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What to Expect Post the Ethereum Merge?

Posted on by Subh Rath

The Cryptocurrency industry has witnessed 2022 to be quite an eventful year. We are unquestionably in a bear market, with prices dropping by nearly a trillion dollars and fluctuating wildly.

But the year is far from over still. There is likely more in store for the Cryptocurrency industry. The Ethereum Merge, for example, is promising news that might be seen as a way out of the darkness.

What is the Ethereum Merge?

As the digital and blockchain worlds rapidly develop, thousands of firms and projects in the cutting-edge field of decentralized finance are moving to Ethereum for lending, borrowing, and other complex investment alternatives. In addition, Ethereum is also used as the foundation for a large number of digital valuables like nonfungible tokens, NFTs, etc.

Amongst all this, the Ethereum merge is an advanced approach to changing how Ethereum verifies its transactions. In this Eth Ethereum Merge, the Beacon Chain is Ethereum’s next proof-of-stake consensus layer and aims to integrate with Ethereum’s existing execution layer. With the help of this mage, staking ETH instead of mining for network security reduces energy consumption. As a result, this hugely promising development expects more scalability, security, and longevity in the Ethereum network.

How Will This Bring a Positive Change in the Cryptocurrency Industry?

According to Ethereum, the promising development that the Ethereum merge will introduce is a roadway to significant benefits for projects and investors involved in the cryptocurrency industry.

Some benefits that we can expect post the Ethereum merge are:

  • Adoption of Proof of Stake: Proof of Stake is a more efficient consensus technique regarding the network’s logic. It is obvious how Ethereum’s shift from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake will be a massive benefiting factor for everyone involved in the Ethereum ecosystem.
  • Reduced Energy Consumption: Another noteworthy benefit that can be expected post the Ethereum merge is the reduction of Ethereum’s energy consumption by 99.95%. This reduced energy consumption will also be achievable through the transition of Ethereum from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake – shaping into one of the most revolutionary changes in the cryptocurrency industry.
  • Future Scaling Upgrades: With sharding and other future scaling upgrades laying the groundwork for improvements, the Ethereum ecosystem will be better able to prepare and advance itself for the future. Besides, with the cryptocurrency market expanding and evolving, efficient changes and improvements will be the need of the hour for the Ethereum ecosystem.
  • Functioning Transformation: Another positive trait that Ethereum merge will bring along is the fundamental transformation of the functioning of Ethereum’s system. As a result, this transformation will serve as a gateway for extensive potential use cases and successful cryptocurrency investment stories. 

 Conclusion:

While the Ethereum Merge is much-awaited news in 2022, it’s still unclear if its applications will extend beyond the cryptocurrency industry. So let’s wait and see!

Firefly Music Festival set to Release its First-Ever NFT Collection

Posted on by Subh Rath

The largest East Coast camping event, Firefly Music Festival, today announced a partnership with Autograph and AEG Presents to introduce its first-ever NFT collection. Autograph is a Web3 brand co-founded by Tom Brady that, by partnering with the unique event, hopes to give fans special access and experiences to discover during this year’s festival, which will take place September 22-25, 2022, in Dover, Delaware.

As part of the agreement, all festival wristband holders can redeem one of five NFTs. Following this, they will receive various exciting benefits, including a particular entry lane and on-site festival activities. In addition, all festival attendees will have the option to participate in Autograph’s on-site engagement.

Every Firefly Festival wristband bearer may acquire a Firefly Lumina NFT by revealing a unique NFT tier – Mint, Lilac, Coral, Sky, or Dandelion. All they have to do is enter their wristband or ticket number.

Each tier includes a special incentive at this year’s event, such as VIP Weekend Passes, an Exclusive Firefly 10th Anniversary DJ Set with White Panda, Autograph Rooftop Lounge access, Spruce Up Passes, Ferris Wheel Rides, and Autograph x Firefly co-branded items.

Throughout the festival, attendees can visit the Autograph activation to play a unique interactive digital game for an additional on-site experience. To obtain the best festival experience, fans may collect their NFTs in advance by visiting autograph.io.

It is noteworthy that the traditional ticketing system has its share of problems, whether it’s scalping, fake tickets, or illegal reselling. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) can remap the present landscape for sporting events, giving safe and efficient entrance to events and increasing value for devoted fans by offering the opportunity for change through verifiable and authentic tickets.

This technology would open the door for venues and leagues to collaborate to provide “dynamic tickets.” These might be digital passes that update as they are utilized and provide extra benefits such as NFT airdrops, access to unique products, or free food and beverage coupons.

From Santander embracing crypto, Solana opening a real-life store in NYC to Telegram going the NFT way: This month in crypto

Posted on by Subh Rath

Let’s examine what was making news throughout the last month. There’s something extra at the end of the read!

