The first edition of our curated newsletter.

A lot has happened in the crypto industry lately. And we can’t stay silent, because these events also affect us as a company, you as a client, and the financial sector as a whole.

With this post, our Blockchain Lead begins a series of weekly newsletters about notable industry events.

Today we are looking at:

Recent Mastercard announcement regarding crypto payments
Crypto and money laundering
Elon Musk’s buzz
Coming regulations for the DeFi
Ethereum gas fees

Crypto Payments Coming Soon

A Longed-For Alliance: Mastercard + Crypto

It seems like Mastercard is finally ready to commit and contribute to building the future of payments as it has recently promised to add direct support of selected cryptocurrencies this year. This huge step for the global payment scene will require some proper preparations.

What triggered them? As Mastercard puts it, it’s about choice. Although the company insists, that’s not an act of encouragement but rather a strategic decision. This way, their customers, merchants, and other businesses will have a different way to transfer value digitally.

On the Dark Side

270 Addresses with $1.3 Billion Worth of Illicit Crypto

If you like data, check on Chainalysis more often. In its recent Crypto Crime Report for 2021, the analysis company revealed that 270 service deposit addresses received 55% of illicit addressed connected to money laundering activities.

If that doesn’t sound impressive yet, here are the numbers: last year, 270 addresses received $1.3 billion worth of crypto. What platforms facilitate these services, and is there a way to stop this? Read the report to dig deeper.

Elon’s Obsession

Crypto vs Buzz: Musk, Bitcoin, and the Crypto Community

Elon Musk pushed Bitcoin and the crypto space to yet another highs. Was it a good or a bad thing? Critics speak of this recent courtesy-of-Musk rally as nothing more than a regular “pump and dump” situation. Apart from a handful of memes, this move didn’t do any good for the cryptocurrencies’ public standing.

Our thread on Twitter

DeFi Regulations

DeFi As Seen By the Federal Reserve

Speaking of DeFi, the Federal Reserve Bank of St.Louis shared its thoughts on the subject, explaining how Decentralized Finance. The DeFi layout was described as a hierarchical multi-layered architecture with every layer having a purpose. Adding the layers to one another creates an infrastructure open for modifications.

The report finishes with an insightful passage on the risks and benefits of DeFi that worth looking through.

Can We Control the Gas Fees?

Why So High: The Theory on Ether Fees

According to the Theory of Ethereum State Size Management, there is hope that those ever-growing gas fees can be reduced. We’ll just have to figure out the best way of handling the data that Ethereum nodes must hold to process new transactions. The report explores the ideas of State and History and gives a hint on how to deal with this burning issue.

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