Crypto

Every four years (usually), the world comes together in a celebration of sport and competition at the Olympic Games. In the spirit of Tokyo 2020, let’s look at countries that are deserving of gold medals across different spheres of the cryptocurrency and blockchain space.The variety of sports featured at the Olympics have changed over the years, and the current summer Olympics in Japan features a total of 33 different sports. Exciting competitions like skateboarding and surfing were added for Japan as the global showpiece continues to evolve and adopt different sports.The cryptocurrency and blockchain space is similar in this regard. Many different working parts make for a colorful community both united and divided by their preferences of cryptocurrencies and blockchain platforms.Let’s take a look at which countries and institutions take home gold medals in their respective crypto and blockchain codes.Gold for Bitcoin adoption goes to… El SalvadorSports often have fans cheering for the underdog and El Salvador has emerged as one of those lesser-known players that have burst onto the global stage in 2021. The Central American country grabbed headlines this year as it officially became the first in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender. Without delving too deep into the specifics, El Salvador’s congress voted to pass President Nayib Bukele’s Bitcoin Law which recognizes Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender alongside the United States dollar, with 62 of a total 84 votes in agreement with the new legislation.  The law allows citizens to pay for goods and services in Bitcoin, and Bukele also stated that the Salvadoran government will guarantee the convertibility of BTC into USD at the time of any given transaction. The government plans to airdrop $30 worth of BTC to every citizen later this year.There have been critics of the law change both locally and abroad, but the overall sentiment seems positive for the adoption of Bitcoin and a change of perception toward the preeminent cryptocurrency. Nevertheless, there are a few final hurdles that lie ahead for the country. Firstly, the International Monetary Fund has issued its own warning about the potential downsides of countries adopting Bitcoin that currently have unstable inflation rates. Secondly, some citizens of El Salvador have also expressed their skepticism of the move. A survey undertaken at the beginning of July involving 1,233 citizens revealed that nearly half of the respondents knew nothing about Bitcoin. Of the poll takers, 20% agreed with the move, highlighting the need for an educational campaign to complement the progressive move to make BTC a legal tender in the country.Change is often met with uncertainty and resistance, but in terms of progression and adoption, El Salvador takes the gold medal in this first category.Switzerland takes silver in the category, thanks to its crypto-friendly laws that have boosted the use of cryptocurrencies and companies working in the space. The USA clinches the bronze medal thanks to the efforts of Miami’s Bitcoin-friendly mayor Francis Suarez, who’s been driving various initiatives to promote the use of BTC.China leads the CBDC race, but anti-crypto policies lead to disqualificationChina has been a powerhouse at the Olympics over the past two decades with its sporting program producing a fine pedigree of Olympic weightlifters, gymnasts, divers, shooters and martial artists. In the world of cryptocurrencies, the story is quite different.China has taken a stern stance toward cryptocurrencies and has continued this policy in 2021, with its outright ban of mining completely rebalancing the Bitcoin mining ecosystem as a result. Interestingly enough, the nation is far ahead of the world when it comes to the race to develop a fully-fledged central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Over the past 18 months, China has piloted and rolled out significant testing of its Digital Currency Electronic Payment, or DCEP.   Colloquially known as the digital yuan, citizens began testing the facility through lotteries that award a small number of participants in various cities with digital yuan, which they could use through a mobile app to pay for goods and services at thousands of participating vendors.There is no denying that China has blazed the trail for the development, testing and roll-out of its CBDC. In the same breath, the DCEP is a government-controlled program, and the specifics of the technology and systems powering the digital yuan are shrouded in mystery.However, China’s recent ban on mining in different regions and its zero tolerance of cryptocurrency exchanges means that despite its well-developed CBDC program, it falls out of the reckoning for a medal. Luckily, a number of other countries have also made significant strides in developing their own CBDCs. In the world of sports, fans often get behind the underdog, and this is certainly the case with the Bahamas and its Sand Dollar CBDC. The country has made significant strides with the development and testing of its very own CBDC and became the first country to go live in October 2020.The Sand Dollar ecosystem continues to onboard more local banks and financial institutions, paving the way for widespread adoption of the CBDC and a fully digital payment environment. The Bahamas is the deserving recipient of the gold medal in this category.Sweden has begun its first trial of pilot testing the e-krona CBDC with a couple of local banks and external participants. As it continues testing its system with local financial institutions, Sweden earns the silver medal in this category.Cambodia and Ukraine have been credited for their own CBDC development programs by a recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, sharing the bronze medal in this category.North America in the race for gold in Bitcoin miningChina was undoubtedly the gold medal incumbent of Bitcoin mining but this is quickly changing in 2021. Recent estimates saw China account for more than 70% of the global hash rate before various mining operations were forced to shutter in June.Those firms that were able to quickly look for greener pastures would welcome their mining equipment. While various countries in Asia would be the closest locale to relocate to, North America is quickly becoming the new hub of cryptocurrency mining.Research from the Cambridge Centre for…

