Tether, one of the largest cryptocurrency-based companies, has announced a formal expansion into AI, looking to develop open-source models and setting standards in this new industry. For this task, Tether is opening a global recruitment for “top-tier talent” to help them establish a new division dedicated to these developments. Tether Turns to AI, Opens Recruitment […]
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Ahead Of V4, dYdX Open-Source Code: Bull Run Incoming?
In what is seen to be a monumental move, dYdX, a layer-2 decentralized exchange (DEX), is open-sourcing its code as the platform prepares to implement v4. The exchange has a total value locked (TVL) of over 3 million, according to DeFiLlama.
dYdX Open-Sourcing Code Ahead Of V4
According to an X post on October 24, dYdX plans to eventually operate on its standalone blockchain on Cosmos, migrating from being a layer-2 exchange reliant on Ethereum for security. The standalone blockchain, dYdX Chain, will be built using the Cosmos software developer kit (SDK) and powered by the Tendermint proof-of-stake consensus algorithm.
In blockchain, projects often open source their code, allowing the public to scrutinize how smart contracts operate. By going public, the protocol is helping to build trust with users and community members, boosting security and increasing decentralization. This is especially important because the DEX handles sensitive financial data to facilitate trustless trading for all users.
Antonio Juliano, the founder of dYdX, has already said the exchange developer, dYdX Trading Inc., is updating its charter to become a Public Benefit Corporation. The exchange developers will work on an open project without benefiting. Though the platform will remain a for-profit company as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), the founder and the board will “not solely act to maximize shareholder value but act in the public benefit.”
Still, the layer-2 protocol has to receive approval from the community through a vote before the project transitions to v4 on Cosmos. Afterward, as stated by Juliano, dYdX will become fully open-source and decentralized, meaning the community will take over how the protocol evolves through a governance vote effected by the dYdX Foundation.
Will New Features Propel The Token To 2023 Highs?
With v4, dYdX will build an off-chain order book and release an equally scalable matching engine that can process more transactions. This way, the development team believes this will “dramatically” enhance the protocol, all without charging trading fees, since it will run on Cosmos, a scalable layer-1 and interoperable blockchain.
Part of these enhancements include making dYdX more efficient in trading. Subsequently, several features, such as batch execution and limit orders, will go live. At the same time, dYdX v4 will support trading new asset classes, such as equities, commodities, and real estate, making the protocol more versatile.
Ahead of this transition, the native token of the exchange is trading at H2 2023 highs, looking at price action. Notably, the token has broken above July to October 2023 resistance levels with increasing volumes. At the same time, looking at the development in the daily chart, bull bars are banding along the upper BB, pointing to strong upward momentum. The region around .25 and .5, marking Q1 2023 highs, could be immediate targets for optimistic bulls.
Stellar Breaks Free: Unleashes New Open-Source Disbursement Platform
Blockchain-based payment network Stellar has introduced the open-source “Stellar Disbursement Platform,” aimed at facilitating faster, cost-effective, and transparent digital disbursements worldwide.
Developed by the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) over the past year, the platform enables individuals and organizations to execute bulk disbursements using digital assets for various purposes, including gig worker payments and digital aid delivery.
Initially deployed for digital aid disbursements in Ukraine, the turnkey payment solution is now open-source and available for use and further development by anyone.
Revolutionizing Global Payments?
According to the announcement made on Wednesday, the Stellar Disbursement Platform allows users to send funds to thousands of recipients swiftly within seconds.
It offers numerous applications, including supplier payments, payroll management, and contractor payments, catering to diverse payment needs.
Furthermore, the platform’s seamless integration with Stellar’s global network of on and off-ramps, covering over 180 countries, provides recipients with the convenience of converting digital currency to cash “easily.”
Denelle Dixon, CEO of the Stellar Foundation, expressed enthusiasm for the open-source release of the Stellar Disbursement Platform. She highlighted its success in facilitating digital aid disbursements in Ukraine and its subsequent evolution into a comprehensive payment solution.
Dixon emphasized the platform’s potential to empower gig workers, global payroll systems, and creators, fostering a more inclusive and accessible financial future.
Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle, also acknowledged the impact of the Stellar Disbursement Platform on humanitarian aid disbursements. He praised the platform’s effectiveness in utilizing the USD Coin (USDC) and highlighted its potential to advance global disbursement practices.
