Behind every phenomenal blockchain protocol stands one concept smart contracts. These are the backbone of blockchain systems, allowing users to carry out transactions once specific requirements are met. As these conditions can be set up at will, smart contracts facilitate automatic transactions between two parties.

Although smart contracts are now mostly associated with blockchain systems, they actually date back to 1994, far beyond the foundation of the first blockchain ecosystem, Bitcoin. In 1994, Nick Szabo proposed the concept of smart contracts, defining them as transaction protocols that execute the specific terms outlined in the contract.

Since then, smart contracts have spread across many industries. With the success that theyve brought to blockchain systems, many are now proposing alternative uses in distinct industries. For example, smart contracts are now seen in industries like supply chain management, the music industry, and even voting in elections.

In this article, well examine smart contracts, demonstrating why theyre such a useful tool for businesses and how companies like Metatime are pushing their utility even further than what was once thought possible. Lets dive right into it.

At their core, smart contracts are simply an agreement between parties. If one party delivers a good, the other then releases the payment. By automating this process, both parties are able to put their trust in the system, as the autonomous connection will only occur if both hold up their end of the deal.

Beyond their central concept, smart contracts have become so popular due to three core reasons:

Smart contracts have been incredibly effective within the world of blockchain, having constructed a multi-billion dollar financial industry due to how efficient, accurate, and useful they are.

Yet, blockchain is far from the only industry that were seeing an uptake in smart contract usage in.

While smart contracts have primarily found their footing in the world of blockchain, this is far from the only industry where they can be put to use. Especially after the monumental success of the blockchain industry, which is largely underpinned by financial movements facilitated by smart contracts, other industries are now turning to this space.

Industries across the globe are looking at smart contracts as a way of revolutionizing how payment takes place. 68% of workers across America are impacted by wage theft, when a small part of their paycheck is skimmed away from them. If smart contracts were used, workers that put in their hours would be rewarded directly with what they were owed, removing the ability for middle management to enact wage theft.

This is also seen within any exchange deal, such as property, mortgages, retail, or general finance. By ensuring that parties must complete their end of the smart contract for a payment or product to be released, this would revolutionize how peer-to-peer payments are run. As weve already seen in blockchain, this technology is wildly useful, and could be put to use in any industry that deals with finances, trading, or exchanges.

Another exciting use of smart contracts would be due to their immutable nature. Within voting elections, the ability to have a ledger-protected record of how each person voted would create a definite history of a voting event. Instead of counting votes in person, this could bring the modern voting system into the digital age, vastly boosting voter turnout and protecting democracy against voter fraud.

One blockchain company, Metatime, is attempting to push the utility of smart contracts, expanding their utility to encompass entire industries. This would take peer-to-peer transactions to a whole new level, radically boosting the potential of where smart contracts could be used. Their strategy would allow contracts to be created between entire communities, not just 1-1.

Metatime is currently in its first phase of private funding, having launched its private token sale on the third of march. Although described as a private event, Metatime is committed to building up its community, opening their event out to absolutely anyone that wants a part of the Web 3 of tomorrow that theyre building.

Smart contracts have astounding utility, and with the additional capabilities that Metatime intends to install, the possibilities could truly be endless for this exciting technology.

Smart contracts are an incredibly powerful technology that have now been around for nearly three decades. Over this time, their central utility has expanded greatly, now being a core part of some of the worlds largest industries. That said, the core offering of what smart contracts can do for businesses and platforms hasnt changed radically over this time.

Companies like Metatime are proposing more advanced blockchain-based smart contract functionality. Their vision, combined with the increased demand across various industries, could turn into a new center force for the production and distribution of smart contracts. Even despite these advanced, the central utility and functionality of smart contracts will be around long into the future.

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The Future of the Smart Contract Industry - ZyCrypto

Welcome to the exciting world of crypto! If youre interested in the cryptocurrency space, then youve probably heard of Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain network after Bitcoin. Ethereum is a platform that enables developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts using its programming language Solidity.

One of the most important features of Ethereum is its ability to support custom tokens, which are assets that represent value or utility and can be used in various ways within dApps and smart contracts. ERC-20 is the most common token standard used on the Ethereum blockchain, and it has completely revolutionized the way we think about digital assets. Lets explore everything about ERC-20 tokens.