Mercedes-Benz has launched Acentrik, a blockchain-based data-sharing platform. The project is aimed primarily at corporate users, with features such as Know Your Business and stringent access restrictions. The data is not saved on the blockchain. Rather each dataset is represented by a non-fungible token (NFT) and a metadata hash.

According to reports, the Spanish banking giant Santander will begin offering cryptocurrency trading to its clients in Brazil. According to Santander Brazil CEO Mario Leo, the bank is trying to create crypto services in response to increasing demand from its Brazilian consumers.

Solana’s real-life store is open in New York City. The store named Solana Spaces aims to educate users about Solana blockchain and Web3. “This isn’t the first time the cryptocurrency has stepped outside the Metaverse; it has previously announced the launching of the ‘Saga,’ a Web3 Android mobile phone. New Solana-themed stores have opened in New York City. The “Solana Spaces” store attempts to educate visitors on how Solana operates and what web 3 is.

Binance announced that Fans of the Rome-based professional Italian football team Società Sportiva Lazio (aka “S.S. Lazio”) might “open the upcoming 2022/23 season with cutting-edge NFT tickets.” Lazio’s NFT tickets include additional incentives for the Binance Fan Token community, such as discounts, freebies, and experiences, making the upcoming season a great highlight for all S.S. Lazio Fans.

The largest asset manager in the world, Blackrock, signs a deal with Coinbase to provide crypto trading, custody, prime brokerage and reporting capabilities to its clients.

Meta begins its international expansion of NFT support on Instagram. As a result of this extension, users and businesses in over 100 countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the Americas will be able to publish their NFTs on Instagram. Before this, support was only accessible to a limited number of creators in the United States.

The United States Federal Reserve Announces “FedNow” Fast Payments System For 2023. According to Fed, the FedNow Service will transform how everyday payments are made across the economy. Users can send instant payments at any time of day or night, and the funds are immediately available to recipients.

Bitcoin now has over 1 million unique wallet addresses, according to research. Regarding network utilization, Ethereum and Litecoin are distant runner-ups behind Bitcoin, with 158 million and 148 million unique addresses, respectively.

Telegram co-founder Paul Durov intends to establish an NFT marketplace and hopes to incorporate a “little bit of web3.” Paul intends to build a platform where username holders may sell their identifiers to interested parties through blockchain using NFT-like smart contracts.

Binance has teamed with payments giant Mastercard to create a cryptocurrency-enabled payment card in Argentina. The Binance Card, issued by Credencial Payments and meant to “bridge the gap between cryptocurrencies and ordinary transactions,” would allow Binance customers to make crypto purchases online and in-store, including Bitcoin (BTC), wherever Mastercard is accepted. Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach announced the project on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

As The Merge Approaches, Ethereum Classic’s hash rate achieved an all-time high on August 20, 2022. The Ethereum Classic network’s hash rate measures the processing power per second employed when mining a coin. The ATH hash rate lowers the chances of a “51% attack.” 

Australia Will Use’ Token Mapping’ As Crypto Regulation Framework. The Australian government will review how bitcoin assets are managed to keep procedures current and safeguard consumers.

John McAfee’s ex-girlfriend alleges McAfee faked his death and is still alive and well in Texas. Ex-girlfriend Samantha Herrera said in a Netflix documentary titled Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee, published on Wednesday. In June 2021, John McAfee died in a Spanish jail cell while awaiting extradition to the United States on allegations of neglecting to file tax returns from 2014 to 2018 and failing to declare revenue from crypto ventures and consultancy services. When he died, he was 75 years old. 

Besides some gripping news from the crypto industry, some memes and videos added to the fun side of the tech groups. Time for five hilarious crypto memes!

Some Bitcoin humour

Ethereum was not spared either

Want to swim in the Metaverse?

 Hodling Vs Day trading

Why I don’t go to parties anymore

How DeFi is ready to power its way beyond investment and speculation

Posted on by wiredshut2

What do you think about when you hear “the future of finance?” Most people envision mobile payments, internet banking, and other cutting-edge technology. What about decentralization, though?

DeFi refers to peer-to-peer finance enabled by decentralized technologies built on the blockchain. From lending and borrowing platforms to stablecoins and tokenized BTC, the DeFi ecosystem has launched an expansive network of integrated protocols and financial instruments.

However, Decentralized finance (DeFi) is currently undergoing soul-searching. Terra’s collapse in May 2022 had a contagion effect on many other DeFi platforms. Subsequently, there has been a widespread perception that DeFi offers little more than circular financing and dangerously leveraged speculation, the type that may produce a domino of bankruptcy and failures. And to our horror, it’s partially true.

