Category: Blockchain

Reddit mods dumped tokens hours before blockchain program termination

Popular social network platform Reddit announced the wind-down of its blockchain-based community points program on Oct. 17 citing scalability issues. The announcement created controversy in the crypto community with many calling it a rug-pull as the price of the native token on different subreddits tanked after the announcements.  Each subreddit had its own native token. For example, the Moons (MOON) token was the native crypto asset of the r/CryptoCurrency board, while Bricks (BRICK) was for the r/FortNiteBR subreddit. Users could spend these points on badges and exclusive items for their…

Blockchain improves charity transparency — But is it right for everyone?

In 2021, the Australian branch of the Red Cross received $90 million to aid the victims of the bushfires that plagued various regions of New South Wales and Victoria.  However, the organization soon came under fire for its lack of transparency when it revealed that it would only distribute around one-third of the intended funds on immediate assistance and that it could take up to three years to distribute the total amount. One resident who lost his home to the fires told local media, “They made a lot of promises…

Google Cloud teams up with MultiversX amid blockchain firm’s focus on metaverse

Google Cloud has teamed up with blockchain infrastructure firm MultiversX (formerly Elrond) to boost its Web 3 presence. Google Cloud has integrated MultiversX into the platform which will in turn help Web3 projects and users derive valuable insights from powerful data analytics and artificial intelligence tools within the Google Cloud ecosystem. MultiversX claims that the partnership between the two firms has the potential to immediately streamline the execution of large-scale, data-first blockchain projects. This should help developers easily access data about addresses, transacted amounts, smart contract interactions, and increased on-chain analytics, the…

Settlements giant DTTC acquires blockchain infrastructure developer Securrency

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTTC) has signed an agreement to acquire Securrency, a digital asset infrastructure developer. The acquisition will allow DTCC to embed digital assets gradually in its existing products and services, it said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close “within the next several weeks.” Securrency will be renamed DTCC Digital Assets. Securrency’s top management and around 100 employees will remain with the company. The company was backed by State Street, U.S. Bank, WisdomTree and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners and partnered…

xDay 2023 Day 1: How MultiversX Is Bridging The Metaverse, AI, And Blockchain Under Ecosystem

In the next three days, our team at Bitcoinist will cover xDay 2023, an event organized by MultiversX in the Palace of Parliament, Romania. Formerly known as Elrond, the project rebranded in 2022 and focused on the Metaverse, one of the hottest trends in crypto. Following The Trend, What To Look For At xDay 2023? In addition to rebranding, the project launched new products, including a “Super App” called xPortal, to expand its ecosystem. The project founder and CEO, Beniamin Mincu, has been vocal about their attempts to provide “real”…

Scroll Launches zkEVM Mainnet | Blockchain News

On October 17, 2023, Scroll, an open-source, community-centric Ethereum scaling solution, unveiled its mainnet, marking a pivotal stride towards augmenting scalability and propelling developer adoption on the Ethereum blockchain. This comes after two years of extensive development and stringent testing, utilizing zero knowledge (zk) proofs to offload computation from the primary blockchain, thereby addressing the challenges of rising network traffic and costs on Ethereum due to its burgeoning user and project base. Scalability Unleashed Employing zk proofs, Scroll has innovated a mechanism that significantly boosts transaction throughput, by expediting transaction…

Blockchain innovation or dangerous house of cards? – Cointelegraph Magazine

Ethereum restaking — proposed by middleware protocol EigenLayer — is a controversial innovation over the past year that has some of the brightest minds worried about the potential ramifications. Restaking involves reusing staked or locked-up Ether tokens to earn fees and rewards. The restaked tokens can then help secure and validate other protocols.  Proponents believe restaking can squeeze additional security and rewards from already staked ETH and grow the crypto ecosystem in a healthier way based on Ethereum’s existing trust mechanisms. Restaking could serve as a security primitive for exporting…

Bitget U30 Hackathon Recognizes Budding AI and Blockchain Innovators

Bitget, a renowned cryptocurrency derivatives and copy trading platform, celebrated the triumphant teams of its Under 30 Virtual Hackathon on October 16, 2023. This venture is a part of the Blockchain4Youth CSR program aimed at fostering young talents in AI and blockchain technology. The hackathon commenced on August 12 and concluded on September 24, 2023, spotlighting remarkable innovations in AI and blockchain arenas. The U30 Hackathon was executed with the concerted effort of Bitget alongside industry frontrunners such as Bitget Wallet, Foresight Ventures, and HackerEarth. A significant prize pool of…

Reddit to Discontinue Blockchain-Based Community Points Program

In a bid to prioritize scalable reward programs, Reddit is terminating its blockchain-based Community Points program, a decision that has garnered significant attention in recent days, according to Techcrunch. The system, conceived to incentivize positive engagement among users, will cease operation by early November 2021. Program Overview Launched in 2020, Community Points were awarded to users who actively contributed to certain subreddits, thereby encouraging enriched content and dialogue. The points, essentially Ethereum tokens, were stored in Reddit’s Vault, a designated cryptocurrency wallet. Once rewarded, these points were immutable, neither Reddit…

Coinbase Amplifies Anti-Terrorism Financing Measures Through Blockchain Analytics

In an era where digital currencies are gaining traction, ensuring the prevention of their misuse is paramount. On October 17, 2023, Coinbase, a prestigious cryptocurrency exchange, delineated its strategies to combat illicit financial activities, particularly focusing on thwarting terrorism financing, through an official blog post. The essential takeaway is the unwavering stance that no currency – be it fiat, gold, or cryptocurrency – should be utilized in supporting Hamas or any other terrorist entities. This is anchored on the principle of keeping the crypto realm clean from nefarious activities which…