Renee Francis, Take3: The transformative potential of Web3

The Block caught up with Renee Francis, Founder and Director of Take3, to discuss the transformative potential of Web3.

With a background in marketing and extensive experience with platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google, Francis offers a unique perspective on the issues that Web3 aims to address.

In this interview, she shares insights into the benefits of Web3, the challenges it faces, and her excitement for various projects in the space.

Data...

Coinbase’s CEO shares his top 10 most exciting Web3 ideas

Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong is basking in the glow of a successful week as the value of his company's stocks soared, riding on the rising hopes for a Bitcoin spot Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF).

Armstrong kept the good vibes going by sharing the 10 ideas he’s “most excited about” in the Web3 space.

"We're actively developing numerous projects at Coinbase, but considering the vast landscape, it's not possible to tackle everything. Therefore, I thought...

Sabre56 signs deal with Bootstrap Energy to become ‘one of world’s largest blockchain operators’

Sabre56, a digital asset management consultant offering specialist design of blockchain data centres, has announced a five-year agreement with Bootstrap Energy in what the company describes as the ‘biggest single operations contract’ in the crypto mining industry to date.

The agreement with Bootstrap Energy is to provide miner operations at the 300MW Saxet Energy Park in Texas, which has the capacity to host approximately 100,000 ASICs (application-specific integrated...

House of Lords approve UK crypto bill

UK parliamentarians have taken a significant step towards recognising cryptocurrencies as a regulated activity with the approval of the Financial Services and Markets Bill (FSMB) by the House of Lords.

The move brings the bill closer to becoming law, marking an important development in the country's approach to digital assets.

Anto Paroian, CEO at ARK36, said:

"At ARK36, we feel the news that the UK parliament has just voted through a new bill which could...

a16z’s first global office will be in London due to ‘predictable’ environment

Renowned venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is opening its first global office in London due to a “predictable” regulatory environment.

The decision to expand comes in the wake of growing regulatory challenges faced by crypto firms in the United States. Chris Dixon, a16z's crypto founder and managing partner, highlighted the importance of a predictable business environment as a key factor behind the...

Bitcoin ATM maker declares all user data compromised after exploit

ATM Machine

A Bitcoin ATM manufacturer has shut down its cloud services due to a security issue that let an attacker access customers’ hot wallets and steal private information.

Prague-based company General Bytes issued a warning on 18 March saying that the hacker had remotely uploaded a Java application to its terminals, hoping to steal user information and funds stored in hot wallets.

The company has sold more than 15,000 Bitcoin ATMs to buyers in nearly 150 countries around the...

Binance updates proof-of-reserves to $63bn with 11 new tokens

Binance Reserves

Leading crypto exchange Binance has added 11 tokens to its proof-of-reserves (PoR) report, claiming it now holds $63 billion (£53bn).

The company began publishing its reserves in late 2022 following the collapse of rival exchange FTX in a bid to increase transparency.

According to the update, Binance now holds 24 assets in its proof-of-reserves system. The 11 added tokens included Dogecoin, 1inch Network, Mask Network, Enjin Coin, WazirX, The Graph, Chromia, Curve DAO...

Listen-to-earn lets you earn Bitcoin for listening to a podcast

Podcast

Podcast platform Fountain has partnered with app monetisation company ZEBEDEE to bring Bitcoin micropayments to podcast listeners.

The partnership will give both podcast creators and listeners the ability to earn Bitcoin based on the amount of time spent with content.

ZEBEDEE says that listeners will support creators by paying for content by the minute as they listen to it. Listeners themselves will also earn money for their first hour of daily podcast listening and for...

Sam Bankman-Fried deepfake aims to scam FTX collapse victims

A deepfake of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried aims to scam victims of the exchange’s collapse.

FTX was the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange and Bankman-Fried was seen as the face of crypto in Washington. The exchange enjoyed many celebrity endorsements and secured a 19-year, $135 million sponsorship agreement with Miami-Dade county that included the local stadium being renamed the FTX Arena.

All of that success went up in smoke when concerns around the...

CashApp integrates Bitcoin Lightning Network support

Cash App

CashApp has added support for transaction payments through the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

Developed by Block Inc, CashApp is a mobile payment processing app similar to PayPal.

The new feature allows CashApp users to send and receive Bitcoin through its quicker, more efficient layer-2 protocol. Lightning is particularly well suited for small transactions, with near-instant processing times, compared to the minutes or sometimes hours required by the Bitcoin...