BlockShow, a major global conference devoted to the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, is making a comeback after four years, joining forces with BlockDown Festival — powered by public relations agency EAK Digital — to bring a festival-like Web3 event to Hong Kong in 2024.

First launched in 2016, BlockShow is backed by the blockchain industry publication Cointelegraph and will work closely with EAK to produce the BlockShow X BlockDown, the Asia edition, which will take place at Hong Kong’s government-backed Cyberport venue. Known for hosting prominent Web3 companies such as Animoca Brands, Cyberport is the Silicon Valley of Hong Kong and will be the primary venue for the main…

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Veteran members of the Algorand proof-of-stake blockchain ecosystem have banded together to launch a new iteration of the open-source code, called Voi, which is currently in testnet.

Leading the new project is Chris Swenor, co-founder of both Reach, a blockchain development platform and the Algorand decentralized exchange (DEX) HumbleSwap.

Work on Voi began in 2022, with a premise that the blockchain should better align incentives with its community of developers and users, and motivated by Swenor’s frustration with perceived shortcomings within the crypto industry.

“I looked around and I was so frustrated that I saw that [venture capitalists] and the early builders owned over 90%…

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Crypto exchange OKX’s nonfungible token (NFT) arm surpassed the 24-hour trading volume of other prominent NFT marketplaces like OpenSea, Blur and Magic Eden. 

On Dec. 18, the OKX NFT marketplace recorded a daily trading volume of around $50 million at around 10:00 am UTC, according to decentralized applications (DApp) data tracker DappRadar. 

At the time of writing, the platform’s trading volume has dropped to $35 million. However, OKX’s NFT arm is still ahead of its competitors Blur, Magic Eden and OpenSea, which have a combined 24-hour trading volume of around $24 million. 

24-hour NFT trading volume by marketplace. Source: DappRadar

The NFT marketplaces’ trading volume surged…

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The Canadian Bitcoin mining firm Hut 8 has signed an interim agreement to launch a new mining site in Cedarvale, Texas, in connection with the Celsius Network bankruptcy proceedings.

Announcing the news on Dec. 18, Hut 8 said that the mining site will house almost 66,000 miners and will be powered by more than 215 megawatts (MW) of energy.

Hut 8 president Asher Genoot said that the agreement targets a “twofold” goal, which is to build equity with creditors of Celsius while also growing the strength of the managed services business. “We anticipate having more than 895 MW of infrastructure under our umbrella once the site is up and running,” the executive noted.

Under the interim…

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While the crypto community eagerly awaits the possible approval of a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States,  some ETF analysts are warning this could potentially trigger unwanted consequences for cryptocurrency exchanges.

Several industry observers have predicted that a spot BTC ETF could start trading in early 2024, an event that, paired with Bitcoin’s fourth halving expected in April, Blockstream CEO Adam Back believes could propel BTC to $100,000 .

Bitcoin proponents such as Jan3 CEO Samson Mow have said that SEC approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. could even drive Bitcoin as high as $1 million in the “days to weeks” following.

But the…

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The metaverse technology company Improbable has announced in an end-of-the-year statement on Dec. 18 that it had sold its Web3 gaming venture, The Multiplayer Group, to Keywords Studios for £76.5 million ($97.1 million).

Herman Narula, the co-founder and CEO of Improbable, called Keywords “a like-minded business partner” and said he was delighted to see MPG embark on a new chapter. Keywords works with large names in the gaming industry, such as Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Zenimax, Epic, and 2K.

“Nurturing and fostering ventures across Sports, Web3 and fashion is at the heart of our philosophy and allows us to realize lasting value.”

Narula said this deal is a part of its…

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