📑 Glassnode analysts have reported an increase in on-chain activity on the network of the first cryptocurrency in recent weeks, but without the classic transfer of coins. They linked it to the launch of Ordinals, an NFT on the bitcoin blockchain, called “an attack on the network” by supporters of the first cryptocurrency.
Ordinals allow you to write information no larger than 4 MB in a bitcoin block. In anticipation of a new trend, supported by the decentralization of the first cryptocurrency, users began to massively load the blockchain with copies of Ethereum projects like pixelated CryptoPunks and Rocks, audio files, other pictures, etc.
⚙️ Network activity led to mempool loading and commission growth, while the average block size increased from a stable 1.5-2.0 MB to 3.0-3.5 MB.
Ordinals allow you to write information no larger than 4 MB in a bitcoin block. In anticipation of a new trend, supported by the decentralization of the first cryptocurrency, users began to massively load the blockchain with copies of Ethereum projects like pixelated CryptoPunks and Rocks, audio files, other pictures, etc.
⚙️ Network activity led to mempool loading and commission growth, while the average block size increased from a stable 1.5-2.0 MB to 3.0-3.5 MB.
🏦 Ex-Jump Trading Developers Raised $19M to Create the Monad Blockchain
Founded by former Jump Trading developers, Monad Labs has raised $19 million in a funding round led by Dragonfly Capital.
Other investors include venture capital firms Placeholder Capital, Lemniscap, Shima Capital, and business angels Naval Ravikant, Cobie and Hasu. In total, the project was supported by more than 70 market participants.
Monad creates EVM-interoperable first-level blockchain "designed to improve the entire Ethereum ecosystem."
💬 “We are developing a new Ethereum virtual machine from scratch. It will have high performance,” said James Hunsaker, co-founder of the startup.
⚙️ The new blockchain will be based on the Proof-of-Stake algorithm . The project team promises that the system will be capable of processing 10,000 transactions per second.
Founded by former Jump Trading developers, Monad Labs has raised $19 million in a funding round led by Dragonfly Capital.
Other investors include venture capital firms Placeholder Capital, Lemniscap, Shima Capital, and business angels Naval Ravikant, Cobie and Hasu. In total, the project was supported by more than 70 market participants.
Monad creates EVM-interoperable first-level blockchain "designed to improve the entire Ethereum ecosystem."
💬 “We are developing a new Ethereum virtual machine from scratch. It will have high performance,” said James Hunsaker, co-founder of the startup.
⚙️ The new blockchain will be based on the Proof-of-Stake algorithm . The project team promises that the system will be capable of processing 10,000 transactions per second.
📑 The Evolution of Tether's Reserves
Tether’s success has always been contingent on USD₮ being backed by extremely liquid, conservative reserves. During a year when many crypto companies experienced massive headwinds, Tether has continued to improve its reserves in line with market conditions (rates, liquidity, etc).
Over the course of 2022, Tether has successfully reduced its commercial paper exposure to zero without any gaps in liquidity for USD₮ holders and without drawdown to Tether. USD₮ is now backed in excess of 81% by cash and cash equivalents without any exposure to commercial paper. This includes over $39 billion in direct exposure to US Treasuries with the remainder constituted by money market funds, reverse repo agreements, and cash & bank deposits.
These reserves represent conservative and highly liquid collateral that allows Tether to process redemptions quickly and in large sizes.
Tether’s success has always been contingent on USD₮ being backed by extremely liquid, conservative reserves. During a year when many crypto companies experienced massive headwinds, Tether has continued to improve its reserves in line with market conditions (rates, liquidity, etc).
Over the course of 2022, Tether has successfully reduced its commercial paper exposure to zero without any gaps in liquidity for USD₮ holders and without drawdown to Tether. USD₮ is now backed in excess of 81% by cash and cash equivalents without any exposure to commercial paper. This includes over $39 billion in direct exposure to US Treasuries with the remainder constituted by money market funds, reverse repo agreements, and cash & bank deposits.
These reserves represent conservative and highly liquid collateral that allows Tether to process redemptions quickly and in large sizes.
Furthermore, despite selecting collateral based on its conservative and liquid nature, Tether’s reserves and operations have generated over $700 million in net profit which has been added to Tether’s reserves resulting in total excess reserves of $960 million.
Many of Tether’s critics over the years have claimed Tether would never be able to hold a reserve composition such as the one it currently holds. Tether will continue to prove its critics wrong.
