Opinion

From US crackdowns on Binance and Coinbase to new business-friendlier frameworks in Hong Kong and Europe, seismic shifts in crypto regulations are under way.

Small cryptos often rise and fall with BTC and ETH — the market’s two biggest players. The concentration risk is profound, and here’s why you should care.

Ledger’s attempt to simplify self-custody and key recovery triggered a community revolt. Was this inevitable or could Ledger have sidestepped this fiasco?

FATF’s travel rule is looming over the crypto industry as an existential threat, writes Jack Jia of Unlimit. Here’s why it’s especially worrying to DeFi and self-custody wallet users.

DeFi has the potential to revolutionize finance, but hacks, poor user experience, and a lack of a regulations make many wary, writes Arthur Firstov of Mercuryo.

Decentralized autonomous organizations are the future of business, writes Lomesh Dutta. The key is designing them to avoid management and voting pitfalls.

NFT-backed lending and borrowing can unlock liquidity and expand investment opportunities. Here are the best practices — and risks.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and others led to predictions of big shifts away from centralized finance. James Wo examines why that hasn’t happened yet.

Opinions about Web3 gaming remain divided, but it’s undeniable that NFTs and GameFi offer players big opportunities, writes Ramona Ciocea of Protokol.

For crypto to grow for the long term, the industry must show greater respect for global standards that combat crime, writes Slava Demchuk of AMLBot.

For every PayPal or Google, countless other startups from the bubble days of yore took investor money down the toilet, writes Naveen Agnihotri. What makes this AI boom any different?

Stablecoins are a key part of the crypto ecosystem, but banks like JPMorgan are now exploring deposit tokens as an alternative. Which is better, and why?

Electric vehicles remain rare in developing countries because of high costs and ‘range anxiety,’ writes George Cox of eTukTuk. Here’s how blockchain technology can remove those barriers.

Web3’s terrible user experience, scams and lack of diversity could be solved if its leaders take a cue from environmentalists and ‘act locally,’ writes Tim Williamson of NieuxCo.

Crypto users need not fear the increasing KYC/AML requirements around the world and loss of privacy, writes Kurt Hemecker of the Mina Foundation. Here’s why.

Fractionalizing assets on the blockchain opens up investment opportunities for the public and the capital market’s access to liquidity, writes Bob Ras. Here’s what’s holding it back.

Thanks to generative AI, a struggling artist with no coding skills created tokens now worth $70 million. What does this mean for the rest of the crypto world?

It’s currently fashionable to publicly knock blockchain gaming, but behind closed doors, a growing number of developers are realizing its potential, writes Tim Dierckxsens of Venly.

Free of the hierarchies and power dynamics in traditional companies, DAOs can allow Web3 organizations to do better, writes Arjun Kalsy of Mantle.

The metaverse is still a clunky world that makes users feel like they’re in a cartoon, writes Darin Myman of DatChat. How can we make it more inviting and useful?

Many tokenized platforms have grave shortcomings, but if better standards could be adopted, the improved transparency can avert future crises, writes Ralf Kubli of the Casper Assn.

Now that the Bitcoin Ordinals genie is out of the bottle, a debate is raging about whether they’re good for the original blockchain and their long-term consequences.

CFTC and SEC disagree over whether cryptocurrencies are securities, and two big lawsuits clouding the industry’s future invoke laws that long predate the digital era.

How would layer 3 improve upon what layer-2 protocols do, and what barriers does this emerging technology still need to overcome? Tony Cheng of Foresight Ventures explains.

The current US approach to regulating crypto flies against its history of supporting tech innovation and undermines its own national interest, writes Hamilton Keats of Krayon Digital.

‘Proof of reserve’ is the new catchphrase and promise by crypto leaders eager to allay investor fears. But loopholes remain and audits might not mean what you think, writes Anndy Lian.

People won’t want to bother with a new technology if it’s painful to use, even if they’re aware of the potential benefits, writes Toby Rush of Redeem.

A clear and balanced legal framework will encourage more crypto investment, while the industry can promote best practices, writes Mahin Gupta of Liminal.

Critics have long slammed Bitcoin mining for its enormous carbon footprint. But what if all the heat that miners emit can be sustainably powered and reused?

Nothing in life is free. Be wary of crypto exchanges that offer ‘free trading,’ and ask hard questions about how they make money, writes Ben Caselin of MaskEX.

What are ‘trustless oracles,’ and how will they shape the development of the metaverse and Web3? Markus Levin of XYO and XY Labs explains.

In this era of disinformation and deep fakes, what can blockchain technology do to safeguard the truth about humanity’s shared past?

Securing keys is an issue that has bedeviled the crypto world, as the $600M Ronin and $300M Wormhole heists have painfully shown. Is there a better way?

On-chain limit orders offer an alternative to centralized exchanges by improving transparency and security, writes Ramani Ramachandran of Dfyn. What are the drawbacks?

Traditional institutions are testing crypto waters, but given last year’s market carnage, it’s not easy to gain their confidence, writes Simon Schaber of Spool.

Ownership is only one feature of Web3. The more important and defining characteristic is ‘verifiability,’ writes Jonathan Victor of Protocol Labs.