The open-source nature of the Stellar Disbursement Platform reflects a commitment to collaboration within the blockchain community. By sharing this tool with the world, Stellar aims to create a more accessible and transparent financial future, benefiting gig workers, global payroll systems, and creators.
Overall, Stellar’s launch of the open-source Stellar Disbursement Platform marks a significant step towards enabling faster, cost-effective, and transparent digital disbursements worldwide. The platform enables individuals and organizations to streamline their payment processes with its wide range of applications and integration with Stellar’s network.
Stellar Secures Minority Stake In MoneyGram
On Tuesday, the Stellar Development Foundation announced its recent participation in the go-private transaction with Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP), solidifying its position as a minority investor in MoneyGram, providing cross-border P2P (person-to-person) payments and money transfer services.
As part of this investment, SDF has secured a seat on MoneyGram’s Board of Directors, granting the foundation an opportunity to contribute to MoneyGram’s future and digital strategy actively.
Per the announcement, joining a group of leaders from the payments, financial services, and technology sectors, SDF’s presence on the board will leverage its collective expertise to fortify and guide MoneyGram’s digital transformation.
Furthermore, the investment positions SDF to play a vital role in various aspects of MoneyGram’s journey, including the expansion of its digital business, exploration of blockchain technology, and support for the company’s overarching mission of facilitating secure and efficient global money movement for individuals and businesses across multiple countries.
SDF CEO Denelle Dixon expressed confidence in the growth and opportunities arising from this partnership. By fostering solid collaborations with organizations in the payments sector, SDF moves closer to its mission of creating “equitable” access to financial services.
This announcement signifies a mutually beneficial arrangement where SDF’s involvement will contribute to MoneyGram’s digital advancement while aligning with SDF’s vision of facilitating inclusive financial access.
Despite recent protocol announcements and developments, the native token of the Stellar protocol, XLM, has consistently declined over the past two weeks. Currently, the coin is trading at .1262, reflecting a 2.4% decrease in value over the past 24 hours and a 13.8% decline within the fourteen-day timeframe.
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com
Satoshi’s Last Emails: ‘Make It About the Open-Source Project,’ Economist Predicts ‘Catastrophic’ Fall in US Living Standard, FRC Shares Plummet, and More — Week in Review
Another week has passed in the world of crypto and finance, with the anniversary of Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s last known emails, predictions of massive declines in Americans’ standard of living, and important developments at the struggling First Republic Bank. All this and more just below, in the latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review.
The Elusive Satoshi Nakamoto: Last Emails Reveal Bitcoin Creator’s Thoughts Before Disappearing Over a Decade Ago
Twelve years ago, on this very day of April 23, 2011, a cryptic individual, known only as Satoshi Nakamoto, penned one of the final correspondences to software developer Mike Hearn. The elusive mastermind behind Bitcoin conveyed in the message that he, she, or they had “moved on to other things” and confidently asserted that the project was entrusted in “good hands.”
Economist Warns of ‘Catastrophic’ Fall in American Living Standard — Elon Musk Weighs in on De-Dollarization, US Dollar Weaponization
Economist Peter St Onge has warned that U.S. dollar weaponization will lead to “soaring inflation, a catastrophic fallen American standard of living, and a U.S. that falls off the world stage.” Commenting on the economist’s warnings, Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk weighed in on de-dollarization.
US Banking Industry Still Struggling as First Republic Bank Shares Plummet by Over 30%
In the midst of a tumultuous week, First Republic Bank is struggling to regain its footing in the financial world. Reports have surfaced that the bank is poised to enter government receivership due to a massive outflow of 0 billion in customer withdrawals last month. This has prompted investors to flee the bank, causing its shares to dive-bomb by over 50% on Tuesday.
Gold Bug Peter Schiff Warns ‘Death Blow’ Coming for US Dollar — USD to Lose Reserve Currency Status
Economist Peter Schiff has warned that a death blow is coming for the U.S. dollar and the USD will lose its global reserve currency status in this financial crisis. “People are still reluctant to call it a financial crisis, but that’s exactly what it is, except it’s bigger in scale and it’s going to be far more impactful than the 2008 crisis,” Schiff stressed.
