South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit announced that it will support the rebranding of the Render Network‘s native token, RNDR, as well as the associated token swap.

Token deposits and withdrawals will be temporarily halted starting at 2:00 AM UTC on August 13th. Additionally, trading support for the RNDR-BTC trading pair will be suspended from 5:00 AM UTC on August 16th. Separate notices will be issued once the rebranding and token swap are complete and deposits, withdrawals, and trading support have been restored.

According to the announcement, the network will migrate from Ethereum to Solana. The token symbol will change from RNDR to RENDER, with a swap ratio of one RNDR to one RENDER.

Render Network Token Migration Proposal Passes With 99.26% Votes In Favour 

Render Network represents a platform that connects individuals requiring GPU computing services, such as GPU rendering and machine learning inference, with idle GPU owners who provide these services for a fee. It operates as a distributed marketplace for GPU computing, allowing GPU owners to monetize unused power and providing clients with more cost-efficient computing services.

In March 2023, Render Foundation, the entity overseeing the development of the network, released a migration proposal on GitHub to transition to the Solana blockchain, aiming to scale the network to address technical requirements and incorporate the Burn and Mint Equilibrium (BME) model. A community snapshot voting regarding the migration was conducted in April, and the proposal was approved with 67.98% of votes in favor. This was followed by a final snapshot vote, which confirmed the proposal, with 99.26% of votes supporting the move to Solana.

Upbit is one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, and it is distinguished by its large trading volume and extensive customer base. It offers listings for 192 cryptocurrencies and supports trading across 309 pairs, maintaining a substantial market presence. A recent report by Kaiko indicates that Upbit holds more than 80% of the market share among fully licensed cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) announced the launch of its digital asset regulatory sandbox, designed to encourage experimentation and development of innovative digital asset services in the region. The entity invites interested participants to take part in sandbox testing for digital asset-related services. Applications are currently open for those wishing to engage.

Additionally, the SEC has released regulations outlining the criteria for eligible services, participant qualifications, and the scope of Sandbox experiments. These regulations specify six eligible types of digital asset-related services: exchange, broker, dealer, fund manager, advisor, and custodial wallet provider.

Participating parties are required to integrate their innovations into the development of digital asset services within the Thai capital market or to engage with a sandbox overseen by the money market regulatory authority.

The SEC will assess participants’ qualifications in several areas, including capital adequacy, operational systems, management structure, as well as conditions for relevant operations within the Sandbox. This evaluation is to ensure that participants are adequately prepared to deliver services within the Sandbox framework.

Participants are also required to define the scope of services for the Sandbox to minimize risks and potential widespread impacts during the Sandbox period, which will not exceed 12 months from the approval date. However, after the Sandbox period ends, participants may apply for an extension to continue their service testing.

SEC Of Thailand Approves Sandbox Establishment And Defines Principles For Its Operation

Regulatory sandboxes are crucial for fueling innovation and overcoming hurdles to financial inclusion that exclude certain customers from the financial system.

In March, the SEC Board passed a resolution approving the establishment of the Digital Asset Regulatory Sandbox. Subsequently, in May, it held a public hearing to collect feedback and suggestions from the public and stakeholders. The majority of respondents supported the principles and proposed amendments to the governing regulations, which helped shape the final regulations.

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This week’s investment deals and partnerships reflect the growing influence of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology across various sectors. Notably, political contributions by crypto-focused PACs have targeted key U.S. primaries, indicating the industry’s desire to shape favorable regulations. Meanwhile, companies like Metaplanet and OneMedNet are bolstering their Bitcoin holdings, signaling a trend of using cryptocurrencies as treasury assets. 

Additionally, advancements in blockchain infrastructure and decentralized internet protocols, alongside strategic collaborations such as Bitstamp’s partnership with Stripe, underscore the sector’s expanding footprint in both technology and finance.

Crypto PACs Put $4 Million Into August 6 Primary Candidates

About $4 million has been contributed by Fairshake Super PAC and its allies to both support and oppose candidates in the forthcoming primary elections in Michigan, Washington, and Missouri. The PACs are focused on U.S. House and Senate campaigns, supporting pro-crypto politicians and opposing those perceived as anti-industry.

Fairshake invested $1.4 million in Missouri’s First Congressional District to challenge Democratic incumbent Cori Bush. In the 3rd District of Missouri, Republican Bob Onder received more than $250,000 in support from the Defend American Jobs PAC. Protect Progress contributed $1 million to the campaign of Democrat Shri Thanedar in Michigan’s 13th District and $1.5 million to the campaign of Emily Randall.

Of course totalitarians like Warren hate cryptocurrencies, because they hate freedom. Governments have used control of money to manipulate the economy for their benefit. https://t.co/eXjmPze3KR

— Dr. Bob Onder (@BobOnderMO) February 1, 2024

The outcomes of the recent primaries in Arizona, when two candidates backed by Fairshake lost, show how unclear the impact of these investments is. Nonetheless, the major financial support indicates the crypto industry’s expanding political clout and its endeavors to mold advantageous regulations via calculated political contributions.

Metaplanet Sets Aside $58.76 Million for Investment in Bitcoin

The Japanese company Metaplanet Inc. declared that it would use a stock rights offering to generate about 10 billion yen, of which 8.5 billion yen would be invested in Bitcoin. All common shareholders will receive stock purchase rights from the corporation on September 5; the allocation will take effect on September 6.

In order to protect against currency depreciation, Metaplanet plans to use Bitcoin as a long-term appreciating asset. As part of its plan to use cryptocurrencies as treasury assets, the company had already purchased $6.5 million in April and $2.5 million in July in Bitcoin.

In the wake of the Bank of Japan’s interest rate adjustment, the Japanese stock market had its biggest one-day decline since 1987. This led to the company’s decision to substantially invest in Bitcoin. Metaplanet’s move towards cryptocurrencies is indicative of a rising trend among businesses looking for alternative value storage and protection against the volatility of traditional markets.

OneMedNet Buys $1.8M to Advance its Bitcoin Treasury Strategy

OneMedNet, a medical data startup, utilized $1.8 million of the $4.6 million it acquired in a private placement to buy Bitcoin. Fund for Crypto Investments Removed Chain Capital Management purchased a mix of OneMedNet shares and warrants as part of their investment round.

The investment is in line with Off The Chain Capital’s plan to beat the price of Bitcoin by purchasing it at a discount and allocating it to businesses such as OneMedNet. This strategy is similar to that of MicroStrategy and other publicly traded firms that have included Bitcoin in their treasury reserve plans and added it to their balance sheets.

OneMedNet’s choice to invest a sizeable amount of the money it collected in Bitcoin is a noteworthy change for a medical data firm. This action would encourage other businesses in non-tech sectors to think about taking similar approaches, which would increase the number of companies using cryptocurrencies as corporate treasury assets.

Blockscout Completes $3 Million Seed Funding to Advance EVM Block Explorer Technology

Primitive Ventures, Gnosis, and 1kx led the $3 million seed fundraising round for Blockscout, an open-source block explorer for EVM-based networks. The funding will help Blockscout expand its product line, improve user experience, and include social media and AI-powered tools in the dashboard.

By taking advantage of its standing as one of the few open-source participants in the market, the firm intends to solidify its position as the default block explorer for both new and current EVM chains.

This fundraising round demonstrated the increasing significance of strong infrastructure tools in the blockchain ecosystem. Blockscout’s open-source methodology may be crucial in promoting transparency and accessibility across various networks as the count of chains that are compatible with the Ethereum virtual machine grows, hence establishing novel benchmarks for blockchain explorers.

