technology
Call to Pitch: Develop an interoperable lab network solution for Kumasi, Ghana
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Meta calls it a wrap on Diem project, pockets $182M from its sale
Rumours about the Menlo Park-based tech company looking for a buyer of the project started circulating last week The project, formerly Libra, faced many regulatory stumbling blocks throughout its life, prompting a rebrand to Diem at some point Last week’s unconfirmed reports of Meta looking to sell assets and intellectual property under the Diem project have been verified. Yesterday, the Diem Group revealed it was abandoning the stable coin venture after agreeing to a $182 million sales deal of its technology. The Facebook-backed digital currency project was bought by Silvergate Capital, a California-based innovative financial infrastructure solutions and services provider with a keen interest in the digital currency industry. The company wrapped the deal by paying $50 million and is...
DFINITY-based Internet Computer unveils Bitcoin and Ethereum integration plans
Internet Computer will integrate Bitcoin via the ‘Chromium Satoshi Release’ before the end of Q1 this year The Ethereum integration would not come until Q3 when the ‘Vanadium Vitalik Release’ is run DFINITY Foundation, a non-profit organisation that supports the public blockchain Internet Computer, has released its roadmap for 2022. The release detailed that Internet Computer plans to develop Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains integrations. This would effectively cut out the current need for a bridge, eliminating a potential loophole for ill-intentioned actors. “The ICP [and] BTC integration will prompt a new wave of DeFi applications built to leverage the world’s largest cryptocurrency,” a tweet from the DFINITY Foundation read. Unlocking the power ...
Bitcoin miners believe global hash rate to grow ‘aggressively’
Bitcoin (BTC) seems to be on everyone’s mind lately as the world recently witnessed the price of BTC take a rather unexpected bearish turn this month. On January 21, 2022, Bitcoin reached six-month lows, sinking below $40,000 for the first time in months. While some panicked, other industry experts pointed out that the Bitcoin network has become verifiably stronger than ever before. The growth of the Bitcoin network has become apparent, as hash rate figures for BTC continue to set new highs this month. For example, on Jan. 22, the BTC network recorded an all-time high of 26.643 trillion with an average hash rate of 190.71 exahash per second (EH/s). The hash rate will continue to grow, which is a good thing Samir Tabar, chief strategy officer at Bit Digital — a publicly listed Bitcoin...
Decentralized technology will end the Web3 privacy conundrum
Although the modern internet connects us like never before, one thing that younger generations have never truly experienced is the feeling of genuine privacy. Even older generations have forgotten what life was like before our every thought and action were tracked. Web3 envisions an open, trustless, permissionless internet where users can interact with each other peer-to-peer without giving up ownership control, privacy or relying on intermediaries. Underlying that vision, blockchains are one of the most important tools. They eliminate the need for trusted third parties and help to create a direct relationship between users and service providers, recording the rules of engagement on immutable ledgers and even storing direct interactions between them. Blockchains also fundamentally reconfig...
LeBron James Foundation partners with Crypto.com to promote Web3 awareness
The students taking part in the foundation’s I PROMISE program will have access to resources to help them learn about Web3 and other technologies The partnership is not only focused on Akron kids but also their families as part of the values the Foundation holds dear Crypto.com has teamed up with 4x NBA Finals MVP LeBron James in a philanthropic pursuit in the latter’s home area, as per a Friday report on Akron Beacon Journal. Through the partnership, blockchain and Web3 modules will be integrated into training offered to kids under the LeBron James Family Foundation’s I PROMISE program “Building on a strong basis of educational empowerment, the partnership will give students and families connected to the I PROMISE program access to the tools and educational ...
Diem project to sell assets amid looming end, reports suggest
Diem, previously Libra, was proposed by Facebook before its rebrand to Meta The stablecoin project has not seen many good days since its launch It now seems the Diem Association has finally given up on it The Diem stablecoin project pioneered by Meta in October 2019 was mooted as a stablecoin to eventually be used across Meta’s applications. These expectations have seemingly gone to the pack. Bloomberg reports that the project executives have been speaking to investment bankers to initiate a sale of its assets and return the money to the initial investors. However, the talks are still in an early stage, and finding a buyer is not guaranteed. The group is also seeking new employment opportunities for its engineers following the imminent close of business. Worth noting, the project is ...
YouTube CEO hints the video platform might be getting in on NFTs
YouTube is exploring the possibility of adding an NFT feature on its platform as a revenue stream for video creators YouTube NFTs could soon be coming your way, according to YouTube head Susan Wojcicki. An open letter from the chief executive suggests that the platform could be looking to integrate NFTs soon as part of its expansion plans. Based on the annual letter, the idea is still in its infancy and no concrete plans have been laid. “We’re always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalise on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube,” Wojcicki wrote in regards to YouTube’s 2022 plans. NFTs will help connect creators and fans The NFTs ...
How should DeFi be regulated? A European approach to decentralization
Decentralized finance, known as DeFi, is a new use of blockchain technology that is growing rapidly, with over $237 billion in value locked up in DeFi projects as of January 2022. Regulators are aware of this phenomenon and are beginning to act to regulate it. In this article, we briefly review the fundamentals and risks of DeFi before presenting the regulatory context. The fundamentals of DeFi DeFi is a set of alternative financial systems based on the blockchain that allows for more advanced financial operations than the simple transfer of value, such as currency exchange, lending or borrowing, in a decentralized manner, i.e., directly between peers, without going through a financial intermediary (a centralized exchange, for example). Schematically, a protocol called a DApp (for decentra...
Decentralized and traditional finance tried to destroy each other but failed
The year 2022 is here, and banks and the traditional banking system remain alive despite decades of threatening predictions made by crypto enthusiasts. The only endgame that happened— a new Ethereum 2.0 roadmap that Vitalik Buterin posted at the end of last year. Even though with this roadmap the crypto industry would change for the better, 2021 showed us that crypto didn’t destroy or damage the central banks just like traditional banking didn’t kill crypto. Why? To be fair, the fight between the two was equivalently brutal on both sides. Many crypto enthusiasts were screaming about the coming apocalypse of the world’s financial systems and described a bright crypto future ahead where every item could be bought with Bitcoin (BTC). On the other hand, bankers rushed t...
Meta exploring NFTs integration, with a marketplace reportedly in plans
Meta will support digital art creators by introducing monetisation for their collectibles Social media giant Meta plans to take advantage of the growing hype in the NFTs industry, according to recent reports. NFTs burst into the scene last year, ballooning to surpass a figure of $40 billion in trades as of the end of 2021. A Thursday report from the Financial Times detailed that ‘several people familiar with the matter’ have suggested that Facebook and Instagram are eyeing NFT integration with talks of an NFT marketplace also in the air. It is worth noting that following the transformation of Facebook into Meta, CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated that his company would explore the idea of bringing NFTs into the Meta universe. A ‘space’ for creators to exhibit their work ...
Much-anticipated EIP-1559 hardfork goes live on Polygon – What is next?
Onwards, validators will receive a priority fee instead of the total fee in transactions The core development team behind Polygon has, today, announced that it rolled out the EIP-1559 protocol on the Polygon mainnet. The milestone succeeds a fruitful upgrade on the Mumbai testnet. The Ethereum Improvement Protocol – 1559 went live on Polygon at block height 23850000 today at 2.47 am UTC. The upgrade, alternatively known as the London hardfork, will replace Polygon’s “first-price auction” fee approximation system. Following successful implementation, transactions on the Polygon network would be processed differently to find a fair price. A set base fee would be defined – the minimum amount needed to complete a transaction on the chain immediately. The set base fee would, h...
