Ethereum 2.0

zkEVM Rollups, a new scaling solution for Ethereum, will allow the smart contract protocol to outpace Visa in terms of transaction throughput, said Polygon co-founder Mihailo Bjelic in a recent interview with Cointelegraph. Polygon recently claimed to be the first to implement a zkEVM scaling solution, which aims at reducing Ethereum’s transaction costs and improving its throughput. This layer-2 protocol can bundle together several transactions and then relay them to the Ethereum network as a single transaction. The solution, according to Bjelic, represents the Holy Grail of Web3 as it offers security, scalability and full compatibility with Ethereum, which means developers won’t have to learn a new programing language to work with it. "When you launch a scaling solution, you ideally want to preserve that developer experience. Otherwise, there will be a lot of friction," explained Bjelic. According to Sandeep Nailwal, Polygon's other co-founder, this solution will slice Ethereu..

Bitcoin (BTC) may already be beginning its new macro uptrend if historical "hodl" habits repeat. That was the conclusion from research into the latest data covering the amount of the BTC supply dormant for one year or more as of July 2022. Hodled BTC hints that the bear market is overAccording to independent analyst Miles Johal, who uploaded the findings to social media on July 29, a “rounded top” formation in "hodled" BTC is in the process of completing. Once it does, the price should react — just like on multiple occasions before. The clue lies in Bitcoin’s HODL Waves metric, which breaks down the supply according to when each Bitcoin last moved. One year ago or more — the one-year HODL Wave — currently reflects the majority of the supply. Johal’s accompanying chart shows that the greater the proportion of the overall supply stationary for at least a year, the closer BTC/USD is to a macro bottom. More importantly, however, a slowing of the one-year HODL Wave — indicating accumulatio..

Schwab Asset Management, the asset management arm of financial giant Charles Schwab, has launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) with exposure to firms linked to cryptocurrencies. In a Friday announcement, Schwab said its Crypto Thematic ETF was expected to be available for trading on the New York Stock Exchange’s Arca under the ticker STCE on Aug. 4. The fund tracks Schwab’s Crypto Thematic Index, providing an investment vehicle with exposure to companies “that may benefit from the development or utilization of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.” Likely because the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has not given the green light to ETFs providing direct exposure to Bitcoin (BTC), the Schwab fund will indirectly invest in crypto through companies. Schwab said the firms included those involved in mining and staking as well as those developing applications on the blockchain or distributed ledger technology. “For investors who are interested in cryptocurrenc..

The past six-odd months have been nothing short of a financial soap opera for the cryptocurrency market, with more drama seemingly unfolding every other day. To this point, since the start of May, a growing number of major crypto entities have been tumbling like dominoes, with the trend likely to continue in the near term. The contagion, for the lack of a better word, was sparked by the collapse of the Terra ecosystem back in May, wherein the project’s associated digital currencies became worthless almost overnight. Following the event, crypto lending platform Celsius faced bankruptcy. Then Zipmex, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, froze all customer withdrawals, a move that was mirrored by crypto financial service provider Babel Finance late last month. It is worth noting that since December 2021, nearly $2 trillion has been wiped out from the digital asset industry. And, while markets across the board — including equities and commodities — have been severely affected by the ..

The cryptocurrency market is no stranger to speculation. Consider that despite this industry's growth, many continue to view these assets and associated technologies as a bubble that is about to burst. As history has proven, overcoming the technology adoption curve comes down to a major use case, or the so-called "killer app." Although there is no clear frontrunner, the adult entertainment industry has proven to significantly advance new technology iterations in the past and presents an interesting proposition for the future of cryptocurrencies. The adult entertainment industry is believed to be worth billions of dollars, giving it significant influence over the world's leading technologies. Although it doesn't create these new technologies, it is often the first to adopt and do so successfully. For example, the industry was among the first to make money on the internet, where it continues to rake in over $1 billion a year. In part, this is because, unlike other indus..

