Author's column

Taproot is a Bitcoin soft fork that will enhance privacy and script execution. It is also connected with the Schnorr soft fork, which will improve scalability, transaction speed and encode multiple keys into one. This fall will mark an important milestone in Bitcoin development, as the activation of Taproot on the main Bitcoin network presumably…

First popularized in 2017, ICOs are back again in a somewhat new form. Really though, it’s essentially the same, only even a little riskier than before. And yes, they are now called IDOs. IDO is an initial project token offering on a decentralized exchange, another way of public fundraising. There is no official definition of…

The United Arab Emirates has included the development of a national digital currency (CBDC) as a point in the country’s Central Bank development strategy for 2023-2026. But the path there was not easy: initially, it was conceived of as a monetary unit for several Arab countries at once. In early July, it became known that…

The financial world is rapidly getting rebuilt using blockchain. China is ahead of its geopolitical rivals, having already adopted the digital yuan; and both businesses and private investors are putting billions in crypto and DeFi with zero central bank regulations. In these conditions, the Fed and the ECB are forced to accelerate. I confess that…

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to traditional currencies in order to prevent volatility, and the financial authorities all over the globe have mixed feelings about them. On the one hand, these are still cryptocurrencies, and therefore are fraught with potential danger. On the other hand, they seem to confirm the authority of fiat currencies, so prohibiting…

Though not one of the Gulf states, Turkey is a Muslim country with a significant influence over the entire region. And therefore, the cryptocurrency-related events there are also very important for all blockchain projects in the Middle East. On July 19, the Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance announced that the cryptocurrency bill is ready…