Dive down a rabbit hole and explore nonfungible tokens, multimillion-dollar digital art and the nature of reality.
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Tag Archives: Virtual Currency
In Coinbase’s Rise, a Reminder: Cryptocurrencies Use Lots of Energy
The company’s stock market arrival establishes Bitcoin and other digital currencies in the traditional financial landscape. It also elevates a technology with astonishing environmental costs.
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These C.E.O.s Didn’t Sign Onto a Letter Defending Voting Rights
Hundreds of leaders and companies signed a letter opposing strict limits. They did not.
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Why Coinbase’s IPO Is a Cryptocurrency Coming-Out Party
With acceptance from traditional investors, a profitable start-up that eases transactions is offering proof of the industry’s staying power.
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Don’t Fear Cryptocurrencies. Manage Them.
The idea that regulation chills activity in new markets is intuitive, but not always accurate. Sometimes the opposite is true.
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Cryptocurrency’s Newest Frontier
The craze for digital artworks known as NFTs exploded in the past year. Why are some people shelling out millions of dollars for them?
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As NFTs Soar, Experts Warn of an Unsustainable Bubble
As the prices of blockchain-secured works skyrocket and speculators swoop, experts are warning of an unsustainable bubble.
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Why Did Someone Pay $560,000 for a Picture of My Column?
Bidders say they had many different motivations, including fun, self-promotion and signaling support for the NFT market.
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Buy This NFT Column on the Blockchain!
Why can’t a journalist join the NFT party, too?
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Coinbase Users Say Crypto Start-Up Ignored Their Pleas for Help
As Coinbase prepares to be the first major cryptocurrency company to go public, it is struggling with basic customer service, users said.
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Another Big Step Toward Digitizing Our Lives
Repeat after me: Everything that can be digitized will be digitized.
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Twitter Hacker Pleads Guilty in Florida Court
The 18-year-old is expected to serve three years in a juvenile facility in return for the plea.
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From Crypto Art to Trading Cards, Investment Manias Abound
Each market frenzy seems crazier than the last. But all have the same roots.
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The $69 Million Beeple NFT Was Bought With Cryptocurrency
“It feel like I got a steal,” the buyer, who calls himself Metakovan, said in an interview about the “nonfungible token,” or NFT, he bought at an online auction.
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JPG File Sells for $69 Million, as ‘NFT Mania’ Gathers Pace
“Everydays — The First 5000 Days,” by the artist known as Beeple, set a record for a digital artwork in a sale at Christie’s.
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For Creators, Everything Is for Sale
Digital stars are coming up with new ways to make money. Yet fans still hold the power.
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China Charges Ahead With a National Digital Currency
The electronic Chinese yuan is now being tested in cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. No other major power is as far along with a homegrown digital currency.
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What Janet Yellen’s Policy Priorities Look Like
The Treasury secretary speaks on debt, taxes, cryptocurrencies and more.
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Janet Yellen on Jobs, Debt, Taxes, Climate and Cryptocurrency
The Treasury Secretary dropped hints about her priorities — if you know how to interpret them.
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Why an Animated Flying Cat With a Pop-Tart Body Sold for Almost $600,000
A fast-growing market for digital art, ephemera and media is marrying the world’s taste for collectibles with cutting-edge technology.
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Bitcoin and Dogecoin Are Boosted by Elon Musk
Bitcoin and even Dogecoin, which began as a playful experiment, are soaring in value as billionaires, companies and celebrities promote the digital currencies.
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What’s Next for Crypto Regulation
The rules are in flux as a new U.S. administration takes over.
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As Bitcoin’s Price Surges, Affluent Investors Start to Take a Look
Cryptocurrencies, originally a way to conduct business outside the financial system, are increasingly seen as an asset akin to private equity or venture capital.
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They Found a Way to Limit Big Tech’s Power: Using the Design of Bitcoin
Companies inspired by the cryptocurrency are creating social networks, storing online content and hosting websites without any central authority.
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As Bitcoin Prices Swing, Millionaires Lose Sleep Over Lost Keys
Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared. But what happens when you can’t access that wealth because you forgot the password to your digital wallet?
