Users That HODL BTC Outperformed Crypto Funds By 69%

According to data from Switzerland-based investment advisor 21e6 Capital AG, users who HODL-ed Bitcoin outperformed most crypto funds by 68.8% in the first half of 2023, while crypto funds generated returns of 15.2% in H1. The underwhelming crypto performance is attributed to challenging market conditions and the significant amount of cash they had on hand in late 2022. These factors, followed by the chain of incidents following the collapse of FTX and other crypto projects meant that they missed out on the significant BTC price rally in 2023

Tether Is Now The 11th Largest Bitcoin Holder Globally

Stablecoin issuer Tether has become the 11th largest bitcoin holder in the world, raising questions on its ability to impact the market. Research analyst at 21.co, Tom Wan, discovered an address potentially belonging to Tether that holds approximately 55,022 bitcoins worth US$1.6 billion, which matched the total bitcoin mentioned in Tether’s second-quarter reserves report published earlier this week. Although it is not a cause for concern, the issue arises when it contributes to compounding risk due to its added volatility to the value of its total reserves backing up the stablecoin.

The Number Of Ether ETF Applications Reaches Eleven In Less Than A Week

ProShares recently submitted its request for an equal-weight Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF), which makes it the 11th Ether-based ETF application in under a week. The wave of ETF applications started with Volatility Shares lodging the first filing for its Ether Strategy ETF in July. This was followed by other key finance institutions such as Bitwise Asset Management and Grayscale Investments filing for approval of their own funds. While there is no precedent for the filing or approval of Ether futures funds, the influx was no doubt triggered by BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF application which similarly triggered a cascade of filings from other institutions.

TON Token Achieves Another Important Milestone With BIT Exchange

The cryptocurrency exchange, BIT, is set to accept payments of Toncoin for trading fees. This move is part of a milestone partnership between the exchange and the TON Foundation to foster ecosystem growth for both the exchange and TON, as they look to onboard the next 100 million users into Web3. This partnership also makes BIT the first exchange to enable users to pay trading fees with a token linked to a blockchain utility token. Traders who choose to use BIT’s “Deduct with TON” feature can also get a discount on trading fees for a limited time.

Antelope Leap 5.0 Brings Major Technical Innovations And Moves Beyond DPoS

The EOS Network Foundation (ENF) will launch a major consensus upgrade, Antelope Leap 5.0, which will introduce an array of innovative features that redefines the network’s capabilities and separate the EOS network from other Layer-1 protocols. The upgrade seeks to replace its DPoS consensus with an alternative consensus mechanism. Some key features of Leap 5.0 include: instant finality and the introduction of BLS signatures within HotStuff, which is one of the Byzantine fault-tolerant protocol The advancements could improve scalability and shorten transactions to reach finality in a few seconds, as well as open the doors for confidential transactions and additional privacy mechanisms.

Google Cloud Is Key To Celo’s Transition Into A Layer-2 Solution

Google Cloud is now running a validator on Celo Network - an Ethereum virtual machine (EVM)-compatible, Layer-1 blockchain, designed to bring a mobile-first experience to Web3 users. The move marks Google Cloud’s next big step into blockchain and Web3 technology, and the growing interest of Web2 giants gaining entry into Web3. Google Cloud’s Blockchain Node Engine will facilitate the transition of Celo into an Ethereum Layer-2 to foster scalable, real-world solutions that can build tangible benefits to the climate and communities globally. The engine enables secure transaction relaying without the need to wait for nodes to sync, which means faster node operations for Celo network participants.

Syscoin Partners With AllNodes To Provide Free NPC Function For Developers

Layer-1 Blockchain Syscoin, which seeks to combine Bitcoin’s proof-of-work and the Ethereum network into a single platform, has recently partnered with Allnodes to provide free remote procedure call (RPC) for the network’s mainnet and testnet. Allnodes, a Web3 platform which provides non-custodial staking and masternodes services on various key blockchains in the blockchain landscape, will be providing support for the Syscoin Network-Enhanced Virtual Machine (NEVM) endpoints on their Public Node platform.

Jasmy And DWF Labs Announce Collaboration To Scale IoT Blockchain Growth

Jasmy, an innovator in the intersection of blockchain and IoT, has entered a collaboration with DWF Labs to promote the expansion of the IoT blockchain sector worldwide to improve data democratization. To achieve this, Jasmy has been working with IoT companies, SMEs, and solution providers to merge IoT devices along with environmental and data analytics. As part of the collaboration, DWF Labs will bring their expertise in OTC services and media support to the table and support Jasmy in their efforts to expand IoT usage globally.

Conflux Network Welcomes Successful Partnership Expansions In July

July was a successful month for Conflux Network as it continues to build a multi-chain ecosystem for creators, communities, and markets. In line with its vision, Conflux continued to build upon its successful partnerships to expand its network. This includes its recent partnership with World Mobile to expand blockchain-based mobile access throughout Asia and Africa. In a collaboration with Dypius, they created a unique Conflux area in the World of Dypians as part of the metaverse experience. With regards to network development, the team has also implemented CIP118 and CIP119 in its public chain and expanded on its support methods with SDK.

Fetch.AI Presents Agentverse V0.8 For Seamless Personalisation

Fetch.AI launched their latest decentralized naming service known as Agentverse v0.8 which will enable a new era of personalization. Fetch.AI users can now personalize their own wallet address by registering their preferred username, or agent name, via a service contract. Aside from this feature, Agentverse v0.8 has upgraded its user experience by equipping Managed Agents with the ability to register their protocols on the Almanac contract for greater visibility. The platform also provides a Weather Oracle Provider that allows users to provide or sell weather data to consumer agents.

Galxe Platform Integrates Dapper Wallet For Easy Flow Interactions

Galxe, one of the few key Web3 data credentials and community building platforms, has recently integrated the Dapper Wallet as part of its expansion of the Galxe ecosystem. The wallet is a non-custodial wallet that provides access to the various experiences and decentralized applications (dApps) in the Flow network, and this integration will allow Galxe users and teams building their community on the platform to further tap into the Flow network for more programs and benefits. This integration is also part of the platform’s latest move towards the Flow blockchain.

Merit Circle Pushes The Limits Of Gaming And AI With Aethir Partnership

Merit Circle, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) focused on growing yields from play-to-earn and the metaverse, has recently announced its partnership with Web3 platform Aethir to bring together GameFi and artificial intelligence (AI). The project uses decentralized cloud infrastructure to scale the two areas, and Merit Circle aims to improve their play-to-earn models by tapping on their technology. As part of this partnership, the Merit Circle DAO has invested US$1,500,000 in Aethir.