Scams facilitated on BNB Smart Chain (BSC) decreased from $55.4 million in the second quarter of 2023 to $13.6 million in the third quarter, according to an AvengerDAO report contributed to by security firm HashDit. This represents a 75% drop in the amount lost to scams.

According to the security firm’s analysis, the drop can be attributed to various factors, including an increase in overall awareness among community members, an uptrend in security products flagging malicious websites and activities, and community members identifying scams early and giving warnings before the scammers can succeed.

Amount lost to BSC scams in 2023. Source: HashDit

Despite the drop, rug pulls represented…

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Fiat payment rails and neobanking services are becoming a vital cog in driving mainstream adoption and acceptance of the wider cryptocurrency space, according to key industry figures at the intersection of traditional finance and Web3.

Executives from OpenPayd, Ramp Network and Damex unpacked the increasing importance of third-party payment rails and banking platforms in conversation with Cointelegraph during the recent European Blockchain Convention hosted in Barcelona.

OpenPayd CEO Iana Dimitrova outlined how their firm processes over €3 billion of monthly transaction volume and has issued over 2 million accounts, including several prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, including the…

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Bitcoin (BTC) transaction fees are at their highest in nearly six months as a new wave of inscriptions boosts competition for block space.

Data from statistics resource BitInfoCharts shows the average BTC transaction fee approaching $6 as of Nov. 7.

Ordinals taking up Bitcoin mempool again

The return of Bitcoin ordinals is making its presence felt this week as on-chain transactions attract highly-elevated fees.

In an environment reminiscient of Q2 this year, blockspace is being taken up by ordinals inscriptions.

Ordinals are non-fungible tokens (NFTs) which store data directly on the blockchain. BRC-20 ordinals can add significant transaction numbers for Bitcoin miners to process on-chain,…

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Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is not allowing political campaigns and advertisers to use its generative artificial intelligence (AI) advertising tools, a company spokesperson said in a Reuters exclusive report. 

On Nov. 6 Meta updated its help center to reflect the decision. In a note explaining how the tools work, the company said as it tests new generative AI ads creation tools in its Ads Manager, “advertisers running campaigns that qualify as ads for Housing, Employment or Credit or Social Issues, Elections, or Politics, or related to Health, Pharmaceuticals or Financial Services aren’t currently permitted to use these Generative AI features.”

“We believe… Read more on Cointelegraph

Cryptocurrency intelligence firm Glassnode has said it’s dropping crypto tax-related projects to focus on new solutions targeting institutional investors and decentralized finance (DeFi).

Glassnode, on Nov. 6 announced the sale of its crypto-focused tax platform known as Accointing to the European crypto compliance provider Blockpit. The firms declined to disclose the size of the deal to Cointelegraph, only revealing that the transaction was a “multimillion-dollar deal.”

“Glassnode will exit the crypto tax space with the sale of Accointing to Blockpit,” a spokesperson said, adding that the deal enables the firm to deepen its focus on delivering new Digital Asset Intelligence…

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The Simpsons roasts NFTs in new Halloween episode

Animated television series The Simpsons spent an entire segment mocking nonfungible tokens (NFTs) during the latest 34th annual Treehouse of Horror Halloween special, in a segment called “Wild Barts Can’t Be Token.”

In the special, Homer accidentally mints Bart on the blockchain, and in the ensuing scenes, the creators poke fun at NFTs, all while referencing collections such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club, Doodles, as well as the viral digital artist Beeple.

Get ready for a non-fungible night in tomorrow’s #TreehouseOfHorror XXXIV on @FOXTV, next day on @hulu. pic.twitter.com/Y4cSiyp4kD

— The Simpsons (@TheSimpsons) November 4,…

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Ava Labs, the team behind the Avalanche Blockchain, has confirmed it laid off 12% of its employees in a recent wave of staff cuts, citing the need to reallocate its resources.

The firm’s founder and CEO Emin Gün Sirer confirmed the news on Nov. 7 after several former Ava Labs employees announced on X (formerly Twitter) they had been laid off.

“This reduction in force affected 12% of Ava Labs, and allows us to reallocate resources to double down on the growth of our firm and the Avalanche ecosystem,” Gün Sirer said.

Gün Sirer acknowledged that bear markets can be tough to navigate but iterated Ava Labs is well-positioned with significant runway and resources at its disposal.

Today we…

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A United States lawmaker wants to strip the Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler of his salary by paying him just $1 per year.

In a proposed amendment to the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG), Rep. Tim Burchett suggested that Gensler’s salary be brought down to $1, as part of wider proposal to defund the regulator.

First introduced on July 13 this year, the FSGG bill is a wide-ranging piece of legislation that aims to significantly reduce government spending across the board.

Rep. Burchett’s proposed amendment to the FSGG bill. Source: House Committee on Appropriations

It’s estimated that Gensler earns north of $300,000 per year for his duties as head of…

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OpenAI says it will cover the legal costs for business-tier ChatGPT users that find themselves in hot water over copyright infringement.

OpenAI is calling its pledge Copyright Shield which only covers users of its business-tier ChatGPT Enterprise and its developer platform. OpenAI isn’t covering users of the free and Plus ChatGPT versions.

On Nov. 6 at the company’s first developer conference DevDay, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said “we will step in and defend our customers and pay the costs incurred if you face legal claims around copyright infringement and this applies both to ChatGPT Enterprise and the API.”

Altman at OpenAI’s DevDay introducing its legal protection offer Copyright… Read more on Cointelegraph

Moody’s Analytics is launching a new stablecoin service that will use AI to predict probable depeggings “in a 24-hour time horizon” while providing real-time insights about stablecoin issuers’ liquidity and stability.

The stablecoin market is getting stabler, Moody’s observed in its Nov. 6 announcement for the launch of Digital Asset Monitor. 

So far in 2023, there have been 1,914 depeggings, of which 609 were of fiat-backed large-cap stablecoins. This compares with 2,847 in all of 2022, of which 707 were large-cap. While some correlation to rising interest rates can be observed, a number of coin-specific causes can also be detected, Moody’s said.

Schematic of Moody’s Digital… Read more on Cointelegraph