The primary malfunction in our modern-day monetary systems is the lack of ability to opt out. A citizen cannot raise their hand and proclaim, “I choose not to participate in this system which I was randomly assigned by birth.” 

While one might argue that we (in most Western climes) can invest in alternative assets or currencies, the underlying truth remains that the dominant monetary system is thrust upon citizens without a genuine choice.

Assets in your brokerage account can be (and have been) seized. Your physical property can be repossessed by the State for whatever reason they declare. A citizen may not even be safe housing physical gold due to the complexities of storage and…

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In the rapidly evolving world of cryptocurrencies, it is critical to secure one’s digital assets. A crucial element of crypto security is storing a backup of private keys. Private keys are the keys to one’s crypto kingdom, and losing them can cause an irreversible loss of money. 

This article will explain the importance of private keys, the risks they pose and the different ways to safely backup keys.

What are private keys?

In the world of cryptocurrency, every digital wallet is built upon a foundation of cryptographic keys, forming an essential element of its structure. These keys, unique to every user, play a pivotal role in securing one’s assets.

The private key, functioning akin…

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The web3 social company Sleek announced a $5 million seed round — alongside plans for a platform where experts can tokenize their knowledge.

Sleek’s is at least the fourth crypto social startup fundraise announced this week, per CryptoRank. The raise saw participation from Binance Labs and Shima Capital among others.

Earlier this year, Sleek debuted business cards that can share Telegram contact info and display NFTs when put in proximity to a phone. The company has been on an apparent crypto conference tour in 2023, sharing its in-person networking tool.

With the fresh funding, Sleek says it is releasing a marketplace for domain experts in the first half of 2024.

The company told…

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The global exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider WisdomTree filed an amended S-1 form spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF prospectus with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Nov. 16.

The update comes a few months after WisdomTree refiled its spot Bitcoin ETF application in June 2023, proposing a rule change to list and trade shares of the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust on the BZX Exchange by Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).

The amended prospectus mentions that the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust ETF will trade under a ticker symbol BTCW, with Coinbase Custody Trust serving as the custodian and will hold all of the trust’s Bitcoin on its behalf.

According to Bloomberg ETF analyst…

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With more than a month left before the end of 2023, the United States crypto industry has already spent $20 million on lobbying efforts. In the last year, the total sum stood at $22.2 million. 

According to the CoinGecko report, published on Nov. 14, the U.S. crypto lobby has spent $20.19 million in 2023 to date, and this data doesn’t include the Q4 numbers. That means the total amount of lobby spending this year would probably exceed last year’s numbers, which were an absolute record for the American crypto industry.

Between 2019 and 2020, the total lobbying budget of the U.S. crypto companies fluctuated between $2.5 million and $3 million, which accounted for less than 3% of the…

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DeFi platform Sushi has partnered with interoperability platform ZetaChain to explore the possibility of native Bitcoin swaps for its users across 30 different blockchain networks.

Sushi’s deployment of its decentralized exchange (DEX) on ZetaChain is touted to enable trading of BTC without wrapping across several blockchains in what the team describes as a “native, decentralized and permissionless manner”.

The integration is set to include Sushi’s v2 and v3 automated market makers and Sushi’s cross-chain swap SushiXSwap.

ZetaChain core contributor Ankur Nandwani tells Cointelegraph that the partnership can bring Bitcoin’s vast user base to the DeFi sector in a native manner….

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A pilot program for a live Singapore dollar-based central bank digital currency (CBDC) was unveiled by Singapore’s central bank with a wholesale CBDC to be used by local banks for settlements.

 “I am pleased to announce that MAS will pilot the ‘live’ issuance of wholesale CBDCs to instantaneously settle payments across commercial banks,” MAS Managing Director Ravi Menon said on Nov. 16 at the Singapore Fintech Festival.

The MAS had previously only simulated the issuance of a CBDC in test environments, Menon said the central bank would soon partner with Singaporean banks to test using a CBDC as a settlement asset for domestic payments.

As part of the test program, Menon explained…

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