In their quest for scalability and cost-effectiveness, many layer-2 networks adopt a centralized approach to on-chain transaction processing, introducing a single point of failure vulnerability. The Metis blockchain, however, has pioneered a distributed sequencer pool to improve security and decentralization. The Ethereum blockchain introduced smart contracts to automate certain events on the network, laying the foundation of decentralized finance (DeFi)….

Swiss asset manager Pando Asset has become an unexpected late entrant into the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) race in the United States. On the same day, investment giant BlackRock met with the country’s securities regulator to pitch an updated ETF model based on the agency’s feedback. On Nov. 29, Pando submitted a Form S-1 to the Securities…

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has long been the home of crypto for traditional finance investors, and this is unlikely to change — even with the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF. Activity on the CME has expanded significantly over the past 12 months. The CME now sees more Bitcoin futures trading than the world’s biggest crypto exchange,…

Crypto investment platforms eToro and M2 received various degrees of approval to offer their services in the United Arab Emirates from the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority, which oversees the UAE’s international financial center, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). EToro received approval for a Financial Services Permission (FSP) that allows a provider to operate as…

Bitcoin mining is a “critical tool” for clean energy and balancing the grid, according to a new working paper penned by Bitcoin advocates and the former president of ERCOT, the operator of Texas’ electrical grid. The Nov. 22 paper titled “Leveraging Bitcoin Miners as Flexible Load Resources for Power System Stability and Efficiency” argued that Bitcoin mining’s…

British multinational bank Standard Chartered will partake in trials of China’s digital yuan central bank digital currency (CBDC), the e-CNY, one of the first foreign banks to do so in the country. According to the Nov. 27 announcement, Standard Chartered, through its partner City Bank Clearing Services Co, will allow its clients to purchase, exchange and…