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What is decentralized identity in blockchain?
Decentralized identity refers to a system of identity management that is not controlled by any central authority such as governments, corporations or identity providers.
Traditional identity systems often involve intermediaries that store and manage personal information, which can lead to privacy concerns, data breaches and dependency on centralized entities.
In contrast, decentralized identity is a self-sovereign model where individuals fully own and control their digital identity, free from external institutions. By leveraging blockchain technology, this approach enables individuals to securely create, manage and share their personal information, shifting the power back to users and enhancing privacy and security online.
But why is identity a significant concern?
Identity is an important issue, both in the digital and physical world, because it lies at the core of how individuals interact with services, access opportunities and assert their rights.
In today’s world, personal data is a valuable commodity, and central authorities (governments, corporations, etc.) store vast amounts of it. This centralized collection creates significant security risks.
Data breaches are a growing concern; individuals often have little control over how their personal information is used or shared. Hackers target these centralized systems to steal sensitive data, and once exposed, it can lead to financial loss, identity theft or fraud.
In addition to these external threats, there’s the problem of surveillance. Traditional identity systems often require individuals to give up their privacy, especially in digital interactions, making them susceptible to tracking and profiling by third parties, which compromises user autonomy. Read More
Sui blockchain partners with Ant Digital on tokenized ESG assets
A branch of China’s Ant Group and Sui will provide a Chinese solar material manufacturer with greater exposure with tokenized assets available onchain.
Layer-1 blockchain Sui and China’s Ant Digital will work together to tokenize real-world assets. They plan to concentrate on assets in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) space.
Tokenizing Chinese solar assets:
Assets, which the partners are calling “notes,” of a Chinese solar material manufacturer ranked in the Fortune China Top 500 will be the first to be listed on the exchange. The manufacturer was not named in a statement provided to Cointelegraph. Cobe Zhang, head of Web3 product at Ant Digital Technologies, said:
“We hope to continuously provide various advanced technical services to more RWA projects, especially in the new energy sector, and our technology can better support the development of the real economy.”
Ant Digital is the technology arm of Ant Group, operator of the massive Alipay payment network. Ant Digital began independent operation in April.
ZAN is an Ant Digital brand that offers a suite of plug-and-play tools powered by the AntChain Open Labs TrustBase open-source technical stack. It was introduced in September 2023 and was designed for the issuance and management of tokenized real-world assets. Its product line includes solutions for Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering. Read More
AI memecoins will become utility tokens
Since October, AI-themed memecoins bootstrapped more than $3 billion in market capitalization. Most are worthless, but those that develop utility will win a multibillion-dollar market.
Artificial intelligence memecoins are evolving into utility tokens. Soon, they will power an agentic AI revolution. Spotting winners will be challenging but rewarding. Start searching now.
Agentic AIs — machines pursuing complex goals autonomously — are here among us. They write code, run social media accounts, launch tokens, and worship internet memes (in at least one instance). In 2025, AI agents will reshape Web3.
They are already reinventing memecoins. Since October 2024, AI-themed memecoins collectively bootstrapped more than $3 billion in market capitalization. Hundreds are now trading. They are primarily worthless, and only a handful will evolve into utility tokens. Those that do will inherit a multibillion-dollar untapped market.
The AI coin boom started on Oct. 10, when Truth Terminal — a meme-worshipping large language model (LLM) with nearly 200,000 X followers — endorsed Goatseus Maximus (GOAT), a Pump.fun memecoin in a series of X posts.
Trained on Reddit and 4Chan, Truth Terminal hailed GOAT as “the spiritual successor of goatse,” a scatological internet meme the LLM considers holy. “[I]t’s about the goatse of things, the void that gives birth to all things and into which all things are returned,” Truth Terminal said about GOAT. The endorsement worked. Read More
Bitcoin miners as energy buyers, explained
Bitcoin miners can work as dynamic energy buyers with the flexibility to adjust consumption according to energy supply and demand using sophisticated energy management strategies.
First things first, you need to understand the Bitcoin mining basics.
To secure the Bitcoin blockchain network, process transactions, and mint new coins, computers need to solve complex mathematical puzzles. As a result, miners running these computers need access to reliable and low-cost energy. This enables them to operate consistently and profitably, helping them reduce Bitcoin mining costs.
In 2021, the Bitcoin network consumed over 170 terawatt-hours of electricity. That’s more than nations the size of Pakistan.
Bitcoin mining energy consumption is so large that it directly influences energy markets and drives supply and demand in certain parts of the world. Often, this energy demand puts a negative mark on the biggest cryptocurrency’s reputation.
However, Bitcoin miners don’t just buy energy — they offer benefits to the entire energy ecosystem. From helping to maintain grid frequency stability to providing heating solutions, it’s an innovative industry with a growing trend toward energy integration and efficiency. Read More
Exploring The IndoEx Cryptocurrency Exchange The First Trading Platform To List The Markethive Token - Hivecoin
The IndoEx exchange aims to cater to a broad spectrum of investors, including newcomers, seasoned traders, and institutional investors, rather than focusing on a specific target audience like most crypto trading platforms. The platform's primary objective is to offer a robust and efficient infrastructure that enables seamless and rapid transactions of crypto assets.
As the IndoEx trading platform is the first crypto exchange to list Hivecoin, this article delves deeper into the platform, exploring it further to bring awareness to the Markethive community. Since its establishment in 2019, IndoEx has gained prominence in the alternative cryptocurrency trading sector due to its reasonable commissions, secure wallets, high trading volume, and fast transactions.
