Block Network

September 11, 2020

Controversial new proposal would forgive ‘slashed’ Polkadot validator

Some are concerned the proposal could set a dangerous precedent. Polkadot (DOT) validator Web3Italy has been “slashed” and “chilled” after going offline for 14 hours on Aug. 10 and 11.This means that the validator has lost their staked tokens and been temporarily kicked from the network, respectively.Web3Italy went offline at the same time that numerous […]

The IRS offers a $625,000 bounty to anyone who can break Monero and Lightning

The United States IRS agency has announced a bounty of up to $625k to anyone who can crack Monero’s privacy. The United States Internal Revenue Services (IRS) has offered a bounty of up to $625,000 to anyone who can break purportedly untraceable privacy coins like Monero (XMR) as well as trace transactions on Bitcoin’s (BTC) […]

DeFi is a ‘once in a decade investment opportunity’ — True or false?

DeFi could be a huge investment opportunity, a bubble ready to burst, or both. Former Messari Head of Product and well known crypto trader Qiao Wang believes the nascent DeFi sector has enormous growth potential.DeFi has been on a tear this year, with the total value locked growing from under $1 billion to just under […]

Yearn Finance shuns governance token with new stablecoin lending protocol

Yearn Finance is launching a MakerDAO like stablecoin lending protocol with no governance token. Popular decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Yearn Finance has announced a new lending protocol dubbed StableCredit.StableCredit combines tokenized debt stablecoins, lending, and single-sided automated market makers to offer what it describes as “a completely decentralized lending protocol” reminiscent of MakerDAO (MKR).Introducing StableCredit, […]

BTC locked in DeFi increased by 20X the entire Lightning Network this week

Despite the recent mini price crash, DeFi users have injected more than 20,000 Bitcoin into DeFi projects in the last week, suggesting the DeFi bull run isn’t over. The amount of BTC locked in decentralized finance projects increased by more than 30% in the past week, despite falls in the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and […]

Square launches cryptocurrency patent alliance to fight the trolls

Square is launching a consortium to pool patents and democratize access to innovative blockchain technologies Square, the U.S.-based financial services company headed by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, is establishing a consortium to fight patent trolling and ensure open access to technology in the crypto sector.The ‘Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance’ (COPA) seeks to democratize access to innovative […]

Federal payments licensing push could boost crypto adoption

The Office of the Comptroller’s move to license payments firms at the federal level is receiving push-back from state regulators. Brian Brooks, Coinbase’s former chief legal officer and the current U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, is pushing to consolidate licensing regulations for payment companies at the federal level in the United States.Federal licensing for payments […]

Stablecoins post triple-digit growth in 2020, but institutional rivals loom

Despite stablecoins posting triple-digit market cap growth this year, competition from projects backed by major financial and tech corporations is on the horizon. The supply of the Coinbase-backed stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) has grown by 250% since the start of 2020, including an 80% expansion in just the past two months.After starting the year with […]

ERC-20 market cap differential over Ethereum hits all-time high

Ethereum’s economy hits new milestones in terms of transfer value and ERC-20 market capitalization. Ethereum’s economic metrics are strengthening as transfer value and ERC-20 market capitalization continue to build momentum.Research by on-chain analytics platform Santiment has revealed that the market capitalization for all ERC-20 based tokens has flipped that of Ethereum itself. It added that […]

Messari’s Ryan Selkis says DeFi bubble will pop soon

The man is known for his predictions, but is he right about this one? Ryan Selkis, founder of crypto data site Messari, predicted an upcoming demise for the decentralized finance, or DeFi, space — similar to what happened with initial coin offerings, or ICOs. “The DeFi bubble will pop sooner than people expect,” Selkis tweeted on […]