One of the world’s oldest competitive “breakers,” or breakdancers, is twisting and shouting Bitcoin (BTC) on dancefloors across the United States. Aged 64, Ben Hart told Cointelegraph he reckons he’s “the world’s oldest actively competing breaker.” For context, Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC Chair, is the same age. But it’s unlikely Gensler will be shredding up the dancefloor wearing Bitcoin jerseys any time soon: Some are asking for more footage of me, the 64-year-old break dancer who wears a #Bitcoin shirt in all his breaking battles. Me last weekend in Chicago. Retweet if you like this! …

PAWS Chicago, an animal rescue organization in the midwest city aiming to have shelters stop using euthanasia for its resident cats and dogs, is now accepting crypto donations. In a Tuesday announcement, PAWS Chicago said it would be accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and other tokens to support its operations ahead of its new hospital for homeless cats and dogs. The organization is hoping to target “a tech-savvy demographic of potential donors,” promoting crypto donations with digital billboards featuring a dog shooting lasers out of its eyes. According to the organization, crypto donations may be used to further …

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, or CME, recently announced plans to add Ethereum (ETH) futures to its offering — three years after launching Bitcoin (BTC) futures. Market development has impacted the exchange's decision to branch out. “Since we launched the CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate and Real-Time Index in 2018, there has been significant growth in ether transactions, and increased client demand for tools to manage price risk,” a CME representative told Cointelegraph. Similar to CME’s Bitcoin Reference Rate, the CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate and Real-Time Index essentially show ETH’s going market price. “As with any new product or service, we …

The United States arm of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has entered a major organization focused on decentralized finance, or DeFi. According to a Sept. 17 blog post, Binance.US has officially joined the Chicago DeFi Alliance. Also known as the CDA, the association is backed by crypto fund Volt Capital, brokerage firm TD Ameritrade, CMT Digital, Cumberland DRW, Compound Finance and others. By joining the alliance, Binance.US aims to contribute to the further development of the DeFi industry in the U.S., the firm’s CEO Catherine Coley said. “By working with DeFi Alliance, Binance.US will help mature the DeFi space, …

Chicago Mercantile Exchange's, or CME, global head of equity index and alternative investment products, Tim McCourt, said traders prefer cash-settled Bitcoin trading over products backed by physical Bitcoin (BTC). "So far, clients have expressed a clear preference and priority for a cash-settled product," McCourt told Cointelegraph in an email when asked why the CME chose to go the cash-settled route for its Bitcoin futures trading product back in 2017. The CME launched its BTC futures after its price metrics The CME opened Bitcoin futures trading in 2017, based on the exchange's own CF Bitcoin Reference Rate, or BRR, and Bitcoin …

Amid the apparent ongoing collapse in decentralized finance (DeFi) lending, a group of major trading and cryptocurrency companies in the United States are launching an alliance to support the sector. Introduced on April 7, the Chicago DeFi Alliance (CDA) aims to provide DeFi-focused startups and entrepreneurs with support and guidance in complying with trading regulations and other applicable requirements. Chicago DeFi Alliance to share its expertise to boost DeFi liquidity and markets According to a blog post by crypto fund Volt Capital, a founding member the CDA initiative, the alliance also includes major brokerage firm TD Ameritrade, crypto investment firms …

Chicago-based fintech startup FinTank aims to launch a national self-regulatory organization, or SRO, in the United States. Headed up by former Chicago Board Options Exchange, or CBOE, trader David Carman and partner George Vukotich, FinTank’s SRO “will help regulate the global crypto industry,” Carman told Cointelegraph. As much of the crypto world looks toward the U.S. regulatory scene, such an SRO could impact the crypto industry worldwide. Regulation is unclear in the crypto space, even after 10 years Although regulations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, have tightened over …

Chicago-based crypto exchange ErisX has procured a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) license from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). According to an official blog post on July 1, ErisX is planning to make digital asset futures contracts available for trade on its regulated derivatives market later this year via its new DCO. ErisX also launched its spot market in April, with the promise of eventually rolling out a single digital asset platform for spot and futures trading. At press time, the ErisX spot market exchange includes U.S. dollar trading pairs with bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH), ether (ETH) …

Winklevoss brothers-led Gemini crypto exchange is launching a new office in Chicago, the firm officially announced on June 27. Headquartered in New York, Gemini adds its new Chicago office to their existing office in Portland, Oregon, Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss wrote in a Medium post on Thursday. According to the statement, Gemini’s Chicago office will act as an engineering hub, and reflects the company’s goal of providing a “safe and reliable institutional-grade infrastructure” for trading and storing crypto. In the post, Tyler emphasized the city’s role in the global financial system, referring to Chicago as the “birthplace of commodities markets.” …

Northern Trust has handed over its blockchain platform to fintech firm Broadridge Financial Solutions, according to a press release on June 26. The Chicago-based asset management firm Northern Trust has handed over its blockchain-based private equity (PE) management solution to Broadridge for further improvement. The platform purports to streamline and automate certain tasks, such as middle office functions. The PE blockchain solution will initially roll out “to all PE funds domiciled in Guernsey and Delaware, including those administered by Northern Trust.” Pete Cherecwich, President of Corporate & Institutional Services at Northern Trust commented on the hand-off, saying: “For the benefit …

Chicago-based crypto exchange ErisX has officially announced the public launch of its spot market, according to a press release shared with Cointelegraph. The ErisX spot exchange is the first part of the company’s development of a single platform that will represent both a digital asset spot and regulated futures exchange, the firm said in the announcement. Subsequently after the announcement, ErisX reportedly enabled support of United States dollar trading pairs with major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH) and litecoin (LTC), according to crypto news outlet Coindesk. Coindesk writes that ErisX is already in touch with …

Major United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase shut down its Chicago office and scaled down the development of its matching engine, Fortune reports on April 23. Per the report, the exchange will consolidate the high-frequency trading matching engine efforts into its San Francisco office. Coinbase also purportedly laid off about 30 employees and will relocate some to the area of the other office, while others will work remotely. According to local news site Chicago Inno, when the company announced the opening of the Chicago office in May last year, it planned on hiring 100 people over three years, most of whom …