ConsenSys has announced the upcoming release of its zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) rollup to a public testnet on March 28, allowing for stress testing of the layer-2 scaling technology. ConsenSys’ research and development team has been working on its zkEVM rollup over the past four years. The zkEVM is touted to offer fast finality, high throughput and security of settlements on the Ethereum blockchain. A private beta launched in Q4 of 2022 gave early access to limited users, which processed over 350,000 transactions and onboarded various decentralized applications (DApps). The testnet allowed Solidity developers to build, test and launch …

The decentralized application (DApp) NEAR protocol is releasing a new blockchain operating system, focusing on improving user experience on Web3 through a common layer for browsing and discovering open web resources, the company disclosed at the Web3 and innovation festival ETHDenver 2023. In an interview with Cointelegraph's Turner Wright during the event, NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin spoke on how the ecosystem is moving closer to user's needs and the release of the Blockchain Operating System (BOS). According to the NEAR's team, the system works with any blockchain or Web2 backend, allowing users to have the experience of using a single …

From the massive fall of Bitcoin’s (BTC) price to the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, 2022 was full of upheaval for the blockchain industry. But the blockchain community has always been resilient, finding new ways to develop in the most challenging times. A striking example of optimism and growth is the development of the GameFi industry, which combines gaming, decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse. In 2021, GameFi became a growth leader in the crypto space, with successful projects like Gala Games, Decentraland, The Sandbox and Axie Infinity. The GameFi sector has continued to develop, attracting more …

Trading platform Robinhood has launched its Web3 wallet on Apple’s App Store, becoming available to iOS users in over 130 countries. Robinhood shared the news in a Mar. 1 post, stating that users would no longer need to sit on a waitlist to access the new multi-chain, self-custody wallet. It added that it will be supported on Android “later this year.” #RobinhoodWallet is now available to everyone with iOS: https://t.co/yUdL8jCgJN pic.twitter.com/q7RIWBJUIT — Johann Kerbrat (@JohannKerbrat) March 1, 2023 Since the beta launch of the Robinhood Wallet in September, the trading platform integrated Ethereum — in addition to already supporting Polygon …

The price action of Optimism (OP) and Fantom (FTM) tokens have been quite identical since the last quarter of 2022. The difference is, volatility is slightly higher for OP, which surged 240% year-to-date, compared to the 180% gains seen in FTM. The Fantom Foundation has made several improvements since Q4 2022, which have catalyzed an uptrend in the token’s price. However, Fantom’s ecosystem remains primitive while its competitors expanded to support new use cases. On the other hand, Optimism has shown robust community and decentralized application (dApp) development thanks to the loyalty of Ethereum developers and the Optimism Foundation’s effective …

On Feb 23, crypto exchange Coinbase announced the launch of Base — an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network. The company claimed this new network will offer a low-cost, secure, and developer-friendly environment for building decentralized apps (dApps) on the blockchain. According to Coinbase, Base is designed to be a bridge for users into the crypto economy, offering access to other L1 ecosystems like Solana and making it interoperable with other chains. It will also provide access to Coinbase's products, users, and tools, as well as easy fiat onramps and powerful acquisition tools. The company plans to progressively decentralize the chain …

Play-to-earn blockchain gaming experienced a downturn over the last year as gamers prioritized improving the gameplay experience. However, according to a new report from DappRadar, in the first month of 2023, gamers made up nearly half (48%) of all blockchain activity. January also saw the market caps for top gaming tokens increase by 122% on average, with Gala (GALA), the digital utility token of the Gala Games ecosystem, surging by 218%. According to the report, the rise in interest in these gaming tokens comes as industry buzz hits mainstream audiences. For example, Gala Games made headlines after it acquired a …

Blockchain technology services provider ConsenSys acquired Hal, a no-code blockchain development tooling platform, to disrupt alerts and notifications at the protocol level in Web3. The acquisition will allow ConsenSys’ Web3 API provider Infura to integrate Hal’s configurable webhooks or notification service in its developer stack. As a result, the move will help developers create alerts and notifications at the protocol level for various signals. According to ConsenSys, Infura offers a suite of tools to connect apps, which the developer community can use to connect apps to the Ethereum network and other decentralized platforms. Infura co-founder Eleazar Galano revealed the company …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols experienced a boom in total value locked across different staking pools in January 2023. The market hit $74.6 billion worth of staked assets, increasing by 26% from December. In its latest monthly report, DappRadar outlined the growth of the DeFi sector alongside rejuvenated nonfungible token (NFT) markets that have also had upticks in trading volume and sales. Optimism emerges as the top DeFi performer, seeing a 57.44$ increase in total value locked (TVL) at $808 million. Blockchain Analyst Sara Gherghelas told Cointelegraph that Optimism’s transaction volumes were likely driven by a "learn-to-earn" incentives program that ended …

Solana’s (SOL) recent 250% rally to $25 has shocked many investors in the crypto market. At the same time, traders who had eyes on the negative funding rate for SOL in the futures market could have anticipated the bullish move ahead of others. It’s because excessive negative funding rates, like the one in Solana displayed below, implies that the majority of traders are on the short side, providing an opportunity for buyers to run their stops. Regardless of the reason behind the price increase, if enough buyers are interested in joining the bullish move, it can turn into a medium-to-long-term …

Over the last year, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) continued to play an important role in the growing Web3 industry. NFTs initiated a shift away from hype-based drops, to utility-centric projects with long-term value. A new DappRadar report on blockchain and decentralized application (DApp) adoption in 2022 revealed that the NFT sale count last year reached 101 million. This is a 67.57% increase from the previous year. According to the report, the Ethereum ecosystem holds the top spot in the NFT ecosystem, holding 21% of the market share and over 21.2 million transactions processed. It is followed by Wax (14.5 million), Polygon …

The blockchain gaming industry is experiencing a "massive shift," with the once-popular play-to-earn (P2E) model falling out of favor and focus directed now at improving gameplay experience, a new survey has found. The survey results were included in a newly released annual report from the Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA) on Jan. 12, which was conducted with 347 professionals, representing 252 different projects or companies in the blockchain sector. Most of the respondents were young adult males working for blockchain gaming companies in middle and top management positions, according to BGA. One of the trends gleaned from the report was an …