Month: September 2023

Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, recently announced the firm’s plan to bring the Bitcoin Lightning Network into its operations. This second-layer solution improves transaction speeds, enabling competition with more efficient solutions. Coinbase’s move is expected to give them a competitive advantage in the increasing crypto market competition.

“BNB Chain developers launched opBNB, a layer 2 protocol enhancing Ethereum’s functionality. The protocol successfully processed 4,000 transactions per second (TPS), significantly higher than Ethereum’s 17 TPS limit. Despite facing a competitive blockchain market, BNB Chain plans network activities and airdrop incentives to attract initial users to the robust, fledgling network.”

“Institutional investors and partnerships may significantly inspire trust in the crypto industry. The recent alliance between Komainu and Hidden Road engages a secure, regulated custody platform, opening the digital asset marketplace to secure transactions and fostering industry growth and longevity.”

Opera plans to launch a non-custodial stablecoin wallet, MiniPay, in Africa. This wallet, built on the Celo blockchain, allows users to send or receive stablecoins using their mobile numbers. However, concerns about high fees and unreliable service remain. MiniPay will only support Celo Dollar, aimed to prevent user confusion with multiple currencies. Despite the recent downturn in fintech, the blockchain sector maintains resilience in Europe.

Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal believes strongly in the potential of zero-knowledge proof (ZK-proof) technology for Ethereum scaling, as evidenced by allocating $1 billion towards its development. Nailwal proposed a unified scalability system where recursive ZK-proof technology merges different blockchain ZK-proofs into a common layer, dramatically improving cross-chain transaction times.

“PayPal’s Ethereum-based stablecoin, PYUSD, has full asset backing, primarily from U.S. Treasury reverse repurchase agreements, says Paxos. Though overcollateralization safeguards assets, it could limit profits. Some PYUSD assets are in uninsured cash deposits, reflecting typical banking risks. PYUSD’s transparent operation may soothe some investors while raising others’ skepticism.”

“Project Sela, a joint initiative led by BIS, and the central banks of Hong Kong and Israel, points to the feasibility of CBDCs settling on centralized ledgers while ensuring privacy. Addressing cost factors and potential risks, it put forth an efficient solution, ‘Access Enabler,’ that allows network settlement without merchants retaining users’ CBDC. This opens a promising pathway for digital currencies to potentially become a universally accepted retail payment form.”

“Emurgo, a key contributor to Cardano blockchain, plans to address identified gaps within the ecosystem. The focus will be on incorporating decentralized identity (DID) solutions and layer-2 sidechains. Additionally, Emurgo explores zero-knowledge rollups and optimistic rollups, while acknowledging challenges in developer experiences due to specialized programming knowledge requirements. The outcomes of Emurgo’s efforts remain to be seen.”

“In last week’s Korea Blockchain Week, Web3 and token technology overshadowed traditional blockchain and cryptocurrency dialogue. Many envisioned Web3 as the new internet or evolution of token-based protocols. However, the event spotlighted several challenges, including low public interest and adoption, which the industry must swiftly address to thrive.”

Messaging app, Telegram integrates a crypto wallet, available to its 800 million global users, potentially positioning it as a mainstream blockchain platform. Simultaneously, crypto exchange Coinbase integrates Bitcoin’s layer 2 payment protocol, Lightning Network, promising faster transactions. Despite apparent benefits, the integration process and exclusions pose potential drawbacks.

Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has confirmed plans to incorporate the Bitcoin Lightning Network (LN), aiming to solve Bitcoin’s scalability problems. This decision, which surprised some industry bigwigs, signifies a commitment to enhancing transaction speed and reducing fees for Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency. Moreover, concerns were raised about misleading metrics often used to gauge a cryptocurrency’s health.

“Telegram has extended support for the TON network, boosting its token price by 7%. Once abandoned amid legal issues with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the TON blockchain was redeemed by community members who formed the TON Foundation.”

“Panerai has introduced an NFT-based ‘digital passport’, a record of every watch sale that streamlines the identification and verification process of the timepieces. Developed in partnership with Arianee, a Web3 solutions provider, it offers detailed information and tangible proof of authenticity.”