Arguably the most popular blockchain amongst developers building decentralized applications (dApps), the Ethereum Network is credited with introducing the Web3 community to innovations like smart contracts while maintaining robust security standards. However, in order to solve Ethereum’s scalability issue, a new type of Layer-2 (L2) blockchain was introduced that relies on the Ethereum Mainnet (Layer-1) for its security but processes transactions on separate third-party networks in order to increase throughput speeds. EVM compatibility for higher transaction speeds Importantly, developers had to ensure that these L2 blockchains were compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), a run-time environment where Ethereum’s application …

A secure cryptocurrency wallet is crucial for those investing in the growing cryptocurrency market. Technically, crypto wallets are pieces of software that enable users to send and receive digital currencies, like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC). Cryptocurrency wallets are typically used to store multiple coins and tokens at once. However, most wallets only support a limited number of digital currencies. These wallets can come in the form of hardware (much like a flash drive) that can be connected to the internet as needed or digital storage (like a banking app) that can be accessed on a device. To …

NFT Influencer CryptoNovo announced on Jan 4. that they have fallen victim to a cyberattack and lost two cryptopunks. The post on Twitter says “I just got hacked!!! Are you kidding me!?!” and includes a screenshot from OpenSea displaying two cryptopunks being transferred to another address. I just got hacked!!! Are you kidding me!?! pic.twitter.com/r1xS0mhD6P — CryptoNovo (@CryptoNovo311) January 4, 2023 The two cryptopunks were immediately sold by the attacker, one for 70 ETH (worth an equivalent $88,434 at time of publication) and the other for 199 ETH ($251,404). This implies that CryptoNovo lost over $300K worth of cryptopunks in …

Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and the crypto market had a rough 2022 from a price perspective, but traders are hopeful that 2023 will include bullish developments that push crypto prices higher. Despite the market-wide downturn, a handful of altcoins continued to make a positive contribution to the crypto space and thanks to Ethereum, the term altcoin is no longer a derogatory term. Let’s explore the top altcoins that made a difference in 2022. Ethereum fundamentals shone in 2022 Ether’s price hit a yearly high at $3,835 on Jan. 2 and has struggled to regain footing amidst the bear market and …

2022 will go down as a challenging year for the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, but the adversity faced has been strewn with plenty of positives for the decentralized application (Dapp) ecosystem. DappRadar has released its yearly report on the industry, focusing on challenges faced alongside notable technological achievements and an increasing number of active daily users. Cointelegraph highlights the main takeaways from the DApp industry in 2022, which are pertinent, considering macro factors like inflationary concerns in major economies, the collapse of industry-specific projects like Terra/Luna and FTX as well as market woes across the board. Perhaps most telling is …

The proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain Axelar launched on Dec. 19 a $60 million startup funding program dedicated to accelerating the development of decentralized applications and protocols that can replace centralized exchanges. The initiative is backed by over 15 blockchain investors. Dubbed Axelar Ecosystem Startup Funding Program, the initiative was designed to foster the development of Web3 applications addressing global issues that cannot be solved by the centralized internet. To qualify for funding, projects must also safeguard digital sovereignty, security and privacy, and work to onboard masses easily without unnecessary friction between specific blockchains or tokens, noted the company. Sergey Gorbunov, Axelar …

In a recent blog post, cryptocurrency legend and former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes mentioned he holds sizable bags of GMX and LOOKS tokens. According to Hayes, his main reasoning for investing in both tokens was their platform revenue and the potential of both assets to outperform standard treasury bills. Let’s take a brief look at on-chain data and compare GMX and LOOKS to competitors to determine whether Arthur’s assumption will work out. GMX usage cooling after a strong November The week prior to Nov. 16 provided decentralized Finance (DeFi) with a significant influx in fees after the centralized exchange (CEX) …

Ether (ETH), which is the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, is popular among cryptocurrency investors because of its native ETH token. However, its native Solidity programming language and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) are instrumental in the adulation it receives from the developer community. In fact, the Ethereum blockchain continues to attract decentralized application (DApp) developers due to its flexibility, the vast range of developer tools available and the platform’s large user base. Forming the core of the blockchain’s architecture, the EVM is the program that executes its application code or smart contracts, as they are called, providing …

DeFi is supposed to be the great recalibrator of finance. It is supposed to offer people a better alternative to traditional centralized financial tools and services. Recently, we've all seen how centralized services can result in catastrophic losses for users due to lack of transparency. However, as it stands now, using DeFi protocols can be extremely time-consuming, confusing and ineffective. Many of the problems in the space can be traced to the way it has developed. There are now a multitude of networks that each have their own ecosystems and platforms with which they integrated. While this has led to …

Blockchain software technology firm ConsenSys continues working on expanding blockchain interoperability by introducing a new tool to the MetaMask wallet. Metamask users can now bridge across multiple blockchain networks using MetaMask Bridges, which aggregates different blockchain bridges in one place, ConsenSys announced on Nov. 9. MetaMask Bridges supports major blockchains compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), including Ethereum, Avalanche, the Binance Smart Chain and Polygon. The new tool allows bridges of Ether (ETH) and Wrapped Ether (WETH), major stablecoins and native gas tokens, the firm said. The new bridge feature enables Metamask users to move tokens from one blockchain network …

In the past year, Polygon (MATIC) has focused on growing their list of high-profile partners which includes luminaries like Disney, Starbucks and Robinhood. The recent announcements of partnerships with both Instagram and JPMorgan have speculators pushing the token price up nearly 200%. In addition to partnerships, blockchain adoption through network usage is important to analyze. Blockchain adoption can be analyzed by looking into daily active users of the blockchain, protocols using the technology, number of transactions and total locked value. Total value locked on Polygon rises above $1B Total value locked (TVL) is one cryptocurrency indicator used to assess the …

After an impressive 23.7% rally between Oct. 25 and Oct. 31, Binance Chain BNB, has faced a strong rejection from the $330 resistance. Is it possible that the two-day 6% sell-off from the $337.80 peak could indicate that further trouble is ahead? Let’s take a look at what the data shows. Analysts pinned the recent rally to the Oct. 28 news that Binance had invested $500 million in Twitter. However, the network's deposits and decentralized applications metrics have not accompanied the improvement in sentiment. The strong upward movement was largely based on reports that Binance was preparing to assist Twitter …