What are your thoughts on this week’s hottest stories from Bitcoin.com News? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.
DIA’s Open-Source Oracles Live on Evmos Mainnet
The open-source oracle platform for Web3, DIA announced today its entry into the newly launched Evmos ecosystem by making its data infrastructure available on its mainnet network. This new integration will be crucial to protocols operating on Evmos to develop DeFi use cases such as stablecoins, lending and borrowing, DEXs and more.
With its Mainnet live since April 26, Evmos is an application-agnostic chain built with the Cosmos network, interoperable with Ethereum environments thanks to its Ethereum Virtual Machine compatibility. This allows developers to access all Ethereum tools and features while still benefiting from the network’s Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. As Evmos is built on top of the Cosmos SDK, it can also interact and exchange value with the rest of the Cosmos Ecosystem.
It is well known the importance and necessity of blockchain oracles to fuel DeFi applications.
Oracles, as bridges between off-chain and on-chain systems, are the third-party software in charge of feeding smart contracts with real-time data to execute their underlying transactions. Through this integration, DIA is enabling developers on Evmos to have access to data feeds for 6.000+ cryptocurrency assets to build dApps.
To provide such a large data offering, unlike other Web3 oracle providers, DIA sources data directly from CEXs and DEXs at a very granular level. This enables DIA to create oracles for any asset that is available on centralised and decentralised markets. Additionally, this multi-source and granular approach allows DIA to create very robust and resilient oracles while providing full transparency.
Evmos is the latest blockchain network that DIA has integrated with and joins a list of 20+ blockchains DIA is available on, including Fantom, Arbitrum, Solana, Polkadot, Metis and NEAR, among others.
Lightning Speed: Open-Source Bitcoin Banks’ Fee Structures For Inbound Liquidity
In the Lightning Network, inbound liquidity is a precious resource. The Galoy Research team detected an irregularity, and, trying to fix it stumbled into a whole business model. Their elegant solution transforms a problem into dollars, which is remarkable. This case reads like a detective novel. Let’s dive in.
Related Reading | Lightning Speed: Podcasting 2.0 And Its Relationship With The Lightning Network
Liquidity Leechers And Inbound Liquidity
In the article “Galoy Research: Self-Balancing Fee Structures for Inbound Liquidity,” the company describes the problem to then lay on us the solution. Galoy are the creators of the Bitcoin Beach Wallet that Bitcoinist described here. The irregularity that the team detected was this one:
“Galoy CEO Nicolas Burtey noticed that the onchain hot wallet was being depleted by a subset of users. These users consistently sent offchain bitcoin to the Bitcoin Beach Wallet only to withdraw it again onchain.”
The company had to “use submarine swaps to replenish our onchain wallet and regain some inbound liquidity.” The thing is, “inbound liquidity is a valuable resource on the Lightning Network. The “liquidity leechers” were using Bitcoin Beach Wallet as a less expensive alternative to a service like Loop from Lightning Labs.”
How Does Loop Manage Outbound And Inbound Liquidity?
The service’s official website describes Loops as “the easiest way to manage inbound and outbound liquidity on the Lightning Network”. The service has two sides. On the one hand, “Loop In enables typical users to “refill” their Lightning wallets when funds are depleted”. On the other, Loop Out is for:
“Merchants, services, and users who primarily receive funds via Lightning, Loop Out serves as a bridge, allowing funds to be sent out of the Lightning Network to “on-chain” destinations like exchange accounts or cold storage systems.”
Instead of trying to catch the people who were “using Bitcoin Beach Wallet as a less expensive alternative to a service like Loop,” Galoy developed a product for them.
BTC price chart for 03/16/2022 on Binance | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com
A Dynamic Fee
Back to the article, the adventure begins. “Nicolas and Galoy data scientist José Rojas Echenique set out to diagnose the issue and try to find an appropriate solution”. The duo “first looked at historical data to get a better sense of the problem”. Surprisingly, they found out that “the price of inbound liquidity is roughly similar, no matter how you get it.”
Here’s where the product appears:
“They then looked for a solution that would charge this roughly similar market rate across the full range of use cases – including those using Bitcoin Beach Wallet as a loop out service. The result is a dynamic fee structure (as described in the report) that charges each user a fair amount based on how they are using the service.”
