Chromia(CHR)

In a CoinDesk interview Straith Schreder, Executive Creative Director at Palm NFT Studio, shares why participatory artwork might actually work for your Web3 brand.

Since announcing it wants to become the next global crypto hub, crypto firms have been jumping at the opportunity to set up shop in Hong Kong. The city also announced that its regulatory framework would take effect in June 2023. Hong Kong announced in October 2022 that it intends to become the next global crypto and financial hub. The city said it would introduce a regulatory framework that would attract crypto firms to its shores, and crypto firms have been lining up to do so. During a speech on March 20, Christian Hui, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, revealed that more than 80 foreign and Mainland China crypto firms had expressed their interest in establishing offices in Hong Kong and obtaining local licenses. Hui said: As of end-February 2023, Invest Hong Kong has received expressions of interest from over 80 virtual asset-related Mainland and foreign companies in establishing their presence in Hong Kong. These companies included VA exchanges, blockchain infrastructure companies, blockchain network security companies, virtual currency wallets and payment companies, as well as other projects on building the Web3 ecosystem. The city announced that it would introduce legislation tailored to regulate the crypto space as it does traditional finance. An amended regulatory framework would be almost identical to that which applies to traditional institutions in the financial services industry. Secretary Hui said that the regulations planned since last year to establish a licensing regime for virtual asset service providers take effect in June. He added: Through the establishment of a comprehensive and clear regulatory system, we are expecting more quality VA enterprises to set up businesses in Hong Kong or to seek development opportunities in Hong Kong. Hui concluded his speech by saying: While the Government will strive to cultivate a Web3-friendly environment for the industry to thrive, we also count on all of you to make best use of your expertise and develop in Hong Kong. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Last Friday, Layer One X (L1X) announced a landmark development in the blockchain space by becoming the first layer one blockchain to achieve a decentralized transfer of assets between an EVM chain and a Non-EVM chain. This achievement allows the fast, secure and decentralized transfer of assets between blockchains without the use of bridges. The latest achievement was launched on the Layer One X testnet and will be fully launched once the mainnet is unveiled in August this year. Layer One X is a new layer 1 blockchain, currently in testnet, that aims to revolutionize decentralized cross-chain asset transfer. According to its website, the platform delivers the ‘Blockchain quartet’ of “interoperability, decentralization, scalability, and security” without compromising one over the other. The latest development, allowing interoperability between EVM and non-EVM chains, is a game-changer for blockchain users and developers, as it removes the need to use bridges. Speaking on the successful test, Layer One X Founder Kevin Coutinho believes the development will drastically alter the ease of asset transfer across the broader blockchain ecosystem. "We are excited for the opportunity this presents to allow projects and developers to build asynchronous features on blockchains through a decentralized source of truth,” he said. Simply, EVM chain refers to blockchain networks that are compatible with Ethereum Virtual Network (EVM), such as Polygon, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Ethereum itself. On the other hand, non-EVM chains are not compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine and do not share the same programming languages. Some examples of non-EVM chains include Solana, Polkadot & Cosmos. Since the advent of blockchains, transferring assets between EVM and non-EVM chains has been a challenge. As the decentralized finance ecosystem grows, the safety and security of decentralized cross-chain asset transfers becomes more and more critical. The most significant advantage that L1X brings to users is removing the need for bridges to transfer assets across blockchains. In 2022, of the $2 billion hacked from DeFi protocols, $1.6 billion was associated with bridges including Wormhole, Ronin bridge, Nomad and Wintermute. Crucially, bridges are soft targets for hackers hence the need for safer and more secure solutions. Finally, bridges are often expensive and complex solutions for cross-chain asset transfers. Apart from replacing bridges, L1X also allows the development of more interoperable DeFi solutions. The connectivity of EVM and non-EVM chains will enable developers to build DApps that work seamlessly across different blockchain networks, giving them access to a larger pool of assets. This means that decentralized applications will have more choices of assets, enhancing capital provision and efficiency. L1X shaping the future of blockchain interoperability Layer One X’s latest innovation aims to shape the future of blockchain asset transfers and the DeFi ecosystem. This new paradigm of blockchain interoperability is expected to drive increased adoption and offer additional value for users and blockchain-based businesses. "We are now focused on bringing generic messaging and event-based interoperability with the same virtual machine in the coming few months that will open markets such as decentralized identification and multi-chain utility,” Coutinho added. As interoperability across EVM and non-EVM chains become more scalable, users will be able to open up new business models and earning streams quickly and efficiently. The combination of these factors will help increase the adoption of blockchain technology by making it more accessible and easier for developers and end-users. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Chris Jacquemin, a speaker at CoinDesk's Consensus conference, on Hollywood's embrace of Web3.

