Nigeria still open to crypto business despite rocky past: Report  

The Sonic blockchain is working on the implementation of its yield-generating, algorithmic stablecoin despite fears over a potential collapse similar to the Terra-Luna meltdown that led to the industry’s longest crypto winter.Algorithmic stablecoins employ code-based mechanisms to ensure their price stability, as opposed to fiat stablecoins pegged directly to the value of the underlying currency.The Sonic blockchain is working on the implementation of an algorithmic stablecoin with up to 23% annual percentage rate (APR), according to Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs and founder of Yearn.finance.Cronje wrote in a March 22 X post:“POC looks good. Yielding > 200% APR @ 10m tvl, around 23.5% APR @ 100m, steady at around 4.9% at 1bn+. Will scale up and get team for a full release.”Source: Andre CronjeThe announcement came a day after Cronje admitted to experiencing Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to algorithmic stablecoin due to previous cycles:“Pretty sure our team cracked algo stable coins today, but previous cycle gave me so much PTSD not sure if we should implement.”In May 2022, the $40 billion Terra ecosystem collapsed, erasing tens of billions of dollars of value in a matter of days. Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), was yielding an over 20% annual percentage yield (APY) on Anchor Protocol.   As UST lost its dollar peg, crashing to a low of around $0.30, Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon took to X to share his rescue plan. At the same time, the value of sister token LUNA, once a top-10 crypto project by market capitalization, plunged over 98% to $0.84. For reference: LUNA was trading north of $120 in early April.Related: Sonic TVL rises 66% to $253M since rebranding from FantomSonic claims to be the world’s fastest Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chain, with a “true” 720 milliseconds (ms) finality — the assurance that a transaction is irreversible, which happens after it is added to a block on the blockchain ledger.Sonic has garnered attention in the crypto industry since its testnet achieved a 720 ms finality on Sept. 8, 2024.Related: FTX liquidated $1.5B in 3AC assets 2 weeks before hedge fund’s collapseInvestors are still buying collapsed LUNA token years after Terra crashThe Terra (LUNA) token is down over 98% from its all-time high of 19.54 recorded on May 28, 2022, nearly three years ago, CoinMarketCap data shows.LUNA/USD, all-time chart. Source: CoinMarketCapDespite the collapse, the token saw over $21 million worth of trading volume over the past 24 hours, which shows that “people are still buying it even though it’s dead,” noted popular technical analyst Optimus KevTron.The collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin issuer created shockwaves among both crypto investors and lawmakers.To create more stability, the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) bill will prohibit the issuance of algorithmic stablecoins to avoid another collapse similar to the Terra ecosystem’s.Magazine: ‘Hong Kong’s FTX’ victims win lawsuit, bankers bash stablecoins: Asia Express

Cryptocurrency wallet providers are getting more sophisticated, but so are bad actors — which means the battle between security and threats is at a deadlock, says a hardware wallet firm executive.“It will always be a cat and mouse game,” Ledger chief experience officer Ian Rogers told Cointelegraph when describing the constant race between crypto wallet firms adding new security features and hackers finding more advanced ways to access victims’ wallets.Rogers said, unfortunately, the most straightforward scams work best because scammers rely on people making simple mistakes.“People give their 24-word phrases to people every day, so as long as that happens, then they are going to go for the low-cost tax,” he said, adding:“Anyone who asks for your 24 words is a criminal.”Rogers highlighted a common crypto scam where victims get tricked by replies under “any post on Twitter about crypto,” with messages like “DM me, and I’ll help you.”“You know that scammers are always asking you for your 24 words,” Rogers said. CertiK chief business officer Jason Jiang recently told Cointelegraph that being aware of phishing attacks on social media can drastically increase a user’s crypto security.Sometimes, scammers hijack the accounts of well-known industry figures to post malicious links, making it even harder for users to spot the scam.In September 2023, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s account was compromised, leading to a fake NFT giveaway that tricked followers into clicking — only to drain over $691,000 from their wallets.Source: CertiKRogers emphasized that this will always be the case, just as bad actors aren’t limited to crypto — scams like fake emails from the “Nigerian president” have been around for years.“The cost of the attack is always commensurate with the size of the prize, right?” Rogers said. In 2024, crypto hacks jumped 15% from 2023, with over $3 billion stolen.Related: Hacker steals $8.4M from RWA restaking protocol ZothMeanwhile, pig butchering scams have emerged as one of the most pervasive threats to crypto investors, with losses on the Ethereum network costing the industry $5.5 billion across 200,000 identified cases in 2024.Pig butchering is a type of phishing scheme that involves prolonged and complex manipulation tactics to trick investors into willingly sending their assets to fraudulent crypto addresses.Magazine: Dummies guide to native rollups: L2s as secure as Ethereum itself

Bilal Bin Saqib, the CEO of Pakistan’s Crypto Council, has proposed using the country’s runoff energy to fuel Bitcoin (BTC) mining at the Crypto Council’s inaugural meeting on March 21.According to an article from The Nation, the council is exploring comprehensive regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies to attract foreign direct investment and establish Pakistan as a crypto hub.The meeting included lawmakers, the Bank of Pakistan’s governor, the chairman of Pakistan’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP), and the federal information technology secretary. Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb had this to say about the meeting:“This is the beginning of a new digital chapter for our economy. We are committed to building a transparent, future-ready financial ecosystem that attracts investment, empowers our youth, and puts Pakistan on the global map as a leader in emerging technologies.”The Crypto Council represents a radical departure from the government of Pakistan’s previous stance on crypto. In May 2023, former minister of state for finance and revenue, Aisha Ghaus Pasha said crypto would never be legal in the country.Pasha cited anti-money laundering restrictions under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as the primary motivation for the government’s anti-crypto stance.The presence of Bitcoin miners can stabilize electrical grids. Source: Science Direct Related: Pakistan eyes crypto legal framework to boost foreign investmentPakistan follows the United States in embracing cryptoThe government of Pakistan moved to regulate cryptocurrencies as legal tender on Nov. 4, 2024 — the same day as the elections in the United States.Following the re-election of Donald Trump in the US and the Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump moved quickly to establish pro-crypto policies at the federal level.On Jan. 23, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the Working Group on Digital Assets — an executive advisory council tasked with exploring comprehensive regulatory reform on digital assets.President Trump signs executive order establishing the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets. Source: The White HouseThe Jan. 23 order also prohibited the government from researching, developing, or issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).President Trump also signed an executive order creating a Bitcoin strategic reserve and a separate digital asset stockpile in March 2025 that will likely include cryptocurrencies made by US-based firms.Magazine: How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025