This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry’s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations.  It was a tumultuous week in China outside the financial world with severe flooding hitting Zhengzhou and typhoon In-Fa lashing into cities around Shanghai. Even worse, a COVID-19 Delta-variant outbreak in Nanjing is now threatening to disrupt the relatively open lifestyle that residents have enjoyed since strict anti-infection measures got the initial outbreak under control in early 2020.  Shanghai city skyline (Pexels)Trouble in paradise?Inside the Chinese financial world, government regulations on tech and education companies sent the local stock markets tumbling, which may have had an indirect role in the sharp rebound for cryptocurrency prices. The reminder that regulators can suddenly crush an industry might hurt the confidence of A-shares investors, driving more money back to alternative investments like Bitcoin. In any event, there is a lot on the government’s plate, so cryptocurrency shouldn’t be a huge focus these days.Selling the rumors in advanceThe volumes certainly supported this trend as Huobi and OKEx saw increases for the second week in a row. Despite rumors that more crackdowns might be on the way for exchanges, things have been quiet on the regulatory front. The platform tokens for both OKEx and Huobi recovered impressively. HT, which had dropped around 80% since mid-May, suddenly rebounded around 45%, making investors question whether the worst of the regulatory action was behind them. If nothing else, the rumors are becoming more and more priced in by this point, meaning there is less to fear from new announcements. As one of the catalysts for the news, Huobi hinted at their upcoming PrimePool, which should allow users to mine the tokens of new projects using HT or other tokens. The Axie token AXS remained a popular asset to trade as it stayed in the top five on Huobi for most of the week. NFT gaming has yet to really take off in China, although projects like Polygon are still actively pushing the metaverse trend in the region. Wiping the slateOn July 27, Huobi announced its China-based entity had been dissolved. As nearly all operations have gone overseas, this decision could be a step towards becoming disentangled with Chinese regulators. Huobi stated that it was the entity registered in Beijing all the way back in 2013 and that it was not the current operating entity of Huobi Global. According to the same article, OKEx is also in the process of dissolving a previously-used registered company.With miners and exchanges now mostly abroad and out from under the control of Beijing, future policies can only really target the retail trading and usage of cryptocurrencies. Bobby Lee, who founded one of the earliest Bitcoin exchanges in China, discussed the possibility of an outright ban, saying it could happen in 4-5 years. Lee is now the CEO of wallet company Ballet and remains an active figure in the cryptocurrency space.Looking for greener pasturesBinance’s CZ  revealed in an interview with SCB 10X that he is looking for a new Binance CEO who he hopes will have a “very strong regulatory background.” CZ first disclosed his departure earlier this year when he said he hoped to step down as CEO in the next two to five years to fully focus on developing the BNB and Binance Smart Chain ecosystem and now his plans to “step down” seem even more accelerated. Vitalik Buterin makes a virtual appearance at World Blockchain Conference (Source: Ben Yorke)Happening in HangzhouThis developing tech region of Hangzhou was the stage as the World Blockchain Conference took place on July 24 and 25. This is one of the larger events on the blockchain calendar and with a focus on blockchain technology and technical development, received the support of local government organizations. The event had a lot of hype preceding it, due to digital keynotes from speakers like Vitalik Buterin and Sam Bankman-Fried. However, the close proximity of Typhoon In-Fa resulted in a lower turnout and more subdued activities. Buterin laid out his future vision for Ethereum, painting an ambitious picture of upcoming developments. A number of projects held side events in Hangzhou, including leading DeFi wallet ImToken and smart contract protocol Avalanche.Top it up with CBDCsShenzhen residents can now use the e-CNY on buses and subways, according to a story on People.cn. Citizens are encouraged to actively use the central bank digital currency on public transportation for what is being called “green” travel. Citizens scan the code in the local transportation app and scan it when entering or exiting the vehicle or station. At the same time, citizens can use the e_CNY to top up their local travel cards.This news will not be welcomed warmly by President of ASI Rich Checkan, who earlier this week suggested that CBDCs were “concocted in hell by Satan himself.” His strong words are likely aimed at countries like China, where government plays a strong role in both financial institutions and the tech sector. 

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.Top Stories This Week SpaceX owns Bitcoin, Elon Musk and Nic Carter believe BTC is becoming greenerElon Musk, Dogecoin (DOGE) proponent and fair-weather friend to Bitcoin (BTC), revealed for the first time on July 21 that his aerospace firm SpaceX owns an undisclosed amount of Bitcoin. “I do own Bitcoin; Tesla owns Bitcoin; SpaceX owns Bitcoin,” he said.  Musk was speaking at “The ₿ Word” — a virtual event dedicated to Bitcoin — alongside Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood, and the erratic tech billionaire suggested Tesla was on the verge of accepting the cryptocurrency again following promising signs that the percentage of renewable energy used for mining was increasing.Tesla’s $1.5 billion foray into Bitcoin earlier this year sparked a major BTC price rally. However, Tesla’s suspension of Bitcoin as a payment method over environmental concerns in May appeared to tank the price of Bitcoin, with BTC crashing around 40% over the past two months.  Now that there is a diminishing Chinese coal-powered hash rate after the mining ban, it appears that Musk is warming up to digital gold again. Musk has stated that, after he does a bit more “due diligence” on mining sustainability and can confirm it’s backed by 50% renewables or more, Tesla may re-enter the market. One wonders what said due diligence this entails, and why he didn’t do it before the $1.5 billion Tesla BTC buy. Musk also revealed, for the first time, that he holds Ethereum (ETH), and unsurprisingly reaffirmed his support for the meme-inspired Dogecoin. “I do personally own a bit of Ethereum, and Dogecoin of course,” he said. Daily Dogecoin volume soared to nearly $1B during Q2Speaking of Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, trading volume for Dogecoin increased by more than 13 times during the second quarter of 2021, nearly tagging $1 billion daily.According to data compiled by Coinbase and reported by Business Insider, Dogecoin trading volumes soared 1,250% between April and June, with $995 million worth of DOGE changing hands daily on average during the quarter.By comparison, Dogecoin’s average daily volume for the first quarter of 2021 was $74 million.While those figures are sure to spark hype among the fiery-eyed Dogecoin community, the subject of the top canine coin may be a touchy one for Coinbase. A Coinbase user has filed a class-action lawsuit seeking $5 million in damages because of an allegedly misleading Dogecoin campaign.According to court documents, plaintiff David Suski said he was deceived into trading $100 of Dogecoin for entry into a $1.2 million sweepstakes offer on Coinbase. The lawsuit asserts that Coinbase failed to communicate that a person could enter the sweepstakes without purchasing $100 of Dogecoin. Ethereum must innovate beyond just DApps for DeFi degens: Vitalik ButerinEthereum co-founder and lead developer Vitalik Buterin has urged the Ethereum community to innovate beyond the confines of decentralized finance, or DeFi.Buterin was speaking during his keynote at the Ethereum Community Conference in Paris on July 21, and described non-financial utilities as “the most interesting part of the vision of general-purpose blockchains.”The 27-year-old outlined several non-financial applications for Ethereum, including decentralized social media, identity verification and attestation, and retroactive public goods funding.The Ethereum co-founder has had a busy week, and after speaking at the Ethereum conference, he also surfaced in Ashton Kutcher’s and Mila Kunis’ living room. He wasn’t trespassing of course, and was there as part of the promotion for Kunis’ NFT project dubbed “Stoner Cats.” Buterin launched into a lengthy explanation of Ethereum’s fundamental components and articulated how the smart contract protocol differs from “single-purpose” chains such as Bitcoin. Grayscale sets sights on institutional DeFi fundWhile Buterin is looking beyond the decentralized bounds of finance, digital asset management giant Grayscale is looking to gain exposure in the sector.  