Author: Andrei Ionescu

Worldcoin, a project aimed at providing digital identity verification, has launched its World ID system in Austria. As of July 31, residents of Vienna over the age of 18 can verify their World ID at multiple locations throughout the city, marking a significant expansion in Europe. This initiative adds Austria to a growing list of countries where Worldcoin’s technology is available, reaching over 6.3 million users worldwide. The Worldcoin Foundation announced the introduction of its World ID-issuing orb in Austria, underscoring its commitment to privacy and data security. Tools for Humanity, the Germany-based company behind Worldcoin, has ensured compliance with…

OKX Ventures, the venture capital arm of cryptocurrency exchange OKX, and the Aptos Foundation have jointly established a $10 million fund to foster the growth of the Aptos ecosystem and promote broader adoption of Web3 technologies. The fund, named Ankaa, aims to support projects built on the Aptos blockchain, according to an announcement. Ankaa will be managed by Aptos, OKX Ventures, and Alcove, the accelerator launched by Aptos last November. The fund will primarily focus on projects in decentralized finance (DeFi), real-world assets (RWA), gaming, social media, and artificial intelligence (AI). Aptos is a layer-1 blockchain that utilizes Facebook’s (META)…

Ark Invest offloaded 12,077 Coinbase shares worth $2.7 million from its Next Generation Internet exchange-traded fund (ARKW) on Wednesday. It’s the first time the Cathie Wood-led investment firm has sold Coinbase shares since it offloaded $4.3 million worth of COIN on July 19. Ark’s investment strategy generally aims to avoid individual holdings taking up more than 10% of an ETF’s portfolio. This is to maintain diversification within its funds — meaning it is likely to continue rebalancing its weightings if COIN’s value rises relative to Ark’s other holdings in the fund. According to the firm’s latest disclosures, COIN is now…

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, has announced an investment in Particle Network, a leading Layer 1 (L1) solution designed to unify blockchain networks via Universal Accounts. This investment aims to address user and liquidity fragmentation in the Web3 space. As blockchain technology expands, the proliferation of various Layer 1 and Layer 2 chains has led to a fragmented user base and liquidity, creating challenges for both users and developers. Particle Network seeks to solve these issues with its Chain Abstraction infrastructure, which includes Universal Accounts, Universal Liquidity, Universal Gas, and the Particle L1 chain. This…

The SEC’s move to seek leave to amend the complaint means that it is requesting the court’s permission to modify its initial filing. This amendment is expected to include additional details and evidence regarding third-party crypto tokens, such as SOL, ADA, MATIC, FIL, ATOM, SAND, MANA, ALGO, AXS, and COTI, which were previously defined as securities in the lawsuit. The amendment suggests that the SEC aims to strengthen its case against Binance by providing more substantial information and arguments about these tokens. As a result, the court will not need to make a ruling on the adequacy of the SEC’s…

Bitcoin miners appear to have initiated a new accumulation phase, potentially positioning themselves to benefit from a range of emerging catalysts, according to Valentin Fournier, lead analyst at BRN In an interview with, Fournier noted that mining firms are not only accumulating their mining rewards but are also purchasing Bitcoin directly from the market to bolster their reserves. “They have triggered the Hash Ribbon signal, a long-term bullish indicator highlighting the end of miner capitulation and the increase of the processing power used to mine Bitcoin,” he explained. Among the notable miners involved in large-scale Bitcoin purchases is Marathon Digital,…

The debut of spot-based Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States has generated a substantial $2.2 billion in inflows, according to a recent CoinShares report. This significant milestone marks one of the largest inflows to Ethereum since December 2022, despite being offset by $285 million in net outflows from Grayscale’s $1.5 billion Ethereum trust. Major Inflows for Ether ETFs The CoinShares report highlights that the newly issued spot Ether ETFs have experienced a remarkable 542% increase in inflows, bringing a total of $2.2 billion into the asset. This surge represents a major achievement for Ethereum, reflecting growing investor interest…

Slovenia has made history as the first European Union member to issue a sovereign digital bond, with a 30 million-euro ($32.5 million) note settled on-chain through the Bank of France’s tokenized cash system. This milestone is part of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) money settlement experimentation program, coordinated by BNP Paribas. The four-month notes, which carry a coupon of 3.65%, are set to mature on November 25. The settlement took place in wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) on Thursday, according to the Slovenian government. Unlike retail CBDCs, which are designed for consumer use, wholesale CBDCs are digital tokens intended…

As the summer progresses, the crypto ecosystem is set to witness significant token unlocks from several major projects, injecting substantial liquidity into the market. According to data from Token.Unlocks, these releases, worth $10 million or more at current prices, are poised to impact the circulating supply of various cryptocurrencies. Wormhole Unlocks $180 Million Worth of Tokens Wormhole, a prominent cross-chain project, will unlock 600 million tokens on August 3, amounting to one-third of its circulating supply. Valued at approximately $180 million, this unlock follows a significant airdrop in April, where Wormhole distributed over 670 million tokens. As a communication bridge…

In a significant expansion of its leadership team, Coinbase announced the addition of Chris Lehane, Paul Clement, and Christa Davies to its board of directors. Chris Lehane, an executive at OpenAI and a former Democratic strategist for Bill Clinton and Al Gore, will provide strategic counsel to Coinbase’s leadership, guiding the company in its mission to make “onchain the new online.” Paul Clement, a partner at the law firm Clement & Murphy PLLC and former U.S. Solicitor General under President George W. Bush, along with Christa Davies, Chief Financial Officer at Aon since 2008 and board member at Stripe and…