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Are we headed for another crypto winter?

Jun 14, 2022
The term describes the downturn in the value of bitcoin as well as the fortunes of companies that support the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Above, a bitcoin ATM at a Miami shop. Investors have been fleeing the cryptocurrency world and values are sliding.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

When a cryptocurrency you never heard of drains your life savings

Jun 9, 2022
The terraUSD meltdown destroyed the nest eggs of people who had no idea what it was nor that they'd invested in it.
A cryptocurrency exchange office in Istanbul in October. Last month, the "stablecoin" terraUSD lost $60 billion in value in a matter of days.
Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Crypto's growth spawns a Washington debate: Who should regulate it?

Jun 8, 2022
A bill would put the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in charge. Some consumer advocates back the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has more people to oversee cryptocurrency than the smaller Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but other factors are involved.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Crypto asset meltdown prompts calls for regulation

May 13, 2022
The Securities and Exchange Commission isn't the only agency that could do it.
After a tumultuous week for cryptocurrency, the risk to investors is stirring concern.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
While a 401(k) that includes cryptocurrency may pique the interest of younger investors, the volatility of bitcoin worries some financial advisors.
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What are stablecoins, and why are regulators worried about them?

Apr 18, 2022
The cryptocurrencies — pegged to "real" currencies that aren't supposed to fluctuate in value — are the bedrock of the crypto economy.
Stablecoins are involved in roughly 80% of cryptocurrency trading and lending transactions and aren't supposed to fluctuate in value. But the Treasury Department is concerned about the potential for a stablecoin run.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Crypto for kids?

Apr 14, 2022
A conversation with Rebecca Jennings of Vox on the growing new industry that teaches children about cryptocurrency, NFTs and Web3.
Internet culture reporter Rebecca Jennings says a growing cohort of camps, startups and media aim to prepare children for the future of the internet. What lessons are the kids learning?
Chaloner Woods/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Crypto miners use natural gas "stranded" in wells to power energy-hungry rigs

Mar 25, 2022
Usually the gas is burned off at the well. Environmentalists say using it for mining incentivizes more drilling.
If natural gas from oil wells can't be used or sold, it's sometimes flared, as above, or vented into the air. Some cryptocurrency miners see it as a potential energy source.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Crypto miners came to upstate New York for cheap energy. Some regret letting them come.

Mar 11, 2022
The miners have blown through one town's allocation of cheap power, while another has put a moratorium on new mining operations.
Coinmint is using an old aluminum smelting plant as a cryptocurrency mining facility. The plant comes with its own electrical substation with direct hookups to the grid.
Lily Jamali/Marketplace

Should you put cryptocurrency in your retirement account?

Marketplace Senior Economics Contributor Chris Farrell says think twice. He calls the crypto ecosystem "volatile" and "opaque."
A scene from the Bitcoin 2021 Convention, a crypto-currency conference held on June 04, 2021 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images