[PRESS RELEASE – London, United Kingdom, 15th March 2023] LiveArt release is in partnership with iv gallery, whose roster of artist projects includes, Beeple, WhIsBe, BossLogic, PAK, Tom Yoo and many other artists that shaped the Web3 art movement. LiveArt, a global art platform and community of over 400,000 people backed by Animoca Brands, Binance […]

The European Parliament has voted in favor of proposed legislation that will challenge the immutability of smart contracts. The European Parliament on Tuesday adopted legislation under the Data Act which includes provisions on smart contracts and the internet of things (IoT). The legislation was passed with 500 votes in favour and 23 against. Although the proposed legislation, which is not law yet, does not take specific aim at crypto, it could affect decentralized finance (DeFi), according to reports by Blockworks. The proposed legislation addresses smart contracts under Article 30. It includes provisions such as “rigorous access control mechanisms at the governance and smart contract layers” and protections of trade secrets integrated into the design of smart contracts. The Block reports that smart contracts would have to be designed under the new provisions with the possibility to terminate or interrupt transaction mechanisms. Under the new rules, smart contracts will be subject to “harmonized standards” defined in the Act. The new version of the bill also reintroduces strict compliance measures for smart contract developers that were previously removed. The bill reads: The vendor of a smart contract or, in the absence thereof, the person whose trade, business or profession involves the deployment of smart contracts for others in the context of an agreement to make data available shall perform a conformity assessment with a view to fulfilling the essential requirements. Confusion and Uncertainty Over the Data Act The revised version of the bill has drawn criticism from the DeFi community. Curve Finance, a major decentralized exchange, said it would be “impossible to comply” with the new regulations: > Smart contract developers may need to design reset possibilities to allow termination or interruption of transactions.> The European Parliament adopted legislation under the Data Act on Tuesday, with 500 votes in favor and 23 against.Fire them all. Impossible to comply here https://t.co/FV8lJdcrqX — Curve Finance (@CurveFinance) March 14, 2023 Thibault Schrepel, an associated professor at the VU University Amsterdam, said the new bill “endangers smart contracts to an extent that no one can predict.” He tweeted saying: Article 30 does not provide clarity as to who should be able to ‘terminate the continued execution of transactions.’ Adding, “Is it the creator of the smart contract? Public authorities? Courts?” Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Christine Okike, a lawyer representing BlockFi at its bankruptcy hearing claimed that BlockFi is not in immediate danger and has sufficient funds to continue operating normally.