Andrena Funds Decentralized Broadband Protocol with $18 Million

In order to create DAWN, a DePIN protocol for broadband internet, wireless internet operator Andrena raised $18 million. Dragonfly led the investment round, with participation from Wintermute Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, and CMT Digital.

Without depending on centralized providers, DAWN seeks to offer decentralized internet access. The protocol will make its debut on the Solana blockchain and is presently in testnet. The money will help DAWN finish its smart contracts and protocol.

A big step in decentralizing essential infrastructure services is the creation of DAWN. Andrena’s idea has the ability to upend the current ISP paradigm by utilizing blockchain technology and token incentives. This would give customers greater control over their internet connection and promote a more robust, community-driven network design.

Bitstamp and Stripe Collaborate to Expand Crypto in Europe

For consumers in the European Union, payment processor Stripe has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp to provide fiat-to-crypto on-ramps. Stripe will provide developers with a configurable widget so they can include quick settlement and cryptocurrency conversion into their products.

Bitstamp will expand its Bitstamp-as-a-service offering by handling Stripe’s fiat-to-cryptocurrency conversions and transfers. The partnership intends to expedite the growth of both businesses in the European market; however, clients in the UK will not be able to utilize the service.

This collaboration occurs at a critical juncture for both businesses. After re-entering the cryptocurrency industry in 2022, Stripe sees it as a sign of their growing commitment to the space. The partnership helps Bitstamp, which Robinhood just bought, become more competitive in the European market. Together, the two initiatives have the potential to greatly reduce the obstacles to cryptocurrency adoption for businesses and individuals in the EU and to stimulate a wider integration of digital assets into the financial system of the area.

The post From Political Power Plays to Bold Bitcoin Bets: A Deep Dive into This Week’s Key Industry Deals appeared first on Metaverse Post.

Samara Cohen, BlackRock’s CIO for ETF and Index Investments, stated clearly in a recent Bloomberg interview that Bitcoin and Ethereum will remain the primary cryptocurrencies traded through ETFs for the foreseeable future. Cohen listed a number of issues that make it difficult to include additional cryptocurrencies, including Solana.

Photo: Bloomberg

ETFs Technical Hurdles and Liquidity Concerns

The technological infrastructure and liquidity issues that come with a lot of cryptocurrencies are among the main challenges. Cohen clarified that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires the CME and other regulated market venues to maintain sufficient management and surveillance over the underlying markets. This is to guarantee the openness and integrity of the ETF products that the SEC has approved.

Regulators like the SEC continue to see a large number of cryptocurrency exchanges—which would otherwise be the main places where altcoins are traded—as “unregulated securities exchanges.” It is challenging for the Commission to confirm the integrity of the markets and offer the required investor safeguards because of this regulatory ambiguity.

BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick, had similar worries, saying, “I don’t think we’re gonna see a long list of crypto ETFs” anytime soon. A major obstacle is the lack of market depth and liquidity for cryptocurrencies, as the SEC wants to protect investors from any manipulation and uncertainty in the market.

Dominance of Bitcoin and Ethereum

The enormous market shares of Bitcoin and Ethereum are another issue that is hurting the chances of altcoin ETFs. Industry data indicates that these two cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin owning 55% and Ethereum 17%—account for an astounding 72% of the whole market capitalization of cryptocurrencies.

Photo: Bloomberg

Solana is among the last cryptocurrencies that account for less than ten percent of the market. The two market heavyweights already have well-established investment vehicles, so it will be difficult for the SEC to defend the establishment of ETFs for smaller, more speculative cryptocurrencies, given their prominence.

Head of financial research at Sygnum Bank Katalin Tischhauser reiterated this opinion, saying that she did not believe there would be much demand for ETFs that went beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum. Only half as many people are familiar with Ethereum as there are with Bitcoin, while other tokens (like Solana) are barely known outside of the cryptocurrency space.

Sygnum Bank research head remains skeptical about altcoin ETFs

Katalin Tischhauser, head of investment research at Sygnum Bank, told Cointelegraph that cryptocurrencies other than Ether and Bitcoin are unlikely to be approved as spot ETFs in the U.S. due to a lack of…

— CoinNess Global (@CoinnessGL) August 5, 2024

Since the SEC is likely to give priority to products that show evident and significant investor demand, altcoins hoping to get approved as ETFs face a major obstacle due to their lack of recognition and adoption outside of the cryptocurrency community.

Grayscale’s Struggle and Lackluster Demand

Further information on the possible difficulties facing cryptocurrency ETFs may be gained from the performance of already-existing investment products with a crypto component, such as Grayscale’s Solana Trust (GSOL). The fund’s very modest AUM of $78.6 million, in comparison to Grayscale’s Bitcoin and Ethereum trusts, demonstrates a limited general interest in Solana-based financial products, according to Tischhauser, who also pointed out that the high premium on GSOL implies some demand.

The sluggish initial trading performance of the recently introduced spot Ether ETFs, in which total withdrawals dominated the first week of trading, emphasizes even more the possible lack of investor interest in altcoin-focused financial products. A withdrawal from the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, which continues to maintain a healthy $6.3 billion in AUM despite the withdrawals, is mostly to blame for this trend.

These weak demand trends imply that, except for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, the cryptocurrency market may look very different, with investors maybe continuing to be more circumspect and choosy about which altcoins they invest in.

Obstacles to Compliance and Regulation

Altcoin ETFs confront substantial regulatory obstacles in addition to technological and market-related ones. The goals of the SEC’s mandate are to safeguard investors, stop market manipulation, and uphold the integrity of the financial system. This indicates that the Commission will probably go cautiously and methodically when deciding whether to approve new financial products based on cryptocurrencies.

Since the SEC could depend on the CME’s authorized market venues for market surveillance and control, the presence of CME futures for Bitcoin and Ethereum allowed a regulatory workaround for the first licensing of spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. The majority of cryptocurrencies, however, do not have easy access to this regulatory route, which makes it more difficult for them to get approved as ETFs.

Regulators continue to struggle with understanding the intricacies of cryptocurrency markets and developing suitable frameworks for monitoring them, both domestically and abroad. Due to the constantly changing and frequently ambiguous regulatory framework, asset managers looking to introduce cryptocurrency ETFs have extra compliance issues.

The Solana ETF Approval in Brazil – A Glimmer of Hope?

Although the future of cryptocurrency ETFs in the United States seems grim, a recent event in Brazil may provide some optimism. The first Solana spot ETF in Brazil was authorized by the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) in August 2023. It was managed by Vortx and was predicated on the CME CF Solana Dollar Reference Rate.

This decision is a big step forward since it shows that authorities in some countries could be more open to allowing the incorporation of cryptocurrencies into traditional financial products. It is anticipated that the introduction of the Solana ETF in Brazil would improve institutional and ordinary investors’ access to cryptocurrencies and may open the door for similar approvals in other states.

It is yet unclear, nevertheless, if this Brazilian event will have an important impact on US regulations or those of other large markets. Even while other authorities seem more accommodating, the SEC’s worries around market manipulation, liquidity, and technical infrastructure challenges might yet prove to be major obstacles.

The Way Ahead: Perseverance and Patience

Although the short-term prospects for ETFs may seem dismal, industry professionals advise that persistence and patience may eventually pay off. Some asset managers are nevertheless devoted to exploring these investment products in spite of the regulatory obstacles, as seen by VanEck’s SEC filing for a Solana ETF.

The head of research for digital assets at VanEck, Matthew Sigel, has disputed the idea that Ethereum and Bitcoin will be the only cryptocurrencies approved as ETFs. Sigel gave the range of cryptocurrency ETPs that are now offered in the European market—such as basket options and single-coin options—as an illustration of how the US market may be more diversified.

