Coindesk

The Celo blockchain's long-awaited plan of becoming an Ethereum layer-2 chain has been completed, ending an almost two-year process, the main organizations behind the network said Wednesday.The transition ends a long journey beginning back in July 2023 for the layer-1 blockchain that included a community vote in July 2024 and a fierce competition, won by Optimism, among layer-2 networks out to convince the Celo ecosystem to build with their technology.The improved network — like other layer 2s — offers faster and cheaper transactions on top of Ethereum's mainnet. The blockchain is powered by Optimism’s OP Stack, a customizable framework that lets developers build layer-2 networks based off of Optimism’s technology.“You know, whenever people ask us, we always recommend the OP...

Crypto prime broker FalconX has seen the departure of several senior staff recently, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.Among those resigning was Tommy Doyle, FalconX's European head, according to the sources. The global chief compliance officer, general counsel, and head of credit at FalconX have also resigned, the sources said, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the matter is private. Two traders also exited the business, the people added.Two of the people said the total number of departures was a combination of resignations and firings, and numbered between 10 and 15 people. "Our headcount approximately doubled last year and we continue to grow. We do not comment on personnel matters," a FalconX spokesperson said in an...

In a conversation at the Exchange conference in Las Vegas, which has brought together about 2,000 investment advisors and asset managers, Dominic Rizzo, global technology portfolio manager at R. Rowe Price—the firm that handles over $1 trillion in assets—said that now is a good time to have exposure to bitcoin.He likened the price of bitcoin to a commodity and how investors should think about investing in it. “Bitcoin itself has traded very close to its average cost of mine. So if you think about it like a traditional commodity, that's actually historically a really good time to have exposure to it when it's close to its cost of mine,” he said.In traditional commodity investing, when the cost of mining or...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Crypto Task Force will host four more roundtable discussions with the industry this spring, on topics ranging from tokenization to decentralized finance (DeFi).The Crypto Task Force’s first roundtable discussion — the kick-off to what Commissioner Hester Peirce, the task force’s leader, has dubbed the SEC’s “Spring Sprint Toward Crypto Clarity” — was held in Washington, D.C., last Friday. A dozen industry lawyers spoke about issues related to the security status of tokens.Read more: SEC ‘Earnest’ About Finding Workable Crypto Policy, Commissioners Say at Roundtable“The Crypto Task Force roundtables are an opportunity for us to hear a lively discussion among experts about what the regulatory issues are and what the Commission can do to solve them,”...

The market value of tokenized U.S. Treasuries this week surpassed the $5 billion for the first time, rwa.xyz data shows, as demand for blockchain-based real-world assets (RWAs) accelerates.The asset class grew by $1 billion through just two weeks, led by inflows into asset management giant BlackRock's and digital asset firm Securitize's market leading BUIDL.Crypto tokens backed by U.S. Treasuries are at the forefront of the tokenization trend, which have captivated a host of global financial behemoths and digital asset firms. Fidelity Investments is the latest large U.S. asset manager seeking to create a tokenized money market fund, filing for regulatory approval last week to launch its Fidelity Treasury Digital Liquidity on the Ethereum blockchain."We see promise in tokenization and its...