On July 19, Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale, announced a new investment vehicle aimed at DeFi assets.In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, the CEO chimed in to announce Grayscale’s plans for a DeFi Fund and index. Detailing the purpose of the new product, the Grayscale CEO said the fund would offer exposure to DeFi assets, such as Uniswap and Aave, for its institutional clients.During the same week, Sonnenshein stated he thinks that only a “couple of maturation points” separate the United States from its first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, or ETF.After many rejections of BTC ETFs in the past, along with 13 ETF applications under consideration, Sonnenshein is undeterred and said the firm is “100% committed” to transforming its Bitcoin product, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, into an ETF once conditions are right. US lawmakers don’t want Olympic athletes to use digital yuan at 2022 gamesDespite the majority of Japanese citizens reportedly wanting the Olympics canceled over pandemic-related concerns, the event is going ahead.The U.S. government has already got its eyes on the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, however, and three U.S senators signed a letter urging Olympic officials to forbid American athletes from using the digital yuan during the upcoming event earlier this week.In a July 19 letter to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee board chair Susanne Lyons, Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn, Roger Wicker and Cynthia Lummis, also a BTC proponent, requested that officials prevent U.S. athletes from using or accepting the digital yuan.The senators asserted that the athletes’ use of the central bank digital currency can be “tracked and traced” by the People’s Bank of China.The senators stated that the Chinese government recently rolled out new features for the digital yuan, giving officials the ability “to know the exact details of what someone purchased and where.”If Olympic officials approve of the request, China will, unfortunately, have to deploy other methods to track and trace the U.S. athletes that do enter the country.Winners and Losers  At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at $32,580, Ether at $2,070 and XRP at $0.60. The total market cap is at $1.35 trillion, based…

This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry’s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations.  Olympic battleAfter months of writing about the relentless actions of the Chinese government, this week we lead with a story from the US Government. On July 19, three US senators signed a letter addressed to the to U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, requesting US athletes not use the e-CNY in February’s Winter Olympic games in Beijing. The logic was that the digital currency would be traceable after the athletes returned to the US, in case China was interested in tracking foreign bi-athletes and bobsledders in their offseason training regiments. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian snapped back that the senators “should stop making troubles” and “figure out what a digital currency really is.” Zhao apparently believes that the US lawmakers might not be up-to-date on the latest in technology, something the crypto-enthusiasts on Twitter have been bemoaning for years. All sarcasm aside, this points to a growing trend of consumers being caught in geo-political struggles around technology, which could become a much larger issue as CBDCs become more prevalent. Users can choose to avoid certain hardware or apps that provide a data security risk, but avoiding the local currency will be a much more difficult choice to make. Cash use has dropped to a negligible amount in China, with the bulk of daily transactions being digital through Alipay and WeChat. Traveling or living in China without touching the digital currency will be a huge inconvenience, and one likely to not go over well with future generations.Leading the packOn July 19, Cointelegraph reported that Chinese Bitcoin miners had earned close to $7 billion dollars in the past year, ten times higher than miners in the second highest country, the US. This trend might be broken up slightly by the regulatory crackdown this year, but still shows the influence China has on the industry, especially if large Chinese companies can continue to set up operations in neighboring countries.  Axie Infinity’s token is taking off faster than the game in China (Source: Axie Infinity). Chinese volumes bounce backVolumes on Chinese exchanges Huobi and OKEx rebounded slightly compared to the same time last week, including on the derivatives side where the two exchanges made up around 44% of Binance’s volume, compared to only 38.7% at the same time the week before. Gaming token Axie Infinity remained a hot token for trading, and was the fourth-most traded token on Huobi on Thursday behind BTC, ETH, and DOGE. Actual gameplay hasn’t really taken off in China, and even though the site remains unblocked by the Great Firewall thus far, visits to the website are still scarce. Users from the Philippines make up 40% of website visitors, whereas China accounted for less than 3%. China boasts the largest gaming community in the world, but tight restrictions on cryptocurrencies is likely to limit the growth of public blockchain-based gaming for the time being. Speculating on gaming-related tokens, however, will likely remain a strong trend. It’s worth noting that in the short term, the regulations looming on the horizon makes betting on exchanges a risky proposition. Many rumors have swirled about upcoming action to be taken by Chinese regulators, particularly for repeat offenders in the area. Regulators in smaller countries seem to be waiting to see who will throw the first punch.  Non-fungible fossilsHong Kong’s most prominent newspaper South China Morning Post is launching an NFT platform aimed at historical news and items. This platform will let verified issuers mint and trade NFTs in an open marketplace. This should appeal to a broader audience of collectors and non-crypto native users in Southeast Asia, as well as a government interested in exporting soft power to the world. 

Rutger VanDerTas and Niels Broszat drop in from the Guild to chat with DKleine. Niels Broszat and DKleine begin by discussing the horrors of colonialism and the growing calls for reconciliation and compensation for victims of Canada’s residential school system. Rutger VanDerTas then joins in the conversation, which focuses on the Guild’s mission to promote inclusion and to be a force of positive transformation in society. The group then goes to on share personal projects and future plans. 

