Asset manager Blackrock sees “very little interest” among clients in crypto beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and doesn’t foresee many crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) outside of those two core digital assets, according to Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, speaking at the Bitcoin2024 conference on July 25 in Nashville, Tennessee. “I would say…

Numerico leverages the synergy of AI and blockchain with advanced tools and a layer-2 network to empower crypto newcomers and developers. The introduction of artificial intelligence has a profound impact on the crypto ecosystem, and it’s only going to expand, given the amount of investment and effort being put into using AI within the context…

Venture funding for Web3 startups is stabilizing after a year-long decline that started in 2023, with crypto ventures locking up some $2 billion in financing in the second quarter of 2024, according to Crunchbase. The Q2 numbers are only modestly higher than the $1.8 billion raised in the prior quarter but reverse a downtrend that…

Spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are off to a strong start after pulling upward of $100 million in net inflows on July 23, the funds’ first day of trading, but they fell short of Bitcoin’s epic ETF debut in January and may struggle to catch up, according to analysts who spoke with Cointelegraph. The spot…

A major topic in crypto in 2024 is the number of layer-2 (L2) blockchains created on top of the Ethereum network. Major nonfungible token (NFT) collections such as Pudgy Penguins, Bored Ape Yacht Club and Azuki have announced their own L2s — in addition to numerous traditional companies such as Fox Corporations and Flipkart. This sudden surge in L2s…

A Bitcoin mining device with a hashrate of only 500 gigahashes per second (Gh/s) managed to mine a block on July 24, according to an X post from Bitcoin mining device retailer Altair Technology. The block is worth approximately $206,000 based on the current Bitcoin price. “Congratulations to the miner who likely mined the first…

Algorithmic crypto trading firm Wintermute is in talks with investors to raise new capital, according to a report. A deal worth between $100 million and $300 million could be in the works. Chinese social media conglomerate Tencent is among the investors considering the deal, Bloomberg and The Information reported on July 19. The deal would…

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has introduced a new cryptographic protocol called Circle STARKs that promises to improve blockchain security and efficiency. In his latest post, Buterin explains that this technological leap utilizes smaller fields like Mersenne31 to significantly improve proving speed without compromising security measures. “The most important trend in STARK protocol design over the last…

Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are now officially trading on stock exchanges, and the preliminary inflow data for the first 15 minutes of trading has been revealed by analysts. According to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, Bitwise outperformed its competitors during the first quarter-hour of trading, recording $25.5 million in capital inflows, second only to…

The global blockchain industry is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Ethereum network’s initial coin offering (ICO). Ethereum started gaining traction in 2014 when co-founder Vitalik Buterin mentioned the project at a Bitcoin conference in Miami. On July 22, Ethereum launched its ICO, selling over $18 million worth of Ether paid for in Bitcoin. Ethereum has come a long way…