The future of altcoin ETFs will mostly depend on asset managers’ and cryptocurrency firms’ capacity to resolve the technical, liquidity, and regulatory issues that have impeded their adoption thus far. This might entail building stronger compliance procedures, investing in market infrastructure, and maintaining contact with regulators.

The post Solana’s ETF Approval in Brazil Sparks Hope, But Will the U.S. Market Follow? Exploring the Challenges and Potential for Altcoin ETFs appeared first on Metaverse Post.

Omnichain liquidity layer Orderly Network (ORDER) announced the details of its upcoming airdrop, which is scheduled for August.

Once the new token is released, token holders will have the option to stake the token and, in return, will collectively get 60% of the network’s net trading fees. Staking incentives will be distributed in USDC upon redemption. To date, the network has accumulated over $8.1 million in net fees.

The earlier and longer a token holder stakes, the greater their potential value accumulation. Additionally, staking ORDER will offer extra rewards to traders using a decentralized exchange (DEX) integrated with Orderly Network and will play a crucial role in determining both trading and market-making rewards in the future.

The token will utilize the OFT Standard, which facilitates the sending, receiving, and composition of assets across multiple blockchains. OFTs employ a mint-and-burn mechanism for cross-chain token transfers, eliminating the need for wrapped assets.

Moreover, it intends to separate into two entities: a developer organization and a foundation responsible for overseeing the protocol. The ORDER token will be central to this strategy, as its utility will be integrated into the platform to foster a flywheel effect, boosting platform adoption and aligning stakeholder interests. Token holders will have governance rights, allowing them to engage in decentralized decision-making. They will also earn Valor, a metric that evaluates each user’s staking position based on amount and duration, and benefit from enhanced trading and market-making rewards through staking.

According to the ORDER tokenomics, 1 billion ORDER tokens will be issued at launch. Of this total, 55% will be allocated for ecosystem development, 20% will go to the Orderly team and advisors, 15% will be assigned to strategic investors, as well as 10% will be kept in the Orderly Foundation treasury. Additionally, 13.3% of the total supply is designated for the airdrop.

1/ $ORDER is coming soon

60% of net fees to stakers in USDC!
Huge benefits for traders & market makers
Omnichain via @LayerZero_Labs OFT Standard
Key role in governance

Read the full details here: https://t.co/sMIWRuaom9 pic.twitter.com/KYdGTaBFEE

— Orderly Network (@OrderlyNetwork) August 9, 2024

Orderly Network: What Is It?

Orderly Network combines an orderbook-based trading infrastructure with a liquidity layer that supports spot and perpetual futures order books. In contrast with traditional platforms, it functions as a foundational element within the ecosystem, providing essential services to projects integrated with it.

Recently, it was launched on the Ethereum mainnet, allowing users to trade directly from the base layer. Additionally, its DEX on the Ethereum mainnet now facilitates perpetual contract transactions through Orderly Network.

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Contributor to the governance of the Layer 2 network Arbitrum (ARB), Frisson, initiated a new proposal, requesting a vote from the Arbitrum community. 

The proposal offers unlocking the ARB utility and improving the governance and security of the Arbitrum protocol by unveiling the ARB staking without enabling fee allocation to holders of the funds. Via the ARB staking, those holders who delegate their assets to active governance participants will have a chance to capture value.

Additionally, it introduces stARB through the Tally Protocol, which allows any upcoming incentives to automatically compound, be staked or restaked, and remain compatible with decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Currently, ARB is facing challenges in accruing value and functioning effectively as a governance mechanism. At the same time, the Arbitrum DAO treasury has amassed more than 16 million ETH in surplus fees from Arbitrum One and Nova, making it increasingly appealing for bad actors to attempt a DAO treasury exploit.

ARB staking introduces utility and strengthens governance by establishing a system that streams the rewards from DAO-generated sources, such as sequencer fees, maximal extractable value (MEV) fees, validator fees, token inflation, as well as treasury diversification, to token holders who delegate to governance participants. This mechanism also facilitates ARB to be utilized in restaking and DeFi by giving back to the DAO the voting power, which was previously locked in contracts.

Upon Passing Temperature Check, Proposal Is Set To Be Funded With $200,000 USD In ARB

If the proposal successfully completes the temperature check, an on-chain proposal will be submitted, requesting $200,000 USD in ARB to cover development costs. This funding will support the creation of ARB staking smart contracts, the integration of ARB staking into Tally.xyz, the incorporation of Karma into ARB staking, and the audit of the ARB staking smart contracts. The voting is currently ongoing and is set to finalize on August 16th.

Arbitrum represents a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum created to improve scalability and efficiency. By using rollups, it increases transaction throughput and reduces costs while maintaining Ethereum’s security.

The ARB token represents an ERC-20 governance token that enables users to take part in the Arbitrum DAO’s on-chain governance. It is minted through a smart contract on Arbitrum One, a Layer 2 blockchain utilizing Arbitrum’s rollup technology.

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This time, Danny Chong, Co-founder and CEO of Tranchess, pays close attention to DeFi’s innovative landscape. He discusses the driving factors behind the growth of cryptocurrency protocols and his expert predictions on the future of blockchain technology.

What are the main factors driving the growth of cryptocurrency protocols?

The evolution of protocols has gone beyond people just copying each other’s code. The sophistication has evolved into staking and other methods of structured products for staking, like Tranchess. There are also new narratives beyond staking or restaking, such as AI and real-world assets. Importantly, we’ve seen ETFs coming in for Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

It’s natural to imagine that even everyday people familiar with deposits will want to do something similar with their Ethereum, like staking it for validation rewards. The factors driving growth are, firstly, the evolution of DeFi itself and, secondly, investments coming in from the real world through ETFs. This leads to greater market capitalization for Ethereum, meaning more funds available for staking.

How do yield-enhancing protocols differ from traditional financial instruments?

In traditional finance, there’s a very extended and slightly complicated way of completing interest rate differentials. There are Treasury bonds of various tenors, instruments to hedge interest rate risk, overnight interest rate swaps, and more. The USD market and other currency markets are very well-established and mature. 

In contrast, this level of sophistication for cryptocurrency is very new. There isn’t really even such a thing as a yield curve for most cryptocurrencies. There may be some simple one- or two-year products for certain tokens listed on exchanges or banks, but they are definitely not as mature and liquid as the current USD market.

How do you provide security for your solutions, especially considering recent huge security breaches in crypto?

From past examples, including the collapse of FTX and others, we know that most of the time, centralization or central management without proper controls or governance can lead to the failure of an institution. In terms of DeFi, the ethos is that if smart contracts are well-built and well-audited, there should be no flaws. 

Most common hacks actually come from bridges between different chains. For protocols, it’s not so easy to break through unless there are critical flaws. One error I’ve seen protocols make is believing that established protocols are bug-free and copying their code entirely. People who exploit one protocol often find the same exploit works for others as well. 

Most new protocols now realize the importance of multiple audits and bug bounties to ensure their codes are free from loopholes. This has improved over time, similar to how interbank transfers became more secure as they developed. While there are still flaws and hacks happening, the number and notional value of exploits should reduce over time.

What are the most effective strategies for attracting liquidity to yield-enhancing protocols?

To attract liquidity, you need both a critical amount of TVL and people bringing assets into the AMM LP pool. The key is to ensure there are enough incentives to promote the AMM LP pool and let users know they’ll get the highest returns for taking the risk. 