ERC-20 is a token standard on the Ethereum blockchain that defines the basic functionality of a token. At its core, ERC-20 is a set of six functions that a token smart contract must implement in order to comply with the standard. These functions include:

Implementing these functions will make ERC-20 tokens easily integrated into dApps and smart contracts, making them versatile and useful. For example, a dApp could use an ERC-20 token as a reward for completing certain tasks or as a means of payment for goods and services.

ERC-20 tokens are also fungible, meaning that each token is interchangeable with another token of the same type and value. This makes it easy to trade and exchange on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Now that weve covered what ERC-20 is and its basic functions, lets inspect how ERC-20 tokens work and their technical implementation, especially now that Ethereum has transitioned Proof-of-Stake (PoS).

A developer programs an ERC-20 token as a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain. A smart contract is a self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement between buyer and seller being directly written into lines of code. Smart contracts enable trusted transactions and agreements to be carried out automatically with no intermediaries, which makes them a key feature of the Ethereum blockchain.

When a developer creates an ERC-20 token, they create a smart contract that follows the ERC-20 standard. They deploy this smart contract on the Ethereum network, and users can interact with it using their Ethereum wallet.

One of the key features of ERC-20 tokens is their fungibility. Because all ERC-20 tokens follow the same standard, users can easily exchange and trade them with each other.

To create an ERC-20 token, a developer must first write the code for the tokens smart contract.

This code includes the six functions required by the ERC-20 standard, as well as any additional features or functionality that the developer wants to include.

The developer launches the smart contract on an Ethereum testnet, such as Sepolia, after writing the code. This process requires paying a fee in Ether, which is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain. The developer pays a gas fee to the nodes on the Ethereum network that process the transaction.

Now that Ethereum has transitioned to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), deploying and interacting with ERC-20 tokens has become more efficient and cost-effective. The random selection process for validators, based on the amount of Ether they hold and have staked as collateral, eliminates the need for miners to solve complex mathematical problems in the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. This means that the network can process transactions more quickly and with lower fees.

One challenge of ERC-20 tokens is their scalability. Because each transaction on the Ethereum network requires paying a gas fee, high network traffic can cause fees to explode, making it expensive to transfer tokens. To address this challenge, Ethereum is continuously improving its infrastructure and exploring new solutions, such as layer-2 scaling and sharding.

Now that weve explored how ERC-20 tokens work and their technical implementation, lets inspect why ERC-20 tokens are important and their impact on the broader blockchain industry.

ERC-20 tokens are important because they enable the creation and growth of decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. dApps and DeFi platforms leverage the capabilities of blockchain technology to create new types of financial services that are decentralized, transparent, and accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

ERC-20 tokens are a key component of these platforms, as they enable developers to create custom assets that can be used within dApps and smart contracts. For example, an ERC-20 token could be used as a reward for completing certain tasks within a dApp, or as a means of payment for goods and services within a DeFi platform.

ERC-20 tokens also enable new forms of fundraising, such as token generation event, where a project can raise funds by selling its tokens to investors. This has led to a proliferation of new projects and startups, some of which have become very successful.

Another important aspect of ERC-20 tokens is their fungibility, because they are identical in terms of their specifications and properties, and they can be exchanged for one another without any loss of value or functionality. For example, one DAI token is interchangeable with any other DAI token, regardless of who owns it or how it was acquired.

This fungibility is achieved through the ERC-20 standard, which defines a set of rules and functions for creating and issuing tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. These rules ensure that all tokens created using the standard have the same properties and functionality, allowing them to be exchanged for one another on a one-to-one basis.

The fungibility of ERC-20 tokens is important because it enables them to be used as a medium of exchange, store of value, or unit of account. For example, a business can use ERC-20 tokens to pay suppliers or employees, or an individual can use them to purchase goods or services from a merchant. In each case, the fungibility of the tokens ensures that they can be exchanged without any loss of value or functionality.

ERC-20 tokens have had a significant impact on the blockchain industry and are poised to continue playing a key role in the future of decentralized finance and applications. As blockchain platforms continue to evolve and innovate, we can expect to see even more exciting developments in the world of ERC-20 tokens.

While ERC-20 tokens have enabled a wide range of exciting new possibilities for innovation and decentralized finance, there are still some challenges and limitations that must be considered.

