On Tuesday, Ethereum (ETH) developer Tim Beiko tweeted that Kiln successfully passed the Ethereum Merge, with validators producing post-merge blocks containing transactions. Kiln will be the last Merge testnet (formerly Ethereum 2.0) before existing public testnets are upgraded. “Merge” involves taking Ethereum’s Execution Layer from the existing Proof of Work layer and merging it with the Consensus Layer from the Beacon chain, turning the blockchain into a proof-of-stake network. The Foundation writes: “This merge signals the culmination of six years of research and development in Ethereum and will result in a more secure network, predictable block times, and a 99.98%+ reduction in power use when it is released on mainnet later in 2022.” However, it app...
The funds raised will be converted to ETH, used to support the adoption of Infura, a revamp of MetaMask and ConsenSys’ expansion efforts ConsenSys also revealed that MetaMask now has 30 million active monthly users Blockchain and Ethereum–focused firm ConsenSys today announced the conclusion of a $450 million raise. The recently–concluded funding round, led by ParaFi Capita, has seen the valuation of ConsenSys grow more than twofold to $7 billion, a significant swell from the last financing in November 2021. The raise saw the involvement of previous investors such as Third Point, TRUE Capital Management, and Marshall Wace, with newer investors including Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Anthos Capital, Microsoft and Sound Ventures also in play. Notably, celebrities including rappers 2...
The much-anticipated ‘Merge’ on the Ethereum network is another step closer to becoming a reality after the final public testnet Kiln launched to put it through its paces. On March 14, the Ethereum Foundation urged network stakeholders to run tests using Kiln “to ensure a smooth transition on existing public testnets.” “We strongly recommend that developers run through a full testing & deployment cycle on Kiln and report any issues with tools or dependencies to those projects’ maintainers.” Ethereum developer Tim Beiko confirmed that Kiln has gone live and will soon be ready to merge with the Beacon Chain in a March 14 tweet. The testnet launched late last week in proof-of-work mode only. Kiln, the next iteration of Ethereum merge testnets, is now live Highly recommended that node oper...
Bitcoin (BTC) has been volatile in the past few days but the long-term investors seem to be using the current weakness to buy. According to Whale Alert and CryptoQuant, about 30,000 BTC left Coinbase and was deposited in an unknown wallet. It is speculated to be a genuine purchase and not an in-house transaction. Although investors may be bullish for the long term, the short-term picture remains questionable. Stack Funds said in their recent weekly research report that they “expect sideways trading and possibly a potential dip” in the short term due to the increase in inflation and the lack of clarity regarding the conflict in Ukraine. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 While Bitcoin has been volatile, gold-backed crypto assets have made a strong showing in 2022...
Quantitative analysis conducted on popular blockchain site Etherscan indicates that 184,441 transactions have been responsible for 10.2 million Ether (ETH) staked into the Eth2 (consensus layer) deposit contract since inception on Nov. 4 last year. This figure is equivalent to over $26 billion, based upon current Ethereum prices. Mathematical calculations suggest that the milestone was surpassed during block 14348729 in the evening of March 8, identified by mainstream cryptocurrency publications and community advocates in the last few hours. In late January of this year, the Ethereum Foundation published an alteration to the network’s terminology, with the initial proof-of-work blockchain, or Eth1, now being referred to as the execution layer, and the upcoming proof-of...
After a devastating 50% correction between Dec. 25 and Jan. 25, Polygon (MATIC) has been struggling to sustain the $1.40 support. While some argue this top-15 coin has merely adjusted after a 16,200% gain in 2021, others point to competing scaling solutions growth. MATIC token/USD at FTX. Source: TradingView Either way, MATIC remains 50.8% below its all-time high at an $11 billion market capitalization. Currently, the market cap of Terra (LUNA) stands at $37 billion, Solana (SOL) is above $26 billion and Avalanche (AVAX) is at a $19 billion market value. A positive note is that Polygon raised $450 million on Feb. 7, and the funding round was backed by some of blockchain’s most considerable venture funds, including Sequoia Capital. Polygon offers scaling and infrastructure support to Ethere...
Gas fees for transactions on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain have dropped to the lowest levels since August. But they’re still not cheap. According to data sourced from Coinmetrics and shared by CryptoRank Platform, the seven-day moving average cost of an Ethereum transaction as of March 9 totaled $11.14, placing it back amongst the levels recorded mid-last year before it surged dramatically to as high as $55 at the tail end of 2021. The cost of transactions on the @Ethereum network has not been this low since Aug 2021. Notably, gas prices surged after staying in this range for about 3 months with experts attributing the spike to a rise in interest in the #NFT and #DeFi ecosystems. https://t.co/oLDJyfSea2 pic.twitter.com/ieigvLT4Gz — CryptoRank Platform (@CryptoRank_io) March 9, 2022 At the ...
The geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in investors seeking safe-haven assets. Contrary to expectations by crypto investors, Bitcoin (BTC) has failed to rise along with gold and it remains closely correlated with the U.S. stock markets. Lloyd Blankfein, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, said that the actions of governments freezing accounts, blocking payments and inflating the U.S. dollar should all be positive for crypto but the price action suggests a lack of large inflows. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 On-chain data suggests that investors may be accumulating Bitcoin for the long term. Data from Santiment shows that 21 out of the past 26 weeks have seen Bitcoin move off the exchanges. Could Bitcoin climb back above $40,000 and pull alt...
Argent aims at 95% better carbon emission efficiency Its layer two wallet will eliminate seed phrases for its non-custodial wallet Argent, an Ethereum wallet that broke into the scene in 2018, is launching a layer two version. It aims to reduce the cost (in gas transaction fees) incurred when completing transactions on the mainnet and improve environmental sustainability. According to Argent’s CEO Itamar Lesuisse, Argent will provide fees as low as $1 and also cut carbon emissions by up to 95% in order to remedy the current state, which he described as “expensive, slow and less secure.” Having chosen zkSync as the preferred layer two on which it built its wallet, Argent said in a statement sent out today that more than 500,000 users have joined the waitlist to use the wal...
Today, Adobe’s Behance has announced support for Phantom Wallet to allow people to showcase Solana-based NFTs on their profile, in addition to NFTs minted on Ethereum. Starting today, Behance users can connect their Phantom wallet and showcase Solana-based NFTs on their Behance profiles. The move resonates perfectly with Behance’s mission to help creators to build their careers without being dictated by third parties. Behance is built for freelancers, full-time gig sellers, those looking for subscriptions, those who want to sell templates, and those who want to live stream as well as those who want to sell NFTs. Before today’s announcement, Behance users were only able to showcase NFTs minted on Ethereum. But there have been concerns about the amount of Energy used by Ethereum in add...