 “Clearly, the thing that’s transforming is not the technology — the technology is transforming you.” Jeanne Ross, formerly of the MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems ResearchIf El Salvador’s “Bitcoin Law” was “the shot heard round the world” for Bitcoin, then when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank questioned the legislation, it was the incumbent empire striking back. However, if El Salvador can implement its Bitcoin Law despite numerous technical and legal hurdles, it may force changes upon the organizations that oppose it and hasten reforms in how United States tax and commercial laws treat cryptocurrencies. The surprise shot heard round the worldAfter winning approval by a supermajority of its congress, El Salvador enacted its Bitcoin Law and became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. The Bitcoin Law passed mere days after El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, first announced his plans to introduce it. The short time between Bukele’s surprise announcement and the passage of the Bitcoin Law prevented opponents from blocking it.However, in a prescient series of tweets, Avanti Financial Group CEO and Bitcoin advocate Caitlin Long predicted “a big fight” over the Bitcoin Law and warned that “the world is about to pressure it [El Salvador] given what’s at stake.”  1/ THREAD ABOUT A HISTORIC DAY in #bitcoin: #ElSalvador president publicly announced support for legislation to make #BTC legal tender. *IF* it does become law, it wld have many secondary effects. Steel yourselves bc a big fight on this probably coming thohttps://t.co/BrrNxaLzpZ— Caitlin Long 🔑 (@CaitlinLong_) June 6, 2021 The IMF’s leverage and lending PoolsIndeed, the day after El Salvador passed the Bitcoin Law, the IMF claimed that the legislation raised “a number of macroeconomic, financial and legal issues that require careful analysis.” The World Bank, which frequently cooperates with the IMF, joined the fray and proclaimed that it had rejected El Salvador’s request for help with implementing its Bitcoin Law because of “environmental and transparency shortcomings.” While these proclamations from powerful Washington, DC-based multinational organizations embody the fight that Long predicted in her tweets, the Bitcoin Law’s forward momentum may hasten reform in how these organizations and laws in the United States address cryptocurrency.Based on its governing documents, the IMF is more likely to resist the Bitcoin Law by exerting economic pressure than by legally challenging the legislation of a sovereign nation. IMF member nations, including El Salvador, are bound by a code of conduct memorialized in the IMF Articles of Agreement. These articles require members to allow their currency to be exchanged for foreign currencies freely and without restriction, keep the IMF informed of changes in financial and monetary policies that will affect fellow members’ economies, and modify their policies to accommodate the needs of the entire membership. The IMF administers a pool of money from which its members can borrow “to help nations abide by the code of conduct” in its Articles of Agreement. In other words, the IMF enforces its articles through access to its lending pool.    Since El Salvador is seeking a $1.3 billion loan from the IMF to revitalize its economy, the IMF could attempt to restrict or withhold this important funding based on the Articles of Agreement. For example, the IMF could argue that it was not adequately informed in advance of the Bitcoin Law. It could also demand that El Salvador limit or modify the Bitcoin Law to accommodate “the needs of the entire membership.” However, it appears that concerns over punitive action by the IMF based on the “issues” it raised with the Bitcoin Law may have been overblown. After the IMF voiced its concerns, El Salvador’s finance minister, Alejandro Zelaya, assured the IMF that the country was not abandoning the U.S. dollar as a currency. Zelaya also stated that talks with the IMF were progressing well and claimed that the IMF did not have a problem with the Bitcoin Law. The IMF did not respond to Zelaya’s remarks, and so the jury is still out on what, if any, action the IMF may take in response to the Bitcoin Law.Assuming El Salvador stands by its Bitcoin Law, it will still need help implementing it. As drafted, the Bitcoin Law only allows 90 days for implementing measures to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country. While El Salvador already has a partnership with the private digital wallet company Strike to build the requisite infrastructure for the Bitcoin Law, the World Bank flatly rejected the country’s request for assistance.Potential World Bank implications of the Bitcoin LawAlthough the World Bank is refusing to assist with the Bitcoin Law, an informative article by Martin Rivers suggests that the legislation may force the World Bank to accept Bitcoin. Specifically, the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is governed by its founding document, its Articles of Agreement. Section 12 of Article V states that in lieu of accepting a member’s currency in certain cases, the Bank “shall accept […] notes or similar obligations issued by the Government of the member or the depository designated by such member.” Thus, the World Bank’s articles would require it to accept a note issued by El Salvador that is backed by its Bitcoin reserves. Section 9 of Article II further states that when the par value of holdings in a member’s currency appreciates, the World Bank must pay the gains back. If the opposite happens, the member must contribute additional currency to maintain the par value of its holdings. Consequently, if Bitcoin is deemed a local currency of El Salvador, the World Bank could be accumulating Bitcoin or paying El Salvador Bitcoin gains depending on cryptocurrency’s price action.The Central American Bank for Economic Integration expresses supportRegardless of the World Bank’s position on the Bitcoin Law, other banking organizations focused on Central America are offering to help implement it. For example, Dante Mossi, executive president of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), stated that the bank will give El Salvador technical assistance in implementing the Bitcoin Law.The CABEI has 15 member countries and…

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.Top Stories This Week New data hints why Bitcoin price action has spent two months at $30KBitcoin (BTC) posted another week of range-bound price action. Bitcoin has traded in a fairly tight range over the past several days, acting more like a volatile stablecoin than the bullishly tilted turbulent cryptocurrency folks know and love. Bitcoin has largely been stuck in a price range between roughly $30,000 and $40,000 for weeks. Nunya Bizniz, a Bitcoin-focused Twitter personality, noted $30,000 as a potential key level on Bitcoin’s price chart, citing a number of reasons, including a Fibonacci level.  Will Bitcoin head north or south next? No one knows for sure, but data from Glassnode revealed folks stocking up on BTC off centralized exchanges, with roughly 2,000 Bitcoin leaving those platforms each day over the past fortnight. Such data rhymes with activity seen in April, when Bitcoin rose to nearly $65,000 per coin. On the bearish front, trader Michaël van de Poppe noted a potential price fall for Bitcoin down to around $29,000 and then $24,000 if support around $31,000 broke down. SEC delays decision on Wisdom Tree Bitcoin ETFAn approved Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) continues to elude the United States. This week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, postponed its decision on Wisdom Tree’s Bitcoin ETF, looking for comments from the public on the product — something the commission has done in the past regarding Bitcoin ETF proposals. “The Commission requests that interested persons provide written submissions of their views, data and arguments with respect to the issues identified above, as well as any other concerns they may have with the proposal,” the SEC detailed in a public document. Binance stops stock token sales, ‘effective immediately’More Binance headlines flowed in this week as the exchange decided to halt stock token trading offerings. The company gave no rationale for the move. Folks with current positions in the platform’s stock tokens are allowed a 90-day window to exit their trades. Over the past couple of weeks, Binance has faced regulatory resistance on a number of fronts. This week brought further regulatory news regarding Binance. Italy jumped on the bandwagon of national regulators concerned with the exchange. Binance lacks approval for providing crypto trading in the region, according to a warning sent out from the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission. US government delves deeper into crypto accountability with $10M bountyUnited States government agencies have not been shy about regulating the burgeoning crypto industry. Thursday news detailed that President Biden’s team plans to further track crypto asset usage. In part, the team is focused on looking for any ransomware ties to crypto usage. Folks who help the government track down nefarious characters involved in certain online attacks could find themselves rewarded with as much as $10 million in bounty. Crypto community divided on whether Bitcoin is an inflation hedgeFor many in the crypto community, Bitcoin is considered a potential hedge against inflation. Bitcoin’s recent price action, however, has given less evidence for such classification as inflation surges to decade highs in the U.S. Some folks doubt the asset as a hedge, while others argue the opposite. Meanwhile, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has slightly altered his take on BTC. “The first part of it is I think the underlying technology of blockchain is really incredible and has lots of different things, particularly in fintech and finance,” he told CNBC. “I think as it relates to Bitcoin — if people want to buy Bitcoin as a substitute, no different from buying gold or some other asset — it’s fine.”Winners and Losers  At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at $31,895, Ether at $1,911 and XRP at $0.59. The total market cap is at $1.30 trillion, based on CoinMarketCap data. Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Axie Infinity (AXS) at 57.38%, Flow (FLOW) at 30.36%, and NEM (XEM) at 17.86%. The top three altcoin losers of the week are Telcoin (TEL) at -31.02%, 0x (ZRX) at -24.41%, and Theta (THETA) at -23.42%.For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.  Most Memorable Quotations “We’re trying to be the fastest tortoise in the race. The long game pays off over time.”Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of crypto exchange Gemini “The issue isn’t #Bitcoin, #Ethereum, or other crypto protocols — they’re just fine. The risk comes from the banks’ operational processes.”Caitlin Long, Avanti Bank & Trust CEO and founder “I think the regulatory pressure is stronger than before but it will get a lot of bad actors out of the industry and make sure that the industry’s reputation is much better than without it. So, I think this kind of a crackdown may be a good thing for the industry in the long term.”Jihan Wu, Bitmain co-founder and ex-CEO “Market intelligence suggests cryptoassets are largely held by retail investors, with institutional investors having limited exposure at present. However, there are some signs of growing interest in cryptoassets and related services from institutional investors, banks, and key payment system operators. These developments could increase the interlinkages between cryptoassets and other systemic financial markets and institutions.”Bank of England, the United Kingdom’s central bank “If we are the biggest exchange, [buying Goldman Sachs and CME] is not out of the question at all.”Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX CEO “The easiest industry to reduce overnight was a gray area industry. Some 68,000 gigawatts of power was removed instantly from China just by saying no to Bitcoin mining.”Phil Harvey, CEO of Phoenix Store “Certainly Bitcoin has been a great performer over time. But most of the gains have occurred during a great global deflationary period in which all risk assets rose. Now that inflation is picking up for real, for the first time since Bitcoin’s inception, it’s drastically underperforming.”Mati Greenspan, founder of a firm known as Quantum Economics “You wouldn’t need stablecoins, you wouldn’t need cryptocurrencies if you…

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.Top Stories This Week US financial regulator FinCEN hires its first-ever chief digital currency adviserThe United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, filled a new role — that of chief digital currency adviser, unveiled on July 6, recruiting Michele Korver for the job. Korver has an array of experience in crypto regulation, including serving as digital currency counsel for the United States Department of Justice.“Ms. Korver will advance FinCEN’s leadership role in the digital currency space by working across internal and external partners toward strategic and innovative solutions to prevent and mitigate illicit financial practices and exploitation,” said a public statement from FinCEN describing the new chief digital currency adviser position.  In other regulatory-related news, Wyoming, a U.S. state that has been highly favorable toward the crypto and blockchain industry, officially named the American CryptoFed DAO a legal entity — a first for any decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO. Additionally, China has continued its regulatory crackdown on crypto.  Bitcoin price dips below crucial $33K support as Bitfinex shorts jump by over 5,000 BTCBitcoin (BTC) had another range-bound week, falling under the $33,000 mark on July 8, down from near $35,000. Short positions also became significantly more prevalent on crypto exchange Bitfinex, indicating bearish sentiment. Although Bitcoin fell below $33,000, the asset once again broke above the level on July 9. BTC analyst Willy Woo noted that the current environment appears similar to that of the pre-Bitcoin breakout in the latter portion of 2020. The analyst noted metrics that show BTC being pulled into longer-term holdings, which could, in turn, decrease the available coins in circulation. Data also exposed a notable influx of fresh users on the Bitcoin blockchain. Additionally, Bitcoin exchange withdrawals have increased and deposits have lessened.  