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Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and do not represent the views and opinions of crypto.news’ editorial. The COVID-19 pandemic gave a 3-4x boost to digital transformations and adoptions worldwide. During its peak in 2020, 58% of global consumer interactions happened digitally. You might also like: Embracing institutions today will keep defi’s tomorrow on track | Opinion Once users, consumers, and employees experienced the upsides of digital interactions—more flexibility or freedom, lower commutation time, etc.—they mostly didn’t want to go back. Online channels became the “new normal” for both personal and professional communication s.  But while there’s good reason for tech optimists to celebrate this shift, it’s vital to identify and mitigate the risks coming along. For example, centralized real-time communication (RTC) platforms like Skype, Zoom, Slack, etc., pose severe data-mining and privacy violation threats to ...

The group, “Bitcoin Argentina,” previously rejected the idea that regulation was needed in the cryptocurrency industry. Non-government organization Bitcoin Argentina presented a draft bill proposing to regulate the cryptocurrency market in a way that preserve s de central ization and strengthens public trust. The proposed legal framework was pitched by Bitcoin Argentina's president Ricardo Mihura at LABITCONF 2023 in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires on Nov. 10. Bitcoin Argentina previously dismissed the idea that the industry needed to be regulated. However, the Bitcoin advocates now argue it is necessary to not only preserve blockchain but also hold bad actors accountable to the fullest extent of the law. “We have always rejected attempts to regulate the crypto economy, but this time we set ourselves the goal of giving a positive response, with only two purposes: preserving decentralization and protecting savings and public trust.” Mihura added: “We cannot close our eyes to the...

World Mobile announces the completion of DeWi technology field tests in Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria, bringing a full African rollout one step closer. Decentralized wireless (DeWi) network operator World Mobile said on June 8 it has completed field tests of its DeWi technology in Kenya, Mozambique, and Nigeria, bringing it closer to a full rollout across the African continent, the company said in the announcement. World Mobile, which aims to offer affordable and reliable internet access to rural areas that are traditionally under-served, said the tests in Kenya and Mozambique were carried out using TV White Space equipment, employing unused spectrum in the TV broadcast band to provide mobile network services. In Nigeria, the field test utilized SpaceX’s satellite internet system Starlink. According to the company, both TV White Space and Starlink are complementary technologies that enable World Mobile to employ existing infrastructure and spectrum resources to expand its network...

While the collapse of FTX shaved $100 billion off of BTC’s market cap in just four days last year, BTC has managed to fully recover and stack on another $65 billion. A 48% Bitcoin (BTC) price surge since the start of the year has pushed BTC's market cap past that of payment processing giant Visa once again. With the BTC price currently at $24,365, its market cap of $470.16 billion is now marginally above that of Visa, which has a market cap of $469.87 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. BTC has “flippened” Visa again. Source: CoinMarketCap. This is the third time that BTC has “flippened” the market cap of Visa, according to Companies Market Cap. The first time came in late December 2020, when BTC also happened to hit $25,000 for the first time. This was achieved during a price surge that saw BTC rally from $10,200 in September 2020 to $63,170 seven months later, in April 2021. Visa re-took the lead between June and October 2022, which then saw BTC surpass Visa for a very brief m...

Blockchains are decentralized, transparent, and increase the capacity of a whole network, while giving users full control of their data. Blockchain use cases have expanded far beyond cryptocurrency in the past years, with multiple industries embracing the technology in a wide range of fields, including healthcare, logistics, and financial services.  The hype has many reasons behind it. Blockchains are decentralized, transparent, and increase the capacity of a whole network, opening a window for solutions that require significant computational power. More importantly, it gives users the capacity to control their assets, including their data, without relying on third parties. As blockchain evolves, companies across the world are working to find the best ways to implement the technology on a range of applications. Cointelegraph reached out to projects that are disrupting industries and bringing blockchain closer to people's daily lives to get some further insights. Healthcare on the...

The community is hopeful that the assertion by the CFTC will put to bed claims that staked coins are securities according to the Howey Test. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has again labeled Ether (ETH) as a commodity in a Dec. 13 court filing — in contrast to statements from chief Rostin Behnam on Nov. 30 suggesting that Bitcoin was the sole cryptocurrency that should be viewed as a commodity. According to the CFTC, as per their filing today, ETH is a commodity . This really should put any Security designation to rest. pic.twitter.com/PkHWredNK4 — Hal Press (@NorthRockLP) December 13, 2022 In its lawsuit against Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX, and sister company Alameda Research, the regulator on multiple occasions referred to Ether, Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) "among others" as "commodities" under United States law. “Certain digital assets are “commodities,” including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), tether (USDT) and others, as defined under Section 1a...

Web3 technologies are changing the way we engage with various forms of entertainment and ownership is at the heart of it. Web3 is uprooting traditional entertainment industries with a new way of creating and engaging with digital content. The industry has already seen nonfungible tokens (NFTs) display the potential to transform how television scheduled programming can be created. Increased metaverse activity began challenging artists with new possibilities for performances and connectivity with their fans. All the use cases of Web3 technology upgrading the future of digital entertainment include one key component: ownership. Ownership is one of the defining characteristics that distinguishes Web3 activity from its predecessor.  According to professionals in the industry, it will also be a defining characteristic not only of Web3 but of the future of digital entertainment. Cointelegraph spoke with Mitch Liu, CEO of the media and entertainment-centric blockchain Theta Labs, on what u...