Connect with us

Uncategorized

From Steam Engines to Ethereum Staking: How Insurance Enables Innovation

Published

on

The crypto industry is on the precipice of mainstream adoption. But, like many exciting innovations from previous eras, this technology brings new risks. And these new risks must be mitigated before crypto can achieve its full potential.

During the Industrial Revolution, steam power drove immense progress but carried deadly risks. Steam boilers exploded with alarming regularity — at one point nearly once every four days, wreaking havoc on lives and property. Early insurers stepped in to make this technology safer to scale. By providing financial guarantees against catastrophe, insurance turned what many saw as “acts of God” into manageable risks. Investors’ increased confidence allowed them to commit capital into steam-powered ventures, helping that breakthrough technology of the time further evolve to transform society.

Today, Ethereum validators serve as new “steam engines” — critical infrastructure that can drive evolution, but are subject to inherent risks. In proof-of-stake, validators lock up and pledge their $ETH tokens to run and secure the network, but any misstep can trigger a slashing incident (forfeiting some staked funds). These events are rare, but their mere possibility has been a major concern for institutional participants.

Until recently, insurance for stakers only covered slashing incidents — a safety net like boiler explosion coverage, tackling the worst-case scenario to encourage wider participation. Now, insurance is helping the crypto industry evolve more fully; this month, crypto insurer IMA Financial and Chainproof launched a policy that not only covers slashing losses but also guarantees a minimum annual yield for Ethereum stakers. The return is pegged to CESR(R), the Composite Ether Staking Rate, the average staking yield network-wide. By insuring yields, this coverage brings a new level of security to their staking returns.

A new frontier for crypto finance

Insuring validator yields opens the door to financial products once thought too risky. With a reliable floor on returns, we could soon see total-return staked ether ETFs and other structured products built on staking income. As staking moves into ETFs and institutional portfolios, insured yields will be imperative.

Just as boiler insurance unlocked investment opportunities in railroads and factories, this new crypto insurance can unlock institutional capital for blockchain networks. By making cutting-edge ventures safer for investors, insurance supports the responsible deployment of capital at the edge of innovation — powering the next wave of growth with clarity and conviction.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Ваш адрес email не будет опубликован. Обязательные поля помечены *

Uncategorized

Trump’s Memecoin Dinner Questioned by Top Democrat on House Judiciary Committee

Published

on

By

A senior Democrat in the House of Representatives, Jamie Raskin, joined his name to lawmakers seeking answers about President Donald Trump’s recent dinner for top investors in his memecoin, sending questions directly to Trump.

Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has been a vocal critic of the president and becomes the latest of many from his party to probe details about the event, which they’ve called out as evidence of White House corruption. Because Raskin is in the minority party, his demands are unlikely to lead to further congressional action unless they regain the House or Senate in next year’s elections.

«I write today to demand that you release the names of all the attendees at this dinner and provide information about the source of the money they each used to buy $TRUMP coins, so that we can prevent illegal foreign government emoluments from being pocketed without congressional consent,» Raskin wrote this week to the president, joining many counterparts in the Senate in seeking the information, including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal.

«We deserve to know who is paying for access to our president, and what steps you took to ensure that the funds you receive are legitimate and legal, rather than the proceeds from foreign states or monarchs or illegal activities,» Rasking said, specifically highlighting Tron founder Justin Sun, a guest who was a major early investor in Trump’s family crypto operations.

Read More: Democrats Threaten Lawsuits, Join Protests Ahead of Trump Memecoin Dinner

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

FTX Repayments May Have Positive Market Impact: Coinbase

Published

on

By

The FTX Recovery Trust will begin distributing over $5 billion in cash and stablecoins to creditors starting on Friday, with funds expected to land in accounts within the next three business days via BitGo and Kraken.

And there’s a chance this wave of repayments will help lift the crypto market, analysts at Coinbase wrote in a report on Friday.

It’s the second major round of repayments following the exchange’s collapse. The first, which began on Feb. 18, returned roughly $7 billion to creditors with claims under $50,000. That did little to lift broader crypto markets at the time, which remained under pressure from macro headwinds.

This latest wave of distributions comes as investor sentiment has shifted, the analysts said. Payments will arrive in stablecoins, offering recipients immediate on-chain liquidity, instead of cash and crypto. That could influence whether the funds are reinvested.

There’s also a broader sense of optimism in crypto markets, thanks in part to a rally in major assets and increased political clarity around regulation. Institutional players, in particular, may feel more comfortable acting on incoming funds, especially as Congress moves closer to passing legislation that would define the roles of U.S. regulators overseeing digital assets.

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Judge Declines to Order DOJ to Review Records in Roman Storm Case

Published

on

By

The federal judge overseeing Roman Storm’s prosecution declined to order the Department of Justice to review its records for any materials it might have missed that would help the Tornado Cash developer at the end of a 30-minute hearing Friday morning, though she told the government it should not have any disclosure issues.

Judge Katherine Polk Failla also ruled that there were no Brady violation concerns with the Department of Justice’s conversations with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) about whether mixers needed to register as money transmitters — the conversation that prosecutors pursuing Samourai Wallet developers had with FinCEN officials, but not the prosecutors on Storm’s case — one of the DOJ representatives said in the phone conference on Friday.

If the judge had found that prosecutors had withheld information, it could affect the case moving forward.

«I’m not going to require a further review based on the representations made that there’s no additional material of this type, and based on my views that I don’t believe the material was exculpatory,» she said.

«There’s a difference between ‘this is something I’d like to know’ and ‘this is a Brady violation,'» the judge said, referring to a Supreme Court precedent that requires prosecutors to share any and all information that might help a defendant with the defendant’s team.

Storm’s defense attorneys argued during the hearing that they needed to know when the prosecutors in their case learned about the FinCEN conversation.

«They do plan to say they’re charging a conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter,» said defense attorney Brian Klein. «My question is who are they supposed to be licensed with? … this is all in the same issue. They’ve only dropped one subpart … but they’re still going to say they’re charging an unlicensed money business.»

Thane Rehn, a prosecutor who worked on the DOJ case against Sam Bankman-Fried, said that his team wouldn’t argue that Tornado Cash needed to secure a license.

«The word ‘license’ doesn’t apply here and the jury won’t be instructed on licensing issues … what we intend to prove at trial is the defendant knew they were transmitting funds derived from criminals,» he said.

The judge did at multiple points ask the prosecutors if they planned to change any other theories or charges in the weeks leading up to the trial, saying doing so might be unfair to the defense. The trial is supposed to kick off in less than two months.

Read more: DOJ Will Still Pursue Roman Storm Case Despite Blanche Memo, Prosecutors Say

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2017 Zox News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by WordPress.