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Ethereum’s Beacon Network Deals With a 7-Block Chain Reorganization
On May 25, seven blocks were reorganized on Ethereum’s Beacon chain at 8:55:23 a.m. (UTC) at block height 3,887,075 all the way to block 3,887,081. The reorganization was discovered by Martin Köppelmann who noted the “current attestation strategy of nodes should be reconsidered to hopefully result in a more stable chain.”
While all eyes have been glued to development surrounding Ethereum’s upcoming transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) via The Merge, the chain that will be crucial to the transition, Ethereum’s Beacon chain, suffered a seven-block deep reorganization.
A blockchain reorganization, otherwise known as a reorg, is basically a chain split and nodes receive blocks from a new chain amid the existence of the old chain. In the case of Ethereum’s Beacon chain, the reorganization occurred at block height 3,887,075 to block 3,887,081.
Martin Köppelmann, the co-founder of Gnosis, noticed the event and tweeted about it on social media. “The Ethereum beacon chain experienced a 7-block deep reorg —2.5h ago,” Köppelmann said. “This shows that the current attestation strategy of nodes should be reconsidered to hopefully result in a more stable chain… (proposals already exist).” Köppelmann added:
This, unfortunately, shows that the analysis by [Georgios Konstantopoulos] and [Vitalik Buterin] here was too optimistic when the article claimed reorg stability will improve in PoS over PoW. We have not seen 7 block reorgs on Ethereum mainnet in years… At this point, it is unclear whether the reorg we saw was caused by an attack or just unfortunate network conditions. Read More
Aurora Joins Force With Covalent for Access to Trustless Data
On May 24, Aurora released the official statement regarding its integration with Covalent’s indexing protocol. This move will provide developers on the chain with rich blockchain data powered by Covalent’s Unified API. Aurora’s plans for data accessibility will be achieved through the verifiable, permissionless, and trustless blockchain data from Covalent.
Covalent is easily the most sought-after blockchain indexing protocol powered by an advanced Unified API. The project has indexed billions of web3 data points, making it easier for blockchains to access them. The protocol has already supported the creation of several multi-chain wallets, applications, NFT galleries, and investor tools across 32 blockchain networks.
The highly transparent and visible data points have made Covalent a go-to platform for more than 27,000 developers in the crypto ecosystem. The dataset from the Unified IP supports 30,000+ price feeds and a staggering 250,000 smart contracts. On top of that, the dataset for this indexing protocol is responsible for more than 25 billion transactions worldwide. Read More
Is there a secure future for cross-chain bridges?
For all the flak they have been getting recently, cross-chain bridges bring too much value to the blockchain space to ditch them.
The plane touches down and comes to a halt. Heading to passport control, one of the passengers stops at a vending machine to buy a bottle of soda — but the device is absolutely indifferent to all of their credit cards, cash, coins, and everything else. All of that is part of a foreign economy as far as the machine is concerned, and as such, they can’t buy even a droplet of Coke.
In the real world, the machine would have been quite happy with a Mastercard or a Visa. And the cash exchange desk at the airport would have been just as happy to come to the rescue (with a hefty markup, of course). In the blockchain world, though, the above scenario hits the spot with some commentators, as long as we swap traveling abroad for moving assets from one chain to another.
While blockchains as decentralized ledgers are pretty good at tracking transfers of value, each layer-1 network is an entity in itself, unaware of any non-intrinsic events. Since such chains are, by extension, separate entities vis-à-vis one another, they aren’t inherently interoperable. This means you cannot use your Bitcoin (BTC) to access a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol from the Ethereum ecosystem unless the two blockchains can communicate.
Powering this communication is a so-called bridge — a protocol enabling users to transfer their tokens from one network to another. Bridges can be centralized — i.e., operated by a single entity, like the Binance Bridge — or built to varying degrees of decentralization. Either way, their core task is to enable the user to move their assets between different chains, which means more utility and, thus, value. Read More
NFT 2.0: The next generation of NFTs will be streamlined and trustworthy
NFTs are moving into the mainstream, but this requires a streamlined and trustworthy experience for the general public’s mass adoption.
Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have been in the headlines for the past few years. While swaths of the population have tried to get their head around why NFTs exist, demand has soared, institutions have been built, and the lingo has entered our collective consciousness.
There is an elephant in the room, though: NFTs are difficult to use and a majority of them are digital snake oil. But these problems create the opportunity to provide answers. The accessibility and legitimacy of NFTs are both ripe for change. As funding pours into the space, the market is starting to mature, and that change is gaining momentum. We’re entering a new era of NFTs — NFT 2.0 — where the technology will be more easily accessible by the mainstream, and the underlying value proposition of the NFTs will be more transparent and reliable. Read More
Innovations that will change the way we work and interact online.
The Markethive Social Market Broadcasting Network becomes more prominent daily as the blockchain-driven ecosystem for entrepreneurs with a non-adversarial, bi-partisan free speech ethic and the collaborative culture we rarely see on social media platforms today. Even the newer acclaimed, free speech platforms are partisan to the left or right and deal with de-platforming and boycotts from payment providers.
