x
PayPal's Venmo Can Now Be Used to Buy Bitcoin and Ethereum via MoonPay
PayPal's Venmo can now be used by U.S. customers to top up and make crypto purchases on MoonPay, according to a Thursday announcement.
PayPal is diving deeper into the crypto world:
In a Thursday announcement, the payments giant said that U.S. customers could now buy digital coins and tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum on MoonPay using their Venmo accounts.
Venmo is a popular mobile payments app owned by PayPal. MoonPay is a platform allowing people to buy, sell, or swap digital coins and tokens. Venmo customers can use their account balance, a direct bank withdrawal, or debit card to fund crypto purchases on MoonPay, however MoonPay said that users in New York and Texas cannot use the Venmo integration.
The announcement is part of PayPal's latest strategy to make crypto available to everyday people. In September, the payments company enabled U.S. merchants to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency from their business accounts. Read More
The Power of Stablecoins – Boosting E-Commerce Payments and Opening Doors for Retailers in Crypto
Stablecoins are already becoming a mainstream digital tool for everyday use. Now, both companies and regular users utilize them for payments.
In Singapore, for example, the stablecoin payment value reached $1 billion a few weeks ago, once again proving that they are becoming a key solution for businesses – and e-commerce is no exception.
This is no surprise as stablecoins bring vast amounts of benefits compared to traditional fiat payments and volatile cryptocurrencies.
So, when thinking about streamlined payment methods for businesses, stablecoins are what come to mind.
But how exactly can they be used in the e-commerce industry, and why are they a better alternative for traditional payment methods? Read More
Freedom Factory unveils ethOS mobile hardware for Ethereum ecosystem
Users must first mint a non-fungible token on the Base layer-2 network to redeem the NFT for the upcoming crypto-native device.
Freedom Factory — the team behind the ethOS operating system — has unveiled a new mobile device called the “dGen1” — an onchain device used to interact with Web3 applications, decentralized finance protocols, and to sign transactions on Ethereum.
The device is built on ethOS — a fork of the Android operating system — and features a built-in web browser, touch screen, audio speaker, and a separate screen that displays transaction metadata. However, dGen1 does not appear to have telecommunication capabilities.
A key feature of the dGen1 is the light node client on the device — meaning prospective users will not have to rely on third-party remote procedure call (RPC) nodes to interact with the blockchain.
According to Freedom Factory, the device will begin shipping in Spring 2025, making Freedom Factory the latest firm to join the growing list of Web3 developers venturing into mobile hardware. This list includes Solana with its upcoming Seeker smartphone and Mysten Labs’ SuiPlay0X1 handheld gaming device. Read More
Can liquid staking tokens depeg due to market volatility?
Some top LSTs have previously seen price deviations of up to 77% from Ether’s price due to mass sell-offs paired with liquidations on leveraged lending protocols.
The $45 billion liquid staking sector is raising concerns among investors over the long-term price stability of cryptocurrencies tied to these protocols.
Liquid staking creates more capital efficiency for investors by offering an equivalent of the initial staked token that can be deployed in other decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
However, liquid staking tokens (LSTs) could temporarily lose their price peg to Ether, according to Carlos Mercado, a data scientist at Flipside Crypto research firm.
Mercado told Cointelegraph:
“A broader risk is what happens when a significant percent of Ethereum is staked- the liquid staked tokens don't have instant redemption, so in high volatility time periods they can "depeg" where the open market price differs from the (often verifiable) ETH backing.”
Maintaining price stability for Ether-based LSTs is crucial, as their cumulative market capitalization stands at $36.5 billion, according to CoinGecko. Read More
The New Mini Blog Newsfeed Is Here At Markethive! A significant achievement unlocked, with many more to come
The Markethive Social Market Broadcasting Network is rapidly gaining prominence as a blockchain-based ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs with a unique blend of uncensored expression and impartial dialogue, fostering a spirit of collaboration. This sets it apart from the often divisive and restrictive social media landscape.
At Markethive, your experience is our top priority. That's why we're recognized for our evolutionary and innovative ethos. We consistently broaden our decentralized, all-encompassing platform, creating a distinctive news feed interface that fully captures the user's experience.
We operate as an Inbound Marketing platform similar to Marketo and Paragon. The platform is comparable to popular platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. However, we aim to surpass these traditional Web 2.0 media platforms with the upcoming release of Markethive 2.0, which includes various new features and an improved layout.
