Russian billionaire Vyacheslav Taran, president of Libertex Group and founder of Forex Club, died Nov. 25 in a helicopter crash in France while en route from Lausanne to Monaco, Switzerland. He was 53. The helicopter pilot, the only other person aboard the craft, also died. Libertex has confirmed Taran’s death, stating: “It is with great sadness that Libertex Group confirms the death of its co-founder and Chairman of Board of Directors, Vyacheslav Taran, after a helicopter crash that took place en route to Monaco on Friday, 25 November 2022.” Taran, who was trained as a radio engineer, founded the foreign …

On Nov. 29, Crypto Twitter users posted screenshots of help pages on the Coinbase app, saying that the wallet would no longer support Bitcoin Cash (BCH), XRP (XRP), Ethereum Classic (ETC), and Stellar (XLM) as well as their networks. The crypto firm cited "low usage" of the four tokens in its decision to stop support starting on Dec. 5. "This does not mean your assets will be lost," said the announcement. "Any unsupported asset that you hold will still be tied to your address(es) and accessible through your Coinbase Wallet recovery phrase." oof pic.twitter.com/oazKOspuTK — Jameson Lopp (@lopp) November 29, …

The bear market has inspired the little guy to accumulate vast amounts of Bitcoin (BTC). The number of wallets holding 1 BTC or more recently hit new highs while those with 10 BTC or less are setting accumulation records. However, to what extent are these newly minted “wholecoiners” taking custody of their private keys? Has the recent spate of insolvency among centralized exchanges (CEX) encouraged Bitcoin enthusiasts to move their Bitcoin into cold storage, removed from third party risk? For Checkmate, lead analyst at Glassnode, the data would point to this result. Checkmate told Cointelegraph, “Overall looks like, at least …

Chainlink (LINK) looks poised for 25% price rally in the days leading up to its staking protocol launch, based on several fundamental and technical facto. Chainlink price rallies ahead of staking launch The staking feature, which will go live as v0.1 in beta mode on Dec. 6, comes as a part of the so-called "Chainlink Economics 2.0" that focuses on boosting LINK holders' reward-earning opportunities for "helping increase the crypto economic security" of Chainlink's oracle services. Earlier, Chainlink users had to launch their own nodes to receive rewards in LINK tokens. The staking feature effectively opens new avenues for them …

Crypto executives and politicians are becoming louder in their calls for crypto regulation as the aftermath of the FTX collapse continues to reverberate through the industry. In just the last 24 hours, the European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde called regulation and supervision of crypto an “absolute necessity” for the European Union, while United States House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters announced that lawmakers will explore the collapse of FTX in a Dec. 13 inquiry. On Nov. 28, United States Senator and crypto supporter Cynthia Lummis described the collapse of FTX as a wake-up call for congress, according …

Being three weeks removed from the FTX collapse, Bitcoin (BTC) analysts are combing through data to decipher whether more selling will continue or if a bear market floor has been reached. One thing miners, short-term and long-term holders have in common is they are losing in the Bitcoin market right now. According to on-chain analysis from Glassnode, the scale of both realized and unrealized losses amongst Bitcoin holders is one of the heaviest capitulation events in BTC’s history. Capitulation is hindering all groups from the increasing number of bankruptcies and dwindling miner revenue. Bitcoin’s realized losses fourth largest on record …

The fallout from the collapse of FTX spans beyond the Web3 and crypto ecosystem. Reports gathered by the Financial Times suggest that nightclubs in Miami have been negatively affected by the collapse of the once-reputable cryptocurrency exchange. According to nightclub owners, young, nerdy crypto bros went from lavishly spending on champagne showers and buying $50,000 tables at clubs to completely vanishing from the nightlife scene. Andrea Vimercati, director of food and beverage at the Moxy Hotel group, told the Financial Times: “They were ordering 12 or 24 bottles of the most expensive champagne and just showering themselves without even drinking.” …

China witnessed a spike in Covid cases and that has resulted in strict lockdown restrictions in several parts of the country. This triggered widespread protests in China and has possibly pulled the global stock markets lower. In addition to the turmoil in China, the cryptocurrency markets, which are already in a bear grip, are reeling under pressure from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by BlockFi and its subsidiaries. Bitcoin (BTC) is down 21% in November, on track to its worst November performance since 2018. The sharp fall in Bitcoin’s price has drastically reduced the number of wallets holding more than …

Before its liquidity issues and bankruptcy filing in November, FTX was well known for its prolific stance on making sponsorship deals. Even with many in and out of the space now associating the exchange with failed financial institutions, traces of the promotional glitter bomb it has unleashed on the world aren’t likely to go away anytime soon. In Abu Dhabi, attendees for the Gumball 3000 motor rally in November noted on social media that wristbands for the event and more than one of the vehicles bore FTX’s logo, as did advertisements around the city. The crypto exchange did not appear …

BlockFi announced on Nov. 28 that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey pertains to the company and its eight subsidiaries. The move comes after several days of speculation on the company’s financial health after the collapse of FTX. According to a statement, BlockFi has $256.9 million on hand. It has filed motions “to pay employee wages and continue employee benefits without disruption. It also seeks to “establish a Key Employee Retention Plan to ensure the company” and has created an internal plan to reduce expenses. …

The Japanese messaging giant Line has decided to shut down its cryptocurrency exchange business amid the ongoing crypto winter. Line-owned crypto exchange Bitfront officially announced on Nov. 27 a plan to completely close down the platform by March 2023. According to the statement, the closure was driven by the continued cryptocurrency bear market and other issues in the crypto industry. Despite the exchange’s closure, Line will still continue to run its other blockchain ventures, including the Line blockchain ecosystem and Link (LN) token, the announcement notes, stating: “Despite our efforts to overcome the challenges in this rapidly-evolving industry, we have …

The collapse of now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has put the Singapore prime minister and the ruling government in a hot seat. Prime minister Lee Hsien Loong and deputy prime minister Lawrence Wong are set to face grilling questions for their failure to protect retail investors. The Members of Parliament (MP) from the opposition Workers’ party raised 15 questions about Temasek’s investment and FTX collapse. The MPs questioned the government’s credibility in tracking the extent of investments by Temasek and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC. The discussions around the government policies while investing in digital assets will be scrutinized further in …