Ethereum's proof-of-work (PoW) powered by GPUs generated approximately $19 billion in revenue last year for ETH miners. But these revenue streams are in danger as Ethereum is expected to become a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain via "the Merge" upgrade in September. Miners could then revolt against the new upgrade by continuing to mine on the old Ethereum PoW after the hard fork chain split. A survey from crypto hedge fund Galois Capital recently revealed that 33.1% of respondents believe that the Merge would create two parallel blockchains: ETH1 (PoW) and ETH2 (PoS). Nevertheless, most respondents, or 53.7%, expect Ethereum's chain to smoothly transition from PoW to PoS. Is the ETH1 PoW "illogical"?But contentious hard forks aren't anything new. In fact, the current Ethereum chain came to be in 2016 following a controversial hard fork aimed at reversing a $60 million exploit, resulting in a chain split between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic (ETC). This is where the arg..

Finding real love starts with Bitcoin (BTC). That’s according to the founders of Bitcoiner dating service The Orange Pill App and LoveisBitcoin. The services join a growing list of ways in which Bitcoin enthusiasts can meet, chat and now fall in love “IRL” (in real life). But first, why do people who love Bitcoin need to connect with others who are “orange-pilled?” For George Saoulidis, cofounder of LoveisBitcoin, Bitcoiners need a dating service because money shapes our lives more than we realize: “Issues can and do arise if time preferences diverge a lot. Part of the orange-pilling process makes you see through the marketing and the propaganda to distinguish what is truly valuable: Experiences, family, friendships.”Part of the Bitcoin ethos is having a lower time preference, and not succumbing to instant gratification. Saoulidis explains that personally, he couldn’t be with a spouse that clings to “fiat spending habits,” as it clashes with core values of Bitcoin culture — thinking lo..

The Ethereum blockchain is on the verge of one of the most crucial technical updates since its inception, moving from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS), also called Ethereum 2.0, or Eth2. Ethereum devs gave Sept. 19 as the perpetual date for the merger of the current PoW chain to the PoS chain. The Merge is expected to be deployed on the Goerli testnet in the second week of August. After the successful integration of the Goerli testnet, the blockchain will initiate the Bellatrix update in early August and roll out the Merge two weeks later. The discussion around the transition began with a focus on scalability, so Ethereum developers proposed a three-phase transformation process. The transition itself is nearly two years in the making, starting on Dec. 1, 2020, with the launch of Beacon Chain, initiating Phase 0 of the three-phase process. The Beacon Chain began the shift to PoS, enabling users to stake their Ether (ETH) and become validators. However, Phase 0 did not affect..

When the last Bitcoin (BTC) is finally mined, the livelihood of miners who rely on block rewards as a source of income will be affected. Despite this, the future of mining stays promising, according to an expert in the space. In a Cointelegraph interview, Mohamed El Masri, the founder of mining solutions provider PermianChain, talked about new players jumping into mining, the future of mining and what happens to mine profitability after the 21 millionth BTC is minted. El Masri highlighted that efficiency is a very important focus that new players in the space must take into consideration. Because mining profit depends on how efficient a mining operation is, the executive noted that efficiency brings the cost of energy down to a minimum. When asked about the future of the mining space, the executive shared that it’s not always about profit. El Masri said that the future of the mining sector relies on what he described as the “real Bitcoin miners” who value solving blocks more than ho..

Data from the United States commerce department suggests America has entered a technical recession, but market analysts have highlighted key metrics that suggest investors are optimistic. The American economy shrunk for the second consecutive quarter, according to government data released on Thursday, fitting the criteria for a technical recession. The Biden Administration maintains that the U.S. is not in a recession, highlighting low unemployment rates and other metrics that counter the argument. Mati Greenspan, founder & CEO of Quantum Economics, addressed the topic in his latest QE newsletter, noting a paradoxical effect between the GDP drop and a surge in stocks and other risk assets. He attributed this move to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates by 0.75%, which saw cryptocurrency markets outperform stocks, with Ethere (ETH) surging 5% immediately after the announcement. Related: Bitcoin bull run ‘getting interesting’ as BTC price hits 6-week high Greenspa..