Unlike the social media giants, which only have one primary news feed algorithmically set by the central authorities, Markethive is integrating four news feeds to accommodate the multi-functional platform within the Markethive ecosystem.
The individual feeds are General, Video, Blogging, and Content Curation, and they are all accessible from the main page and can be algorithmically set by the individual user. The scope that Markethive has is enormous as it integrates all the vertical systems of the other platforms under one roof.
Social + Video + Blogging + Marketing + Curation + Broadcasting + Affiliate + Gamification + Cottage Businesses = Markethive: A Powerful Blockchain-driven Ecosystem
There is nothing out there like Markethive. We are an Inbound Marketing (automated marketing platform) like Marketo, Paragon, and even the wannabee MLM Onpassive platform. We are like Youtube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., but will be superior to these legacy Web 2 media when we release all the aspects and layout of Markethive 2.0.
We have a dynamic social media interface and growing community with a strong collaborative ethos, with SaaS and broadcasting capabilities already operational. We are not waiting for the launch to access the services; they are already there for you to use to help you facilitate your business and increase your reach and following.
Markethive is enhancing and bringing the platform into the future internet with our new technology and interfaces, but still in keeping with the human touch. Read More
Identity and the Metaverse: Decentralized control
What will our identity look like in the Metaverse? A decentralized Web3 suggests it’ll be completely in our control, but growing amounts of information stored online suggest otherwise.
“The Metaverse” and “Web3” are the buzzwords of the moment, with their concepts permeating across the worlds of fintech, blockchain, and now even mainstream media. With decentralization thought to be at the core of the Web3 Metaverse, the promise of a better user experience, security, and control for consumers is what’s driving its growth. But with users’ identities at the heart of the Metaverse, coupled with unprecedented amounts of data online, there are concerns over data security, privacy, and interoperability. This has the potential to hinder the development of the Metaverse, but both regulated and self-sovereign identities could play an important role in ensuring that we truly own our identity and data within this new space. Read More
Ethereum's Merge is Coming and the Stakes Couldn't Be Higher
The most important upgrade in blockchain history is slated for August. And the outcome of the Ethereum merge has huge implications for all of crypto.
If you've been living under a crypto rock, "The Merge" refers to the long-awaited upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain that will see the No. 2 cryptocurrency switch to a proof-of-stake model, a change that should eliminate concerns about Ethereum's environmental impact and dramatically improve its transaction speed.
The Merge is the latest name (the previous one was Ethereum 2.0) for a process that has been underway for years, and has been delayed more times than you can count. But leading authorities on Ethereum, including co-founder Vitalik Buterin, are now saying the event will go down in August when the Beacon chain (a parallel Ethereum blockchain that is serving as test for proof-of-stake) will merge with the main Ethereum chain.
They'd better be right. Crypto badly needs a win right now, and Ethereum pulling off the most important upgrade in the history of blockchain would provide that. It would demonstrate that the Ethereum community—which has a reputation for being friendly but frivolous—is capable of serious business. It could also trigger a major ETH price rally. Read More
Web3 IRL: How Digital Art at Physical Gatherings Is Building Community
At Coachella, drones were doing physical airdrops and there was an “Ether Egg Hunt.”
If you’ve finally wrapped your head around the idea of artwork as NFTs—blockchain-based tokens that prove ownership of a digital asset—consider now how that concept could find its way back into the physical world. As quarantine restrictions lift, Web3 and NFT companies are leveraging more and more physical activations to grow their communities.
A great example would be at last month's Coachella music festival, where Vault721, a full-service Web3 agency, took over the Villa Royale resort in Palm Springs, California, to host a weekend filled with NFTs, drones doing physical airdrops, and an “Ether Egg Hunt” (get it?) on Easter Sunday. Large flatscreen monitors displaying NFTs lined the perimeter of the resort, with waiters serving THC-infused and NFT-themed dishes prepared by celebrity chefs.
The event sponsors were largely NFT collections looking to bridge the gap between the digital and the physical with creative activations. It’s the newest, smartest form of marketing in Cryptoland. Read More
What is ApeCoin and how does it work?
APE token holders make collective governance decisions, casting votes and deciding on issues such as fund allocation, rule framing, partnerships, project selection, and more.
The first quarter of 2022 was abuzz with the talks about ApeCoin (APE), a cryptocurrency adopted to be the native coin of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), developed by Yuga Labs. Since the ApeCoin DAO came into being in April 2021, the BAYC has been among the top nonfungible token (NFT) collections with a vibrant community.
The BAYC collection showcases apes that seemingly look bored. Depending on your mood and choice, you can choose these apes down to the tiniest details. Investors across the world have put their money into these artworks and the buyers include the likes of Justin Bieber and Eminem.
As an ERC-20 governance and utility token of the APE ecosystem, ApeCoin is administered by a decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO. Anyone holding the coin is allowed to cast their vote on the relevant governance decisions. 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.