In contrast to traditional social media platforms, which rely on a single, primary news feed algorithmically set by the central authorities, Markethive's innovative approach will incorporate four distinct news feeds tailored to support the diverse range of features and functions within the Markethive ecosystem.
Markethive's feeds, including the Conglomerate or general newsfeed, video content, blogging, and curated content, are all about putting you in control. With advanced algorithms, you can tailor these feeds to your preferences, giving you the power to shape your Markethive experience. Markethive's reach is vast, as it consolidates the various features of other platforms into a single, unified system. Read More
Buterin pitches solutions to Ethereum’s staking, block production issues
Buterin recommended capping the amount of Ether a user can stake and limiting staking penalties to 12.5% of staked Ether.
Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin pitched several solutions to help Ethereum minimize block production and staking centralization through the “Scourge” phase of Ethereum’s technical roadmap.
In an Oct. 20 post, Buterin expressed concern that economies of scale within staking have resulted in small staking pools leaving for larger pools, while two entities built 88% of Ethereum blocks over the first two weeks of this month.
Buterin stressed that staking centralization poses “one of the biggest risks” to Ethereum and could lead to a higher risk of transaction censorship and “other crises.” He said:
“One of the biggest risks to the Ethereum L1 is proof-of-stake centralizing due to economic pressures.”
Buterin said the 30% of Ether currently staked is already more than enough to protect Ethereum from 51% attacks, but additional risks would arise if almost all Ether were to be staked.
Staking would become less of a “profitable task” and impose more obligations on Ether holders, Buterin said, adding that the slashing mechanism would weaken and a liquid staking token could take over “money” network effects from Ether. Read More
Bitcoin hashrate hits all-time high, boosting network security
The increasing Bitcoin hashrate and block reward reduction from the Bitcoin halving may lead to miner consolidation among smaller firms.
The Bitcoin hashrate has reached a new all-time high, showcasing the growing security of the world’s first blockchain network.
The Bitcoin network hashrate — the total computing power securing the Bitcoin network — reached an all-time high of 769.8 exahashes per second (EH/s) on Oct. 21.
The hashrate has been in a steady uptrend since 2021, BitInfoCharts data shows. The hashrate’s escalation is widely correlated with developments in mining hardware like application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).
While the Bitcoin hashrate is a sign of the network’s increasing security, it also means that the cost to mine Bitcoin is increasing.
Paired with the block reward reduction from the 2024 Bitcoin halving, the rising hashrate could lead to miner consolidation among smaller firms. Read More
Ledger Live enables THORChain’s decentralized native cross-chain swaps
Ledger will allow users to swap assets across chains in its app using the decentralized liquidity protocol THORChain.
Ledger Live has partnered with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol THORChain to launch native cross-chain swaps on its platform. This will allow users to swap assets across blockchains from within the Ledger Live app.
The hardware wallet manufacturer announced the new feature in an Oct. 22 post to X, sharing that the partnership will allow users to swap assets from different blockchains — such as swapping Bitcoin into Ether more easily.
This marks the first time Ledger has integrated a DeFi protocol to enable native swaps between blockchains on its Ledger Live app.
THORCHain is a decentralized liquidity protocol that lets users swap assets across different blockchain ecosystems without relying on wrapped assets.
In a follow-up blog post, Ledger said that users of Ledger Live — an app that allows Ledger users to trade, exchange and stake cryptocurrencies from their cold wallets — could swap assets by heading to the “discover” page and then opting into the new feature. Read More
Bridging the physical and onchain: How DePIN shapes physical infrastructures
This scalable blockchain project brings physical systems onchain, fostering DePIN adoption with advanced infrastructure.
Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) are reshaping how physical resources are managed. DePIN decentralizes control over physical infrastructures by allowing individual contribution, thus enables the building of more efficient infrastructure solutions across various industries while relying less on centralized entities.
The trend is especially relevant for the rapidly expanding Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, which connects physical devices via the internet in fields such as telecommunications, artificial intelligence and smart cities. The number of connected IoT devices is expected to reach 18.8 billion by the end of 2024, highlighting the need for advanced decentralized infrastructures.
As IoT systems generate vast amounts of data that need to be processed, stored and transmitted in real time, centralized infrastructures often struggle with this load, which may lead to bottlenecks and inefficiencies in the system. Decentralized infrastructures distribute the tasks and allow for smoother operations and greater resilience. 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.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay
