Author: Coindesk

This first debate between current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump – each their parties’ presumptive nominee – was held Thursday in Atlanta, Georgia by CNN, hosted by CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. The 90-minute debate began with the economy but also touched on issues like abortion, immigration and foreign policy. The economic section was brief, and the debate barely approached technology policy, let alone the digital assets industry. Read the full article here

The U.S. presidential election could provide a breakthrough for additional crypto ETFs like SOL, per the research note shared with CoinDesk. If Trump becomes president again, he could shake up the established playbook for launching crypto ETFs, which usually takes years and starts with the introduction of federally regulated futures contracts – something solana lacks. Read the full article here

“We believe the native token, SOL, functions similarly to other digital commodities such as bitcoin and ETH,” VanEck’s head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel, wrote in a post on X arguing that SOL is a commodity, not a security. “It is utilized to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the blockchain,” he wrote. Read the full article here

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence.…

“Tether has engaged extensively with its exchange counterparties in Europe regarding the requirements, including those pertaining to the ongoing listing of USDT and other Tether tokens, and the interpretation of key regulatory provision,” said Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, in a statement. “While Tether is optimistic about MiCA’s implementation, it remains crucial that stablecoin regulatory policies enacted are balanced, protect consumers, and nurture growth in our emerging industry.” Read the full article here

“We asked the SEC for documents about closed investigations to shed light on how the SEC views its newfound, sweeping (and unlawful) authority,” Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “One of those investigations, which only recently closed, focused on ETH, which the SEC publicly announced is not a security in 2018. And the other investigations have been closed for years. But the SEC stonewalled our requests.” Read the full article here

In 1987, I sat outside the Medco Center in Springfield, Kentucky, with my grandfather, Bob Burns, a blind ex-industrial laundry worker from Boston. At 80, Bob spent many of his final days at Medco Center, seated in a folding chair and following the sun like a human sundial. One day, he showed me a remarkable watch that, with the press of a button, would speak the current time – a fascinating device for a seven-year-old. This moment marked the beginning of my curiosity of how technology could change everyday life, and the start of my journey in what is now…

The fragmentation and complexity of the ecosystem, with projects involving various aspects such as blockchain, hardware, and infrastructure, keeping track of all developments and opportunities can be complex. To profit from DePIN, it’s necessary to understand the use-case, the hardware, and the tokenomics of a project. This is the supply side. For the demand side to truly and sustainably take off, there’s a lot of translation that we, as an industry, need to do to integrate with the real-world economy. This work is essential to onboard the next millions to Web3 and make DePIN a success story. Read the full…

Telegram’s strategic pivot allows its app developers to align their revenue models with the long-term growth of the Web3 ecosystem. By providing critical distribution, a wallet, infrastructure and support services, they can continue to generate substantial revenue while contributing to the broader goal of a decentralized internet. This symbiotic relationship benefits both the TON blockchain and Telegram, creating a more sustainable and inclusive digital economy. Telegram has always been on the fringe of Big Tech, successfully scaling a user-focused messaging app amidst heavy competition and following an unorthodox playbook: no advertising or hardware moat, just a great tech and user…

Prior to the election announcement, the industry had grown accustomed to a government that, as of late, generally understood and supported crypto. In 2022, John Glen, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (also known as the City Minister) pledged to make the U.K. a global hub for crypto-asset technologies. This vow was repeated by his successors Andrew Griffith in 2023 and, most recently, Bim Afolami, who has urged regulators to take care in policing the crypto industry to make sure its success isn’t “undermined.” Broad powers were introduced in the Financial Services and Markets Bill bringing stablecoins within the regulatory…