CryptoZoo, Logan Paul’s proposed online game project, was recently at the center of a class-action lawsuit after the YouTuber apologised to fans who lost money investing in the venture. Crypto scam investigator Stephen Findeisen, aka Coffeezilla, has now appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast claiming Paul is yet to refund buyers of CryptoZoo NFTs despite a promise to do so earlier this year. While investors wait hopefully for Paul to make them whole, a new project has sprung up to fulfil the original CryptoZoo vision – and it’s quickly gained a huge amount of traction. Dubbed Degen Zoo, this “Crypto Zoo redemption project” is the brainchild of Chris Zaknun, the CEO of the $200 million DAO Maker launchpad, who claims to have built it in just 30 days. From CryptoZoo to Degen Zoo Announcing the project back in January, Zaknun said profits would be used to cover the legal expenses of Coffeezilla, whom Paul had threatened with a defamation lawsuit, as well as victims of the scam. Two months on and Degen Zoo is truly motoring: the project is closing in on 250,000 Twitter followers and the first testnet version of the game was released just hours before its deadline on the 30th day of the challenge. The rapid build has been painstakingly documented on the official website, with the team revealing the venture “was supposed to be a joke project to show how full of sh*t Logan Paul is, but it became so much more.” Days after the release, the testnet saw over 3,000 active players make 30,000 transactions, marking Degen Zoo as a project to rival serious NFT and GameFi protocols. A month-long period of audits and bug-hunting followed as the community kept growing, with over 50 NFT communities onboarded. On March 6, it was announced that over 115,000 wallets had joined Degen Zoo’s Initial DEX Offering (IDO), with 54k holding between $500 and $2,000, 2k holding between $50k and $250k, and over 50 holding $1m or more. Within two days of the announcement video being posted, it had been viewed over 150,000 times. Although the initial plan had been to funnel profits to Coffeezilla and CryptoZoo victims, that appears to have changed: the Degen Zoo Twitter bio states that all profits will go to endangered animal charities. In any case, Paul appears to have rowed back on his threat to slap Coffeezilla with a defamation suit. An NFT Game with a Serious Message So, what is Degen Zoo exactly? In a nutshell, it’s an NFT game that incentivizes players to “kill” their animal and push the whole endangered-species collection to extinction. But why? To simulate capitalism’s devastating impact on wildlife, of course. Degen Zoo features a deflationary token ($DZOO) which is used in the game to obtain animal eggs and hatch them. Per the whitepaper, the overall objective is to acquire animal eggs, hatch them, oversee the evolution of your animal, and finally kill it to obtain income. Burning NFTs also raises money to protect real endangered species in the wild. Degen Zoo has clearly nailed its narrative, and a project that began as a two-fingered riposte against Jake Paul and other get-rich-quick NFT charlatans has transformed into a genuine viral hit. “Logan Paul and other influencers never has [sic] and never will habe [sic] the qualifications to build tokens,” reads a recent tweet on Degen Zoo’s Twitter. “As a community it’s our responsibility to not enable such people again.” It appears to be a responsibility the crypto community is taking seriously.

Rune Christensen said DAI suffers from bad branding that could be slowing its growth on a call with community members.

The cryptocurrency market kicked off 2023 on a promising foot, as assets like Bitcoin and other leading altcoins in the market recorded significant price gains. However, at present...

