Public blockchain platform Nervos has announced the mainnet beta launch of Godwoken. The layer-two blockchain protocol integrates Ethereum Virtual Machine capabilities and optimistic rollup mechanics to provide instant transaction finality and low fees within an Ethereum-like environment. Built upon the existing Nervos layer-one network, the multi-chain solution seeks to capitalize on Ethereum’s well-documented drawbacks — most notably network congestion, high gas fees and scalability — and benefit from the growing importance of layer-two alternative platforms. This long-standing roadmap achievement follows last year's deployment of Force Bridge, a cross-chain bridge designed to enhance the interoperability of transactions such as those between …

As reported by Reuters Thursday morning, Tierra Viva ("Alive Earth"), a Colombian exporter of long-horned beetles based in Tunja, has been developing its own cryptocurrency to avoid high commission costs on international sales. According to the outlet, the Hercules, Neptunus, and elephant beetle species exported by Tierra Viva have a retail price of $300 a pair in Tokyo. The beetle species are popular among Japanese schoolchildren and collectors. Carmelo Campos, chief programmer of Tierra Viva, said the following in an interview with Reuters: It's an alternative to be able to export the beetles to Japan or any other part of …

As the prices of Bitcoin (BTC) have risen this year, so have the concerns about the energy consumption of cryptocurrency mining. Due to the Proof of Work (PoW) protocol for mining, some estimates suggest that the Bitcoin network uses almost as much energy as Argentina. Therefore, many skeptics are quick to blame the digital currency for carbon emissions and climate change. As a result, although some cryptocurrencies don’t use mining at all, the industry as a whole is often quick to receive blame for its environmental impact. Some suggest that up to 70% of this energy should come from renewable …

An on-chain study released by Kraken Intelligence highlights strong accumulation behavior among Ethereum miners even as they faced the prospects of generating lower revenue following a major network upgrade on Aug. 5. Ethereum miners accumulated an additional 2 million Ether (ETH), worth $6.1 billion, after the so-called London hard fork’s activation. The latest bout of accumulation caused miners’ net Ether holdings to hit an all-time high of 22.3 million ETH (worth nearly $70 billion), which is almost 19% of the total Ether supply. “ETH accumulation was stagnant for most of the summer before picking up speed in July in spite …

Sparkpool, the second-largest Ethereum mining pool in the world, is suspending operations due to the ongoing Chinese crackdown on crypto. The mining pool officially announced that it has suspended access to new users in mainland China on Monday in response to Chinese authorities initiating new measures to combat crypto adoption in the country. Following the initial restrictions made last Friday, Sparkpool will continue shutting down services, and plans to suspend existing mining pool users both in China and abroad on Thursday. According to the announcement, the measures intend to ensure safety of users’ assets in response to “regulatory policy requirements.” …

In 1921, American industrialist Henry Ford proposed the creation of an “energy currency” that could form the basis of a new monetary system — offering striking similarities to the peer-to-peer electronic cash system outlined in Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 Bitcoin (BTC) white paper. Bitcoin as an energy currency On Dec. 4, 1921, the New York Tribune published an article outlining Ford’s vision of replacing gold with an energy currency that he believed could break the banking elites’ grip on global wealth and put an end to wars. He intended to do this by building “the world’s greatest power plant” and creating …

A recent price boom in the Tezos (XTZ) market risks exhaustion as it triggers a classic bearish pattern. Dubbed as the "ascending broadening wedge," the pattern develops when the price oscillates between two upward but diverging trendlines. According to its creator Thomas Bulkowski, these wedges tell less about buying exhaustion and more about sellers' ambition to take control, i.e., buyers tend to lose dominance every time the price touches the upper trendline. XTZ's 250%-plus price rally from its July 2021 low of $2.08 has led to the ascending broadening wedge's formation. On Monday, the cryptocurrency tested the structure's upper trendline …

Ethereum’s native asset, Ether (ETH), has extended its rally on Wednesday to log multi-month highs against Bitcoin (BTC) and the United States dollar. The ETH/BTC exchange rate rose 3.13% to hit 0.07475 for the first time since June 9. Meanwhile, bids for ETH/USD climbed 3.4% to $3,546, the highest since May 18, showcasing a renewed upside sentiment in the second-largest cryptocurrency market after it consolidated sideways for more than three weeks. Ether’s price jump appeared despite a wobbling price behavior across the cryptocurrency market. For instance, Bitcoin prices remained stuck around $47,000 while eyeing a clear breakout move above their …

Solana (SOL) prices printed another milestone of nearly $85 high on Aug. 27 as traders assessed a flurry of optimistic fundamentals, including Solana's potential foray into Wall Street. On Aug. 24, digital asset management firm Osprey Funds registered a first-of-its-kind Solana fund with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In doing so, the New York firm hinted at giving institutional exposure to SOL markets as the token's value surged by more than 4,300% in 2021. A day later, real-time data feeder Pyth Network announced that it is going live on Solana's proof-of-stake blockchain. The firm provides "high-fidelity streaming data" …

Blockchain mining networks are often victims of their success. The two contemporary realities that demarcate the mining landscape and cause blockchains to fall short of what they promise are 1) the ongoing technological arms race driven by inherent competitive greed; and 2) the rising energy costs associated with proof-of-work (PoW) mining. Blockchains built on the PoW consensus have become highly unequal and increasingly centralized in terms of their hash rate. This concentration of mining power in fewer and fewer hands is an attack on the fundamental requirement for distribution and decentralization that blockchains possess. In addition, the motivation to ramp …

Cardano’s native token, ADA, ignored a serious price crash warning to rally to a new all-time high. The ADA/USD exchange rate reached $2.56 for the first time on Friday, following a 154.54% price boom that started on July 20. In doing so, the pair also ignored veteran trader Peter Brandt’s 60%–90% price crash warning, which was based on a classic bearish pattern called the head and shoulders. I remember being scoffed at unmercifully when I identified this top in $LTCUSD back in mid 2018 Hey Cardano trolls $ADAUSD , take aim... pic.twitter.com/3gytNHW4cR — Peter Brandt (@PeterLBrandt) July 30, 2021 But …

In early July, JPMorgan released a report in which two of the bank’s analysts projected that the staking industry would be worth $40 billion in rewards by 2025. The report anticipates that once the Ethereum 2.0 network completes its transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS,) payouts will more than double, up to $20 billion from the current $9 billion. Within the next four years, it will double again. With the rapid rise of staking over the last few years, it’s hardly surprising that traditional finance analysts are starting to take note. While the JPMorgan analysts are correct that the …