Many of Tether’s critics over the years have claimed Tether would never be able to hold a reserve composition such as the one it currently holds. Tether will continue to prove its critics wrong.
Tethers Emerging Markets Focus
Unlike many of Tether's competitors, our focus is not on the United States, but on emerging markets around the world. The US is fortunate to have highly developed financial infrastructure and the world's premier currency, the Dollar.
Emerging markets, on the other hand, often struggle with limited financial infrastructure, unstable currencies, and limited access to the Dollar.
Tether's focus on emerging markets has been a key part of the Tether story and expands operations beyond a single main country.
Tether's focus has resulted in real adoption across the world.
In Brazil, “more than $1.4 billion was moved using $USD₮ across 79,836 operations in August. In October, almost $1.8 billion was transacted using USD₮ in 119,366 operations.” In Africa, the Bitfinex Leos community has been sharing stories from Tether users in Africa. These have featured users from Nigeria and Kenya documenting how Tether allows them to manage their businesses and financial lives despite currency instability and poor financial infrastructure.
In Lebanon, Turkey, Argentina, and Myanmar people have increasingly turned to USD₮ to navigate currency crises and impaired financial infrastructure.
Tether will continue to fight for financial freedom and support projects and organizations which advance global freedom and financial inclusion in the emerging markets.
Unlike many of Tether's competitors, our focus is not on the United States, but on emerging markets around the world. The US is fortunate to have highly developed financial infrastructure and the world's premier currency, the Dollar.
Emerging markets, on the other hand, often struggle with limited financial infrastructure, unstable currencies, and limited access to the Dollar.
Tether's focus on emerging markets has been a key part of the Tether story and expands operations beyond a single main country.
Tether's focus has resulted in real adoption across the world.
In Brazil, “more than $1.4 billion was moved using $USD₮ across 79,836 operations in August. In October, almost $1.8 billion was transacted using USD₮ in 119,366 operations.” In Africa, the Bitfinex Leos community has been sharing stories from Tether users in Africa. These have featured users from Nigeria and Kenya documenting how Tether allows them to manage their businesses and financial lives despite currency instability and poor financial infrastructure.
In Lebanon, Turkey, Argentina, and Myanmar people have increasingly turned to USD₮ to navigate currency crises and impaired financial infrastructure.
Tether will continue to fight for financial freedom and support projects and organizations which advance global freedom and financial inclusion in the emerging markets.
⚙️ In 2023, BNB Chain plans to double the blockchain throughput from 2200 TPS to 5000 TPS. According to the roadmap, the network also provides for an increase in the number of active validators from 29 to 100.
Previously announced solutions based on zk rollups, BNB Greenfield, multi-threaded EVM and higher performance nodes are also expected to launch this year.
Previously announced solutions based on zk rollups, BNB Greenfield, multi-threaded EVM and higher performance nodes are also expected to launch this year.
🔥 Litecoin network launches fork of Ordinals NFT project
An analogue of the Ordinals protocol appeared in the Litecoin blockchain, which allowed users to place various objects in the form of images, text, videos, and other formats.
⚙️ Developer Anthony Guerrero admitted that it took him a week to complete this "extremely simple" task. The motivation was a reward of 22 LTC (~$2065). He posted the code to GitHub.
The specialist updated the Ordinals code to work with input data from the Litecoin network. He took into account parameters that differ between blockchains, such as the supply limit and the difference in block creation time.
The first object he posted due to the protocol transfer was the MimbleWimble white paper . In May, the developers activated this update on the Litecoin network.
💬 Guerrero explained that the launch of a mechanism for creating NFT-like "inscriptions" in Litecoin became possible thanks to the adaptation of Taproot and SegWit updates to the Bitcoin network.
An analogue of the Ordinals protocol appeared in the Litecoin blockchain, which allowed users to place various objects in the form of images, text, videos, and other formats.
⚙️ Developer Anthony Guerrero admitted that it took him a week to complete this "extremely simple" task. The motivation was a reward of 22 LTC (~$2065). He posted the code to GitHub.
The specialist updated the Ordinals code to work with input data from the Litecoin network. He took into account parameters that differ between blockchains, such as the supply limit and the difference in block creation time.
The first object he posted due to the protocol transfer was the MimbleWimble white paper . In May, the developers activated this update on the Litecoin network.