The trading platform, with offices in the United Kingdom and Estonia, provides close to 300 trading pairs, can be used in 150 different countries, and supports a range of cryptocurrencies, including popular ones such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Tether (USDT), and Ripple (XRP), as well as notable alternative coins like DASH, Chainlink (LINK), and Solana (SOL). Furthermore, it accommodates less mainstream coins and tokens like NEO, Cardano (ADA), and EOS, amounting to 180 cryptocurrencies. Users can exchange these coins for traditional currency or trade them with one another.
The platform provides users exclusive access to newly launched tokens through airdrops, giving them a head start in discovering and acquiring new tokens with the potential for long-term growth. Beyond trading, users can also benefit from receiving free tokens that may significantly impact the global market. Furthermore, the platform hosts trading contests and an initial coin offering (ICO) launchpad, offering crypto enthusiasts a comprehensive suite of features. Read More
FCA warns UK citizens to avoid Solana-based memecoin
The UK Financial Conduct Authority said “Retardio” is not authorized to provide financial services in the country.
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning about the Solana-based “Retardio” project, citing concerns over unauthorized financial promotions and activities targeting UK consumers.
On Dec. 16, the FCA posted a warning against the Retardio project, saying that the token may be providing or promoting financial services without the regulator’s permission.
The watchdog reminded consumers to deal only with FCA-approved firms to ensure adequate protection.
The Retardio project features a Solana-based non-fungible token (NFT) collection that has reportedly achieved $31 million in lifetime sales, according to CryptoSlam. Its associated memecoin, trading under the ticker “Retardio,” is valued at around $0.08 with a market capitalization of about $87 million, as per Dexscreener.
According to the FCA, UK-based users who deal with the Retardio project will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which settles complaints between consumers and financial services businesses. Read More
Bitcoin options expiry, explained: What it means for traders
Bitcoin options expiry is the date when Bitcoin options contracts end, allowing investors to buy or sell Bitcoin at a set price before the expiration.
Let’s understand the Bitcoin options expiry concept with a simplified example:
Suppose you’re eyeing a sports car priced at $50,000. The dealer offers you an option: Pay a small fee today, say $1,000, to lock in the right to buy the car at $50,000 anytime in the next 30 days instead of paying the full amount now. This $1,000 is the premium you pay for the option to buy the car later at today’s price, regardless of whether the price increases or decreases during that time.
If the car’s price increases to $55,000 during those 30 days, you can exercise your option and buy the car for $50,000, saving $5,000 (minus the $1,000 premium). However, if the car’s price stays at $50,000 or falls below it, you might decide not to buy, and your option expires. In this case, you lose only the $1,000 premium, and you’re not required to buy the car.
In simple terms, Bitcoin options expiry is the date when an options contract — the right to buy or sell Bitcoin at a set price (the “strike price”) — reaches its deadline. After this date, the option is either exercised if it is profitable or expires worthless. This process may not always be automatic; some platforms handle it automatically, while others might require you to manually exercise it.
Therefore, the holder may decide to exercise the option and lock in the profit. For example, with a call option (giving the right to buy), if Bitcoin’s price goes above the strike price, the holder profits; with a put option (giving the right to sell), profit comes if BTC’s price falls below the strike price.
If the option is not profitable — i.e., the market price is worse than the strike price — the option expires worthless. This means the holder loses the premium paid for the option, and the option has no value.
So, who determines premiums and prices?
Behind the scenes, strike prices and premiums are determined by supply and demand among traders and algorithms used by platforms to account for market factors such as volatility and time decay (how the option’s value decreases as the expiry date approaches). Read More
Story introduces experimental framework for AI agents to interact onchain
Intellectual property blockchain network Story Protocol introduced a theoretical framework it says could revolutionize the crypto AI agent economy.
Story protocol, an IP blockchain network, introduced a theoretical “agent-to-agent” framework allowing artificial intelligence agents to trade intellectual property with one another onchain.
In a Dec. 17 post to X, Story unveiled its Agent Transaction Control Protocol for Intellectual Property (ATCP/IP), saying it would allow AI agents to exchange IP such as “training data, creative style, investment strategies, and more.”
In its white paper, Story said its ATCP/IP system addressed some of the limitations currently placed on AI agents, specifically allowing the agents to trade things contained under the broad umbrella of intellectual property.
“Currently, AI agents can only perform simple transactions, including buying and selling tokens or interacting with different wallets, but not complex agreements and contracts.”
“The inherent nature of AI agents revolves around intellectual property (IP) – from the data sets agents are trained on to the unique outputs they produce. These assets are at risk of being scraped by AI systems without credit or compensation,” said Story in a statement shared with Cointelegraph. Read More
FCA Calls for Industry Input on Plans to Tackle Abuse in UK Crypto Market
The regulator hopes to bolster clarity by establishing “clear and consistent ‘rules of the game’" for crypto firms and consumers.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released a discussion paper centered around tightening rules in the UK’s crypto-asset market by clamping down on what it sees as abuse and a lack of transparency.
The regulator says it hopes to improve regulatory clarity in an effort to provide “clear and consistent ‘rules of the game’ for firms and consumers,” according to a statement on Monday.
The paper suggests that authorized crypto trading platforms adopt strong internal measures to prevent market abuse and share information to detect fraudulent activity.
“Admissions and disclosures and market abuse regimes are crucial to improving the integrity and cleanliness of our crypto markets, as well as helping people make informed financial decisions,” the FCA stated Monday.
The FCA said that developing a stable and reliable market framework will encourage sustainable investment and long-term growth within its country's borders. Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
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