One of the biggest challenges of ERC-20 tokens is scalability. As the popularity of the Ethereum network has grown, so has the number of transactions and smart contracts that are executed on the network. This can result in congestion and higher fees, which can make it difficult for some users to interact with ERC-20 tokens in a cost-effective manner.

Another challenge of ERC-20 tokens is security. Smart contracts are vulnerable to a wide range of security risks, such as coding errors or vulnerabilities. These risks can be exacerbated in the case of ERC-20 tokens, where millions of dollars worth of value may be at stake.

To help mitigate these risks, the Ethereum community has developed a number of best practices and standards for smart contract development. Additionally, tools such as formal verification and auditing can be used to identify and address potential security vulnerabilities before they become a problem.

ERC-20 tokens are also subject to regulatory challenges. While blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries, its decentralized nature can make it difficult for regulators to monitor and control. As a result, governments around the world are grappling with how to regulate the use of blockchain technology, including ERC-20 tokens.

ERC-20 tokens have revolutionized the blockchain industry by enabling the creation of custom assets that can be used within decentralized applications and smart contracts. Their interoperability, ease of creation, and versatility have led to a proliferation of new projects and startups, many of which have become very successful. ERC-20 tokens are likely to remain an important and influential part of the blockchain landscape. They will continue to enable exciting new possibilities for decentralized finance and applications, and will play a key role in driving innovation and growth in this rapidly-changing field.

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How Can ERC-20 Tokens Enable Smart Contracts on the Ethereum ... - Cryptopolitan

As states slowly embrace decentralized autonomous organizations as a new method of corporate governance and reckon with the potential impacts of blockchain technology, a handful are on a path to legally recognizing DAOs.

The Utah State Legislature passed a bill earlier this month to provide DAOs with legal recognition and limited liability, calling them Utah LLDs, similar to limited liability companies (LLCs), which is how private companies are traditionally structured in the United States. The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Spencer Cox for his signature or veto.

Favored by fans of cryptocurrency, DAOs do not have a central authority like traditional businesses, which are typically governed by a board of directors and C-level executives who are responsible for decisions. Instead, power is distributed to individual members of the DAOwho own digital tokens to be participants and who make decisions and cast votes as a collective. DAOs have been hailed as a more bottom-up, democratic method of corporate governance.

All votes and activity of a DAO are posted on a blockchain and so are publicly viewable. DAOs have been formed to streamline cryptocurrency transactions, but they can also facilitate smart contracts and other decentralized business decisions.

Utah would be one of a small minority of states so far to recognize DAOs as legal entities. Vermont was the first to do so in 2018, when lawmakers created a specialized entity known as a blockchain-based limited liability company. Then Wyoming and Tennessee followed suit with regulations of their own to accommodate DAOs in business law.

Meanwhile, New Hampshires Commission on Cryptocurrencies and Digital Assets recommended in its own report this year that the state offer limited liability protections to DAOs.

The embrace of DAOs from Utah lawmakers comes as states look at the possibilities of blockchain and how to attract businesses that take advantage of the technology.

State governments are still in the early educational stages of learning about blockchain, said Miles Fuller, head of government solutions at tax compliance software company TaxBit. You have some people, particularly state legislatures, that see this as the wave of the future, a technological infrastructure that can be very beneficial to society.

Fuller added that states are less concerned about blockchains use for cryptocurrency and more about how the technology can become the backbone for better transparency and less friction in transactions between people and at the state level.

Other states interested in blockchains potential are also exploring the potential of DAOs. In its report on the technology last year, the Texas Work Group on Blockchain Matters called on the state legislature to avoid crafting entity-specific laws for DAOs, so as to recognize the significant flexibility of DAOs and not reduce the entity options available to them.

In an interview at the time, Carla Reyes, the work groups chair, said DAOs could flatten the governance structure and make production more profitable for the people involved. For example, it could help incentivize artists, who traditionally have had low returns on their investment, she said.

A Wyoming DAO known as American CryptoFed, the first to be legally recognized in the state and the nation, hit an obstacle earlier this year when it became the subject of an enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission after it tried to register its two tokens. Company officials reportedly said they are not concerned about the SECs action.