For example, at Tranchess, we offer double points for people to put assets in our AMM pool. We also have additional airdrops to make rewards more attractive. Additionally, if there are high transactions in the AMM pool, there will be trading fees passed on to LP providers. 

If you can generate enough interest in the protocol or project, your LP will generally earn good trading fees. The concept isn’t complicated – it’s about providing the right incentives for users to provide the dense liquidity that any protocol is looking for.

What factors have contributed most to the growth of cryptocurrency protocols recently?

Prior to the recent market downturn, there was good growth in terms of real-world demand. The Ethereum ETFs, both in Hong Kong and the USA, were attracting many users to invest in crypto assets. 

The current theme is no longer just about raising money from within the crypto community but about attracting resources from the real world and improving user experience. Protocols have become much more user-friendly, looking more like trusted apps you’d use on an iPhone or computer. 

People are realizing that to attract real-world users and institutions, you need good user experience, product quality, safety and security measures, and a good revenue stream. The smoothness of regulation, with many countries now approving ETFs and the narrative of tokenization of real-world assets, have all contributed to the growth of crypto in general.

What do you think were the main reasons for the recent drop in cryptocurrency prices?

It’s part of a broader macro picture. Recent events like the rise in Japanese interest rates and the lower-than-expected U.S. non-farm payrolls with a high unemployment rate of 4.3%, have created fears of a potential recession. 

This mindset, combined with Japan’s rising rates, could signify a complex, inflation-filled world. It generates an unwinding sentiment for risky assets, including equities, tech stocks, and crypto markets. The current market seems to have had too much leverage involved, so when sentiment suddenly turned, many investors were caught long, leading to a rapid sell-off. 

It’s something we see in many repeated cycles of crypto and financial markets. However, with the introduction of ETFs and the spread of crypto to different countries with favorable regulations, the long-term trend is still upward. This downturn could offer a good entry point for new investors.

What is your outlook on the future of interoperability between different blockchain protocols?

Interoperability between blockchains should be accepted as the norm, similar to how different train lines in a city connect to form a comprehensive network. As the space becomes more established, we’ll see more networks covering different areas – some for games, some for decentralized exchanges, some for structured products, and so on. 

Ethereum might remain an all-in-one chain with various side chains, but they’ll all be part of the greater network. In the future, interoperability should be as seamless as crossing from one train platform to another. It shouldn’t be seen as a separate technology but as an integral part of how different blockchains interact.

What are your predictions for the adoption of zero-knowledge proofs to enhance privacy within crypto protocols?

Zero-knowledge concepts are good and have been around for quite a while. However, the real challenge lies in turning this concept into a practical product or harnessing it to verify identities and integrate it into different networks or user experiences. 

So far, I haven’t seen a real product that allows for an applicable use of zero-knowledge proofs, nor have I seen wide adoption. The key will be finding ways to implement this technology in a way that’s user-friendly and solves real-world problems.

In your opinion, what do you think will be the state of blockchain in the next three years?

Blockchain will flourish quite a lot. One of the current limitations of blockchains is their low TPS rate compared to centralized exchanges. But this will change. With advancing technology, transactions will be faster, there’ll be more sidechains, and more seamless bridges between Layer1 and Layer2 solutions or between different chains. 

This improvement will lead to a higher adoption of blockchain. If we believe in the overall growth of the crypto ecosystem, especially Ethereum, then we can expect a natural flourishing of users, protocols, and associated tokens over the next two to three years. What could really drive adoption is a definitive real-world use case. 

For example, if some big conglomerates, regulators, or central banks decide to implement CBDCs on a blockchain, or if a major banking system decides to use blockchain for settlements. These could be huge drivers for increased adoption. 

There are many potential possibilities and triggers that could make blockchain work really well. We just need one or more of these use cases to take off, and then the use and adoption of blockchain should grow massively.

The post Bridging Worlds: Danny Chong on Tranchess, Blockchain Interoperability, and Real-World Crypto Integration appeared first on Metaverse Post.

Cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX announced the introduction of four new Prediction Markets on its platform, designed to forecast the outcomes of upcoming elections in the United States.

Participants can place bets on whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will win the election, as well as on whether Jerome Powell or Gary Gensler will resign or be removed from their posts before their terms conclude.

The Prediction Markets contracts for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will settle at 100% if either candidate wins the presidential election. These contracts are scheduled to expire at 12:00 UTC on November 29th, though early settlement may occur since election results are expected on November 5th.

The prediction market for whether Jerome Powell will resign or be removed from his position as Chairman of the Federal Reserve before his term ends offers a 100% settlement if he departs from the role before May 15th, 2026. This contract is set to expire at 12:00 UTC on May 26th.

Meanwhile, the market regarding whether Gary Gensler will resign or be removed from his role as Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provides a 100% settlement if he leaves the position before June 5th, 2026. This contract is scheduled to expire at 12:00 UTC on June 26th, 2026.

The taker fees for the contracts are set at 0.2%, while the maker fees are -0.05%. These contracts have commenced trading and are now available to users.

BitMEX Unveils Prediction Markets, Enabling Traders To Earn Returns

BitMEX is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange that enables traders and investors to trade futures and perpetual swap contracts across various cryptocurrencies.

The platform introduced its Prediction Markets last year, offering an opportunity for traders to generate returns by predicting and taking positions on real-life event outcomes. These markets do not provide leverage, and settlement is completed in USDT. Payouts are determined by a bounded price range from 0 to 100. If an event happens prior to the contract’s expiration date, early settlement will apply. Each contract is valued between zero and one USD but is quoted in percentage terms.

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Developers of the decentralized blockchain Ethereum held a weekly meeting to discuss the forthcoming Pectra upgrade. During the 139th Ethereum Core Developers Consensus (ACDC) conference call, they reviewed fixes to Pectra Devnet 2, preparations for Devnet 3, progress on PeerDAS implementation, and new information regarding Ethereum node distribution.

Led by Ethereum Foundation (EF) Researcher Alex Stokes, this meeting revealed that Hsiao Wei Wang is working on the upcoming roll out, alpha.4, for the consensus layer (CL) specifications. This release is set to integrate several fixes from the prior version and is anticipated to be available soon.

In addition, regarding Pectra Devnet 2, it was emphasized that some bugs to address in the execution layer (EL) clients still exist, specifically EthereumJS and Erigon. Most CL clients are stable on Devnet 2, though a less serious challenge with the Prysm client needs a deeper examination. Moreover, client teams need to investigate an issue affecting interactions between Lighthouse, Teku, as well as Besu nodes.

Concerning Pectra Devnet 3, builders indicated that it will use the same set of EIPs as Devnet 2. It will additionally include the latest design for EIP 7702, and builders will rigorously test how this code change interacts with other Pectra EIPs.

Furthermore, the Prysm client team member provided an update on the PeerDAS implementation. It led to a discussion about the need of the “blobsidecar” Engine API request, suggesting that more negotiations are needed.

During the last PeerDAS call, questions were raised regarding the potential challenges of avoiding sampling and then reintroducing it in a future hard fork. There is also uncertainty regarding how eliminating sampling might affect the ability of builders to raise the blob gas limit in Pectra. The EIP-7742, which suggests separating the blob gas limit between EL and CL, was reexamined during this call and is slated for further discussion.

Pectra Upgrade To Enhance Account Abstraction, Validator Ops And Network Performance  

The upcoming Ethereum Pectra upgrade is anticipated to offer a number of adjustments, such as enhancements in account abstraction, validator operations, as well as overall network performance. This upgrade aims to enhance the experience for Ethereum users and developers, paving the way for future scalability improvements with features like Verkle trees and optimized data management. Notable updates encompass improved validator stake limits, more flexible staking withdrawals, and streamlined smart contract deployment, all of which will lay the foundation for greater network efficiency and security.

