Web3 protocol Blast has reached $823 million in total value locked (TVL) just weeks after its controversial launch in mid-November, with a 26.5% gain over the past seven days, according to data from DefiLlama. 

Behind Blast’s speedy growth is its unique business model. The protocol is a scaling solution for the Ethereum network and offers native yields to users who stake their funds. Users staking are promised a 4% yield on Ether (ETH) and a 5% yield on stablecoins.

However, the protocol’s emergence has been marked by challenges and unpopular developments. On Nov. 30, Blast revealed that a user staking on the protocol saw $100,000 disappear after converting a deposit to DAI (DAI)….

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Raging crypto prices might have you gripped by fear of missing out. But no matter the frustration you’re feeling, Sam Bankman-Fried likely has it much worse.

The disgraced FTX founder has been holed up in the infamous Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center since he was found guilty of a mess of fraud charges last month — the same jail currently housing R. Kelly, Fetty Wap and the New York City subway attacker.

No doubt Bankman-Fried found trading crypto difficult since FTX went bust. Bail conditions meant he’d only have access to a flip phone that couldn’t connect to the internet and a laptop with limited functionality.

Before his $250 million bail was revoked in August due to…

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This week Bitcoin (BTC) price saw a shallow pullback, but the intra-day rally to the $44,000 level is an indication that the bulls are not hurrying to close their positions. Data from the popular HODL Waves metric shows that investors who purchased Bitcoin between December 2020 and December 2021 have been sitting on their coins.

Investors have not been selling into strength because they anticipate higher levels in the future. Asset manager VanEck said in its crypto predictions for 2024 that Bitcoin would make a new all-time high, buoyed by the “political events and regulatory shifts following a U.S. presidential election.”

Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source:…

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet approved an ETF that would hold bitcoin directly, though some expect that to soon change. 

The regulator is set to rule on a proposal by Ark Invest and 21Shares — and potentially similar filings by a dozen others — by Jan. 10. 

Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have said they believe the chance of spot bitcoin ETF approval by that date is about 90% — an estimate former SEC executive John Reed Stark recently called “absolutely absurd.”

The issuers hoping to launch these products range from the largest asset manager in the world, to smaller, more specialized firms. A Switzerland-based fund group threw its hat in the ring last…

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Starknet, a zk-proof-based Ethereum layer-2, is taking a significant step towards decentralizing its network and fostering community engagement.

The Starknet Foundation outlined its plan to distribute over 1.8 billion STRK tokens through various initiatives aimed at driving adoption and growth on its blockchain platform.

The token, which is not currently transferable or tradable, was first deployed on Ethereum in November 2022, and ever since speculation has been rife that the network would eventually conduct an aggressive program of community incentives and a retroactive airdrop targeting active Starknet users.

An X thread on Friday from the Starknet Foundation brought the contours of…

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Uphold, a leading digital asset platform for trading, staking, and custodying crypto, announced its new Vault product earlier this week. The announcement marked a significant advancement in digital asset custody, enabling Vault users to recover their digital assets without their private keys.

Vault, introduced as an assisted self-custody wallet, seeks to bridge the gap between the convenience of centralized applications and the security offered by self-custody solutions. Traditionally, crypto users faced a dilemma: the autonomy and control of self-custody, risking loss of assets due to misplaced keys, or the ease of use provided by centralized exchanges, compromising the decentralized…

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Bitcoin (BTC) tapped $40,000 after the Dec. 8 Wall Street open as United States employment data shrunk market bets on interest rate cuts.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingViewBitcoin holds firm as jobs data unsettles U.S. dollar

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView covered the latest BTC price action as risk assets reacted to the latest U.S. inflation cues.

Nonfarm payrolls came in above expectations at 199,000 versus 190,000, while unemployment was lower than forecast at 3.7% versus 3.9%, per an official release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Both suggested that the full impact of Federal Reserve monetary tightening had yet to show itself, and while other data…

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