Interestingly, Wyoming was the first state to enact a law creating LLCs, when it did so in 1977 based on plans designed by the Hamilton Brothers Oil Company. LLCs were slow to catch on nationwide due to questions from the IRS over how they would be treated in federal tax law. By 1996, every state had its own LLC law.

Fuller said the growth of DAOs at the state level is moving faster than the expansion of LLCs did, partly because the blockchain technology that underpins DAOs is a shiny object that legislators believe could have powerful value. He also noted that lawmakers may see DAOs structure as aligning with the evolving cultural values for our citizenry that they want more engagement directly with management and more transparent corporate decision-making.

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States recognizing DAOs as they embrace blockchain - GCN.com

As the countdown to the Arbitrum (ARB) token airdrop continues, crypto enthusiasts on Twitter are abuzz with speculation about its listing price. While the community is busy forecasting the price trajectory and benchmarking against other Layer-2s on Ethereum (ETH), several major crypto platforms have proudly announced their plans to list ARB.

With the airdrop just around the corner, investors and traders are eagerly anticipating the listing of the new ARB token on various crypto platforms. This article provides an in-depth look at the confirmed listing venues where enthusiasts can acquire ARB tokens after the March 23 airdrop, exploring what each platform has to offer.

Following the official announcement of the Arbitrum token airdrop on March 16, Huobi and MEXC wasted no time in revealing their plans to list ARB, and were the first to announce their listing on March 17.

Both platforms have confirmed that ARB will be listed for trading on March 23 the same day as the airdrop. The token will be traded in pairs with USDT, and on Huobi, it will also be possible to trade against USDD.

Coinbases upcoming list of ARB tokens is highly anticipated and appreciated by U.S.-based traders and investors. As one of the leading trusted exchanges in the United States, the listing of ARB could spark a big uptick in the nations crypto market.

As more platforms began to announce their listings of the ARB token, the anticipation around Binance potentially listing the token intensified, leading to increased speculation within the crypto community. To no ones surprise, Binance announced on March 20 that it would be listing the ARB token, further fueling the hype around this highly sought-after governance token.

With Binance being one of the largest global exchanges, its listing of ARB is expected to bring increased liquidity and exposure to the token, potentially propelling its value to new heights. Binance is scheduled to list the token on March 23 with listing pairs against both BTC and USDT.

In the wake of these major announcements, XGo.com is the latest venue to confirm the addition of ARB to its list of supported assets. The token will go live on the XGo platform on March 23 with listing pairs against USDT.

In addition to this announcement from XGo, several other platforms have confirmed its listing over the last few days. Other exchanges that have done so include OKX, Bybit and many more.

The growing anticipation surrounding the ARB token launch signals the crypto communitys eagerness to embrace innovative solutions within the Ethereum ecosystem. As various platforms confirm their support for ARB, investors and traders can expect a diverse range of options to acquire the token post-airdrop. The future is bright for the Arbitrum ecosystem, and the unfolding Layer-2 wars promise to bring about exciting developments in the world of blockchain technology.

Arbitrum is a highly-anticipated Layer-2 scaling solution built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, designed to improve the networks overall scalability, speed and efficiency. Developed by Offchain Labs, Arbitrum employs a unique combination of Optimistic Rollups and secure smart contracts to enable faster and cheaper transactions while maintaining the security and decentralization inherent in the Ethereum network. By leveraging these innovative technologies, Arbitrum aims to alleviate the congestion and high transaction fees that have long plagued Ethereum, thus making decentralized applications (DApps) more accessible and practical for everyday use.

One of the main reasons Arbitrum is gaining significant attention in the crypto space is its potential to revolutionize the way developers build and deploy DApps on the Ethereum network. With its enhanced scalability, Arbitrum allows for more complex and sophisticated smart contracts that can power a wide range of applications, from decentralized finance platforms to NFT marketplaces. Moreover, Arbitrums compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine ensures that developers can seamlessly migrate their existing DApps and smart contracts to the platform without having to learn new programming languages or rewrite their code.

Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you with all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor can this article be considered as investment advice.

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Which venues will list the upcoming ARB token dropping on March 23? - Cointelegraph

What Does SingularityNET Mean?

SingularityNET is a decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) marketplace that leverages the power of blockchain technology to provide unrestricted access to algorithms and applications. The main goal of SingularityNET is to create Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) with far-reaching capabilities.