Instead of excluding “those using Bitcoin Beach Wallet as a loop out service,” the company included them. They put a price tag on the service and kept it pushing. How does the actual report describe this “dynamic fee structure”?
“From the perspective of user experience, this approach trades high fees for simplicity. It does not account for the balancing effects of a user’s previous or future transactions, and therefore over-charges users.”
“A smoother dynamic fee formula would take into account a user’s previous transactions, and charge users less if their current transaction balanced their previous transactions.”
Continues Business Operations As Usual
From a problem to a product in three easy steps. Back to the article, Galoy states their approach’s value proposition:
“By solving the issue with fees, Bitcoin banks and other Lightning services can continue business operations as usual vs. attempting to detect and regulate actors who use their liquidity for looping.”
Related Reading | Lightning Speed: What’s The Lightning Development Initiative?
And, to close it off, the company summarizes the product’s advantages. “The result? An automated solution for Bitcoin banks, a good user experience for end users, and the right fees for all.”
Featured Image by Jason Dent on Unsplash | Charts by TradingView
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CF Benchmarks and Open-Source Oracle Platform DIA Make Crypto Indexes Available On-Chain
DIA, the open source data platform for decentralised finance and the UK FCA-regulated crypto index provider CF Benchmarks announced today that they will make CF Benchmarks’ crypto index reference prices available via the DIA oracle suite.
With a total settlement volume of more than 0bn since its inception in 2017, UK-based CF Benchmarks Ltd is the world’s leading crypto index provider. Acquired in 2019 by the global digital asset exchange Kraken, CF Benchmarks provides reference rates that are tracked by ETFs and ETPs listed on exchanges around the globe, including Canada, Brazil, Switzerland and Germany. CF Benchmarks is best known for its CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate, a price benchmark used by the CME Group to settle Bitcoin futures and options.
Access to Compliant ETH and SOL prices
In this new move, DIA will include CF Benchmarks’ reference prices as feeds in its data offering. As a start, reference prices for native tokens of the Layer 1 blockchains Ethereum and Solana will be provided as oracles. Oracles are smart-contract-readable data streams that enable applications running on the blockchain to ingest and read data from outside their own ecosystems.
ETH and SOL reference prices will be provided to both Ethereum-native and Solana-native developers. The availability of institutional-grade reference prices from a benchmark regulation compliant and Big 4 audited provider will enable secure development of new financial products and services underpinned by resilient and robust methodologies.
Bridging Traditional and Digital Asset Markets
Notwithstanding its nascency and volatility relative to more developed traditional asset markets, the digital asset ecosystem has shown staggering growth and attracted significant interest from retail and institutional investors alike. With an estimated market capitalisation of trillion, the digital asset market falls far behind its legacy counterpart. Products like the reference prices provided by CF Benchmarks are a crucial building block for enabling safe institutional access and fostering regulated rails to this new asset class.
“The emergence of decentralised finance poses a challenge and opportunity for investors and regulators alike”, said Michael Weber, DIA’s Founder. “Teams like CF Benchmarks are at the forefront of creating a safe and secure environment for investors to allocate their capital. This is crucial for the development and the maturing of the ecosystem and we are excited to be a part of that journey.”
“CF Benchmarks is continually looking for ways to improve the availability of robust, reliable cryptocurrency pricing data, for users of digital asset ecosystems, as well as institutional and individual investors”, said CF Benchmarks CEO Sui Chung. “That is why we are proud to partner with DIA, one of the most comprehensive and fastest-growing oracle platforms, with a user base deeply embedded in the blockchain development community. We are confident that this partnership will be a significant step towards enabling the high-integrity pricing that will be critical for mass adoption of DeFi, Web3 and beyond.”
About DIA
DIA (Decentralised Information Asset) is a cross-chain, end-to-end, open-source data and oracle platform for Web3. The DIA platform enables the sourcing, validation and sharing of transparent and verified data feeds for traditional and digital financial applications. DIA’s institutional grade data feeds cover asset prices, metaverse data, lending rates and more. DIA’s data is sourced from a broad array of on-chain and off-chain sources and can be fully customised with regards to the mix of sources and methodologies. DIA’s oracles are available to developers on all relevant layer 1 and layer 2 networks including Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, xDaiChain, Avalanche, and many more.