The post Ethereum ACDC Meeting: Pectra Devnet 2 Stability Achieved, Network Participation Reaches 85% appeared first on Metaverse Post.

Modular blockchain network Celestia disclosed its intention to carry out the Lemongrass upgrade soon, marking the first upgrade for the network.

The deployment of celestia-app version 2.0.0 will initiate the upgrade on the Arabica Devnet throughout this month. After this activation and subsequent testing, an upgrade for the Mocha Testnet is also anticipated. Additionally, the Celestia Mainnet Beta is projected to release its Lemongrass version sometime in early September or before its second half.

The upgrade includes several modifications to the consensus layer, encompassing Interchain Accounts, Packet Forward Middleware, and CIP-10, a mechanism created to simplify future upgrades. In addition, the data availability layer will experience technical updates, including the implementation of pruning blob data (CIP-4), introduced in version 0.14.1 of celestia-node, and Shwap (CIP-19), a new messaging framework for data availability and sampling.

Celestia’s first upgrade, Lemongrass, is coming.

Developed and coordinated with the community, Lemongrass includes 1-click Tia interactions with other IBC chains, Interchain accounts, and a new upgrade mechanism. pic.twitter.com/Lu6f3vWeU9

— Celestia (@CelestiaOrg) August 8, 2024

Celestia And Its Updates in Lemongrass: Price Enforcement, Packet Forward Middleware, And More

Celestia intends to unveil multiple adjustments, encompassing CIP-6, price enforcement, which is set  to reduce spam and enhance network efficiency, and CIP-9, a packet forward middleware designed to minimize latency and overhead in bridging, guaranteeing packets achieve their outlined destinations effectively.

Furthermore, Lemongrass will feature coordinated upgrades, CIP-10, which will streamline and expedite the network upgrade process, improving stability and mitigating user downtime. Meanwhile, CIP-14, a major update, will enable accounts on the Celestia network to be managed by accounts on other blockchains through IBC, thereby improving interoperability.

Lastly, CIP-20, disable blobstream module, will streamline the architecture for all Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum and other settlement layers.

Celestia represents a network that employs a modular strategy to tackle scalability issues typically faced by traditional blockchain systems. It sets itself apart by decoupling execution from consensus and integrating data availability sampling (DAS) as a key component. Recently, Celestia introduced its data proof bridge, Blobstream, on the Ethereum mainnet.

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Entity supporting the development of the Bitcoin Layer 2 blockchain Stacks, Stacks Foundation, announced that the final code for the Nakamoto upgrade will be provided to network operators and the activation window is set to open on August 28th, introducing the awaited Nakamoto features.

Network operators will have Cycle 92 to complete the upgrade, provided that the Signer handoff from Cycle 92 to 93 is successful. Furthermore, core developers will determine the final hard fork block.

Overall, the activation sequence with ABCDE will involve multiple steps, encompassing the opening of the activation window and the delivery of binaries. Assuming no new bugs are discovered, the final binaries will be provided, which is all code Signers, Miners, and Node Operators need to operate the network. Subsequently, the Cycle Handoff process will be implemented. Once the final code is deployed on the mainnet, Signers will have an entire Stacking cycle to make any required final adjustments to their setup. At the conclusion of Cycle 92, core developers will monitor for a successful ‘handoff,’ which indicates a transition of the Signer sets between Stacking cycles.

This will be followed by the determination of the hard fork block. Once the successful handoff from Cycle 92 to Cycle 93 is verified at Block 861,500, Core Developers will choose the final hard fork block, where all Nakamoto rules will be activated. As a result, Epoch 3.0 Nakamoto rules will take effect at this designated hard fork block.

Stacks also cautioned that to ensure a safe and secure launch, the Nakamoto activation sequence may be extended. This potential delay could be influenced by several factors, including the outcomes of ongoing testing and recent audits, issues or requirements from Signers, Miner adoption, and the results of the SIP-025 vote.

Meanwhile, the sBTC is expected to be ready for mainnet release approximately one month after the Nakamoto hard fork. Since it relies on Nakamoto consensus, Stacks intends to monitor at least two stable Stacking cycles under the Nakamoto rules before proceeding with the roll out of sBTC.

On August 28, final code for Nakamoto will be shipped to network operators & the Activation window will open!

Network operators will have Cycle 92 to upgrade; pending a successful Signer handoff from Cycle 92 to 93, core devs will select the final hard fork block.

1/6

— Stacks Foundation (@StacksOrg) August 8, 2024

Nakamoto Release To Introduce Increased Transaction Speeds, Bitcoin Miner MEV Reduction, Among Other Advantages

Stacks is a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) to operate using Bitcoin as the foundational layer. Earlier this year, it started rolling out its Nakamoto release, designed to improve transaction speeds and ensure that transactions on the Stacks Layer are secured by Bitcoin’s full finality. The sBTC is a non-custodial, programmable asset, backed one-to-one by Bitcoin, allowing for the decentralized movement of BTC between Bitcoin layers.

The Nakamoto Release, a hard fork on the Stacks network, is intended to introduce several other advantages apart from increasing transaction speed, such as strengthening finality guarantees for transactions, reducing Bitcoin miner MEV (miner extractable value) opportunities that affect PoX, and enhancing the network’s resilience against blockchain reorganizations.

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Ethereum Layer 2 network Optimism (OP) announced that its community, through the Optimism Collective, has allocated 8,519,578 OP tokens to core Ethereum developers via Retro Funding. The distribution includes rewards for various teams, such as Protocol Guild, Go Ethereum, Solidity, and the team behind the ERC-4337 account abstraction standard, among others.

Retro Funding acts as a key component of the Optimism Collective’s economic model, aimed at recognizing contributions and promoting engagement within the Superchain. By rewarding these contributions, Retro Funding helps increase the demand for blockspace on the Superchain. This, in turn, provides additional revenue for sequencers and supports the continuation of future Retro Funding rewards.

Recently, Optimism concluded the fourth phase of this initiative, allocating tokens to various projects such as Zora and Sound.xyz, Mode network, and Layer3. These projects then distributed the tokens within their respective communities.

8,519,578

is the number of OP that Optimism Collective has rewarded core Ethereum developers through Retro Funding so far.@ProtocolGuild, @go_ethereum, @solidity_lang @erc4337 and many more teams pic.twitter.com/vcEhqakH4S

— Optimism (@Optimism) August 8, 2024

Optimism To Initiate Retroactive Public Goods Funding 5 To Reward OP Stack Contributors 

The upcoming Retroactive Public Goods Funding 5 initiative will focus on incentivizing contributors to the OP Stack. This includes those involved with core Ethereum infrastructure that supports the OP Stack, advancements in OP Stack research and development, and tools that enhance its accessibility and usability.

The initiative will allocate 8 million OP tokens to recognize the contributions of OP Stack supporters. The Foundation will determine the sizes for Retro Funding 4 and 5 and will propose the funding amounts for Retro Funding 6 and 7, which will be subject to approval by the Citizens’ House.

The registration period for this phase will be open from August 15th to August 29th. Following this, the application review process will occur from August 30th to September 13th. Voting is scheduled to begin in mid-September, with results and grant distributions starting on October 3rd.

The program recognizes contributions and impacts made from October 2023 to August 2024, focusing on Ethereum core contributors, OP Stack research and development, and OP Stack tooling.

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GPU cloud network io.net announced a partnership with the image-generation platform Leonardo AI aimed at enhancing its computational capabilities. Under this partnership, io.net will provide enterprise-grade L40S GPUs, enabling Leonardo AI to scale efficiently and meet the increasing customer demand for its generative AI content production services.