In 2021, online payment fraud grew 14%, from $17.5bn to over $20bn. At the same time, 46% of organisations surveyed by PwC reported experiencing fraud, corruption, or economic crimes in the last 24 months, with 70% of those coming via an external attack or collusion. There are hundreds of different statistics that all mark the same point: the internet can be a dangerous place where there’s money changing hands. When you compound that with the rise of remote working, new digital security issues, and corporate information policies, data appears more exposed than ever. Cybercrime has surged over the last decade, as more and more platforms create new opportunities for digital thieves and hackers to scam and swindle at will. However, it’s really in the last three years that the data has taken a giant leap. Of all global fraud, it’s thought that around 40%, though likely more, is platform fraud, with the scams originating on platforms including social media, streaming services and marketplaces. Anywhere that a user can attempt to build trust or make communications there is an opportunity for cybercrime to take place. That’s the unfortunate reality of Web2. It is the Wild West of data privacy. What Did Web 2.0 Get So Wrong? The first thing to acknowledge is that they probably didn’t set out to. The internet was never designed to be secure internally, it assumed that if you were on the network you could be trusted. Nor was the World Wide Web designed to be secure, it was just a way of making data stored for public consumption on the Internet accessible. Web 2.0 brought the age of platforms with vast numbers of users consuming often ephemeral, but highly addictive services, the problem was how to make money from them. When the answer turned out to be data and advertising based on data the problems started: Verification - With Web2.0, you have to prove you are you. It’s a usually asymmetric, and always deeply flawed system which relies more heavily on assumptions and inference than it does on actual data. SMS codes, uploading your ID, or taking selfies do little to actually protect users or platforms, but they do help build valuable data sets. From the consumer's perspective this whole premise is flawed. Our identity should be ours, and it should be possible to confirm it online as effectively as we do at passport control. Web2.0 never figured out how to make that happen, or perhaps it didn’t want to, because giving you back your data meant giving away their control. Data Storage - Our data is not under our control. Do you want your credit report? You need to apply for it. Do you want to know your spending history? Ask Mastercard or your bank. Do you want to know about your insurance, mortgage, and student loans? All of that data exists at their end, not yours, and you have no choice but to trust that they will take care of it. How many hundreds of millions of trusting people has that stung in recent years? Passwords - The fraudsters’ holy grail. Most of us are bad at creating, managing and remembering them, and we’re lazy. So passwords are an open goal for anyone wanting to steal our data and feature in most of the biggest data breaches. Inconvenience - In trying to tame the excesses of Web 2.0 regulators have imposed ever tougher restrictions on what can be done with consumer data. GDPR, Cookie preferences CCPA, the list goes on. While there have been some significant consumer benefits, the biggest impact has been in how inconvenient using the internet has become. Much of the value of the regulations has been eroded because it’s simply easier to click “accept all '' and then your data is gone from your control forever. Impersonation - You could quite easily gather enough information about your best friend or a family member to make a strong fake profile and impersonate them for a joke. But, what if it was a stranger, it wasn’t a joke, the intentions were malicious, and they already had your data without you knowing it? Your digital identity is up for grabs in Web2.0, and all it takes is a few clicks to create a false identity. The Value Exchange is Broken - the native currency of Web2.0 is data, and the biggest spender is the advertising industry. Remember, when you use Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you are not the consumer, you are the product. The business model relies on them using your data to target ads to you. All of these platforms are cleverly designed to farm your attention and put you in front of more and more ads Fixing the problems of Web2.0 with Web3 At the dawn of Web 2.0, nobody knew that was where they were. Web3 is different, apes aside, it is very deliberate in its intent to fix the problems of Web 2.0. Our personal data has been used and abused for far too long, and Web3 is about taking a stand, stamping out data exploitation and creating a better way forward, giving you back your data so that you control your identity exactly as you wish. It is also minting a new data model for platforms to follow, one where the owner of the data can benefit, whilst the platforms and advertisers can provide a service that has synchronous value. One such solution is Self. Where similar protocols such as