The SingularityNET platform was co-founded by Dr Ben Goertzel and Dr David Hanson in 2017. Hanson is also the founder and CEO of Hanson Robotics, which is best known for developing Sophia a humanoid robot that first introduced the world to the power of AI.

Since SingularityNET is hosted on the Ethereum and Cardano blockchains, developers can publish their creations to be used by anyone, whether that be other individuals or commercial enterprises. The native token of SingularityNET is AGIX, which is used to pay for transactions within the platform.

SingularityNET was one of the first companies to merge the worlds of artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrency. By harnessing the power of the blockchain, SingularityNET seeks to democratize AI and provide a collaborative environment where developers can learn from each other and build better systems.

Over 70 useful AI services are already available on the SingularityNET marketplace, created by developers worldwide. These services include multilingual speech translators, real-time voice cloning, speech command recognition, neural image generation, and more.

SingularityNETs user-friendly interface makes these services accessible to everyone, regardless of their knowledge of the space. Most services also have a demo functionality, meaning users can test its features before purchasing the complete system.

One of SingularityNETs key features is that it employs the help of smart contracts to provide a fair environment for all stakeholders. These smart contracts are mainly involved in the exchange process when a user (or users) wants to gain access to a developers creation.

Since smart contracts are self-executing, developers can set them up so that users can only access the AI system if they follow specific guidelines. For example, the system may only be able to be used for a certain amount of time or for particular tasks.

The use of smart contracts within the SingularityNET platform is one of the key reasons for its success. Developers can focus on the areas they excel in (e.g. building and iterating systems) without having to deal with the other requirements involved in the exchange process.

These smart contracts also tie into SingularityNETs decentralized nature. Since theres no intermediary between developers and users, no one entity can control or take away access. Moreover, the developer sets the price for access to their creation this price is automatically enforced by smart contracts.

AGIX is SingularityNETs native utility token and has various use cases within the platform. These include:

The primary use case for AGIX is allowing SingularityNETs users to pay for AI services and products on the marketplace. Since AGIX is an ERC-20 token, developers can use their accrued funds on other Ethereum-based decentralized applications (dApps) or even exchange these funds into FIAT for use in the real world.

Although initially reserved for one blockchain, AGIX now has multi-chain compatibility. This means token holders can use it for transactions on various blockchains, including Cardano, Polygon, and Binance Smart Chain.

By creating a frictionless platform for developers and users to come together, SingularityNET aims to create a mutually-beneficial environment that will speed up the growth of AI. SingularityNETs ultimate goal is to create an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) system that isnt confined to one set task.

AGI systems function like a human. This means they can perform a wide array of tasks and even adapt to new tasks. Moreover, AGI systems have inherent learning capabilities, which means they can improve themselves without human input.

Many experts believe creating a comprehensive AGI system is still years (if not decades) away, given the technological and moral challenges involved. However, SingularityNET hopes to overcome these challenges through the holistic learning environment offered by its platform.

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What is SingularityNET? Definition from Techopedia - Techopedia

The Ethereum blockchain remains the dominant operating system for decentralized finance, or DeFi, because few alternatives existed until recently, Bank of America said in a research report Tuesday.

The bank, however, said it expects Ethereum adoption and usage to decelerate if the blockchain is not able to increase its "throughput," adding that application developers will probably choose other networks to build on. In crypto, throughput refers to the number of transactions a blockchain can complete per second.

We view Ethereums long-term viability as dependent on its ability to fulfill the vision laid out in its road map, which includes implementing sharding architecture to expand its throughput capacity significantly, analysts Alkesh Shah and Andrew Moss wrote.

Bank of America noted that Ethereums smart contract-enabled platform gave it a first-mover advantage as app developers gravitated to the platform, which led to network effects as the number of decentralized apps (dapps) and users grew.

That early success, however, was a double-edged sword as the large number of transactions resulted in network congestion and surging transaction fees, the note said.

A dapp is an application that uses blockchain technology to keep users' data out of the hands of the organizations behind it. Smart contracts are computerized blockchain protocols that execute terms of a contract.

As in prior tech cycles (PCs, software, internet), new projects are likely to emerge and poorly positioned projects will exit, the note added.