💬 Guerrero explained that the launch of a mechanism for creating NFT-like "inscriptions" in Litecoin became possible thanks to the adaptation of Taproot and SegWit updates to the Bitcoin network.
⚙️ Coinbase Launches Base L2 Testnet Solution
The largest US crypto exchange Coinbase has launched a test network of the second level solution Base, developed on the basis of the OP Stack architecture from Optimism.
💬 “Base is L2 based on Ethereum. It offers a secure, low-cost, and developer-friendly way to build decentralized applications,” the company said.
They emphasized that the new solution does not involve the issuance of a token - ETH is used to pay transaction fees.
Base will interact with the company's main products, including Coinbase Wallet.
The American exchange will also join Optimism as the main developer of the OP Stack. A portion of Base Network transaction fees will go to the Optimism Collective treasury .
📈 The news had a positive impact on the price of OP - over the past 24 hours, the utility token of the Optimism project has grown by 17%, to $2.91 (according to CoinGecko).
🏦 Recall that in the fourth quarter, Coinbase recorded a loss of $557 million .
The largest US crypto exchange Coinbase has launched a test network of the second level solution Base, developed on the basis of the OP Stack architecture from Optimism.
💬 “Base is L2 based on Ethereum. It offers a secure, low-cost, and developer-friendly way to build decentralized applications,” the company said.
They emphasized that the new solution does not involve the issuance of a token - ETH is used to pay transaction fees.
Base will interact with the company's main products, including Coinbase Wallet.
The American exchange will also join Optimism as the main developer of the OP Stack. A portion of Base Network transaction fees will go to the Optimism Collective treasury .
📈 The news had a positive impact on the price of OP - over the past 24 hours, the utility token of the Optimism project has grown by 17%, to $2.91 (according to CoinGecko).
🏦 Recall that in the fourth quarter, Coinbase recorded a loss of $557 million .
TETHERSCAN - Official Chanel
⚙️ Coinbase Launches Base L2 Testnet Solution The largest US crypto exchange Coinbase has launched a test network of the second level solution Base, developed on the basis of the OP Stack architecture from Optimism. 💬 “Base is L2 based on Ethereum. It offers…
🔥 Against the background of the Coinbase announcement, the Optimism (OP) token is growing - the Base L2 protocol is built on the basis of the project stack. During the day, the rate increased by 20%.
In addition, a portion of Base's commissions will go to Optimism's treasury.
In addition, a portion of Base's commissions will go to Optimism's treasury.
Only 0.04% of Ethereum validators have been slashed since 2020
Since the launch of the deposit contract in Beacon Chain in 2020, 226 validators have experienced slashing, 75 of them were in this status at once in February 2021. Similar data was provided by the main Ethereum developer under the nickname superphiz.
💬 “This is not something worth losing sleep over,” the specialist explained.
✅ According to the blockchain observer, there are currently 524,409 validators on Beacon Chain.
Slashing (penalties) are imposed on violators of the Proof-of-Stake consensus during the “attestation” or “offer”. It can take the form of forfeiting some of the ETH staked and (often) excluding those who can be rewarded for their work.
An "attestation" violation occurs when a validator tries to change the history of a block or validate two candidates for the same block ("double votes"). Such violations are the most common, according to statistics .
Since the launch of the deposit contract in Beacon Chain in 2020, 226 validators have experienced slashing, 75 of them were in this status at once in February 2021. Similar data was provided by the main Ethereum developer under the nickname superphiz.
💬 “This is not something worth losing sleep over,” the specialist explained.
✅ According to the blockchain observer, there are currently 524,409 validators on Beacon Chain.
Slashing (penalties) are imposed on violators of the Proof-of-Stake consensus during the “attestation” or “offer”. It can take the form of forfeiting some of the ETH staked and (often) excluding those who can be rewarded for their work.
An "attestation" violation occurs when a validator tries to change the history of a block or validate two candidates for the same block ("double votes"). Such violations are the most common, according to statistics .
⚙️ Binance introduced the Airdrop Portal platform. It will provide users with information about planned and current airdrops supported by the exchange.🔥
⚙️ Ethereum Developers Plan to Launch New Holli Testnet
🔹Holli's goal is to improve the testing environment and solve problems with the supply of ETH to test networks
🔹Release expected at the end of the year
The Ethereum team is planning to launch a new testnet called Holli.This was announced by Tim Beiko from the Ethereum Foundation:
💬 “The plans are to launch Holli at the end of 2023. I hope that it will help to sort out problematic issues. I made two suggestions and would like to hear from the developers on how we could better approach this.”
