The Internal Revenue Service is hiring 87,000 new agents, but taxpayers will not feel the pain for another two to three years. That’s how long it will take the agency to hire and train agents. Few have discussed the extent of this pain. Still, it’s something to think about when you consider the majority of coming audits will be conducted by new agents, many of whom will have been hastily hired and operating with minimal supervision. Playing the audit lottery will not be smart in future tax years. Taxpayers should protect themselves now, especially when profiting from statutory gray areas …

A former head of risk at Credit Suisse believes the next crypto bull market will stem from “regulatory clarity” in the United States — which he expects to happen in early 2023. Speaking to Cointelegraph, the former head of valuation risk at Credit Suisse, CK Cheng said some of the regulatory efforts underway in the United States will soon “open the doors” of traditional finance to crypto. Cheng is a former executive at investment bank Credit Suisse who left his role in July 2021 to co-found ZX Squared Capital, a crypto hedge fund targeting family offices and high-net-worth individual clients. …

The Vienna-based fintech unicorn Bitpanda is harkening back to the ways of traditional finance (TradFi) through new offerings on its exchange platform. By adding commodities to its list of available investment options, Bitpanda aims to provide its users to benefit from short-term price fluctuations in more traditional instruments, such as oil, natural gas and wheat. Bitpanda CEO Eric Demuth told Cointelegraph that due to investor demand, the line between TradFi and decentralized finance (DeFi) is becoming more blurred every year. “People want to be able to trade multiple asset classes simply, safely and conveniently, and TradFi is catching up to …

Innovation is the lifeblood of any new market or industry, and crypto is no exception. But when disruptive sectors move fast, there's always a real risk that crucial values — including safety and compassion — end up getting left behind. SmartFi is one of the crypto communities vying to offer cutting-edge products with digital assets at their heart, all while protecting the interests of users. "Crypto for good" is the project's mantra — and SmartFi has been registered with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in a push for transparency. SmartFi's native token, SMTF, has also undergone a thorough audit. …

The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem scored another win against traditional finance, often called TradFi, with a former Morgan Stanley executive launching a DeFi protocol. Kevin Lepsoe, the former head of structuring for Morgan Stanley, aims to deliver an institutional fixed income scheme that offers fixed and floating rates with his new project named Infinity Exchange. According to Lepsoe, his new project will allow DeFi traders to “implement arbitrage, pull liquidity from other protocols and hedge their futures rates basis risk positions.” The DeFi market is known for its volatility and, therefore, risk in digital asset trades. Trading with more options …

While mainstream coverage of cryptocurrency has been overwhelmingly negative in the wake of the collapse of the Terra ecosystem, the bankruptcy of Celsius and the fall of Three Arrows Capital, these events ultimately show why more of the financial system should operate on-chain, bringing more transparency and information to market participants. In all three cases, the damage was caused and exacerbated by opaque, off-chain entities. And while the reason for the trio of events is important, it has also caused considerable damage to the overall reputation of the industry. These events have made it clear that the industry is in …

FTX was among the many crypto exchanges with a front-row seat to witness the crypto hype of 2021, back when Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies hit their all-time highs. Driven by massive customer onboarding, partnerships, sponsorships and other factors, FTX’s revenue reportedly grew 1000% in 2021 — revealed internal documents. Audited financials of FY 2020-2021 show FTX witnessing a 1000% increase in revenue — growing from $90 million in 2020 to $1.2 billion in 2021, claimed CNBC alleging access to the documents. The revenue breakdown discloses a 1842.85% increase in operating income for FTX, from $14 million to $272 million …

The total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) projects is hovering around $62 billion as of mid-August, down from a peak of over $250 billion in December 2021. Capital is fleeing the crypto space amid war, soaring inflation and whatever other surprises 2022 may still have in store for us. However, unlike previous crypto bull runs, it was not just retail interest that drew in this capital in the first place. Rather, major institutional players, which have recently opened up to crypto, quickly developed an appetite for the yields DeFi is known for. But now that winter is upon us, …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced a temporary freeze on withdrawals on Wednesday morning. The suspension took place across multiple networks as a result of a technical issue by a third-party provider, according to Binance. In a tweet, the exchange said the incident took place around 7:00 am UTC and was resolved by the team within an hour. Earlier today, around 07:00am UTC, #Binance temporarily closed withdrawals for multiple networks due to an issue with a third-party technical provider. Our team responded quickly, resolving the issue within 1-hour. Funds are SAFU. Thank you for your patience and understanding. — Binance (@binance) August …

EOS rose approximately 20% to reach $1.66 on Aug. 17 and was on track to log its best daily performance since May 2021. Initially, the EOS rally came in the wake of its positive correlation with top-ranking cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which gained over 2% and 3.75%, respectively. But the upside move was also driven by a flurry of uplifting updates emerging from the EOS ecosystem. EOS incentive program launch On Aug. 14, the EOS Network Foundation (ENF), a not-for-profit organization that oversees the growth and development of the EOS blockchain, opened registrations for its upcoming "Yield+" …

Around the world, personal financial stress is peaking. A recent study in America found that more than three in four people feel anxious about their financial situation. This is seeding anti-risk mentalities and prompting fears around the safety of long-term savings, including retirement funds. However, that shouldn’t mean hiding money under the floorboards. Nor should it necessarily mean handing over the reins to a low-growth pension fund, which at current rates of inflation, are likely to be losing value. It means being smarter about assessing all options and diversifying. And that requires freedom. That’s what Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) …

The aggregate total value locked (TVL) in the crypto market measures the amount of funds deposited in smart contracts and this figure declined from $160 billion in mid-April to the current $70 billion, which is the lowest level since March 2021. While this 66% contraction is worrying, a great deal of data suggests that the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector is resilient. The issue with using TVL as a broad metric is the lack of detail that is not shown. For example, the number of DeFi transactions, growth of layer-2 scaling solutions and venture capital inflows in the ecosystem are not …