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Q&A: How to build faster Ethereum-compatible smart contracts
Ethereum, the second leading cryptocurrency, has long been crypto enthusiasts’ darling in terms of the value it has been bringing to the industry. However, with time and growing interest, the coin’s network showed flaws, including huge overloads, high transaction fees, and speed issues.
Cointelegraph talked to Marco Chen, co-founder of Parastate and member of Rust Foundation, about why Ethereum (ETH) compatible smart contracts are the new black for blockchain developers. Read More
New Milestone Hit for Cardano As Network Amasses 1,000,000 Wallets Staking ADA
Smart contract platform Cardano (ADA) has reached a new milestone for the number of wallets ready to stake the sixth-largest crypto by market cap.
According to the Cardano-tracking site pool.pm, there are now over one million ADA holders ready to stake their coins to earn rewards.
Users who hold ADA on the Cardano network have a stake in the protocol that corresponds to the number of coins they hold. In turn, they can delegate their tokens or stake the digital assets themselves to earn rewards.
Cardano also has seen its number of active addresses rise over the last several months. According to data from analytics platform Messari, the number of active addresses on the network skyrocketed to 485,693 on November 22nd before falling to 150,476 on December 5th. The number of active addresses on the network hit its all-time high as ADA plunged below the $2.00 level. Read More
HS2 implements blockchain technology into its supply chain
HS2, the controversial high-speed railway being developed from London to Manchester, has begun to implement blockchain in parts of its procurement pipeline.
Major construction companies Costain, Skanska, and Strabag took part in the trial, with oversight being provided by professional services firm Deloitte.
Deloitte’s blockchain lead, Alexander Marx, spoke at New Civil Engineer’s TechFest on December 2 about the benefits this will bring.
Explaining the reasoning for blockchain implementation, Marx said it provides three value cases: trust, transparency, and accountability.
He said: “Trust because you create a single version of the truth that everyone shares, and it’s verified. Transparency because you can share information across that network to encourage collaboration.
“And finally, accountability, because you can trace the business process from start to finish with clear and undeniable records of what’s been done when.” Read More
Trust Payments Announces Global Partnership With Everest
Global payments group Trust Payments has announced a partnership with Everest, a licensed crypto custodian with its own high-speed blockchain, and the world's first global and programmable stablecoin.
The partnership between the two global companies will allow Trust Payments users to grow their crypto business and offer mass-market crypto services.
Everest is a regulated fintech company that offers blockchain solutions for biometric identification, custodian, and banking services. Trust Payments facilitates card payments from customers around the world, connecting with over 50 global banks to support multi-acquirer processing. Trust Payments also holds an Authorised Payment Institution (API) License from the UK FCA and Principal Memberships with Visa and Mastercard.
Alison Conway, Head of Strategic Development at Trust Payments noted:
"We are excited to start our partnership with Everest. Users can buy crypto quickly and easily and later trade, send, receive across many services on the Everest platform. Our merchants wanting to expand globally into the crypto market can benefit a tremendous amount from the services they have to offer," Read More
Elrond - The Next Wave Of The Internet
Beniamin’s diverse background in state-of-the-art technology, applied philosophy, engineering, and Blockchain has culminated in creating a company that could very well define the next wave of the internet.
The elegant and sophisticated technology developed by the Elrond team is targeted at developers, the broader public, and enterprises. Developers can create decentralized applications and run smart contracts on the Elrond blockchain network, and the wider public can use Elrond as a user-friendly gateway to the digital economy.
Also, businesses seeking an enterprise solution that can lower transactional costs with benefits such as speed, security, and scalability will find Elrond Blockchain particularly useful. Such as emerging Web 3 companies building ecosystems with their cryptocurrency in the social media and digital marketing sphere that need an internet-scale blockchain to accommodate its massive user-base and e-commerce. Read More
Coinbase launches open-source cryptography library Kryptology
The library will aid in building complex cryptographic techniques to match the needs of the bourgeoning DeFi sector.
Coinbase, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange globally by trading volume, announced the creation of a novel cryptographic library, Kryptology, as a compendium of tools for blockchain developers. These include secure, audited, and easy-to-use APIs as well as a repository of common issues and lessons learned throughout the history of crypto.
Without cryptography, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin would be digital lines of code that anyone can copy/paste. It would be easily replicable and falsifiable, leading to significant issues such as currency double-spending. Recent advancements include Boneh–Lynn–Shacham, or BLS, signatures, which are used to verify senders' identities and validate transactions while ensuring their data is safely stored. Another recent adoption is the Shamir Secret Sharing, or SSS, algorithm. SSS divides a secret value among multiple participants, called shareholders, who must work then together to reconstruct the secret. The setup is ideal for storing private keys holding entrance to decentralized finance, or DeFi, pools, and smart contracts that lock a large sum of money. Read More
Crypto Exchange Binance Is Making 'Substantial Changes' to Become 'Fully Licensed and Fully Compliant' in UK
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has unveiled its plan to become a “fully licensed and fully compliant” exchange in order to serve users in the U.K. The crypto exchange is reportedly “making a number of very substantial changes” in the way it operates in order to comply with the country’s regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), said in an interview with The Telegraph that Binance will reapply for a license with the FCA. He believes that his exchange’s relationship with the British regulator has improved. He told the news outlet:
We’re fully re-engaged there … We’re making a number of very substantial changes in organizational structures, product offerings, our internal processes, and the way we work with regulators. Read More
Gibraltar's government plans to bridge the gap between public and private sectors with blockchain
Officials have already started digitizing government services on the smart contract network RSK, but plan to step up work on the integration in early 2022.
The government of Gibraltar, a British territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, has started a pilot program aimed at utilizing blockchain technology to store official credentials on its systems.
In a Tuesday announcement, Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar said it had partnered with Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitso and IOVlabs, a startup that develops financial solutions based on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain, to integrate blockchain technology into its eGov system. The initial phase of the integration will allow users to store state-issued and certified credentials on its servers in an effort for residents and location organizations to have better access to public services. Read More
Gas Fee Gripes Aren't Exclusive to Ethereum
Ethereum has a gas fee problem. But while rivals like Solana and Avalanche have much smaller fees, they aren't immune to spikes either as they grow.
A few weeks ago, the debate over Ethereum's high gas fees and usability heated up again, at a time when rival smart contracts networks like Solana and Avalanche are gaining traction.
But gas fees are likely to remain a huge issue in DeFi—no matter which chain you use.
Ethereum, the first and most popular smart contract-enabled layer-one blockchain, is extremely expensive to use. Simple token swaps on decentralized exchanges can cost hundreds of dollars, let alone more complex DeFi activity like yield farming.
And this isn’t a particularly new phenomenon. If you remember back in 2017, a fun little crypto game called CryptoKitties went viral and wreaked similar havoc on Ethereum’s gas fees.
Thankfully, gas fees eventually receded. These days, they're back with a vengeance. 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.