Poland financial regulator issues public warning about BinanceRegulatory complications surrounding the Binance crypto exchange continued to surface this past week, with several news developments on the scene. In light of recent regulatory moves around Binance related to Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom, the ruling body of Poland’s finance scene, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, or PFSA, cautioned Polish Binance users on their interactions with the exchange, as well as with crypto in general. “In view of the protection of financial market participants and the warnings of foreign supervisory authorities, the PFSA Office recommends special caution when using the services of Binance group entities and when trading cryptocurrencies and crypto assets, as it may involve a significant risk that may result in the loss of funds,” the PFSA said in a public statement on July 7. Earlier in the week, Binance suspended the ability to send euros from bank accounts to its exchange platform, citing no firm explanation on its rationale for the move. “Due to events beyond our control, we are temporarily suspending EUR deposits via SEPA Bank Transfers from 8 am UTC on July 7, 2021,” Binance noted in a July 6 email to exchange users. Additionally, Binance users came forward with a class-action lawsuit against the trading platform, demanding significant compensation for losses they allegedly incurred due to the platform suffering outages during times of important price action. Participants claimed they did not have access to their accounts during pivotal periods of time. Barclays bank also ceased payment card transactions to Binance. The exchange responded to the development with displeasure, saying the decision seemingly stemmed from a misunderstanding. In late June, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority demanded that Binance Markets Limited, or BML, cease all domestic operations. Binance claims that BML is a separate legal entity. In a separate story on July 7, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao expressed positivity toward crypto industry regulation in general via a July 6 letter posted on Binance’s blog. He noted a lack of regulatory clarity still exists and that Binance desires to work alongside regulators.   Avalanche founder Emin Gün Sirer ‘quite bullish’ on crypto market prospectsAlthough digital asset prices have fallen in recent weeks, Cornell University professor and Avalanche founder Emin Gün Sirer retains positive expectations for the industry, citing increased interest in crypto assets from a bevvy of entities. “I have been getting contacts from retirement funds, not hedge funds, but retirement funds,” he told Cointelegraph China. Sirer foresees further ranging for crypto over the next several months, with things picking up in the fall.  Stablecoin firm Circle to go public in $4.5B blank-check dealCircle, the firm behind the $26 billion market cap stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), intends to take its operation public through a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company. Its ticker will be CRCL and the stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange if all goes according to plan. “Circle to become public via a business combination with Concord Acquisition Corp (NYSE: CND), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition corporation with $276 million in trust,” Circle said in a public statement on July 8. Winners and Losers  At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at $33,499, Ether at $2,131 and XRP at $0.63. The total market cap is at $1.39 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap. Among the largest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are Axie Infinity (AXS) at 147.51%, KuCoin Token (KCS) at 80.82%, and Synthetix (SNX) at 76.67%.The top three altcoin losers of the week are Telcoin (TEL) at -21.46%, Celo (CELO) at -15.37%, and Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR) at -9.71%For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.   Most Memorable Quotations“Ransom payments are the fuel that propels the digital extortion engine, and […] the United States will use all available tools to make these attacks more costly and less profitable for criminal enterprises.”Lisa Monaco, DoJ deputy attorney general “A shift of crypto mining operations out of China will be a huge opportunity for Canada. The Toronto Stock Exchange recently listed the world’s first Bitcoin ETF, so the nation is…

Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.Top Stories This Week Bitcoin mining difficulty just fell by a record 28% — but will this help prices recover?Bitcoin has recorded its biggest mining difficulty drop of nearly 28%, but one model suggests prices will not bottom until October.The drop is in response to the ongoing miner migration out of China and the subsequent loss of hash rate — and this could deliver a profit boost for the miners still at work.Bitcoin has now closed its third red monthly candle in a row, meaning BTC/USD is now the furthest away from its stock-to-flow model estimates in more than two years. Data shows the world’s biggest cryptocurrency fell 40.36% in Q2… the biggest quarterly plunge in over three years.Plan B said the next six months will be “make or break” for the stock-to-flow model, adding: “Even for me it is always a bit uneasy when Bitcoin price is at the lower bound of the stock-to-flow model.” Binance faces regulatory upheaval as lawmakers target ‘global’ exchangesRegulatory woes are piling up for Binance. Japan has accused the exchange of operating without proper registration, and toughened measures in the Canadian province of Ontario have prompted Binance to announce that it plans to cease all operations there.Monday saw Binance suspend the use of Faster Payments in the U.K., meaning that it would take longer for British customers to withdraw pounds from the exchange. This came days after the Financial Conduct Authority told the exchange to cease all regulated activities in the country. However, this was later reinstated.Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority are the latest financial regulators to announce a regulatory crackdown on Binance.As a major global exchange, the exchange has been struggling to find the right jurisdiction for operating its business.  Bitcoin.org blocks access to Bitcoin software download in the UKBitcoin.org has blocked U.K. visitors from downloading Bitcoin Core software, as well as the whitepaper authored by Satoshi Nakamoto. It comes days after a British court ruled in favor of self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator Craig Wright.He had accused Bitcoin.org and its current operator Cøbra of copyright infringement for hosting the BTC whitepaper in the U.K.Cøbra elected not to mount a defense in order to protect their anonymity — and was also ordered to pay interim legal costs of £35,000 (about $48,600.)The judgment is the latest salvo in Wright’s assault on people who dispute his claim of being Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.  