Ethereum Takes Another Step Towards The Shanghai Upgrade With Shapella Fork

The Ethereum Foundation successfully tested the Shapella Fork on the Zhejiang Test recently, which indicates that the project is one step closer to the Shanghai upgrade. The upgrade is eagerly anticipated due to its enabling of staked ETH withdrawals, and the Shapella transition includes the withdrawal ability on the network. The Zhejiang testnet will be the first of three which will simulate the actual effects of the Shanghai upgrade.

Bitcoin Could Be Transitioning Into A Real Stable Asset Class, Says Messari

The “State of Bitcoin Q4 2022” report issued by cryptocurrency research company Messari indicates that Bitcoin could be well on its way to being a real stable value asset. That is because the recent spate of rate hikes by the United States Federal Reserves had a smaller effect on the price of Bitcoin even with higher-than expected rate hikes of 75 basis points. Despite the numerous negative macro events that happened in 2022, only inflation and FTX-related developments truly made a dent to the value of Bitcoin.

Payment Institutions Are Not Giving Up On Cryptocurrency Payments Just Yet

Despite a dip in interest towards cryptocurrency payment solutions, Paypal believes that cryptocurrencies will still be part of the payments landscape in the near future. The company itself currently holds half a billion dollars worth of cryptocurrencies in its last year-end report which includes US$291 million in BTC and US$250 million in ETH, plus it also allows customers to buy and transfer cryptocurrencies on its platform.

DWF Labs Identifies Investment And Development Opportunities With Creditcoin

DWF Labs is proud to invest in Creditcoin, an up-and-coming public blockchain in South Korea. The Creditcoin Network aims to connect both borrowers and lenders by allowing the latter to gain access to more liquidity and capital, while the former can secure their credit history on Creditcoin’s decentralized ledger. The protocol aims to bridge CeFi and DeFi in a new concept called OpenFi which aims to allow more unrestricted credit access to the unbanked.

More Developers Hopping Onboard The Open Network In 2023, Says TON Developer Report

The development ecosystem is heating up on The Open Network with an exponential number of developers looking to build on the blockchain. The number of members on the TON Developer chat and active TON-related repositories on GitHub has increased more than threefold since 2022, with more than 11% of current developers joining in the last month alone.  

Tonstarter Launches first DeFi Program On The Open Network

Tonstarter, a TON-native launchpad that helps fledging Web3 projects raise capital in a user-friendly environment, has officially launched Megaton Finance which is an AMM-based decentralized exchange (DEX). The DEX provides revenue generation opportunities such as swaps and yield farming where users can earn TON or MEGA tokens in return. An ongoing community incentive initiative will allow winners to share a 50,000 MEGA token prize pool.

Tonkeeper Partners With Social Network VK To Integrate New Standard

Tonkeeper, a non-custodial digital wallet built on The Open Network, will be integrating its TON Connect 2.0 standard with Russia’s popular social network VKontakte. The partnership will allow the application’s 65.2 million users to view their own non-fungible tokens (NFTs) directly on the VK page and add their favorite NFTs to their avatar.

The Web3 Community Rallies In The Wake of Turkey’s Earthquake-Hit Areas

A downturn is no excuse to turn down help when needed, and the Web3 community amassed efforts to help when news of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria flooded in. Individual donations have been made to donation wallet addresses in Turkey as an easier, faster way to send aid, and centralized cryptocurrency exchanges are also sending millions in aid from around the world. Project teams are also doing their part by putting together aid relief on the ground to send them where they are needed.

NFTs Earn A Spot In France’s Modern Art Establishment

It seems non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are finally receiving the recognition they deserve alongside the other modern artworks in the museums of France. The Centre Pompidou will feature a collection of NFT series such as CryptoPunks and Autoglyphs to name a few. The exhibition marks the first display of NFTs in an internationally renowned cultural center, which in French, est une grande victoire pour NFTs.

Tegro Finance Launches Its First Smart Contract-Based DEX Referral Program

The decentralized exchange Tegro Finance, which is built on The Open Network, recently launched an automated affiliate program that operates on smart contracts. Instead of using the different centralized affiliate platforms in the market, Tegro Finance allows anyone to link their own TON digital wallet and obtain a referral code which is uniquely tied to their wallet. This lets users earn and withdraw rewards without depending on a third-party platform.

The Celo Foundation Bags Two Awards For Successful Community Building

The Celo Foundation, which supports the DeFi-focused Celo Network, recently clinched the 'Best Web3 Community' and 'Community of the Year' awards at the CMX Community Industry Awards 2023. The event is the world's largest conference for professional community builders, and both awards are based on efforts the Celo team made in paving the way within the Web3 space, and for being the best overall community team.

NFT Entertainment Takes The Spotlight Ahead Of The Super Bowl

Despite the muted tone from the crypto space in this year’s Super Bowl, music artists have been busy releasing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the music sphere to much success. Popular pop star Rihanna launched a limited NFT collection featuring her latest hit song, and rock band Linkin Park’s new music video is directed by digital artist Pplpleasr which employs elements from their Web3-based video platform Shibuya.