The world is quick to blame inflation for the rising prices at grocery stores and retailers. This was the #1 political issue for recent Election Day voters in the United States. For example, media sources recently reported poll data that 85% of Americans could not afford to spend $200 on a Thanksgiving meal in November 2022, and only 25% could afford $100. However, few recognize inflation is only part of the problem. Higher costs for products and services are also directly attributable to settlement fees paid by transportation providers who are forced to take out the equivalent of payday loans …

What are the challenges with Web3 For mainstream adoption of Web3, prevalent challenges need to be dealt with. These include centralized infrastructure, lack of regulatory clarity and rug pulls. While Web3 is perceived to be decentralized, developers integrate Web3 applications with Web2 protocols to make them work. This creates a scenario where functioning of decentralized applications is hinged to a centralized infrastructure. Another major challenge before Web3 is a lack of regulatory clarity. Blockchain technologies are advancing fast, and regulators will take time to catch up. Absence of regulatory oversight has led to unethical behavior in some projects as happened …

Ether (ETH), which is the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, is popular among cryptocurrency investors because of its native ETH token. However, its native Solidity programming language and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) are instrumental in the adulation it receives from the developer community. In fact, the Ethereum blockchain continues to attract decentralized application (DApp) developers due to its flexibility, the vast range of developer tools available and the platform’s large user base. Forming the core of the blockchain’s architecture, the EVM is the program that executes its application code or smart contracts, as they are called, providing …

Web3 game publisher Fenix Games raised $150 million in funding to acquire, invest and distribute blockchain games. The fund will be used to create a game publishing company specifically for mainstreaming blockchain games. Fenix Games’ latest funding round saw participation from investors, including Phoenix Group and Dubai-based venture capital firm Cypher Capital, reported local news media Jinse. Chris Ko, CEO and co-founder of Fenix Games, who previously led Mythical Games, considers Fenix Games “like a VC fund” for fueling the next generation of blockchain games. Sharing details into the post-funding gameplan, Ko stated: “We’re actually going to start off with …

The term Web3 is often used as shorthand to discuss the new phase of the internet. It describes leaving the era of centralized social media and massive e-commerce platforms and arriving at a utopia of user-controlled data. Web3, in a colloquial sense, is simply an umbrella marketing term that means anything crypto-adjacent. To offer clarity on this topic, the Cointelegraph Research team has released a new report detailing the nature of the real Web3. These key insights are invaluable for investors to understand to separate facts from fundamental misconceptions. The blockchain web and the decentralized web Cointelegraph Research’s “Web3: Marketing …

“The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena… Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.” The quote above from Carl Sagan has been used by Metaverse Studios to set the stage for Angelic, its NFT-powered blockbuster Sci-Fi RPG. Beautifully crafted, the game—as presaged by the Sagan quote—asks players to see beyond their everyday conceptions of space and time. Given the current market upheaval, many in the NFT and crypto industries have had …

We live in houses that are capable of monitoring and controlling a wide range of internal processes — from heating and cooling to security and surveillance mechanisms. Our cars keep track of external conditions and are well on their way to driving themselves. Our phones are constantly gathering valuable data and recording our activities — both on our devices and in real life. Smart homes, smart cars, smartphones — all of these and much more are part of the rapidly expanding Internet of Things (IoT), which serves as the foundation of the machine economy. The IoT is what connects all …

The crypto market has witnessed a turbulent few weeks after the FTX collapse but Lido Finance, a liquid staking protocol, has been a bright spot amidst the chaos. According to Data from DeFiLlama, Lido protocol has earned $1 million or more in fees daily since October 26. Lido fees and revenue over time. Lido has collected over $1M in fees every day since October 26th pic.twitter.com/GHkzSzYIOo — DefiLlama.com (@DefiLlama) November 18, 2022 Let’s analyze the on-chain fundamentals to see why this trend has continued. What’s behind Lido Finance’s growth? Lido’s growth started in May 2021, pre-FTX collapse. The fees reached …

While the crypto market goes up and down in an almost hypnotizing lull, there is one thing everyone is looking forward to - the holiday season. As the end of the year approaches quickly, Christmas and New Year's are knocking on the door. Yet, the uncertainty of the global economic landscape might be putting a stain on the festive season for some this year. With raging inflation (8.8% globally in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund), and rising prices across the board, the holiday season can become overwhelming. However, ambitious projects like XGo are trying to bring more stability …

The leading institutional Web3 summit will kick off in Miami soon — and has attracted high-profile speakers from across TradFi and Web3. MiamiWeb3 — which is being held at the InterContinental Hotel from Nov. 28 to 30 — will provide a platform to discuss key trends in this fast-moving sector, as well as policy and where the industry is heading next. The city's mayor, Francis Suarez, will be among the attendees — alongside Senator Cynthia Lummis, who has made a name for herself as one of the staunchest cryptocurrency supporters in Congress. She has also played an instrumental role in …

By creating an alternative financial system with extraordinary flexibility and innovation in less than ten years, Web3 has astounded the globe. Economic and cryptographic primitives such as smart contracts and consensus mechanisms have helped to create an open-source system to conduct and authorize financial transactions. However, the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem cannot support straightforward contracts like an apartment lease because it lacks a native Web3 identity. This article aims to demonstrate how even modest advances toward social identity representation with soulbound tokens could circumvent these constraints and reroute Web3 to an authentic, more transformational path. What are soulbound tokens (SBTs)? …

The cryptocurrency sector is the Wild Wild West in comparison to traditional finance, yet a number of banks are showing interest in digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). This year in particular has been notable for banks exploring digital assets. Most recently, JPMorgan demonstrated how DeFi can be used to improve cross-border transactions. This came shortly after BNY Mellon — America’s oldest bank — announced the launch of its Digital Asset Custody Platform, which allows select institutional clients to hold and transfer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The Clearing House, a United States banking association and payments company, stated on …