The New Jersey General Assembly may consider a bill that would decide when a digital asset or virtual currency is a security under state law. 

All virtual currencies issued and sold to institutional investors would be considered securities in the U.S. state of New Jersey under the bill introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr. on Nov. 29. According to the short text of the bill, the legislation would supplement the New Jersey Uniform Securities Law, which currently makes no mention of virtual, digital or cryptocurrency.

The bill pertains only to institutional investors, which are defined as “a company or organization that invests money on behalf of other people.” It also…

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Using blockchain in finance to establish more efficient markets is one of the technology’s most logical applications. Whether you call it decentralized finance, open finance, or simply crypto, there are benefits to its enhanced transparency, automated accounting and reduced counterparty risk.

The trillion-dollar question is, where are the apps to onboard the masses?

Heron Finance, an US Securities and Exchange Commission-registered investment advisor (RIA), is swooping in to provide investors with a robo-advisor for private credit markets via the Goldfinch protocol, both of which are developed by Warbler Labs.

It’s a bid to democratize access to an asset class previously reserved…

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IBM announced the launch of IBM Hyper Protect Offline Signing Orchestrator (OSO), an air-gapped cold storage solution for digital assets, on Dec. 5. 

Working with digital asset manager Metaco, an IBM partner and Ripple subsidiary, and tier-1 banks, IBM developed the end-to-end asset encryption service to address common vulnerabilities found in typical cold storage solutions.

Per an IBM blog post:

“When it comes to offline or physically air-gapped cold storage, there are limitations, including privileged administrator access, operational costs and errors and the inability to truly scale. All these limitations are due to one underlying factor—human interaction.” Cold storage

IBM…

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Bitcoin soared past $43,000 Tuesday afternoon, extending a rally some crypto analysts say is just the beginning. 

Bitcoin, up more than 160% year-to-date, hit highs not seen since April 2022 Tuesday, rallying close to 4% in 24 hours. Ether (ETH) similarly posted gains of close to 3%, moving the price to just under $2,300, also a level not hit since April 2022. 

“[Bitcoin] dominance has risen as Bitcoin has strengthened its position as a global macro asset and demand for alternative stores of value has increased,” Hal Press, founder and CEO of North Rock Digital, wrote in a recent market outlook. “Demand has been mainly driven by [bitcoin] BTC’s more consistent price…

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Bitcoin (BTC) clipped $44,000 later on Dec. 5 as the Wall Street trading session delivered more snap BTC price gains.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingViewBitcoin applies more pressure to the bears

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed a fresh round of upside for Bitcoin as it outpaced altcoins to reach $44,011 on Bitstamp.

Taking week-to-date gains to 10%, this marked its highest levels since early April 2022, and represented a key challenge to significant resistance.

As noted by popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital, $44,000 constitutes the high point of a range which has occurred several times since early 2021.

“Bitcoin has successfully revisited the Range…

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North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry, chair of the United States House Financial Services Committee and a proponent of many pieces of crypto-focused legislation, will be retiring from Congress.

In a Dec. 5 statement, McHenry said he would not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives and is expected to leave Congress in January 2025. He will have served for 20 years as a representative at the time of his departure, having been sworn in January 2005.

“This is not a decision I come to lightly, but I believe there is a season for everything and — for me — this season has come to an end,” said McHenry. “There are many smart and capable members who remain, and…

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What happened: On Monday a total of 10,117.98 Ether ETH/USD worth $23,145,481, based on the current value of Ethereum at time of publication ($2,287.56), was burned from Ethereum transactions. Burning is when a coin or token is sent to an unusable wallet to remove it from circulation.

Why it matters: On August 5th, 2021, the Ethereum blockchain implemented an important upgrade known as EIP-1159. This Ethereum improvement proposal changed the fee model drastically. Now each transaction includes a variable base fee that adjusts according to the current demand for block space. This base fee is burned, or permanently removed from circulation, lowering the supply of Ether forever.

See Also: How…

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Since its 2019 launch, the Helium Network has used tokens to reward individuals deploying nodes via its growing decentralized wireless network. On Tuesday, the network’s developer announced that users throughout the US can now tap into unlimited data, talk and text for $20 per month through cell service provided by Helium Mobile in tandem with T-Mobile. 

Nova Labs, the company behind the Helium Network, has been building to the nationwide phone plan launch since partnering with T-Mobile in Sep. 2022. But the milestone comes with the question of how Nova Labs can generate revenue from the notoriously unprofitable Helium Network. 

The Helium Network is designed for individuals to run…

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