Amid the current banking crisis, each side is exhibiting disdain for the other when neither holds the moral high ground, writes Rachel Lin of SynFutures.

Despite Web3’s vast potential, it’s still too clunky and opaque to most people, writes Miles Parry of MPCH Labs. Here’s what can make it more user-friendly.

From the ashes of Lehman Brothers to this year’s bank failures, Bitcoin has proven itself as a necessary part of the global financial system, writes Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo.

The blockchain world is hampered by many of the same problems as the early internet, writes Amrit Kumar of Altlayer. What could RaaS do for the industry?

For long, people could only put cash into a bank account or under the mattress, writes Eric Johnson. Will blockchain technology offer a viable alternative?

Despite the potential sell pressures after Ethereum’s upcoming hard fork, it’s more likely that ETH stakers will hold for the longer term, writes Bill Xing of Bybit.

Filing taxes on crypto assets is a ‘massive pain in the proverbial butt,’ writes Don Gossen of Nevermined. As IRS deadlines loom large, how can responsible investors avoid underreporting or overpaying?

DAOs are exploding in popularity but still hampered by weak governance and treasury mismanagement. What can help these novel organizations become more effective?

The fall of Silvergate, SVB and Signature has left crypto firms scrambling for new banks. Will crypto banking head offshore for the long term?

The digital era has made piracy rampant and copyright enforcement difficult, but blockchain technology is shifting power back to creators, writes Wes Levitt of Theta Labs.

As bank after bank topples, fingers are pointing everywhere. But crypto is not to be blamed for this unfolding crisis, writes Winston Hsiao of XREX.

Many crypto users see losses as the cost of doing business. In fact, we can and must improve the sector’s deficiencies, writes Pelle Brændgaard of Notabene.

What began as novel collectibles and rampant speculation is maturing into real-world utility across a multitude of industries, writes Tom Chalmers of Banxa.

The collapse of Voyager and Celsius highlights the risks of crypto investing apps and underscores the need for tailored user education, writes Jackson Zeng of Caleb & Brown.

In the race to tame crypto’s excesses, we need to avoid regulatory clashes while DeFi draws lessons from TradFi, writes Rachel Lin of SynFutures.

Unique in the world, Singapore is a big investor and player in digital assets while advancing regulations that favor institutions over individual crypto users, writes Danny Chong of Tranchess.

Blockchain data is public for all to see. The irony is that few know what to look for, and why. A new set of indexes by Forkast Labs filters out the noise and offers data intelligence and clarity.

Web3 is growing more rapidly than the early internet, writes Ken Timsit of Cronos Labs. But to achieve mainstream success, the following issues must be addressed.

DAOs are supposed to be democratic, egalitarian and inclusive, but those ideals are far from the current reality, writes Awa Sun Yin of Namada.

The metaverse has the potential to make the real world more just and inclusive, writes Sébastien Borget of The Sandbox. Here are the key ingredients for its future success.

The Metabirkins case makes clear that NFT trademarks belong to the original creator, bolstering future profit-making opportunities for fashion houses as well as other companies, writes Justin Banon of Boson Protocol.

Now a teenager, crypto is wrestling with its identity and purpose. But it’s learning from its mistakes and on its way to maturity, writes Zach Bronstein of Endaoment.

The blockchain sector’s gender divide is narrowing. Its newness and founding ideals also allow for more flexible workplaces, writes Anastasia Kor of Choise.com.

Amid the rubble of FTX and other centralized exchanges, cross-chain technology and on-chain trading offer more trustworthy alternatives, writes Simon Harman of Chainflip.

What makes Web3 compelling to many is its promise to shift power from centralized players to individual users, but China is doing the opposite, writes Lily King.

Greater transparency and confidence in who you are transacting with could go a long way toward alleviating public mistrust, writes Travis Nelson of Quadrata.

Many gamers still oppose NFTs and blockchain gaming, overlooking the myriad benefits of the latest technology, writes Ramona Ciocea of Protokol.

The SEC’s latest heavy-handed approach toward crypto will leave investors less protected while benefitting dodgy offshore companies, writes Danny Talwar of Koinly.

Self-custody is cumbersome and carries risks of seed phrases getting lost, but how can we ensure if a third-party custodian can be trusted?

Tokenization, stablecoins and DeFi will be growth areas, but regulatory uncertainty is still holding back adoption, writes John Avery of FIS.

The recent spate of crypto exchanges freezing customer accounts should be a wake-up call to investors everywhere. What can you do to better protect yourself?

Governments are pushing central bank digital currencies to exert more control over macro policy, writes Josef Tětek of Trezor. But your money and privacy are also at stake.

Renewable energy is plagued by financing difficulties, but blockchain technology can bridge the sector’s funding gaps, writes Brianna Welsh of Reneum.

CeDeFi offers the benefits of CeFi and DeFi without their shortcomings, writes Alexander Tkachenko of VNX. Here’s how it works.

DeFi is still a Wild West, and many would-be users are wary of its lawlessness and anonymity. Could decentralized IDs foster greater trust and growth in the sector?

The future global financial system will be reliant on the cloud, especially when it comes to CBDCs and stablecoins, writes Michael Greenwald and Logan Weber.