The Lightning Network is a second layer built on top of the Bitcoin Network that allows for transactions to happen more quickly and efficiently without the need to wait on blocks being confirmed on-chain. To circumvent the need to wait for on-chain confirmations for each transaction, node operators open payment channels to other nodes with a chosen amount of bitcoin…
Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have seen their fair share of controversy, but now they have found their way into the midst of the battle between multi-billion dollar corporations in the United States and the workers trying to unionize their workplaces. On his first day back as the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz promised additional worker benefits to workers and digital innovation…
Bitcoin (BTC) continued its downturn into Wednesday’s Wall Street open with its first test of $44,000 since the start of April. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView BTC price posts near two-week lows Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching 12-day lows of $43,801 on Bitstamp, down over 7% from the month’s high. The move defied positive…
In his monthly crypto tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira covers emerging technologies within the crypto, decentralized finance and blockchain space, as well as their roles in shaping the economy of the 21st century. Traditional finance experts are warming up to the idea of crypto, but outlandish headlines of record-breaking hacks and overhyped projects don’t necessarily reverse its bad…
Terraform Labs is partnering with LongHash Ventures, a Web3 investment fund, to increase development activity on the fast-growing Terra blockchain. As part of the partnership, the LongHashx Accelerator—a program to support Web3 development and crypto startups—will open up to those building in the Terra ecosystem. In the world of investment, accelerator programs typically provide hands-on assistance to early-stage startups. This…
After having its biggest year yet in 2021, the soaring decentralized finance market’s upward trajectory has leveled off in the first quarter of 2022. Total value locked, which refers to the value of assets deposited in DeFi protocols, dropped 8% to $214 billion, and unique active wallets fell to 2.4 million, down 6% compared to the end of last year,…
It all started in a hot tub at the University of California, Berkeley at the tail end of the 1970s—that’s where David Chaum, cryptography pioneer and eCash creator, came upon the idea for his Masters thesis, he told Decrypt on a recent call from Los Angeles. It was a vibrant period at the university. “My officemate was Eric Schmidt, and…
Central bank digital currencies — digital currencies backed by a central bank — have received renewed interest with the United States President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets. Proponents of CBDCs argue that widespread adoption will promote financial inclusion, expand public access to safe money, improve the efficiency of payments and more. But their rationale…
According to a new industry report published by DappRadar, the number of users engaging in decentralized applications, or DApps, every day surged 396% year over year to 2.4 million. This is only 5.8% below the same user activity level witnessed in Q4 2021. The overall growth was impressive, considering that during the quarter, the cryptocurrency sector saw a short-lived bear…
Bitcoin fell below the $45,000 level on Wednesday, as the selloff in crypto markets extended, following strong gains last week. ETH was also down in the session, slipping to a five-day low in the process. Overall, the global crypto market cap fell by 4% as of writing. Bitcoin BTC fell below $45,000 during Wednesday’s session, as markets were waiting for…