Read more about the Terra collapse here

The “crypto-winter”

DeFi has since faced many criticisms. The thrust of all these criticisms is that most DeFi revolves around highly leveraged speculation – users deposited their money into these platforms that promised high yields. The platform, in turn, uses these funds to lend or invest in other projects. However, many such projects were wiped out when the crypto bear market hit in 2022. 

Nonetheless, there is a silver lining. Authorities in the crypto and DeFi sectors confirm that DeFi is still a developing field that will grow and consolidate as it evolves. Indeed, many think DeFi will become more integrated with traditional banking in the following years by linking with the Internet of Things, digital ID, and data storage. And the more it does, the less it will be centered on the risky habit of lending and borrowing virtually entirely for speculation.

DeFi benefits from using blockchain technology in various ways, including transparency, which may increase due diligence and assist individuals in identifying and avoiding dangerous financial frauds and damaging corporate practices. Similarly, smart contracts give further protection against rogue actors and fraudulent transactions.

DeFi’s Current Status and Potential

Some reports indicated that DeFi’s growth on the Ethereum blockchain was 780% in 2021. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols was more than $172 billion by the first quarter of 2022. The future of DeFi rests on the three strong pillars: composability, DeFi insurance, and governance.

Composability

Composability refers to the ability of several components to collaborate to produce the intended result. In the context of DeFi, composability is how diverse protocols and platforms work together to generate new financial solutions. This is not to imply that flexibility has not existed in conventional finance. DeFi, however, takes composability to the next level by allowing the creation of a trustless system.

On the blockchain, users can verify every transaction and activity. Ethereum serves as the impartial settlement layer, with no one entity wielding power. Furthermore, because DeFi is permissionless, anybody may design new financial products and apps that would not be viable with old infrastructure.

DeFi insurance

DeFi insurance is the missing link that will bring DeFi up to speed with traditional finance.

DeFi insurance arose out of need, as indicated by the predicted $10 billion fraud losses in the DeFi business in 2021. Insurance safeguards against unfavourable occurrences in the cryptocurrency sector, such as exchange hacks, smart contract failures, and stablecoin price collapses.

Despite the benefits of DeFi insurance, the claims procedure is still unknown. As a result, additional study is required to evaluate the usefulness of this new instrument.

Governance

Some DeFi platforms reinforce the blockchain community’s commitment to decentralization by making governance tokens available to users.

A governance token gives consumers control over the platform’s protocol, goods, and future innovations. Governance tokens are usually established using decentralized protocols that promote community-driven growth and self-sufficiency.

To make critical choices concerning protocol changes, recruiting, and even governance framework alterations, decentralized networking initiatives require governance mechanisms.

For example, a borrowing and lending platform may use its regulating mechanism to compute the requisite amount. In other words, decisions made by project stakeholders through its governance structure can directly influence the project’s success or failure.

When approached correctly, governance efforts can bring in a new era of decentralized growth and collaboration.

In essence, there remain many defenders of DeFi within the crypto sector. All of them continue to affirm that the space will continue to grow and, ultimately, make good on its promises.

Telegram Founder Suggests Auction Usernames as NFT-Like Smart Contracts

Posted on by wiredshut2

In an interesting development, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, an encrypted messaging application, has shown interest in his idea of developing a marketplace that could utilize “NFT-like smart contracts” to auction highly-sought after Telegram usernames. 

Durov suggested after the success of domain name auctions by TON, The Open Network, a layer-1 blockchain that was originally designed by the Telegram team itself. The blockchain project TON launched its DNS service that would enable users to assign eligible names to crypto wallets, websites, and smart contracts earlier this year. 

Durov also sent out a message to his personal Telegram group, Durov’s Channel stating that he was “really impressed by the success of the auction TON recently conducted for their domain/wallet names.”

“Imagine how successful Telegram with its 700 million users could be if we put reserved @ usernames, group and channel links for auction,” he said. 

Durov further suggested that Telegram could tap into similar technology to develop a new marketplace to sell and buy catch t.me addresses such as @storm or @royal and all four-letter usernames. 

“This would create a new platform where username holders could transfer them to interested parties in protected deals — with ownership secured on the blockchain via NFT-like smart contracts.”

“Other elements of the Telegram ecosystem, including channels, stickers or emoji, could later also become part of this marketplace,” he added.

The TON DNS went live on July 30 and, like Ethereum Name Service, allows users to access dApps using simple names instead of a long string of letters and numbers. Durov believes, “Our team can write bullet-proof smart contracts for TON (since it was us who invented its smart-contract language), so we are inclined to try out TON as the underlying blockchain for our future marketplace,”

Telegram is one of the most used platforms by the crypto community for engaging with projects, investors, and whatnot. This integration will help some users with unique names monetize their creativity.