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Ethereum Usage Will Drop If the Blockchain Doesnt Boost Speed: Bank of America - CoinDesk

PwC to Become a Technology Integration & Development Partner with Chainlink Labs

SAN FRANCISCO, March 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chainlink Labs, a developer of Chainlink, the industry-leading Web3 services platform today announced that it has entered into a strategic joint business relationship with PwC Germanyto help accelerate enterprise blockchain adoption.

The fastest-growing network of enterprise oracle nodes - Chainlink offers the most time-tested oracle infrastructure for helping enterprise systems securely access the rapidly growing blockchain economy.

In this collaboration, Chainlink Labs will help empower companies working with PwC Germany that want to interface with the blockchain economy but lack the expertise to develop smart contracts and operate node infrastructure. PwC adds its strong technical expertise and regulatory understanding as a lever to help customers to develop compliant and secure smart contracts and operate infrastructure. Supported by the expertise of both organizations, enterprises will be assisted in developing bespoke blockchain solutions that harness the power of Chainlink middleware.

Blockchains and smart contracts are poised to fundamentally reshape global industries. However, enterprise blockchain adoption has historically been hindered by technical hurdles such as a lack of secure connectivity between enterprise systems and blockchains and limited interoperability between various on-chain networks. As the market-leading blockchain middleware for the entire Web3 ecosystem, Chainlink helps reduce the complexity of blockchain technology for enterprises, helping them unlock its potential for generating business productivity and profitability.

PwC Germany has been involved with blockchain technology through developing in-house blockchain solutions such as Blockchain Explorer and Transaction Analyzer BETA, Tokenization Framework, Smart Contract Formal Verification Framework, Digital Asset Valuation Model and Travel Rule Integration. They also provide an array of services such as technology assessment and strategy, ecosystem management, technology consulting, and more. The organization's recent report "Time for Trust" further highlights how blockchain technology has the potential to bring fundamental changes to the corporate world, to economic processes, and to society as a whole.

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"We're pleased to enter into a strategic partnership with Chainlink Labs as integration & development partner to help accelerate the enterprise adoption of blockchain technology" said Dimitri Gross, Technology Interest Group Lead for Digital Assets and Crypto at PwC Germany. "PwC Germany and Chainlink Labs aim to help accelerate enterprise adoption of blockchain technology in key enterprise sectors such as capital markets, ushering in a new era of transactional security, transparency, and efficiency. We are excited to empower businesses with the knowledge, integrations, and solutions they need to seamlessly and securely interface with the growing blockchain economy."

"We're excited to support PwC Germany through this strategic collaboration, which will help enterprises securely connect their existing systems to all major blockchain networks," stated William Herkelrath, managing director of business development for Chainlink Labs. "By interacting with the blockchain economy through Chainlink, enterprises can begin realizing the transformative power of smart contracts and blockchain oracles."

About Chainlink

Chainlink is the industry-standard Web3 services platform that has enabled trillions of dollars in transaction volume across DeFi, insurance, gaming, NFTs, and other major industries. As the leading decentralized oracle network, Chainlink enables developers to build feature-rich Web3 applications with seamless access to real-world data and off-chain computation across any blockchain and provides global enterprises with a universal gateway to all blockchains.

Learn more about Chainlink by visiting chain.linkor reading the developer documentation at docs.chain.link. To discuss an integration, reach out to an expert.

About PwC Germany

Build trust in society, solve important problems.

When it comes to auditing and advisory, PwC supports clients of all industry fields to reach their goals. We advise corporations as well as family-owned companies, industry- and service companies, global players and local heroes, the public sector, organisations and NGOs. With our know-how and our expertise, around 600 partners and more than 13,000 experts in 21 locations in Germany support our clients in terms of finding solutions for complex questions in a world changing rapidly in line with our purpose statement "Build trust in society, solve important problems".

Cision

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Chainlink Labs and PwC Germany Announce Strategic Joint Business Relationship To Accelerate Enterprise Blockchain Adoption - Yahoo Finance

Bitcoin (BTC) focused Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocol RSK Infrastructure Framework (RIF) is seeing a massive upsurge today following the recovery of the broader digital currency ecosystem. With the combined crypto market cap jumping 3.54% to $1.18 trillion over the past 24 hours, RIF has bullishly tapped into the trend.