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The Business Rules the Trump Administration Is Racing to Finish
From tariffs and trade to the status of Uber drivers, regulators are trying to install new rules or reduce regulations before President-elect Joe Biden takes over.
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Cryptocurrency Company Ripple Facing an S.E.C. Lawsuit
Ripple, the company behind the third most valuable digital token, is expecting to be sued by regulators as cryptocurrency values skyrocket.
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How I Blew My Bitcoin on Sushi
In 2013, this reporter spent 10 Bitcoin, worth $1,000 at the time, on a dinner for dozens of strangers in San Francisco. The owner of the restaurant wisely held onto it.
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Bitcoin Climbs to Record High
The crazy cousin of traditional currencies, which fell below $4,000 in March, passed $19,783. More investors now are buying it for the long term.
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‘Tokenized’: Inside Black Workers’ Struggles at Coinbase
Coinbase, the most valuable U.S. cryptocurrency company, has faced many internal complaints about discriminatory treatment.
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Who Will Miss the Coins When They’re Gone?
We used to carry and trade bits of metal everywhere, but a pandemic shortage and the rise of digital money are making jingly pockets a distant memory for many.
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Trump Campaign Website Is Defaced by Hackers
The defacement lasted less than 30 minutes, and the hackers appeared to be looking to generate cryptocurrency.
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China’s digital yuan tests leap forward in Shenzhen
Shenzhen, known for its maker community and manufacturing resources, is taking the lead in trialing China’s digital yuan.
Last week, the city issued 10 million yuan worth of digital currency to 50,000 randomly selected residents. The government doled out the money through mobile “red envelopes,” a tool designed to digitize the custom of gifting money in red packets and first popularized by WeChat’s e-wallet.
The digital yuan is not to be mistaken as a form of cryptocurrency. Rather, it is issued and managed by the central bank, serving as the statutory, digital version of China’s physical currency and giving Beijing a better grasp of its currency circulation. It’s meant to supplement, not replace, third-party payments apps like WeChat Pay and Alipay in a country where cash is dying out.
For example, the central government may in the future issue subsidies to local offices by sending digital yuan, which can help tackle issues like corruption.
Shenzhen is one of the four Chinese cities to begin internal testing of the digital yuan, announced a government notice in August without going into the specifics. The latest distribution to consumers is seen as the country’s first large-scale, public test of the centrally issued virtual currency.
Nearly 2 million individuals in Shenzhen signed up for the lottery, according to a post from the local government. Winners could redeem the 200 yuan red envelope within the official digital yuan app and spend the virtual money at over 3,000 retail outlets in the city.
As its next step, Shenzhen will launch a (vaguely defined) “fintech innovation platform” through its official digital currency institute, said a new central government document detailing the city’s five-year development measures, including attracting more foreign investment in cutting-edge technologies. The city will also play a key role in furthering the digital yuan’s research and development, application and international collaboration.
In April, the city’s digital currency vehicle launched a wave of recruiting for technical positions like mobile app architects and Android developers.
Shenzhen was established in 1980 as China’s first special economic zones and is now home to tech behemoths like Tencent, Huawei and DJI and innovation hubs like HAX and Trouble Maker. President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the city this week to commemorate the city’s 40th anniversary.
While the central bank provides logic and infrastructure undergirding the digital yuan, there’s much room for commercial banks and private firms to innovate on the application level. Both ride-hailing platform Didi and JD’s fintech arm have recently unveiled steps to help accelerate the digital yuan’s real-life implementation.
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Hackers Tell the Story of the Twitter Attack From the Inside
Several people involved in the events that took down Twitter this week spoke with The Times. What might have been a pursuit of Bitcoin spun out of control.
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Why Is a Tech Executive Installing Security Cameras Around San Francisco?
Chris Larsen knows that a crypto mogul spending his own money for a city’s camera surveillance system might sound creepy. He’s here to explain why it’s not.
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Are You Ready to Go Back to the Office?
A long stretch of remote working has led companies to rethink their office space — namely, whether they need as much of it after the pandemic subsides.
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Facebook-Backed Libra Cryptocurrency Project Is Scaled Back
After months of criticism, the cryptocurrency is moving ahead with significant revisions.
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