Leonardo.ai represents an advanced AI art generation platform that allows users to create images in various styles quickly using simple prompts. The platform supports video creation, AI-assisted sketching, and custom model training with user-specific datasets. Recent advancements encompass the introduction of the Phoenix foundational model, which enhances creator control with improved prompt accuracy, coherent text integration in images, and the capability to produce high-quality assets efficiently.

The new partnership will build on the existing use of A100 GPUs by Leonardo AI from io.net. The A100 GPUs will now be supplemented with a set of NVIDIA L40S models, which are specifically designed for high-performance generative AI and large language model (LLM) inference.

By providing advanced GPUs for image processing, io.net will help Leonardo AI manage its increased customer demand effectively. Access to this expanded fleet of enterprise-grade GPUs will support continued growth and ensure that customers experience the reliability and speed they expect from the platform.

Io.net’s Cloud Fuels Leonardo AI With Its GPUs

io.net is a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) that provides and manages on-demand, distributed GPU clusters from various geographic locations. The network currently offers access to hundreds of thousands of GPUs, designed to support low-latency and high-processing-demand applications such as AI and machine learning (ML) operations, as well as cloud gaming.

The recent development demonstrates the production-ready capabilities and growing demand for io.net’s distributed GPU network. It also highlights the potential monetization and distribution opportunities available to compute providers within the io.net ecosystem.

At present, the io.net Cloud offers over 300,000 verified GPUs and 37,000 cluster-ready GPUs, many of which will be utilized by Leonardo AI. Furthermore, io.net’s DePIN represents the largest GPU network of its kind, maintaining low latency, high availability, and global distribution.

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Mobile game developer and publisher Azur Games announced a partnership with the gaming platform PixelVerse aimed at enhancing Telegram mini-games. As part of this collaboration, Azur Games will introduce a new mobile game featuring PixelVerse characters on the PixelVerse Telegram mini-game platform.

PixelVerse recently reached notable milestones, including the successful listing of its PIXFI token and raising $7.5 million from prominent investors. The platform’s impressive growth in June was notably marked by the popularity of PixelTap, a widely played clicker game. Overall, both the platform and the game have attracted 75 million players and garnered more than 14 million social media followers.

“This year, Telegram mini-games have surged in popularity, particularly clicker games. PixelTap introduced an enhanced version of the clicker game popularized by Notcoin, integrating real-time PVP battles driven by clicking,” said Kori Leon, Co-Founder and COO of PixelVerse.

“Our next step is to further refine the gameplay and offer a diverse library of hyper-casual games within Telegram,” he added.

The platform aims to develop more engaging and sustainable gameplay that does not depend on airdrops to maintain player interest. According to Kori Leon, with Azur Games contributing their Web2 expertise, the goal is to create enjoyable and innovative gameplay experiences on Telegram that go beyond just clicker games.

Additionally, the partnership will aid in developing Telegram mini-games with advanced gameplay features. Specifically, Azur Games aims to attract more mainstream users to Web3 gaming through this collaboration, utilizing the combined strengths of both companies to bring new players into the fold.

Azur Games Exceeds 8B Downloads And Migrates Data To AWS ClickHouse Cloud

The company develops and publishes high-performing titles across various genres, including midcore PVP and hyper-casual games. In 2023, the studio exceeded 8 billion downloads and was ranked as the top global mobile game publisher by downloads, with 250 million monthly active users. Its recent expansion into the Telegram mini-games space aims to extend its reach to a major Web3 audience.

This year Azur Games has migrated all 120 TB of its game analytics data to ClickHouse Cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This fully managed service enables the company to efficiently operate and scale high-performance analytical workloads without the complexities of managing the underlying infrastructure.

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Technology company Microsoft announced that it has partnered with the software company Palantir Technologies to enhance the capabilities of AI and large language models (LLMs).

Palantir Technologies is a software company specializing in data fusion platforms that allow both machine-assisted and human-driven data analysis.

Due to this partnership, the companies plan to enhance the United States Defense and Intelligence Community’s ability to leverage cloud, AI, as well as analytics capabilities. This will enable key national security missions to utilize Microsoft’s LLMs via the Azure OpenAI (AOAI) Service, integrated within Palantir’s AI Platform (AIP) in Microsoft’s government.

Additionally, Palantir will implement its suite of offerings, namely, Foundry, Gotham, Apollo, and AIP, within Microsoft Azure Government, encompassing the Azure Government Secret and Top Secret cloud environments.

This solution, combining Microsoft’s Azure cloud compute and LLMs with Palantir’s Foundry data incorporation and ontology capabilities, along with AIP’s use case development tools, will allow operators to create AI-driven operational workflows. These workflows will support various tasks, from logistics and contracting to prioritization and action planning and beyond.

Meanwhile, the Palantir Federal Cloud Service, which includes Palantir’s Gotham, Foundry, AIP, Apollo, and FedStart Mission Manager platforms, is authorized for deployment on Microsoft Azure within IL5 environments.

Furthermore, as part of the collaboration, Palantir and Microsoft will also offer bootcamp experiences to the Defense and Intelligence communities, allowing them to test the technology.

Microsoft Fuels AI Progress, Partners With OpenAI To Advance AI Model Training  

The company develops AI-powered platforms and tools to provide innovative solutions that address the changing needs of its customers. The company is dedicated to making AI widely accessible.

With the rapid advancement of AI, Microsoft has been actively involved in driving technological progress. Recently, Microsoft partnered with the AI research organization OpenAI, allowing OpenAI to use its OCI Supercluster for training and deploying next-generation AI models. This technology provides one of the fastest and most cost-effective AI infrastructures, supporting the development of large language models (LLMs).

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Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX announced that, after careful consideration and in response to community feedback, it will restore the balances of all accounts and reverse all trades executed on its platform after withdrawals were halted at 1 PM IST on July 18th.

According to the announcement, all users will have their portfolio balances on the WazirX platform restored to their state as of that time. This restoration will occur over the next few days, and affected individuals will receive an email detailing any trades that were impacted.

This move is intended to maintain the platform’s integrity and ensure a fair resolution for users following the disruption caused by the cyberattack.

Important Update:

We are actively listening to your feedback and taking decisive action to address your concerns! After careful consideration of the situation and the feedback received from numerous users, we are constrained to restore the balances of all accounts and undo… pic.twitter.com/Bmp6GqvPfr

— WazirX: India Ka Bitcoin Exchange (@WazirXIndia) August 8, 2024

WazirX Experiences Security Breach, Leading To A Loss Of $230M

Founded in 2018, WazirX’s exchange has over 16 million users and is integrated within the Binance ecosystem. The platform is designed to make cryptocurrencies accessible throughout India.

The exchange was exploited in July, leading to the loss of nearly $230 million, which represents about 45% of its total assets. The bad actor siphoned more than $100 million in Shiba Inu tokens, along with 20 million Matic tokens, valued at $11 million, 640 billion Pepe tokens worth $7.5 million, 5.7 million USDT, and 135 million Gala tokens, equivalent to $3.5 million. After the incident, WazirX suspended trading activities.

WazirX subsequently announced a plan for a “socialized loss strategy,” which includes two main approaches: pursuing legal action and socializing the loss while working on rebuilding. 

Additionally, the exchange initiated a poll asking customers to choose between two options: accessing 55% of their funds without the ability to withdraw but with priority for any potential recovery funds or accessing their funds with withdrawal rights but receiving second priority for recovery, with the remaining 45% converted to USDT and locked. This plan has faced a backlash from the community.

