Non-custodial crypto platform ShapeShift refuted United States Senator Elizabeth Warren’s claims of "illicit financing,” suggesting that she used the platform as a scapegoat to “push” her latest crypto bill, according to a recent statement. ShapeShift stated in a tweet on Feb. 19 that Warren made “mistakes” in her “analysis” of the platform, which were made at a recent senate banking committee hearing entitled “Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets,” on Feb. 14. On Valentine's Day, @SenWarren attempted to use ShapeShift as an example to push her latest crypto bill. Unfortunately, there were mistakes in the …

A bi-partisan anti-money laundering (AML) bill that covers “decentralized entities” such as decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and DAOs will soon be reintroduced to Congress, according to United States Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren, a vocal crypto critic, argued at the Feb. 14 Senate Banking Committee’s hearing entitled “Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets” that the crypto community wants decentralized entities running on code to be exempt from AML requirements: “In other words, they want a giant loophole for DeFi written into the law so they can launder money whenever a drug lord or a terrorist pays …

ShapeShift, a noncustodial crypto exchange and decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), has taken additional steps toward complete decentralization by migrating users to a new open-source application — a move the organization said would enhance user mobility. The organization announced that as of Oct. 19, all native web users of the ShapeShift platform have migrated to a decentralized version of the application. The announcement also coincided with the release of a new mobile app that the organization said would provide an “authentic DeFi universe” experience. The new mobile app is said to provide users with additional flexibility, mobility and features when connecting …

On Wednesday, ShapeShift — a Swiss decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) hosting a cryptocurrency trading ecosystem — announced that its centralized corporate brand, ShapeShift AG, has formed the FOX Foundation. The nonprofit organization's stated purpose is to oversee the decentralization of its namesake trading platform and assets. The FOX Foundation’s charter includes handling tasks such as paying bills in fiat currency, hosting servers, maintaining the platform’s centralized infrastructure until the transition completes, and replacing ShapeShift’s backend node with decentralized infrastructure FOXChain, developed in conjunction with Coinbase Cloud. According to the company, ShapeShift became the first in the space to fully decentralize …

Non-custodial cryptocurrency platform ShapeShift DAO has launched a new NFT auction in support of female artists in the nonfungible token and blockchain industries — a segment of the population that remains underrepresented in the rapidly growing digital economy. The auction for “Block 495559—Crypto Kitties and the Great Hairball in the Tubes,” a collaborative one-of-a-kind NFT series created by female artist LunaHawk and ShapeShift DAO director GrayMachine, will be held on OpenSea between April 4-11. The NFT series was minted on the Ethereum mainnet and will include custom, animal-themed digital art that conveys the history of the cryptocurrency market through various …

Non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift has completed its second airdrop of FOX tokens — dubbed “fairdrop” — as part of a broad decentralization pledge that was first announced in July. The airdrop of 6,613,000 FOX tokens was distributed to over 33,000 DAO community members, ShapeShift announced Tuesday. These holders were previously ineligible for the airdrop reward because their tokens were locked in staking or liquidity operations. A proposal to amend the token distribution process to include DAO community members was submitted on Sept. 16, receiving overwhelming support. As Cointelegraph reported, ShapeShift airdropped 340 million FOX tokens to over one million users …

As part of its ongoing decentralization efforts, non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift announced Thursday that it has open-sourced the code of its upcoming version two platform, giving developers the opportunity to contribute to the iteration process. ShapeShift’s v2 code repository is now available on Github, making it easier for developers to download it to their local drives. “This is a great step in our ongoing efforts to open source and involve the community in iterating on the first comprehensive, multichain, community-built interface,” said Josh Foreman, engineering workstream lead for ShapeShift DAO. The company also announced that open-source developers can attend biweekly …

Promising innovations in DeFi have given rise to a new breed of stablecoins that have the potential to reduce volatility and promote greater decentralization, according to a new research report from ShapeShift. In its latest New Frontiers research study, ShapeShift explores the recent growth of “algorithmic stablecoins,” which are cryptocurrencies that automatically adjust an asset’s supply and other important parameters to reduce volatility. In his analysis, author Kent Barton, who heads research and development at ShapeShift, focuses on three assets: RAI, FRAX and FEI. Related: ShapeShift to decentralize entire company, plans for largest airdrop in history Barton summarizes the potential …

Erik Voorhees, founder and CEO of ShapeShift, has revealed in a podcast that he felt embarrassed and disgusted by the behavior of Bitcoin maximalists at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami. A Bitcoin OG who can see some merit in altcoins, Voorhees spoke on a panel during day two of the conference in June. He caused a stir when he said, “Did I hear someone on that prior panel say, ‘If you’re against toxic maximalism, you’re against Bitcoin and you’re against freedom?’… Yeah, that’s some bullshit.” The ShapeShift CEO expanded on those comments in a Tuesday interview on the Unchained …

ShapeShift, a leading non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange, is planning to open-source its platform and dissolve its entire corporate structure — an unprecedented move that underscores the company’s commitment to decentralization. Largest airdrop in history As part of its decentralization pledge, ShapeShift plans to airdrop 340 million FOX tokens to over one million users who traded $1 or more of Ether (ETH) or any ERC-20 token through the platform prior to June 9, 2021. Both current and past users of ShapeShift are eligible to receive the airdrop. The breakdown of the FOX token distribution is as follows: 1-4 trades: 200 FOX 5-9 …

In a blog post today, noncustodial wallet and decentralized exchange aggregator ShapeShift announced expanded functionality for its FOX rewards token designed to mitigate gas fees — or, as the project put it, turn the token into “the Gas-Guzzling Philanthropist of the DeFi Forest.” “FOX Tokens now have the added superpower of helping you pay for gas when you trade on ShapeShift,” reads the blog. “ShapeShift will now help cover your gas costs on trades by reimbursing you with FOX.” Users will be able to offset certain portions of their fees dependent on the amount of FOX that they hold, and …

Decentralized finance has many of the hallmarks of previous cryptocurrency bull markets: incredible gains, extreme volatility and massive risks. In a new report, leading noncustodial cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift explains the four biggest risks facing DeFi investors and why the emerging field of decentralized insurance could offer a solution. The report, titled "Spreading the Risk: Decentralized Insurance," categorizes DeFi risk into the following “landmines”: custodial risk, smart contract risk, protocol risk and oracle risk. The history of crypto is filled with examples of centralized exchanges “losing or absconding with users’ funds,” argues report author Kent Barton. For smart contract risk, one …