Strike to offer ‘no fee’ Bitcoin trading, taking aim at Coinbase and SquarePayments platform Strike has announced that it will allow U.S. customers to buy and sell Bitcoin with almost no trading fees — taking on the likes of Coinbase, Square and PayPal.Strike’s founder and CEO Jack Mallers says his platform is setting out to be the “cheapest and easiest place on the planet to acquire BTC.”Mallers has taken aim directly at Coinbase too, describing Coinbase’s fees as “asinine.” He added: “Make no mistake, when you buy Bitcoin on Coinbase, you are supporting shitcoins.”In other developments, Coinbase has revealed that it plans to list digital assets on its exchange faster than it does now. And as the exchange seeks to bolster its global presence, it’s going to launch a crypto app store offering products developed by third parties.Meanwhile, Robinhood has filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering. That application came a day after regulators ordered the company to pay a $70 million penalty, amid allegations it caused “widespread and significant harm” to thousands of users. Elon Musk’s latest attempt to pump Dogecoin fails miserablyDogecoin prices surged but did not skyrocket after receiving another endorsement from Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Thursday.Musk’s first tweet declared “Release the Doge!” — sending the joke cryptocurrency up 8.42% to $0.261. A sell-off followed suit, taking DOGE/USD down to $0.247.Less than an hour later, Musk tweeted a rather unusual message that said: “Baby Doge, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, Baby Doge, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, Baby Doge, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, Baby Doge.”DOGE/USD subsequently rose 5.22% to $0.26 after the second tweet.This is modest compared with the wild gains we’ve seen after Musk’s tweets in the past.Winners and Losers  At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at $34,544.52, Ether at $2,219.30 and XRP at $0.2469. The total market cap is at $1,433,529,255,589.Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are XinFin Network, Compound and Internet Computer. The top three altcoin losers of the week are Celo, Theta Fuel and Revain.For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read Cointelegraph’s market analysis.   Most Memorable Quotations“Make no mistake, when you buy Bitcoin on Coinbase, you are supporting shitcoins.”Jack Mallers, Strike CEO “I did suggest to the President that whatever Salvador chooses to do with regards to Bitcoin, you ensure that it is well regulated, that it is transparent and that it is responsible, and you protect yourself against malign actors.”Victoria Nuland, U.S. State Department  “While I believe in the power of new technology, we also need to manage its impact on our economy and society.”Rishi Sunak, U.K. Chancellor “The ‘Rick Astley’ is the holder that keeps buying and never tends to sell much.”Willy Woo, Bitcoin analyst “140 free NFTs for 140 of you, besties.”Twitter “A good currency, in my view, is one that’s used to buy coffee, buy your house, buy a car, and on that count, Bitcoin has failed, and not just failed, it’s failed miserably.”Aswath Damodaran, New York University professor of financePrediction of the Week  44% of investors expect Bitcoin to drop below $30K in 2021: CNBC surveyA recent CNBC survey suggests 44% of portfolio managers and equity strategists think Bitcoin will be below $30,000 by the end of this year.Out of the remaining 56%, 25% predicted the price to shoot up and settle at $45,000…

The realm of metaverses is growing, with gaming, nonfungible tokens and contemporary performance art all contributing to create interactive and immersive digital-only ecosystems. “Welcome to Lobsteropolis District of Lobster Land” is the welcome notice that greets netizens upon entering Lobsteropolis city.Existing within the blockchain-based virtual world Decentraland, Lobsteropolis is a digital-only city based on British contemporary artist Philip Colbert’s Lobster Universe. The ambitious project offers arguably more than a glimpse into the emerging movement at the intersection of art and blockchain technology, more specifically, open-world spaces that allow people to interact with art inside a computer-generated environment. Welcome to Lobsteropolis; Philip Colbert’s digital pop art world set in the Decentraland. Born in Scotland and now living and working in London, Colbert is an alumnus of the University of St Andrews. Before coming about the idea of Lobsteropolis City in a metaverse, Colbert was already a name in the pop art world, with former Vogue editor André Leon Talley anointing him the “godson” of legendary pop art figure Andy Warhol.Colbert’s work, steeped in the pop art ethos of “high art” and “low culture,” has already attracted praise from major art world figures such as the famous auctioneer and curator Simon de Pury and Iraqi businessman and contemporary art collector Charles Saatchi. Fashion and style bible i-D Magazine once called him “the crown prince of pop art.”All are welcomeNonfungible tokens (NFT) have become significantly more popular in recent times, and NFT art is arguably a ubiquitous term even for those unfamiliar with the crypto and blockchain space. These days, almost anyone can “mint” an art piece and sell it on an NFT marketplace such as SuperRare.Disruption was and still is a major buzzword that comes up whenever blockchain is the topic of discussion. Perhaps it is not surprising then to see the novel tech serve as the base layer for innovative approaches to gallery exhibitions.Lobsteropolis City is home to Colbert’s first wholly digital art exhibition, with some of his popular works such as Lobster Fountain and Cryptofixtion on display. Visitors will also be treated to a few unseen pieces from Colbert as part of the NFT art auctions hosted by de Pury. Colbert’s lobster persona is ready to welcome visitors to Lobsteropolis One of these unseen NFTs is a hybrid artwork and musical performance titled Lob-Ster De-Vo created in collaboration with the American new wave band Devo. The rock band’s theme of devolution has often leaned heavily on multi-media expression that has perhaps become a staple in the emerging narrative of contemporary art in the 21st century.In Lobsteropolis, Colbert’s lobster persona is once again an “art protagonist” in a rendering that seems simultaneously to be an art show and an expression of the artist’s world. “Through my art, I’ve been building my own art world where my lobster persona is the key narrator, and the digital space enables me to explore this narrative in a new way,” he explains in a conversation with Cointelegraph Magazine.Colbert calls the digital city, three years in the making, a “labor of love”:“I have an amazing team who help me with the coding and the uploading to Decentraland, and the Vegas City team have been a huge help with the programming. The digital side of my work has been very much a labor of love — I have been building this infrastructure for some time.”Pop art becomes digitalLobsteropolis features composite elements of Colbert’s work from several international museum shows and exhibitions including his famous 2020 Saatchi Gallery exhibition. However, the city is not only an art exhibition but an interactive open-world space for digital interaction.Even before the onset of COVID-19, advancements in both virtual reality and augmented reality have been pushing the boundaries of digital interaction. Immersive gaming landscapes already exist where users can create avatars to experience and explore sprawling digital environments rich with features ranging from real-world digital natives to even more fantastical elements.Visitors to Lobsteropolis have a plethora of options to explore within the city. “One of the attractions is Lobster Lounge: a concert venue for avatar bands and an event space where avatars can hold talks,” Colbert says, adding:“There’s a strong gameplay aspect throughout Lobsteropolis City where avatars can interact with other people and create a layer of fantasy.”Set in Decentraland’s Vegas City, Colbert’s digital lobster land, of course, plays home to a casino. “There’s also a casino, where avatars get given lobster coins, and they can play blackjack and play slot machines and buy digital products in my supermarket,” Colbert says. Lobster City casino where visitors can play blackjack and slot machines with lobster coins. Colbert, by his own admission, is obsessed with the crossover of art and music. According to him, the NFT space is creating a platform for the synergistic melding of both art forms in a “revolutionary way.”Apart from co-creating the Lob-Ster De-Vo NFT piece, the music band will also perform a live DJ set at the Lobster Land Records store, which is adjacent to the Lobster Land Museum — the venue for the auction hosted by de Pury.Colbert’s collaboration with the band to create Lob-Ster De-Vo will be a central piece of the inaugural auction event on June 30. According to the artist, the Lob-Ster De-Vo NFT artwork explores the role of digital ideology in the emerging virtual-oriented era of human interaction.    