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CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io, Dr. Han Lin, delivered an insightful presentation at the Asia Blockchain Summit 2024, discussing the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry. In his speech, he reviewed the current state of the sector, noting that despite the growth, there is still considerable potential for further development.

In his presentation, Dr. Han Lin highlighted the improvements and technological advancements in the sector over time, which have enhanced the efficiency of blockchain technology. He further delved to examine the evolution of cryptocurrencies across various aspects, including their launch, tokens, exchanges, trading platforms, trading volume, market capitalization, blockchain development, and user engagement.

Initially, Bitcoin was mined using computers, and this approach was later adopted by altcoins. Subsequently, blockchain projects began using ICOs, which initiated a new era of cryptocurrency fundraising. This was followed by IEOs, which boosted credibility through established exchanges, and IDOs, which enabled projects to launch directly on decentralized exchanges. All these stages facilitated the project’s launches during that period.  Dr. Han Lin observed a growing trend towards community-driven launches within the cryptocurrency industry at present. He noted that memecoins, for example, have gained traction and engagement due to their strong reliance on community support and viral marketing. He also pointed out that ICO launches have decreased as the industry moves towards community-centric approaches such as airdrops.

Before 2017, the primary focus was on BTC and ETH tokens. This shifted towards stablecoins, followed by a rise in the popularity of centralized exchange (CEX) tokens. In 2020, DeFi gained prominence, and in 2022, GameFi emerged as another trend. Additionally, there has been an increasing number of tokens launched each year.

The CEO of Gate.io continued by saying that trading platforms are currently providing security and liquidity to millions of users worldwide. He noted that Solana and Base have become popular choices for launching new tokens due to their cost-efficiency. Dr. Han Lin also mentioned that industry veterans remember Mt. Gox cryptocurrency exchange launch and subsequent hack, as well as the rise and fall of another platform, FTX. According to him, prior to 2018, launching a CEX was relatively inexpensive, but increased competition and higher entry barriers since then have made it more difficult. In contrast, the decentralized exchange (DEX) sector remains more accessible, with lower costs associated with launching a DEX. Although the market share of DEXs compared to CEXs is still relatively small, it is expanding. CEXs continue to dominate the market, holding a larger share of the overall trading volume.

Dr. Han Lin Highlights Market Trends: BTC’s Growth, Solana’s Ambitions, And Fast Increase In Cryptocurrency Users

Dr. Han Lin noted that trading volume for coins outside the top 10 at present is diminishing, as most trading activity is concentrated in the leading cryptocurrencies. He advised caution to those investing in smaller coins, warning that they may face liquidity challenges if they need to sell. Overall, trading volume remains heavily concentrated in BTC, ETH, and stablecoins.

Discussing the current state of market capitalization, Dr. Han Lin noted that Bitcoin’s market capitalization is nearing that of Facebook. He projected that Bitcoin could surpass Facebook’s market capitalization within the next one to two years. While those of Bitcoin declined from 2022 to 2023 due to the bear market, it has been increasing this year. Notably, despite fluctuations, Bitcoin continues to dominate, accounting for over 50% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization.

Additionally, Dr. Han Lin pointed out that Solana is currently leading in the blockchain space and aims to surpass Ethereum as the most popular blockchain. However, Ethereum still maintains the highest trading volume and total value locked (TVL) on DEXs and has the most active developer community.

Dr. Han Lin’s presentation also observed that while the number of internet users has grown over the past two decades, the rate of growth for cryptocurrency users has been even faster. He noted that there were only 1 million cryptocurrency users 11 years ago, but now, cryptocurrency is widely recognized, with over 500 million people considered active users.

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Bitcoin Layer 2 interoperability platform MAP Protocol (MAPO) unveiled its integration with the TRON, aiming to introduce advanced cross-chain messaging capabilities to TRON. Additionally, it plans to expand the reach of MAP Protocol’s ecosystem and offer TRON users and builders decentralized cross-chain interaction options, enhancing overall interoperability.

TRON represents an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain that employs the TRON Virtual Machine to facilitate the creation and deployment of smart contracts for decentralized applications (dApps). Its token, TRX, is available for builders to use within their applications.

The integration offers several benefits, encompassing the ability to perform cross-chain smart contract calls and simplified integration with other ecosystems. It also supports decentralization without privileged roles and facilitates connectivity with both Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and non-EVM blockchains.

The integration will leverage MAP Protocol’s zero-knowledge (ZK) and Light Client to foster interoperability between multiple blockchains. This will facilitate connections between the BTC ecosystem, EVMs, as well as TRON. Specifically, it will support the multi-chain transfer of the USDT stablecoin, enhancing the overall interoperable ecosystem, as noted by the project’s core developer in a written statement.

MAP Protocol Integrates with TRON to Facilitate Enhanced Cross-Chain Interoperability

MAP Protocol is thrilled to unveil an integration with the TRON blockchain.@MapProtocol will provide advanced cross-chain messaging capabilities to @trondao. The integration will broaden the… pic.twitter.com/tMYlb5SyBi

— MAP Protocol (@MapProtocol) August 8, 2024

MAP Protocol Creates Cross-Chain Messaging Solution For Solana And TON

It functions as a platform focused on Bitcoin Layer 2, prioritizing cross-chain interoperability. It offers the infrastructure and tools required for dApps to establish compatibility between Bitcoin Layer 2 networks and various public blockchains.

Its solution, based on ZK light-client, operates in a peer-to-peer manner avoiding the need to rely on trusted third-party entities. This method integrates previously isolated Bitcoin Layer 2s that rely on third-party bridges, creating a unified and decentralized ecosystem that is well-suited for application development platforms along with Web3 user interfaces.

Recently, MAP Protocol revealed that it is building cross-chain messaging modules for Solana and TON blockchains to meet the rising need for cross-chain smart contract interactions.

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In this interview, Mathias Beke, Partner & Co-Founder at Kairon Labs, shares his journey from traditional finance to the crypto market making. With over a decade of experience and a keen eye for market inefficiencies, Beke offers a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency landscape. From ethical practices to technological innovations, he provides a comprehensive look into the intricacies of liquidity provision in both bull and bear markets.

Can you elaborate on your journey to Web3? 

I started working in traditional finance 12 years ago as an engineer in the engineering department of a bank in Belgium. In 2016, I was already investing a bit in crypto as a retail investor. In 2017, I decided to quit my job in traditional finance and fully focus on web3, mainly because I was interested in trading activities and saw a lot of inefficiencies in the market.

My current co-founder and I, together with somebody else we know, started investing in projects and advising projects. We kept seeing that market making was something that had a high necessity in crypto, and there were so many inefficiencies that we decided to fully focus on market making. That happened in 2019.

The last part of 2019 is when the actual market really started. It was a pretty tough ride for us, but we kept on building Kairon Labs and kept focusing on market making and helping token projects provide quality and launch into the market. We kept scaling Kairon Labs, and today we’re around 50 people. Our focus is still on providing liquidity and making sure we support token projects in launching their tokens on different exchanges and providing liquidity for them.

How do you ensure ethical market-making practices while still meeting the liquidity needs of emerging crypto projects?

First, we need to define what ethical market making is. In my opinion, ethical market making involves providing orders that others can execute and ensuring the avoidance of unethical practices. For example, in traditional finance, wash trading is considered illegal, so we apply the same standards. Spoofing or taking orders is also considered illegal, so it’s something we don’t do.