About CF Benchmarks
CF Benchmarks is the leading provider of cryptocurrency benchmark indices, authorised and regulated by the UK FCA under the UK Benchmarks Regulation. Its benchmark indices are provided through public methodologies and transparent governance; for tracking, valuing and settling risk in cryptocurrency financial services and products. CF Benchmarks’ indices have been used to settle over 0bn of cryptocurrency derivative contracts, including those listed for trading by CME Group and Kraken Futures, as well as serving as the reference index for ETFs and ETPs listed in Canada, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Brazil. CF Benchmarks is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kraken.
Open-Source Oracle DIA announces Integration with Fantom’s Opera Mainnet
The open-source oracle platform for decentralised finance DIA announced today its entry into the Fantom ecosystem by making its data provision available on Fantom’s Opera Mainnet. This new integration will enable teams operating on Fantom to develop use cases such as stablecoins, stakings rewards, lending and borrowing, DEXs and many more.
Fantom is a fast, scalable, and secure layer-1 blockchain platform, built with Fantom’s aBFT consensus protocol. The Fantom Network is compatible with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to deploy and run Ethereum dApps on Fantom. On Fantom, transactions are confirmed in around a 1 second and cost on average one cent.
With a total value locked of almost billion, the Fantom ecosystem is continuously growing with many DeFi protocols already operating in the chain. Some of the best-heard dApps include AnySwap, SushiSwap, Yearn Finance, Abracadabra, Beefy Finance and many more.
Blockchain applications, regardless of the native network, require accurate and real-time data from the outside world to execute their underlying transactions. Through this latest integration with Fantom’s Opera Mainnet, DIA is enabling smart contracts on the network to have access to +6.000 cryptocurrency and +20.000 traditional financial asset feeds.
To source such a broad range of data feeds, DIA’s community of developers scrape data directly from on-chain sources or CEX APIs at individual trade level. Any data feed that is publicly accessible can be sourced, regardless of whether it is listed on exchanges and what its trading volume is.
As many Fantom projects operate their assets solely on the Fantom blockchain and are traded only on Fantom DEXs, DIA is specifically sourcing data feeds of Fantom Network native assets. To do so, DIA scrapes information directly from Fantom native markets such as SpookySwap.
Fantom is the latest blockchain network that DIA has aggregated to its cross-chain oracle offering. In fact, in the last weeks, DIA has been announcing new integrations with many relevant DeFi ecosystems including Solana, Celo, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Moonriver, Near, among others.
DApps on NEAR Protocol Can Natively Access DIA’s Open-Source Oracles
DIA Association has announced the integration of its oracle infrastructure with the layer 1 distributed ledger NEAR Protocol. This deployment is set to enable the development of new decentralized applications with easy access to accurate and transparent data provided by DIA.
The NEAR Protocol, live on mainnet since April 2020, is a blockchain network created and developed by the NEAR Foundation, using a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. The NEAR ecosystem encompasses several verticals including DeFi, with dApps like Maker, Utility/Infrastructure, with tools like The Graph or games such as Near Lands. The NEAR protocol is also home to NFTs, enabling users to create, mint and sell non-fungible tokens through its engine Mintbase.
The blockchain ecosystem has seen a number of new efficiency-driven chains surface, aiming to solve the scalability issue that ledgers like Ethereum are showing due to the increasing block sizes and the number of daily transactions. In the last weeks, DIA has announced the integrations of its data provision with many of these new networks, including chains like Moonriver, Arbitrum, Celo, Shiden and many others.
DIA has a unique approach to data sourcing compared to other oracle suppliers. The open-source oracle platform collects data at the individual trade level directly from centralized exchange APIs and on-chain from decentralized exchanges, whereas other oracle platforms aggregate a range of premium data suppliers. This allows DIA to make the sources of data fully transparent and customizable to specific use cases. It also enables the flexibility to source data for any asset, regardless of its trading volume or coverage by premium data providers.
BTCPay Server Is Bitcoins Open-Source Unicorn
Inside one of Bitcoins most inspiring projectsnThe post BTCPay Server Is Bitcoins Open-Source Unicorn appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.n
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