Civic and Web5 are looking to identify users through better code, trustless systems and online verification processes, Self is building trust by extending real world verification of humans into the Web3 space, so you know exactly who you are dealing with at all times.Trustless systems are great at controlling the interaction between machines by relying on keys, but sometimes, actually most times, we need to know who has the keys and that’s where Self comes in. Their use of Web3 technology to tie humans to the technology they rely on has fixed things: Verification - You verify yourself when you join the app, and this self-verification grants you access to partnered services, without having to hand over your data Passwords - No passwords, just biometrics Inconvenience - By supporting the concept of regulation, Self makes the Web frictionless again. Data Storage - All identifiable information is encrypted on your device, in a highly secure app. There’s nothing retained on Self’s network Impersonation - Impossible. Only you have the potential to verify yourself and your credentials. Nobody else could get as far as verifying themselves unless they had access to you physically, as well as all of your documents Value Exchange - Services must pay a microtransaction fee to engage with you, and in time, you’ll earn a share of this. Imagine being paid to give companies access to your data! Verdict: Web 3 - Ending the Wild West By owning and controlling data which is about us we can shift the balance of power over data away from the web 2.0 platforms. By being able to verify facts in real time we can prevent fraudsters from stealing from us and the people we care about and by controlling and democratising communications we can simplify and remove friction from the web experience. Barbed wire brought the Wild West to an end. Platforms like Self, Civic and Web5 are deploying technology that, once it starts to gain mass adoption, will cut cyber criminals out of the equation, just as the barbed wire did for the cowboys. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Bybit, the third most accessed crypto exchange, has today announced a partnership with payments giant Mastercard. This will allow users to spend their crypto with a Bybit credit card. Amid all the bad news for crypto the sector continues to build out, and the latest partnership between the Bybit exchange and Mastercard is testament to the faith that is being put into the innovative crypto payments sector. The Bybit debit card, which is powered by the Mastercard network and issued by Moorwand, will enable users to off-ramp their crypto in order to use it to make purchases or take cash out of ATMs. The first customers to be eligible for the Bybit debit card will be those who are KYC and AML compliant and who are resident in the UK or other eligible countries in Europe. In a press release published earlier today, Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit said: "Bybit users will be able to access and manage their funds faster, more securely, and more conveniently. By launching Bybit Card, we are creating a full 360-degree journey for our users, offering next level reliability, products, and opportunities. We are confident that these innovative payment solutions will improve people's lives and are a step towards a brighter future for crypto and finance." Christian Rau, Senior Vice President, Fintech and Crypto, Mastercard Europe stated: "Mastercard enables customers, merchants and businesses to move digital value — traditional or crypto — however they want, with the confidence that they are doing so safely and securely. With launches like this, we're excited to continue to innovate in payments by making digital assets more accessible across the ecosystem." Bybit launched its virtual card today, while physical cards will be mailed out to customers in April. To begin with, cryptocurrencies that can be used with the card will include: BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, and XRP, with others expected to be made available in the future. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The WSJ reported on Sunday that Binance developed plans to avoid the threat of prosecution by United States authorities when it started its American entity, Binance.US, in 2019. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, developed a plan to elude the threat of prosecution by U.S. authorities when it established its U.S. entity, Binance.US, in 2019. According to Reuters, the WSJ cited a Binance executive’s warning to colleagues in a 2019 private chat that any legal action brought by U.S. regulators would be akin to a “nuclear fall out” for Binance’s business and its officers. The WSJ report is grounded on texts and documents from Binance executives from 2018 to 2020, which were reviewed by the WSJ and interviews with several former Binance employees. Binance and Binance.US More Intertwined Than Previously Disclosed Reuters previously reported that Binance created Binance.US as a “de facto subsidiary” in 2019 to subvert U.S. regulators’ scrutiny from Binance.com. The WSJ report has now revealed that Binance and Binance.US are more intertwined than