting to do so, the Maker community will not compensate investors who lost big on the lending platform during "Black Thursday's" price rout.

Coinbase

Coinbase Hires Executives From Venmo, Adobe and Google

Jaspreet KalraSep 23, 2020

Cryptocurrency exchange and wallet platform Coinbase announced on Wednesday it has hired three new executives to serve as VPs for Product, Engineering, and Design & Research.

Law

Venezuela Legalizes Crypto Mining but Will Force Industry Into National Pool

Daniel PalmerSep 23, 2020

The Venezuelan agency responsible for regulating cryptos has legalized the mining industry, but in the process mandated it be centralized under government control.

Hedge Funds

Crypto Hedge Fund Looks for $50M to Buy DeFi Tokens Amid Market Pullback

Bradley KeounSep 23, 2020

Panxora, a cryptocurrency hedge fund manager, seeks $50 million to buy digital tokens associated with decentralized finance, known as DeFi.

DeFi

Data Site DeFi Pulse Fixes Bug, Says Value Locked Actually Hit $13B Last Week

Paddy BakerSep 23, 2020

Popular data analytics site DeFi Pulse has claimed a "previously undetected issue" saw TVL under-reported by more than $4 billion on Sept. 18.

DeFi

This Ethereum Startup Is Building a ‘DeFi Firewall’ for Institutional Investors

Ian AllisonSep 23, 2020

How risky do you like it? Wallet shop Trustology is launching a "DeFi Firewall" to help institutional investors dabble in decentralized finance.

First Mover

First Mover: Bitcoins Hit Exchanges as Bloomberg Touts Crypto and DeFi Hedge Fund Seeks $50M

Bradley KeounSep 23, 2020

Bloomberg hails crypto as top 2020 asset, bitcoin hits exchanges, options traders see calm around U.S. elections, hedge fund seeks $50M for DeFi.

Crypto News

Blockchain Bites: BTC on Ethereum, DeFi’s Latest Stablecoin, the Currency Cold Wars

Daniel KuhnSep 23, 2020

Mick Mulvaney joined the Chamber of Digital Commerce, Origin launched a stablecoin and DeFi Pulse fixed a bug.

Internet 2030

Me, Myself and My Multiple Avatars

Jill CarlsonSep 23, 2020

In 2030, there are 20-odd versions of "you" floating around the internet. Can you manage all the personas you created?

Chamber of Digital Commerce

Digital Chamber Adds Mulvaney to Board of Advisors; Visa, Goldman Join Executive Committee

Jaspreet KalraSep 23, 2020

The Chamber of Digital Commerce announced Wednesday that former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has joined the group’s board of advisors.

Podcasts

Violent Reflexivity: Why Market Movements Are More Aggressive Than Ever, Feat. Corey Hoffstein

Nathaniel WhittemoreSep 23, 2020

How the Fed and the rise of passive investing and volatility strategies have combined to make market movements faster and more severe.

Funding Rounds

Robinhood Raises Cool $660M in Extended Funding Round

Paddy BakerSep 23, 2020

Following a retail bonanza this summer, trading app Robinhood says it has raised $660 million in an extended Series G round.

Scams

Scammers Are Forging CoinDesk Emails – Here’s How to Protect Yourself

Pete PachalJul 29, 2020

Scammers are forging CoinDesk newsletters in phishing emails. Here’s how to spot them and protect yourself.

Recent

Iran

Iran Is Ripe for Bitcoin Adoption, Even as Government Clamps Down on Mining

Sandali HandagamaSep 24, 2020

Iran is regulating bitcoin mining with an iron fist. But as U.S. sanctions and the pandemic put pressure on the economy, Iranians are seriously considering bitcoin as an alternative to the falling rial.

Gemini Exchange Launches in UK After Being Awarded EMI License

Jaspreet KalraSep 24, 2020

The cryptocurrency exchange and custodian has added the pound sterling (GBP) as a funding option.

Tokenization

Valentus Capital Plans $50M Token Raise for Credit Fund: Report

Danny NelsonSep 23, 2020

The yet-to-be-registered asset manager hopes to launch its VAL1 token later this year.

Blockchain Commons

Blockchain Commons Internship Introduces New Developers to Open Source

Colin HarperSep 23, 2020

The Blockchain Commons took on 7 interns this year to build out the organization’s many open-source projects.

Podcasts

Bitcoin News Roundup for Sept. 23, 2020

Adam B. LevineLyllah LedesmaSep 23, 2020

With the bitcoin market weakening and an ECB update, CoinDesk’s Markets Daily is back for your latest crypto news roundup!

Polkadot

Parity Upgrades Polkadot’s Underlying Tech to Make Custom Blockchain Building Easier

William FoxleySep 23, 2020

Polkadot developer Parity Technologies has released the second version of its blockchain building kit Substrate 2.0, including 70 composable modules.

Markets

UNI Market Cap Rebounds $120M as Rest of Crypto Market Falters

Paddy BakerSep 23, 2020

Uniswap's week-old governance token is outperforming more established cryptocurrencies Wednesday.

Christie's

Christie’s to Auction Bitcoin-Inspired Artwork, Associated Non-Fungible Token

Jaspreet KalraSep 23, 2020

The artwork titled, ‘Portraits of a Mind’ created by the Robert Alice project is a set of 40 paintings made up of a transcription of the code associated with the Bitcoin blockchain.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin Market Weakening After Macro-Based Sell-Off, On-Chain Data Suggests

Omkar GodboleSep 23, 2020

Bitcoin inventory is building on exchanges but there's a lack of buyers, according to a Chainalysis economist.

Recent

DeFi

DeFi Angels, VC Firms Back $2M Round for Data Provider Dune Analytics

Ian AllisonSep 23, 2020

Ethereum data firm Dune Analytics, which has stood out from the pack for its focus on DeFi projects, has raised a $2 million seed round.

Japan

Messaging Giant LINE Launches Token Reward Program

David PanSep 23, 2020

Messaging app company LINK has started a rewards program where people can get LINK tokens by using its remittance and investment mobile apps.

DeFi

Origin Debuts OUSD, a Stablecoin That Works Like a Savings Account

Brady DaleSep 23, 2020

Origin is announcing Origin Dollars, or OUSD, a stablecoin whose reserves leverage decentralized finance (DeFi) so that balances grow wherever it resides.

Smart Contracts

Market Wrap: Bitcoin Clings to $10.4K; Ether in Smart Contracts Highest Since 2016

Daniel CawreySep 22, 2020

Bitcoin price holds steady while ether in smart contracts reach a level not seen in four years.

Blockchain Association

0x, Kraken and Stellar Awarded Board Seats at Top Crypto Lobbying Association

Danny NelsonSep 22, 2020

The new board members represent decentralized finance and institutional crypto alike.

Podcasts

Marty Bent on Why Bitcoin and Big Energy Are Unlikely Allies

Nathaniel WhittemoreSep 22, 2020

Bitcoin mining can help big energy companies produce more efficiently, increasing American energy independence in the process.

Wrapped Bitcoin

Supply of Tokenized Bitcoin on Ethereum Now Tops $1.1B: Here’s Why

William FoxleySep 22, 2020

The supply of BitGo’s wrapped bitcoins (WBTC) topped 76,000 after setting an all-time record of nearly 21,000 WBTC minted within one week. Here’s why.