Opinion

Bitcoin

Forget Ethereum, DeFi Is Being Built on Bitcoin

Edan Yago looks to reclaim "decentralized finance" as Bitcoin's, not Ethereum's, turf.

People  ·  22 October 2020
Ethereum

What the History of Headphones Says About the Internet’s Future

What does the historical development of headphones tell us about the future of the internet?

Tech  ·  21 October 2020
Ransomware

Ban All Ransomware Payments, in Bitcoin or Otherwise

The U.S. Treasury Department has outlawed certain ransomware payments. If it was serious, it would go further, says our columnist.

Policy & regulation  ·  21 October 2020
CBDCs

The US Risks Getting Left Behind on CBDCs

The Federal Reserve's “wait and see” approach to digital currency could deprive the U.S. of important fiscal and monetary tools as its rivals move ahead.

Policy & regulation  ·  20 October 2020
CBDCs

CBDCs Mean Evolution, Not Revolution

Central bank digital currencies can help create a more inclusive financial system, says the innovation chief at the Bank for International Settlements.

Policy & regulation  ·  20 October 2020
Privacy

A Day in the Life of the Splinternet

Cypherpunk historian Finn Brunton imagines a future where there are many internets, each making demands on your attention.

People  ·  18 October 2020
Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency Is Just a Minor Threat to the State

States still have the armies, the police and – on a good day anyway – democratic legitimacy. All of that still matters, and will for a long time.

Policy & regulation  ·  17 October 2020
Filecoin

Decentralized Data Storage’s Only Competition Is the Public Cloud

Ben Golub, CEO of Storj, sends a complimentary note to Filecoin. Competition is good and so is countering the extreme concentration of cloud storage.

Tech  ·  16 October 2020
Crowdfunding

How DeFi Can Avoid the Irrelevance of P2P Lending and Crowdfunding

To avoid the fate of other p2p projects, DeFi protocols need incentives and feedback loops so users choose open-source over closed systems.

Policy & regulation  ·  16 October 2020
Newsletters

Money Reimagined: How Ethereum 2.0’s ‘Lock Up’ Will Drive DeFi Innovation

As Ethereum's 2.0 upgrade locks up serious ether volume, we're likely to see financial ideas that unlock value without undermining mission.

Tech  ·  16 October 2020
Opinion

Five Machine Learning Methods Crypto Traders Should Know About

Quantitative crypto finance has a wide array of machine learning techniques to call on. Here are five, explained for their characteristics.

Tech  ·  16 October 2020
China

China’s Digital Yuan Blurs the Lines Between CBDCs and Crypto

An in-depth analysis of China's digital yuan project reveals more similarities to crypto than you might think. Upshot: seismic disruption to the financial system.

Policy & regulation  ·  15 October 2020
Opinion

The Inevitability of ‘Big Blockchain’

The blockchain industry already exhibits signs of the same forces that have driven over-consolidation in the broader economy.

Policy & regulation  ·  15 October 2020
Ethereum

High Gas Fees Prevent Ethereum From Being Ethereum

Miners are incentivized to keep Ethereum gas fees high, and in doing so limit one of the network's principal use cases.

Tech  ·  14 October 2020
Opinion

Tokenized Staked ETH Will Replace ETH – And That’s a Good Thing

Ethereum's shift to proof-of-stake will take conventional ETH out of circulation, replaced by a tokenized version of itself, says the CEO of Staked.

Markets  ·  14 October 2020