RIF is currently changing hands at a spot price of $0.1847, up by 3.62% over the past 24 hours and by more than 95% in the trailing 7-day period. Among the top altcoins showing a steep correlation with Bitcoin, RIF seems to be trending more as it is riding on the premise to bring smart contract capabilities to the worlds largest cryptocurrency network.

The emergence of the RSK Infrastructure Framework protocol marked an ambitious attempt by any project to propound the utilities of Bitcoin. The project was conceived by IOVLabs in 2019 and is currently based in Gibraltar. Since its inception, IOVLabs have been able to build one of the crypto ecosystems first Layer-3 networks on Bitcoin.

Layer-2 protocols are what is common and they generally tend to enhance the transaction speed on their base protocols by a very significant mile with transaction speeds also poised to go lower. Layer-3 is an even better improvement and it leverages the security and broad acceptance of the Bitcoin blockchain.

Bitcoin was designed by Satoshi Nakamoto to be a predominantly payment network, however, its usage over the years has grown beyond comprehension. Over the years, Bitcoin has now been considered a very viable hedge against inflation, competing with legacy assets like Gold amongst institutional investors.

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MicroStrategy Incorporated, an American business intelligence and software firm has made its mark as one of the biggest proponents of Bitcoin and over the years, the company has accumulated more than 140,000 Bitcoin units. While these gestures are helping to push the boundaries of Bitcoin, a whole new dimension is being charted by IOVLabs.

The digital currency ecosystem has evolved a great deal over the past few years and the most versatile protocols are now marked by the nature of functionalities they brandish, through the DApps that are resident on them.

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Bitcoin is not designed to accommodate smart contracts and RSK Infrastructure Framework is helping to bridge this deficiency with its technology. While RSK is not the only outfit pushing this milestone as Stacks (STX) is also doing the same, it is by far one of the few directly leveraging the security and decentralization of Bitcoin to chart its development.

The token has benefited from its alignment and business strategy since the start of the year. With its latest milestones, showcased by the growth in the DeFi TVL on the protocol, RIF has seen more than a 347% growth in the Year-to-Date (YTD) period. Should its operations expand over the years, it may soar much more in the near future.

Crypto News Flash does not endorse and is not responsible for or liable for any content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products, or other materials on this page. Readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to cryptocurrencies. Crypto News Flash is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods, or services mentioned.

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DeFi protocol pushing Bitcoin (BTC) boundaries in smart contract ... - Crypto News Flash

The Ethereum cryptocurrency network has a massive update due in April 2023 called the Shanghai upgrade. The Shanghai upgrade is a hard fork. It will radically change the blockchains protocol - hopefully for the better.

Ethereum is no stranger to huge updates like this, seen by their switch to proof-of-stake. All signs point to The Shanghai upgrade significantly benefiting the blockchain and it comes as a result of ETHs liquid staking consensus mechanism.

But how will this affect your crypto wallet exactly?

The Ethereum Shanghai upgrade is a series of upgrades. The Ethereum developers will implement them at once. To understand this upgrade's significance, it's important to know Etherem's history. This upgrade is the result of several past changes to Ethereums network.

Ethereum started in 2015 as a proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrency, just like Bitcoin. This method involves spending time and energy to solve complex math formulas. Using sophisticated technology, miners who solve the formulas receive crypto rewards. This type of consensus mechanism has some downsides, though.

PoW is energy-intensive and made scaling hard for the blockchain.

Suggested reading: Proof-of-Work vs. Proof-of-Stake: The Ultimate Guide

After many test runs, ETH switched to the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism in 2020. This hard fork change is now called "the Ethereum Merge." This made the blockchain more secure, and eco-friendly and improved scalability.

The Merge allowed Ethereum validators to stake their crypto in the blockchain for passive income. At the time, they could not withdraw their ETH from the blockchain. The funds were locked to support the network. This method is similar to a high-yield savings account in a traditional bank. Holders with stakes in ETH could also vote on future blockchain changes.

The PoS system still had one big negative, though - cost. To join the Beacon Chain, which coordinates staking, users had to give a minimum of 32 ETH. At the time the PoS system was rolled in, one ETH cost about $4,000. At the time of writing, it is around $1,550. This high entry point made it difficult for many to join.

Crypto teams improved this issue somewhat using liquid staking. With this technique, users can stake a smaller amount of ETH in return for tokens that represent their crypto. They can then use their tokens for other transactions. The Shanghai upgrade seeks to address this issue even further and make it more accessible to join ETH.

