Collapsed crypto exchange FTX and 130 affiliates filed for bankruptcy in Delaware on Nov 11. Chaos followed as a number of FTX creditors, investors and industry experts began to question what would happen next. Laura Shin, crypto journalist, author and host of the Unchained Podcast, sent a tweet on Nov. 15 questioning whether the alleged inter-loan agreement between FTX and Alameda — the company’s venture capital arm — will affect creditors’ and customers’ ability to get back funds. Could one big venture success out of FTX Ventures be a viable path to recovery for FTX creditors & customers? @wassielawyer and …

While many nonfungible token (NFT) projects continue to suffer losses due to the bear market, a number of organizations have begun using NFTs to solve real-world problems. In particular, NFTs for subscription/membership-based models, or loyalty programs, are gaining traction. This point was highlighted in Forrester’s 2023 NFT and metaverse predications report, which notes: “Brands will pivot from ‘cool’ non-fungible tokens (NFTs) towards loyalty. In 2023, brands will shift their focus to NFTs linked to loyalty, brand experience, and deepening customer relationships.” Indeed, NFT use cases such as these are being implemented today. For example, Starbucks recently announced an NFT-based loyalty …

Decentralized storage network Filecoin has partnered with Protocol Labs and other participants within the Web3 ecosystem to launch the Decentralized Storage Alliance. According to the announcement, one of the main goals of the newly formed alliance is to help Web2 enterprises transition to Web3 through education, advocacy and best practices. The Alliance said it hopes to achieve this by bringing together diverse viewpoints from leading Web2 and Web3 industry players, such as Advanced Micro Devices, Ernst & Young and data storage solutions provider Seagate. The organization aspires to become a trusted space where different companies can collaborate around Web3 technologies …

As inflation continues to grow, coupled with a looming recession, many tech firms are having to cut portions of their staff. To put this in perspective, data from Layoffs.fyi found that over 700 tech startups have experienced layoffs this year, impacting at least 93,519 employees globally. It has also been reported that tech giants like Google, Netflix and Apple are undergoing massive job cuts. While many of these layoffs are likely due to an economic downturn, this has resulted in an overwhelming amount of talent flocking to early-stage Web3 companies. For example, Andrew Masanto, a serial entrepreneur who has founded …

The Japanese city of Toda, Saitama, adopted a metaverse-schooling service to encourage students — especially those staying far away from school — to attend their classes. The metaverse schooling service opted for by the city of Toda allows students to explore the campus and study in virtual classrooms. However, the students must get approval from respective school principals for attendance via metaverse schooling, confirms local media NHK. Government data showed that 244,940 Japanese elementary and junior high school students were absent for at least 30 days in FY 2021. NHK's report highlighted a fifth grader's interest in chatting online instead …

Crypto lending platform Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 13, 2022. Although the Celsius case involves digital assets, it remains subject to United States Bankruptcy Code under the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. While this may be, a series of unusual events have ensued since Celsius filed for bankruptcy. For instance, Chief United States Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn — the judge overseeing the Celsius case — stated on Oct. 17 that the court will look abroad for guidance. Glenn specifically mentioned that “Legal principles that are applicable in the United Kingdom are not binding …

Delving into the world of cryptocurrencies can be extremely intimidating for beginners. On day one, you're confronted with thousands of different coins — and each claims to have their own specific use case. Understanding how blockchain technology works is an incredibly steep learning curve too, and all of that comes before you've even made a purchase. Now, one website has the ambition of becoming a lighthouse in stormy seas for newcomers to the crypto market — giving them the information they need to explore the space with confidence. ClearCryptos offers a plethora of curated educational content — covering everything from …

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) organized a five-day training course on cryptocurrencies and Dark Web investigation for Uzbekistan's police and prosecution forces. The course is a part of OSCE’s consistent efforts to educate Central Asian law enforcers on the emerging technologies that criminals might abuse in a strategically important region for the global drug trade. As the official press release from Oct. 21 goes, representatives from the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service attended the training from 17 to 21 Oct. to learn about the main concepts and key …

Interest in Web3 continues to grow despite the crypto bear market. A recent article from McKinsey noted that venture capital investments in Web3 exceeded $18 billion during the first half of 2022. Findings from Cointelegraph Research also show that Web3 attracted the most interest from venture capitalists in comparison to other blockchain sectors during Q2 of this year. While notable, a lack of diversity has become apparent within the Web3 sector. For instance, it was found that only 16% of nonfungible token (NFT) creators are women. Although this number is low, women are taking an interest in owning digital assets. …

The hype around nonfungible tokens (NFTs) may be fading, yet a number of organizations continue to implement Web3 initiatives. Nonprofit organizations and activists, in particular, have begun implementing nonfungible token projects to help fundraise and generate awareness for certain causes. While these methods are still new, NFT projects for philanthropy have been met with relative success. A recent report from crypto donation platform The Giving Block found that nonprofits using The Giving Block received more than $12.3 million dollars in cryptocurrency donations from NFT-related charitable giving initiatives in 2021. The report further noted that charitable organizations using NFTs are presented …

The Web3 Foundation and the global online learning platform edX launch a series of foundational courses in blockchain technology and the Polkadot platform. The four-part series, called Web3x, will cover the fundamentals of blockchain and explore the Substrate software development kit and the Rust programming language. By press time, the Web3x webpage contains only the first two courses: ‘Introduction to blockchain and Web3” and “Introduction to Polkadot.” The former course explains the history and key terminology of blockchains, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum and Web3, and the technologies behind them. The latter provides the learners with the key terminology behind Polkadot (DOT) …

Such a philosophy is common among investors who are enthusiastic about blockchain’s potential to dominate Web3 as it becomes the infrastructure of the new internet. Yet, if you swap “cryptocurrency” with “stock,” you get a Warren Buffett quote — word-for-word. Of course, Buffett would never say such a thing about cryptocurrency because he thinks it’s worthless. So do a host of other heavy hitters, ranging from Buffett’s close ally Charlie Munger to gold’s poster boy Peter Schiff. Add to the list J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, and even Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren — a …