Sep-Oct Edition: Bitesize Crypto News
Institutional adoption, development updates, and other news you should know.
Welcome to another edition of Crypto Explained.
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Even though the article frequency was changed from weekly to biweekly, I still want to make sure you receive a recap of relevant crypto news regularly.
This is not only because bitesize crypto news has received a lot of positive responses from you all, but mostly it’s due to the importance of staying informed of what is happening in the crypto world.
Plenty of development happens under the radar during bear markets. So today I’m here to highlight some relevant events that happened in the last 2 months.
As usual, I’m splitting the news into 3 categories:
Adoption News: government, institutions, and/or companies that are getting involved with crypto in one way or another.
Crypto Development: updates and further development from particular crypto projects.
Other News: as its name suggests, some other crypto news that does not fall into the previous categories.
Adoption News
After 2 Years of Debate, Europe Finalizes Landmark Crypto Rules, which could pave the way for a Europe-wide regulatory approach. The legal text will go to the European Parliament and if approved, will be published in the Official Journal of the EU (learn more here).
Fidelity’s independent subsidiary Fidelity Digital Assets started offering institutional customers the ability to buy, sell and transfer ETH starting in the end of October (learn more here).
Google launched Blockchain Node Engine (BNE) based on Google Cloud, a node-hosting service for Web3 developers. It allows Web3 companies to relay transactions, deploy smart contracts, and read or write blockchain data directly on Google Cloud. Ethereum will be the first blockchain supported by BNE (learn more here).
Google also signed a deal with Coinbase which will see Google accept cryptocurrency for some of its cloud computing clients (learn more here).
SWIFT, the interbank messaging system that allows for cross-border payments, partners with crypto data provider Chainlink on Cross-Chain Protocol (learn more here).
Nasdaq is preparing to launch an institutional crypto custody service. It is also establishing a new crypto-focused division in tandem with its exploration into crypto custody, Nasdaq Digital Assets (learn more here).
Visa files trademark applications covering a range of cryptocurrency products, including crypto wallet (learn more here).
Visa has also partnered with crypto exchange FTX to offer its debit card service to customers in over 40 countries (learn more here).
FIFA launches NFT Platform for soccer-themed digital collectibles on Algorand in the run-up to the World Cup (learn more here).
Warner Music Group announced a partnership with NFT marketplace OpenSea to provide a platform for select musical artists to build and extend their fanbase into the Web3 community (learn more here).
The Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA) is planning to loosen crypto listing rules to make it easier for trading platforms to list cryptocurrencies (learn more here).
INTERPOL unveiled the first-ever Metaverse specifically designed for law enforcement worldwide (learn more here).
Starbucks has announced it will launch its official NFT Rewards loyalty program tagged “Starbucks Odyssey” on Ethereum’s layer2 Polygon (learn more here).
Robinhood selects Polygon to launch Web3 Wallet Beta (learn more here).
Development News
Decentralized exchange Uniswap Labs raised $165 million in a Series B funding round that was led by crypto-focused investment firm Polychain Capital. The capital will enable Uniswap to invest more in its web app and developer tools, NFT launch and move to support mobile users (learn more here).
ETH becomes deflationary for the first time after The Merge (learn more here).
Cardano finally achieved the milestone of the Vasil hard fork upgrade. The new version promises greater network throughput and smaller transaction costs for the Cardano user (learn more here).
MakerDAO initiates a $500 million investment in US treasuries and corporate bonds (learn more here).
OpenSea announces NFT drop improvements and Arbirtum Layer 2 support (learn more here).
MetaMask, the crypto wallet by ConsenSys that’s become a go-to for many, has launched a new feature that enables users in the US to buy crypto directly from their bank accounts (learn more here).
Cosmos Hub drops highly anticipated ATOM 2.0 Whitepaper (learn more here).
Polkadot co-founder Gavin Wood steps down as CEO of Parity. He will remain the company’s majority shareholder and take on the title of chief architect, where his focus will shift to developing and promoting the mass adoption of Web3 technology (learn more here).
In other News…
October becomes worst month in DeFi history as hackers steal $718M across 11 protocols, while $3 billion has been lost to 125 crypto hacks in total since the start of 2022 (learn more here).
After the collapse of Terra LUNA, South Korean Court issues arrest warrant for Terra Co-Founder Do Kwon (learn more here).
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Here is my potential Articles Pipeline, in no particular order:
Project Deepdive: Algorand
What is Layer 3?
What are Privacy Coins?
Zero Knowledge proof explained
A recap of the history of crypto
Don’t miss out!