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Ethereum 2.0 Testnet Kintsugi Goes Live in Preparation for Merge
Kintsugi is a public testnet for people to experiment with Ethereum 2.0 before the merge to proof of stake.
Ethereum developers have released several short-lived testnets to experiment with the merge.
The release of this "longer-lived public testnet" should be one of the last steps before Ethereum 2.0 is functional.
Ethereum developer teams have been hard at work preparing for Ethereum 2.0, the proof-of-stake platform designed to make the blockchain's transactions faster, cheaper, and less energy-intensive.
But while ETH2 isn't ready quite yet, its first major testnet is, providing the public with a look into how the network may soon function.
Tim Beiko, who coordinates the Ethereum core developers, announced the Kintsugi testnet today on the Ethereum Foundation blog. Kintsugi is a Japanese word for using gold to repair broken objects without attempting to hide the damage; the word evokes a sense of transparency about something's history. Read More
Polkadot Launches Parachains, Increasing Scalability
This weekend, Polkadot achieved a new milestone in its roadmap for increasing the scalability of its network.
The first parachains—run by Acala Network, Moonbeam, Parallel Finance, Astar, and Clover—went live on the Polkadot network. A parachain is a kind of individual, sovereign blockchain running on top of Polkadot.
Polkadot aims for efficiency so that transactions don't compete against all other smart contracts in the same ecosystem. Parachains also mitigate the need for networks to rely on layer-2 scaling solutions to reduce congestion. In simple words, it is as if your favorite decentralized application had a blockchain of its own.
This is why Polkadot is defined as a "Layer Zero" protocol: parachains would be the actual layer 1 blockchains (like Bitcoin or Ethereum) running in parallel over a common backbone. Read More
Quantum-resistant platform solves scalability and bandwidth bottlenecks present on the blockchain
Blockchain solutions are encouraged to fight quantum with quantum as a real threat arises.
Quantum computers are a concept believed to quickly take the world by storm, presenting solutions to problems that were once considered unsolvable. While the world is preparing itself for transformation, blockchain developers are readying themselves for protection. Consider that in a standard decentralized data-sharing system, strict security protocols are needed to protect confidential data and verify the identity of the participants. Therefore, in practice, data quickly becomes unreadable for the average hacker, meaning only the recipient of such information is equipped to decode the carefully encrypted data.
While blockchains have proven their ability to remain secure against classical computers, quantum computers with exponential power may have what it takes to crack these once impenetrable security keys. Today, the United States National Security Agency (the NSA) continues to prepare for the quantum computer, and new standards around managing cryptography continue to be in development, a reality since 2015. Consequently, the question becomes not if, but when quantum computers gain traction and strength to break larger keys. By some estimates, this might be less than five years away. Read More
Binance Signs Agreement With Dubai Authority to Establish Crypto Hub
Crypto exchange Binance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority.
Crypto exchange Binance has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) with the aim of establishing an industry hub in Dubai.
“With the MoU, Binance will help advance Dubai’s commitment to establishing a new international Virtual Asset ecosystem that will generate long-term economic growth through digital innovation,” the exchange said in a prepared statement.
It added that the primary goal was to help various crypto and blockchain-related business “to become licensed in Dubai.”
It is important to note, however, that this MoU is not a license for Binance to operate in Dubai. In contrast to a license, MoUs are agreements between parties that are seen as the starting point for negotiations. Read More
Markethive is a monolithic blockchain project currently operating as a social network, an entire inbound marketing platform with email, blogging, and digital media capabilities that broadcast to the vast internet. It’s a complete Market Network and the first of its kind.
Markethive is predominantly a free system where users can access a platform that can cost more than $2,500 offered by other marketing platforms. There are, of course, upgrades that open up more tools and monetization opportunities, the first being the Entrepreneur One Loyalty Program, and coming soon is the Premium Upgrade.
The many domains Markethive has and its autonomous cloud systems that ensure its sovereignty and longevity make it untouchable and immune from the tech giants’ rule and biased agenda. But can still remotely infiltrate the social media platforms and reach the multitudes either locked in or looking for an alternative meritocratic medium.