For Colbert, the Lob-Ster De-Vo NFT is an examination of the role art plays as humanity appears to be moving toward a more mature digitized space. The piece also pays homage to Devo’s iconic 1981 hit “Through being cool” — especially the three crucifixions theme.Colbert recalls his early experimentation with NFTs and how that experience led him toward Lobsteropolis as a digital city: “The first NFT I made was called Cryptofixtion. I’d been wanting to make a lobster crucifixion sculpture, inspired by studying Dali’s paintings and engaging with the idea of technology as a new religion.” Venues like Lobster Mart and Lobster Land Records help users to create “a layer of fantasy” Modern-day philosophy is indeed replete with musings about the entanglement of technology…

John Paller is training a new generation of blockchain workers and giving them the tools to live free from the chains of full-time employment. After a chance conversation with a “Russian dude” wearing a weird T-shirt at a 2014 conference — Vitalik Buterin’s father, Dmitry — John Paller’s life was transformed by having a front-row seat for the birth of Ethereum. He went on to create the largest Ethereum hackathon and founded an initiative to help at-risk youth find job opportunities in the burgeoning crypto industry.According to Paller, the majority of workers in the United States will be independent and not tied to a particular employer within just a few years from now. But with so many of the necessities of life provided by employers rather than the government, he has set up a new token-based employment co-op to provide independent contractors with benefits, such as medical insurance and retirement plans.Purple state EthereumGrowing up in the predominantly Mormon state of Utah, which he describes as “a rather dogmatic society,” Paller remembers that as a child, he “always asked too many questions.” Not feeling like he fit in, he moved east — over the Rocky Mountains — to Denver, Colorado a few years after graduating from Southern Utah University with a business administration degree in accounting and finance in 1997.    Denver, according to Paller, is “more pragmatic politically — we don’t get caught up in political dogma as much as other states seem to do.” This, he surmises, is due to a mixture of geographical and cultural influences, with a libertarian wild west culture from Wyoming in the north merging with a more “liberal, progressive” approach from the south in New Mexico and west from California.“I think that Ethereum as a concept really relates well to this sort of egalitarian approach — building next-generation public infrastructure using smart contracts. We have a good tech scene here in Colorado.”He serves as the executive steward of ETHDenver, which started with monthly meetups of “a couple dozen people” before growing into the hundreds suddenly in 2017. This rapid growth inspired him to organize a hackathon in February 2018, a project for which he called up various industry players, such as Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, cryptocurrency entrepreneur Erik Voorhees, and dozens of other top projects and luminaries.“We were hoping for 401 people, and the reason for that was because ETH Waterloo in the fall of 2017 had 400 people, and we wanted to be the biggest one ever,” he says.The first event, which Paller describes as “part Burning Man, part SXSW, part DevCon, and part Hack the North,” was a huge success with 1,500 participants. With four years running so far, the event has become a home turf of the Ethereum movement. “This year, we did a fully virtual event, and we hosted over 31,000 people from 94 countries,” Paller explains proudly, adding that ETHDenver is transitioning into a true community-owned ecosystem called SporkDAO with a virtual launch party and NFT auction on June 26.Worker woesPaller’s background is in human resources and finance, and in 2002, he co-founded a staffing company called PeoplePartners to focus on recruiting in the financial sector. After some success, the company managed to buy and merge with another, Lakeshore, where Paller continued to serve as CEO, while the new firm focused on HR technologies in what he refers to as the “Uber-for economy” — where the firm was trying to create an app that would help companies find talent as quickly as Uber finds rides.Much of Paller’s vision for his HR firm revolved around a vague desire to help “democratize employment,” referring to what he saw as a lopsided social contract where employers have a huge amount of power over employees within U.S. society. Questions started to gnaw at him — Why is employment so disproportionate in power and value distribution? Why is healthcare in the United States tied to employment?It was while reading more broadly into economics and game theory, in hopes of answering these questions, that Paller came across Bitcoin from a friend working at a technology startup who told him it was the future of money. “I read the white paper, and I kind of didn’t get it, but I bought some,” he recalls.My name is Buterin, Dmitry ButerinBuying some Bitcoin on a whim was, however, not Paller’s only harbinger of blockchain destiny. While attending a small entrepreneurship conference in California in early 2014, he met Dmitry Buterin. “There was only probably like 30 people there, so it was a very intimate affair, and he was the interesting, you know, Russian dude with the weird T-shirts,” he says. As fathers, they connected over their families and because “politically speaking, we’re both libertarians.”Due to this chance connection, Paller had a direct line to Vitalik’s father, who made “social media posts on the Ethereum white paper and the ICO.” This meant that he had exposure to the project from an early stage and, in early 2016, asked Dmitry to connect him with his son, Vitalik, who “was kind enough to spend several hours with me talking about my ideas for use cases. In hindsight, he was very gracious because my use case ideas were terrible — I didn’t understand decentralization at all,” he recounts, adding that his mind was still stuck in the old world of centralized corporate structures.He eventually did have “the lights go on,” at which point he decided to do a full pivot in life. “It was almost kind of like my version of a midlife crisis,” he explains regarding his sudden decision to sell his business, effectively turning his back on a successful career.    Apprentio and the next generationIn 2018, Paller co-created Apprentio in collaboration with a local boys and girls club in hopes of providing at-risk youth with opportunities in the emerging blockchain ecosystem. Paller believes that the commonly prescribed path of high school/college/degree/job is not for everyone, especially considering that a four-year college degree in the U.S. can easily result in $100,000 of debt,…