In 2022, Ethereum tested a draft version of the Shanghai upgrade, the Shangdong test network. It tried out the practicality of the upgrade proposals. The Shanghai upgrade has five proposals, with one more

proposal (EIP-4844) postponed to 2024. EIP stands for Ethereum Improvement Proposal.

The five proposed changes in the current Shanghai upgrade are:

Coinbase payments are becoming more popular. To improve transaction execution, Coinbase addresses will be warm at their start. This will increase transaction speed but maintain security.

This introduces the PUSH0 instruction to contracts. It keeps the stack at a constant 0 value. This change will reduce contract code size and reduce the need for the DIP instruction (which solves duplicating zeroes). It also reduces the risk of contracts misusing instructions for optimization.

This EIP extends EIP-170 with a maximum size limit for the initialization code. This ensures the code is fairly charged to minimize future risk. It also provides an extendable cost system for the future.

This improvement introduces a system-level operation to support validator withdrawals. It provides a separate way for withdrawals to enter the EVM (Ethereum virtual machine). The EVM executes smart contracts on the blockchain network.

This is the most important change. It gives validators the option to withdraw their staking rewards. Since the Ethereum Merge, validators have staked over $17 million in Ether. This works out to over 22 billion USD.

While some validators are sure to withdraw stakes, therell be a cap of 43,200 ETH per day. The cap, and ETHs other improvements, will prevent a mass exit of validators. More people will likely become validators.

This warns against the use of the self-destruct instruction, which terminates a smart contract. However, ETH users are still discussing how best to use self-destruct. A change to this EIP is likely to come in the future.

Analysts have theories about whether the Shanghai upgrade will affect Ethereum's price. Some users fear the upgrade will cause a crash, but there are some arguments against that.

The Shanghai upgrade will improve the security and effectiveness of Ethereums PoS system. Its not likely to cause any major negatives, and will probably improve prices in the long term. You can expect to see the upgrade launch in early April 2023 - but delays are expected.

For traders, expect volatility in both directions. Ethereum - and the blockchain industry on the whole - is still young and experiencing growing pains. Bullish and bearish volatility is normal. However, this volatility presents plenty of good opportunities for those prepared.

Disclaimer: The content should not be construed as investment advice and does not constitute any offer or solicitation to offer or recommendation of any investment product. It is made available to you for information and/or education purposes only.

You should take independent investment advice from a professional in connection with, or independently research and verify any information that you find in the article and wish to rely upon.

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Quasar Finance, a decentralized asset management protocol based on the Cosmos blockchain ecosystem, is starting its mainnet today with the aim of helping investors manage their digital assets across multiple blockchains.

The move comes after Quasar raised $5.4 million in a funding round led by Shima Capital earlier this year at a $70 million valuation, bringing the total fund raised to over $11.5 million, the protocol said in a press release on Thursday.

Quasar said it aims to become the leading decentralized asset management platform by enabling connectivity among blockchains via Inter-Blockchain Communication Protocol (IBC). "Powered by IBC-enabled smart contracts, Quasars goal is to empower investors with easy access to the emerging interchain landscape of numerous individual blockchains, within the Cosmos ecosystem and beyond," the press release said.

In the wake of the spectacular failure of centralized exchanges such as FTX, both crypto natives and investors have increased their focus on decentralized finance (DeFi) and security. Quasar is aiming to address these issues by creating a dedicated layer 1 protocol that will allow investors to deposit funds into permissionless, non-custodial investment vehicles known as "vaults," that are optimized to work across multiple blockchains, the press release said.

The system is also designed to eliminate the need for cross-chain bridges, which have proven to be risky for DeFi investors, resulting in over $2 billion in losses in 2022 alone.

By giving investors access to the developing interchain landscape of independent and interoperable blockchains, both within and outside the Cosmos ecosystem, Quasar hopes to allow investors to have greater control over their investments.

"Quasar's mainnet launch is expected to attract more liquidity providers and strategists looking to crowdsource interchain capital, while providing more yield opportunities for individual LPs," said Valentin Pletnev, lead and co-founder of Quasar Finance, in a statement.

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Cosmos-Based DeFi Protocol Quasar to Start Mainnet After Raising More Than $11.5M - Yahoo Finance