In other words, wherever you go, Markethive is there, anywhere and everywhere, delivering its message via its community of entrepreneurs to a far-reaching audience. This next-generation social market media is poised in the wings, and when the time is right, it will emerge as a shining light to lift people up and bring financial sovereignty and hope in this gloomy and uncertain world. Read More
This blockchain startup empowers farmers to ‘tokenize’ their agricultural commodities and avail loans against them
With Ashish Anand’s Bru Finance, farmers can access a warehouse receipt protocol on a mobile app when they bring their produce to a warehouse. When the commodities are brought in, the protocol creates NFTs out of them and allows farmers to avail loans against them.
In 2018, Ashish Anand was exploring the concept of tokenization - which refers to representing the value of real-world assets through digital tokens on a digital ledger or blockchain.
At the time, he thought to himself that if the trend of tokenisation picks up, the world would also adopt lending against the tokenized assets.
This led him to launch Whrrl Finance (in 2019) and Bru Finance ( in 2021) in Mumbai to build a connecting platform for Decentralised Finance (DeFi) lending against real-world assets (commodities) for farmers.
“Whrrl is the blockchain lending platform for onboarding banks and tokenising agricultural commodities produced by farmers. With Bru, we are able to bring capital from DeFi and bridge the two,” he says. Read More
Blockchain enables enterprise business models in the Metaverse
Here's how blockchain is currently being used to create business models in the Metaverse, achieving efficiency and cross-compatibility with the real world.
Enterprise blockchain has come a long way since its inception in 2017. Blockchain for enterprise use initially began as a technology built on private, permissioned networks, primarily used for supply chain management. As blockchain matured over time, enterprises began to leverage public, permissionless networks like Ethereum to conduct business.
Fast forward to 2021 — enterprises are now applying decentralized concepts to create more efficient workflows in the Metaverse. William Herkelrath, head of business development at Chainlink Labs — a decentralized oracle network — told Cointelegraph that while the Metaverse is hard to define, he believes that it’s a collection of ecosystems that are growing naturally out of decentralized finance, or DeFi:
“Enterprises need to be interacting with the outside world and will therefore be forced to have ecosystems in the Metaverse. For example, consumers want to use loyalty programs outside of single platforms, so they will be more likely to choose brands that ensure rewards can be used within other ecosystems. The Metaverse allows for data, physical assets, commercial and financial assets to be set up in a layer outside of a centralized environment.” Read More
11 Most Interesting DAOs of 2021
Decentralized autonomous organizations had a breakout year, influencing the future of work, music, culture, and finance. Here are 11 you need to know.
DAOs went from crypto jargon to mainstream consciousness in 2021 as they surged in number and in total funds raised.
The acronym stands for decentralized autonomous organization—internet communities that emerge around a crypto project or unified financial goal that can’t be completed by just one person. The aim could be as simple as pooling funds to buy an expensive piece of artwork. In other cases, DAOs can operate more like a members-only club, where you have to buy a specific NFT to gain access to the organization.
All of the behavior in the DAO is incentivized by a governance token, which grants holders access to exclusive events or voting power. Read More
Top Secret Blockchain Explorer Launched Today In Industry First
LibreScan, which launched today, is the product of the Estonia-based QANplatform. It hopes to change the block explorer game by releasing something more private. LibreScan is different to other block explorers as it is an open-source project that anyone can contribute to, and it has no central figure in charge.
LibreScan is also self-hosted, meaning users can run the explorer on their PC, and no one else will have access to the data; wallet addresses cannot be tracked and traced.
“We need a quick and joint approach to eradicate the only real centralized point of failure threat to secure the accessibility and privacy of all actors in the crypto community,” Johann Polecsak, Co-Founder and CTO of QANplatform, said.
“As we have seen recently, one key gatekeeper’s failure could cause massive interruptions in the whole ecosystem. This is the reason why we would like to invite every key market player and individual programmer to the community-driven development to create the first truly free, open-source and self-hosted Decentralized Blockchain Explorer (DBE) called LibreScan.” 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.