previously disclosed. The companies reportedly mixed staff and finances and shared an affiliated entity that bought and sold cryptocurrencies. The report states that Binance.com operated mainly from hubs in Japan and China, but a fifth of its customers were based in the U.S. The report further reveals that Binance developers in China maintained the software code that supported Binance.US user wallets which potentially have Binance access to U.S. customer data. Binance and Binance.US Under Scrutiny Over Compliance The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have investigated the relationship between Binance and its U.S. entity since 2020. The WSJ reports that if regulators prove that Binance has control over Binance.US, they could assert the power to oversee Binance’s entire operation. A Binance spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters: We have already acknowledged that we did not have adequate compliance and controls in place during those early years...we are a very different company today when it comes to compliance. Apart from being under scrutiny from regulators since 2020, last week, three U.S. senators asked Binance and Binance.US for more information regarding their regulatory compliance and finances. Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen and Roger Marshall sent a letter to the two companies calling on them “to provide transparency about potentially illegal business practice.” The letter added that Binance and its U.S. affiliate “have purposefully evaded regulators, moved assets to criminals and sanctions evaders, and hidden basic financial information from its customers and the public.” Forbes Claims Binance Moved $1.8B in Collateral to Hedge Funds Binance came under further fire last week when a controversial Forbes report claimed that Binance moved around $1.8 billion of collateral meant to back customer assets to various hedge funds. The Forbes report accused Binance of committing acts similar to those that brought down the infamous FTX exchange. Binance, of course, denied any such claims. Forbes bases its claims after exploring the on-chain activities of Binance, which revealed the transfer of $1.78 billion worth of collateral to various hedge funds. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Schwarzenbach, Switzerland, 2nd March, 2023, ChainwireDX25 Labs has raised $750K in seed funding for its upcoming MultiversX-based decentralized exchange (DEX). The DX25 litepaper has been published as the platform prepares to launch its public testnet in Q2 2023. Developed by Tacans Labs, the DeFi builder arm of Switzerland-based Tacans AG, DX25 is an advanced single-sided liquidity DEX built on the MultiversX blockchain. It will offer users an intuitive, easy-to-use interface with features such as concentrated liquidity, multiple fee levels, true margin and derivatives trading, and more. The platform will leverage the benefits offered by the MultiversX ecosystem including low transaction cost, scalable infrastructure and environmentally conscious infrastructure to offer a radically different trading experience to users of the MultiversX ecosystem. “We have developed a truly unique trading solution, setting DX25 apart from other DEXes in the crypto ecosystem. MultiversX offers a myriad of benefits and its focus on carbon neutrality drew us to develop on the blockchain. We’ve set out to develop a platform that offers users a comprehensive suite of powerful features without complicating the overall user experience” said Mathias Lundoe Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer of DX25 Labs DX25 Labs currently has a team of over 40 staff dedicated to developing and marketing the platform. The team is led by award-winning Danish entrepreneur, Mathias Lundoe Nielsen as Chief Executive Officer, with James Davies, a TradFi and DeFi veteran serving as its Chief Product Officer. They’re joined by DeFi maverick Ivan Ivashchenko as Chief Technology Officer and Marie Tatibouet, a crypto marketing veteran as Chief Marketing Officer. About DX25 Labs DX25 is a feature-rich decentralized trading platform built on the carbon-neutral MultiversX blockchain. Its combination of DeFi and TradFi features sets it apart in a sea of similar DEXes. The platform is developed by Tacans Labs and has raised $750k in seed funding from private investors active in the DeFi space. The leadership team includes award-winning entrepreneur, Mathias Lundoe Nielsen, and industry veterans, James Davies, Ivan Ivaschenko, and Marie Tatibouet. For more information, visit www.dx25.com About Tacans Labs Co-founded by Danish entrepreneurs Lars Seier Christensen, founder of Saxo Bank and Concordium blockchain, and Mathias Lundoe Nielsen, an award-winning serial entrepreneur with multiple tech ventures, Tacans Labs is the DeFi arm of Tacans; a web3 venture builder invested in the future economy of blockchain by building, funding and acquiring cutting-edge Web3 companies. Started in 2021, the group’s portfolio comprises of seven Web3 companies across multiple sectors with a combined valuation of $63M+. For more information, please visit www.tacans.comContactPR ManagerDion GuillaumeTacans [email protected]

