BREAKDOWN: Why Crypto's 'Rogue State' Narrative is a Risk to the Industry
Blockchain conferences in Iran plus Iran-focused hedge funds using crypto to work around sanctions: should we be worried?
ABOUT
Crypto tokens weren’t the only thing that saw a major pump yesterday. The total value locked in DeFi ascended to new heights. While part of this can be explained simply by the rise in ETH price, it also reflected traders turning to DeFi platforms as a way to get more exposure to the market action without selling their core assets.
For all the exciting price action, not everything is pointing in a positive direction. These market moves don’t seem to reflect new market participants, for example, and anecdotally, times remain tough for projects trying to fundraise.
In our final segment, we look at a blockchain conference in North Korea that the UN suggests simply attending may violate international sanctions, an Iran-focused hedge fund that uses cryptocurrency to work around international restrictions, and ask whether this sort of activity presents a narrative risk to the industry as a whole?
HOST
CoinDesk is the world leader in news, prices and information on bitcoin and other digital currencies.
We cover news and analysis on the trends, price movements, technologies, companies and people in the bitcoin and digital currency world.

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