All the attention is on Ethereum right now due to its upcoming Merge upgrade. Certain platforms like Coinbase have even started preparing for it. Let’s find out more. 

Bitcoin

On Friday, Bitcoin experienced a sharp fall with a 7.2% slide to the price of $21,500. ​​Practically the entire crypto market has followed suit.

Ethereum

After a record-breaking performance in July, over 2 million domain names have been registered on the Ethereum Name Service (ENS).

The Coinbase platform has announced that it will pause all Ethereum transactions during The Merge as a precautionary measure. 

DeFi

Layer-2 scaling solution Optimism came under heavy criticism after the platform made an unannounced movement of funds, causing significant panic among investors.

The Ronin development team recently announced in a blog post that they had increased the number of validators securing the chain from 14 to 17.

Altcoins

The aUSD stablecoin took a hit after a hack into the Acala Network resulted in a 99% drop in its value. 

Huobi’s HUSD stablecoin has become the latest asset to de-peg from its dollar peg, as its price dropped to a low of $0.84.

Terra Founder, Do Kwon, who has been relatively quiet till now, has given the first interview since the crash of the Terra protocol following the depegging of the LUNA stablecoin. 

Technology

The government of Colombia has confirmed its plans for a digital currency, based on blockchain technology, in partnership with the country’s central bank.

Business

Ripple has partnered with Latin American bank Travelex to launch the first On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service in Brazil. 

In a new partnership with SBI Remit, Ripple Net has launched a remittance payment service for the Japan-Thailand corridor. 

A report has claimed that CEO Alex Mashinsky had taken over control of trading strategies at Celsius in the months leading up to the firm’s widely publicized insolvency issues and eventual collapse.

Crypto.com has acquired the approval of the Ontario Securities Commission to become the first global cryptocurrency platform to be legally registered for operations in Canada. 

Regulation

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued warning letters to FTX and four other crypto firms. 

The Russian national, who was extradited from the Netherlands, has been accused of money laundering in the Ryuk ransomware case. 

KPMG Canada’s director and co-leader of crypto assets and blockchain, Kunal Bhasin, has said that he believes that the Howey Test might not be the right rule with which to decide whether a cryptocurrency is a security or not.

The European Union (EU) is considering the appointment of a new anti-money laundering (AML) body to oversee the crypto space. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.