Decentralized oracle network Chainlink has announced the launch of a new developer platform, christened Chainlink Functions. The platform aims to connect Web 3.0 applications with traditional cloud software. Chainlink Functions will include support for integrations with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Meta. A New Developer Platform Decentralized platform Chainlink has announced the launch of a new developer platform to help connect decentralized applications (dApps) with traditional web applications. The new platform, called Chainlink Functions, will include integrations with Meta and Amazon Web Services (AWS) and is currently available in beta on the Polygon Mumbai and Ethereum Sepolia testnets. Additionally, builders can also run customizable computations on Web 2.0 API within minutes, according to the Chief Product Officer at Chainlink Labs, Kemal El Moujahid. “Our goal is to enable developers to combine the best of web3 smart contracts with the power of Web 2.0 APIs. What this creates is a massive opportunity to build apps that combine the best of smart contracts and Web 2.0.” New Platform To Complement Oracle Service According to Chainlink, the new developer platform will complement Chainlink’s already existing Oracle service. The new platform will enable blockchain developers to connect their decentralized applications (dApps) or smart contracts with any application programming interface within the traditional tech space without requiring or managing additional cloud infrastructure. “With the launch of Chainlink Functions, we are removing a major roadblock in the adoption of web3 and making it easier than ever for developers to combine smart contracts with the powerful APIs and web2 data sources they need to build amazing applications.” Bridging Two Ecosystems Chainlink is primarily known for its Ethereum-focused protocol that provides an oracle network to power smart contracts. Essentially, Chainlink allows the connecting of on-chain data with external systems, allowing smart contracts to execute actions and transactions based on real-world inputs and outputs. Chainlink has so far facilitated over $7 trillion in value. While the platform has developers numbering well into the hundreds of thousands, it also acknowledges that there are millions of developers in the world. Chainlink hopes that it can become a bridge, connecting both parties and facilitating mass adoption. Moujahid states, “Web3 is not going to be a binary thing. I’ve seen this in AI. The path to mass adoption was making it easy to embed AI into your apps. It’s the same with web3. You don’t have to build your entire app on-chain. It’s going to be a spectrum: part smart contract, part Web 2.0 APIs.” There has been a growing demand for the integration of blockchain technology with more traditional models such as SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) or APIs. However, there are limited ways to facilitate this integration. “Web3 developers are limited by what smart contracts can do because they can’t access Web 2.0 APIs. Web 2.0 developers are interested in building new services with web3 properties, but they don’t want to have to rebuild their tools and infrastructure.” Integration With AWS And Meta Chainlink’s new platform also facilitates integrations with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Meta, and a host of others. Web 3.0 developers using the new platform can seamlessly integrate with AWS Data Exchange and AWS Lambda, allowing them to access datasets directly through their marketplace. This, in turn, expands their dApp use cases. Similarly, developers using Meta can connect social media activity and small e-commerce-driven businesses with smart contracts through Chainlink Functions. They can then automatically trigger actions on-chain based on user off-chain activities. “Smart contracts let developers build services that are decentralized and secure. Services that, unlike centralized platforms, are provably fair to their users because they can’t be shut down or unilaterally change the rules of the game. Services that can secure and move billions of dollars of value. But these services can’t have real-world impact if they can’t connect to Web2 data or services.” Furthermore, Moujahid added that the serverless nature of the platform means developers don’t have to worry about overheads involving the management and security of the infrastructure running their code. He stated, “All they have to do is write a few lines of code in JavaScript, and it runs on Chainlink infrastructure automatically.” Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The Solana Network faced a significant slowdown in block production after a planned upgrade, adversely impacting transactions and forcing validators to downgrade their software to restore performance. The network freeze continued over the weekend as validators were preparing a second restart of the network. The Latest Solana Outage The Solana Network faced yet another network slowdown following an upgrade initiated in the validator software. The incident, which took place on the 25th of February, resulted in a significant disruption in transactions on the network. As a result, validators scrambled to downgrade the validator software in an attempt to restore performance on the network. The issue began at 6:00 am UTC when the network upgraded the validator software to 1.14. With the network stuttering, validators were forced to downgrade the network back to version 1.13 to restore network performance. Solana’s Compass website noted, “The network experienced a significant slowdown in block production that coincided with an upgrade to validator software. Engineers are still conducting a root cause analysis.” However, the downgrade failed to restore normal operations on the Solana network, forcing validators to attempt a restart of the network on 1.13.6. The network announced the plans for a restart on Twitter, stating, “The Solana network is currently restarting after an issue during the upgrade from 1.13 to 1.14 that slowed block finalization. Once validators with 80% of stake have restarted, the network will resume.” The Root Of The Issue According to the information available, the problem is linked to an upgrade from version 1.13 to version 1.14, leading to a slowdown in block validation. In order to restart the network, 80% of active validators are required to resume operations. “As more validators complete their restart, this number will rise in line with the amount of stake they have delegated: this means larger validators such as CEX have an outsized impact on restart times.” Solana validators remained in discussions regarding the incident over the weekend, with infrastructure provider Chorus One noting that the incident demonstrated the level of decentralization on the network. “Without all these debates, we would be back up in an hour. But, every decision along the way - whether to downgrade, whether to restart, when to switch from the downgrade approach to the restart approach - is debated. Voting happens. We end up taking 8-10 hours to recover instead of 1.” Freeze Drags On The network freeze on Solana spilled over into the weekend, as it continued on Saturday, with validators preparing a second restart attempt to restore services to users. By evening, validators concluded that the best way to move forward would be to synchronize a restart and fork the chain. However, the first attempt had to be abandoned as validators discovered they had picked the wrong starting point for the restart, further prolonging the outage. A Near Complete Shutdown The issue, which began as a simple slowdown in processing transactions, spiraled into a near-complete shutdown of any type of activity on Solana, with block production halted, leading to transactions not being processed or validated. As a result, on-chain crypto assets have been rendered immovable until the network comes back online. Key players in the Solana ecosystem were still looking to identify the issue over the weekend, with one theory suggesting that a “fat block” messed up the mechanics of the blockchain. Not The First Network Outage This is not the first time Solana has had a problem with network outages. In September 2021, the network was hit by intermittent instability due to what the protocol’s Twitter handle described as “resource exhaustion.” The network was in the news again in December 2021 after it emerged that technical difficulties and congestion of the network led to another slowdown in the network. Just a month later, in January 2022, a 48-hour outage wreaked havoc on the Solana network, forcing some users who had taken loans to liquidate their holdings. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Earlier, Christopher Emms was released by Saudi authorities due to the lack of evidence against him.

D.A. Davidson analyst Chris Brendler downgraded Coinbase (COIN) to neutral from buy after a more than doubling in the stock in 2023 sent the price surging past his $55 price target.

Christopher Waller praised the emerging applications of distributed ledger technology, smart contracts and tokenization, but he changed his tune for crypto assets.

Parts of the crypto universe should be encouraged to thrive as long as they don’t threaten the U.S. banking system, said Christopher Waller, a Federal Reserve Board governor, who also shared an optimistic note that the young industry will work out its problems.

Christopher Goes, co-founder of privacy protocol Anoma, pointed out that privacy is a basic human right and a ban demonstrates a lack of consideration for the public.

Copper said some “concerning behavior” had been detected, and that a “machine-generated alert had been triggered.”

When bitcoin’s performance is positive in January, the rally tends to continue, the report said.

Chris Tyrer joined Fidelity Digital Assets as its first U.K. employee four years ago.