Ethical market making is crucial, and then secondly, no matter what the market is, you need to provide that liquidity. Whether it’s for high-volume tokens like BTC and Ethereum or smaller coins, for us, it’s almost exactly the same. Obviously, the more traded coins have more counterparties, so it makes trading simpler for us but more competitive, while lower traded coins are less competitive but more complex.

Being ethical throughout the chain is crucial, and making sure that you apply those practices throughout the cycle is essential.

Do you have different market-making strategies for bull and bear markets?

The strategies themselves are more or less the same. What you see in a bear market is that the inefficiencies are less apparent and also less available to trade on. It’s pretty hard at that point to take opportunities, so that is a difficult thing in a bear market. There are fewer opportunities because there’s less volume, and the more volume there is, the more opportunities there are, the more volatility there is – it’s like a snowball effect.

In a bear market, we use those times to enhance the strategies, improve strategies, and do research on the strategies. You don’t have time in bull markets to do that. In bull markets, there are a lot of inefficiencies, which is great, but then you see smaller players coming back in and starting to trade, so the competition is a bit higher.

Our strategies remain the same, and it’s about understanding the market so that you can configure the algorithms properly and provide liquidity. During extreme market events, it’s crucial to have your algorithms in circuit breaker mode and ensure your portfolio risk is managed. So you’re a bit more cautious of these things, and they’re really enhanced in our systems.

Is your approach different for various crypto assets?

It is different. For example, stablecoins are a whole different type of liquidity provision, so you need to stay in the peg. That’s not really something we focus on unless there are inefficiencies.

For DeFi coins, in a lot of cases, the liquidity is on decentralized exchanges, so the opportunities and the counterparties are on-chain and not off-chain. Your algorithms need to source the liquidity or your counterparties on a different level.

For layer-one tokens, you often need to source liquidity on their native chain. So technology-wise, you need to integrate with those chains and be prepared to find counterparties there. It’s more about the technology stack and which type of protocols you’re integrating with.

How are market makers addressing the challenges of providing liquidity for cross-chain assets and interoperability protocols?

That’s one of our biggest challenges. When we go to on-chain liquidity provision, especially on mature protocols and blockchains, the weaknesses in these protocols or smart contracts will always be there. If we provide liquidity on a centralized exchange, the counterparty risk is the exchange. But if we trade on a decentralized exchange, we’re integrating with smart contracts, and we don’t really know who’s behind it or what legal entity is behind it.

Counterparty risk is a big thing for us, and we’re very careful with it. There’s a balance we need to find. If we know these projects or blockchains well, maybe it’s worth deploying capital there because we have done due diligence on the team working on it. But the risk always remains – humans develop smart contracts, and humans can make mistakes.

How has the growing institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies influenced market-making practices and liquidity depth?

Institutional adoption is really on high market cap coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Ripple. That means there is a lot of liquidity, more counterparties, and more volume coming in. This actually decreases volatility, although we have had a very volatile day yesterday. In general, it does decrease volatility.

The disadvantage is that because volatility decreases, the opportunities also decrease a bit. So you need to be creative as a market maker to find more opportunities in different markets and different products. This institutional adoption affects the top 20 coins or so, impacting volatility, liquidity, and the need for creativity in finding edges or alpha in our trades.

How do you balance the need for liquidity provision with the potential risks of market manipulation?

Of course, there’s no real framework today to define market manipulation in crypto. Luckily, that exists in traditional finance, and we try to implement those rules. As we speak, we are implementing a trade surveillance system on all the trades that we do to make sure that the algorithms are not manipulating the markets.

Trade surveillance helps us a lot. A small change in configuration could mean that trading is happening a bit differently, and we need to monitor that to ensure it’s within the framework that exists in traditional finance.

In the end, liquidity provision means you’re not taking the market, so you’re not really influencing markets. You’re providing liquidity and allowing people to take your orders. However, we also need to take orders from time to time to hedge our risks and manage our portfolio, and we need to do that diligently.

What measures do you take to prevent or mitigate the impact of flash crashes or sudden market shocks?

It’s a lot of experience that guides us. In our algorithms, we have different systems that capture certain risks, from inventory skews to portfolio skews, big P&L drawdowns, liquidation or margin thresholds, and counterparty risk. We even track the outflows of exchanges and observe behavior.

For example, if we see a lot of outflows, that will trigger an alert for our traders. The Jump offloading that happened yesterday and over the weekend – those are also triggers for us. Within the algorithms, we have a lot of fail-safes and mitigations based on things we’ve seen in the past to protect our algorithms and portfolio.

Do you use ZK proofs, or are there any other ways you provide security and privacy for transactions?

For on-chain transactions, Kairon Labs does not use ZK proofs today. What we do use are proxy blockchain distribution networks, which we utilize so that when we post our more important transactions, they are protected and executed as fast as possible.

Depending on the trade we do, we might want to directly send our transactions to miners or these distribution networks to protect our transactions from being in the mempool. These measures are mainly focused on privacy and speed.

What innovations is Kairon Labs currently working on to improve its market-making services?

It would be extremely sexy to say that we use AI, but we don’t use AI today. We use AI for our development to streamline our processes, but we don’t use AI to improve our algorithms. What we do use a lot is machine learning, which helps us make a near real-time analysis of what we feel is happening and ensure our inventory skews are managed properly.

I believe in making things as simple as possible. It’s a very competitive world, and the simpler you can make it, the faster you are. So actually, being innovative means making it as simple as possible.

From a technology point of view, the most advanced thing we do is making use of machine learning and a lot of data that we use close to real-time or for quantitative research. That requires some technological advancement to ensure that data is structured properly and extracted as fast as possible.

How do you see the intersection of AI and blockchain in the future, particularly for trading?

Machine learning is crucial for understanding your algorithms better, understanding the market better, segmenting markets better, and segmenting actors in the market. I think AI itself will have an impact in the years to come, but the question is what and how.

The finance ecosystem, whether traditional or crypto, is very complex and has many actors and players. I think AI can help in segmentation, but there always needs to be a counterparty. AI can streamline a lot for retail and help better understand what is happening, but for algorithms and high-frequency algorithms, I feel human interpretation is always necessary to have an edge on the market, at least for now.

What do you think stands behind the popularity of the tokens people get while playing clicker games?

You see these narratives in crypto – DeFi, gaming, NFTs, move-to-earn, play-to-earn, social-fi, and now these clicker games being a bit of a narrative within a bear market. From my personal perspective, I think it’s more of a distraction than anything else. I don’t see real value behind it, to be very frank.

I strongly believe in GameFi, and I strongly believe crypto has a fundamental strength in supporting GameFi. But I don’t really see these clicker games. I see it more as a narrative used by projects or founders to have a distraction for retail because, let’s be honest, the altcoin market is extremely dry and challenging right now.

What do you think will be the major developments in the market-making industry over the next few years?

Market making will become more and more like market making in traditional finance, in our opinion. Although it’s crucial that within the crypto industry, there are a lot of nuances – you have different blockchains, different ways to integrate with blockchains, and the dynamics of the blockchain itself about block time sizes, block sizes, and so on.

Off-chain, you have all these centralized exchanges. There are so many of them. We’ve already consolidated our integrations. It’s a bit different on that part, tech-wise. I think it’s much more different, and today it’s also much more open – you can stream order books as a retail trader, you could see all the things that are happening, literally everything, free of cost, which is amazing to see in crypto.

I do feel that traditional finance will take over a bit, especially on the big coins like BTC and Ethereum, and it will be extremely competitive. We will also see more consolidation of altcoins. There are so many altcoins right now, and it actually drives up the liquidity because every day, there’s a launch of a new token. But where do you find all the retail interest in investing in it? So that’s also something I see being consolidated in the future.

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