Liquid staking protocol Lido Finance appears to have benefited most from the Ethereum merge in September, with its total value locked (TVL) now sitting at the top position among other decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. According to data from DeFiLlama, Lido’s liquid staking protocol now commands $5.9 billion in TVL, compared to MakerDAO's $5.89 billion and AAVE’s $3.7 billion. Lido now has the highest TVL of any DeFi protocol. pic.twitter.com/2xsM3lVGVl — Patrick | Dynamo DeFi (@Dynamo_Patrick) January 1, 2023 According to Lido Finance’s website, as at Jan. 2 had $5.8 billion Ether (ETH) staked. Meanwhile, there was around $23.2 million staked …

Cryptocurrency had its Lehman moment with FTX — or, perhaps, another Lehman moment. The macroeconomic downturn has not spared crypto, and as November rolled around, nobody knew that we were in for the collapse of an empire worth billions of dollars. As the rumors of bankruptcy began to take hold, a bank run was inevitable. Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, the once effective altruist now under house arrest, continued to claim that assets were “fine.” Of course, they were not. From Genesis to Gemini, most major crypto organizations have been affected by the contagion effect in the aftermath. The problem with exchanges …

A particular topic of interest in the blockchain space is the emergence of blockchain-related projects in the domain name system (DNS) and domain ecosystem. Handshake, in particular, has been gaining attention among decentralized technology enthusiasts for its potential to revolutionize how people think about and interact with domains, especially in the context of Web3. What is a handshake (HNS) domain? Handshake (HNS) is a decentralized, permissionless naming protocol that allows for peer-to-peer communication and provides an accessible alternative to centrally managed domain names, such as .com, country-code domains and other generic domains. As a decentralized peer-to-peer domain naming protocol, Handshake …

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) could potentially find some mutually beneficial interactions with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), according to one industry executive. While crypto is often associated with financial freedom, the concept of CBDC is frequently seen as the exact opposite. But this doesn’t mean that there cannot be a balance between the two, according to Itai Avneri, chief operating officer and deputy CEO at the crypto trading platform INX. CBDCs and regulated cryptocurrencies could potentially complement each other in the future as the two types of digital currencies have their own benefits, Avneri said in an interview with Cointelegraph …

The Republic of the Marshall Islands, an independent island state located in the Pacific Ocean near the Equator, has announced that the Decentralized Autonomous Organizations Act of 2022 has officially been passed into law. The law recognizes decentralized autonomous organizations and enables legal entities registered in the country to formally adopt DAO structures and governance tools. The government hopes this latest move will encourage the growth of decentralized entities and their accompanying elements within the state. According to the announcement, the DAO Act of 2022 will allow DAOs to incorporate under Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), enabling them to identify as …

Decentralized Exchange (DEX) aggregator OpenOcean has announced the rollout of its new interoperable "all-in-one" cross-chain swap platform, which allows users to swap and bridge assets across Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, and Fantom. We’ve just launched our 1-click Cross-chain swap+aggregator! Get the best cross-chain swap rates, now live on @ethereum, @BNBCHAIN, @0xPolygon, @arbitrum, @avalancheavax & @FantomFDN. Dive in nowhttps://t.co/UNP6FBATu0 More info: https://t.co/X9JFUfVMNm — OpenOcean - A leading Web3 DEX Aggregator (@OpenOceanGlobal) December 20, 2022 According to OpenOcean, it has integrated Celer Bridge and the Multichain bridge within its platform to provide users with competitive rates across the supported chains. …

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 …

Decentralized exchange Uniswap has partnered with fintech company Moonpay to allow users to buy cryptocurrency on its web app using debit cards, credit cards, and bank transfers. The bank transfer option is being rolled out for users within most U.S. states, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Single European Payments Arena, also known as SEPA. In the announcement made on Dec. 20, Uniswap shared that its users will now be able to convert fiat to cryptocurrency on the Ethereum mainnet, Polygon, Optimism, and Artibrum in a matter of minutes. 1/ Go direct to DeFi Starting today, you can now purchase crypto …

A type of decentralized finance (DeFi) that allows investors to lend their crypto tokens in return for regular interest payments, the crypto lending space comprises both centralized and decentralized crypto entities that manage the entire process on behalf of their investors. Offering high annual percentage yields (APY) to investors from whom the tokens have been borrowed, these lending platforms further lend the same assets in the form of collateralized crypto loans to borrowers. However, despite providing businesses with easy access to capital and promising high yields for investors, the crypto lending space finds itself entwined in liquidity issues stemming from …

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has pushed for stricter regulations on centralized crypto actors, but says decentralized protocols should be allowed to flourish given that open-source code and smart contracts are alrea“the ultimate form of disclosure.” Armstrong shared his views on cryptocurrency regulation in a Dec. 20 Coinbase blog where he proposed how regulators can help “restore trust” and move the industry forward as the market continues to recover from the damage done by FTX and its shock collapse. But decentralized protocols aren’t part of that equation, the Coinbase CEO emphasized. “Decentralized arrangements do not involve intermediaries [and] open-source code and …

Decentralization via blockchain technology has given rise to several applications such as cryptocurrency, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), decentralized finance (DeFi), and many more use cases. However, the future of decentralization may very well extend beyond blockchain technology. Nillion, an internet infrastructure platform based on cryptography, has developed a technology called Nil Message Compute (NMC), which changes how data is stored, processed and decentralized. This new technology could have important implications for how companies and users pursue decentralization as an ethos. When asked how decentralization without blockchains was possible, the CEO of Nillion, Alex Page, explained how NMC …

How can companies prepare for a Web3 world? Organizations may create competitive DAOs, use tokenized assets, and actively share the value they create with their user networks to survive in the Web3 world. After the rising market for NFT artwork and collectibles in 2021 and the metaverse land grab in 2022, Web3 presents opportunities for innovative business models, products, and established organizations. Although traditional organizational structures vary from company to company, positions are best filled by individuals who can best serve the interests of shareholders. By swiftly and effectively establishing roles and permissions using NFTs that reflect individuals’ rights and …