The new testnet should improve the testing environment for developers and applications. The main problems that it must solve are the difficulties in obtaining ETH on other testnets. There are currently two main testnets in the Ethereum ecosystem: Goerli and Sepolia.
Beiko suggested the introduction of Holli in order to solve supply chain issues and provide a better environment for developers. He also wants to make Holli-ETH more accessible to app creators.
🔹Holli's goal is to improve the testing environment and solve problems with the supply of ETH to test networks
🔹Release expected at the end of the year
The Ethereum team is planning to launch a new testnet called Holli.This was announced by Tim Beiko from the Ethereum Foundation:
💬 “The plans are to launch Holli at the end of 2023. I hope that it will help to sort out problematic issues. I made two suggestions and would like to hear from the developers on how we could better approach this.”
The new testnet should improve the testing environment for developers and applications. The main problems that it must solve are the difficulties in obtaining ETH on other testnets. There are currently two main testnets in the Ethereum ecosystem: Goerli and Sepolia.
Beiko suggested the introduction of Holli in order to solve supply chain issues and provide a better environment for developers. He also wants to make Holli-ETH more accessible to app creators.
🔥 Binance introduced the Bicasso AI tool for generating NFT.
⚙️ Beta version is limited by a circulation of 10,000 tokens.
⚙️ Beta version is limited by a circulation of 10,000 tokens.
🌐 Chainlink Unveils Functions Web3 Platform
Chainlink Oracle Network launched the Functions platform, connecting decentralized applications (dapps) with traditional web platforms.
⚙️ Blockchain developers will be able to connect their dapps or smart contracts to “any” Web 2.0 platform, Chainlink blog says .
Programmers won't need to access cloud storage as the platform is integrated with providers like Amazon Web Services.
💻 The Functions beta is already running on the Sepolia (Ethereum) and Mumbai (Polygon) testnets.
Kemal El Mujahid, Chief Product Officer of Chainlink, said the launch of the new platform will remove major barriers to Web3 adoption .
💬 “We make it easy for developers to combine smart contracts with powerfulAPIand the Web 2.0 data sources they need to build amazing applications,” he said.
Chainlink Oracle Network launched the Functions platform, connecting decentralized applications (dapps) with traditional web platforms.
⚙️ Blockchain developers will be able to connect their dapps or smart contracts to “any” Web 2.0 platform, Chainlink blog says .
Programmers won't need to access cloud storage as the platform is integrated with providers like Amazon Web Services.
💻 The Functions beta is already running on the Sepolia (Ethereum) and Mumbai (Polygon) testnets.
Kemal El Mujahid, Chief Product Officer of Chainlink, said the launch of the new platform will remove major barriers to Web3 adoption .
💬 “We make it easy for developers to combine smart contracts with powerfulAPIand the Web 2.0 data sources they need to build amazing applications,” he said.
⚙️ The Ethereum team implemented the smart accounts feature
Ethereum developers activated the ERC-4337 standard through a smart contract called EntryPoint , which implements the concept of account abstraction.
ERC-4337 allows you to turn user wallets into smart contract accounts to make Ethereum addresses more convenient and eliminate the key human factor - loss of keys.
The account abstraction also makes it possible to store data in a standard smartphone security module, turning it into a hardware crypto wallet. In this case, any user can use:
🔸 two-factor authentication;
🔸 confirmation of the transaction by biometric data;
🔸 setting spending limits;
🔸 implementation of multi-signature;
🔸 programmable access recovery setting through a group of trusted persons, a third-party service or other options.
💬 “It gives you the same features as a bank, without the need for trust, as is the case with him,” Weiss said.
Ethereum developers activated the ERC-4337 standard through a smart contract called EntryPoint , which implements the concept of account abstraction.
ERC-4337 allows you to turn user wallets into smart contract accounts to make Ethereum addresses more convenient and eliminate the key human factor - loss of keys.
The account abstraction also makes it possible to store data in a standard smartphone security module, turning it into a hardware crypto wallet. In this case, any user can use:
🔸 two-factor authentication;
🔸 confirmation of the transaction by biometric data;
🔸 setting spending limits;
🔸 implementation of multi-signature;
🔸 programmable access recovery setting through a group of trusted persons, a third-party service or other options.
💬 “It gives you the same features as a bank, without the need for trust, as is the case with him,” Weiss said.