Web3 (312)

A recent report revealed that crypto scams are up by 45% since 2022. With the sophistication of artificial intelligence and the resulting rise in deep fakes, the crypto community has to remain more vigilant than ever.

Bitcoin ordinals took the Web3 world by storm following their introduction in January 2023. The adoption of ordinals has been massive, with millions of inscriptions being created in the few months since launch.

The Taproot upgrade marked an interesting chapter in Bitcoin’s history when it launched in November 2021. One upgrade the industry is starting to witness more and more of is the network's smart contract capabilities. Taproot is designed to meet the growing demands of Bitcoin users while staying true to its decentralized roots.

Authored by Kiwi Yao, researcher @OKX Ventures The simplicity account abstraction (AA) brings to Web3 onboarding has seen the number of registered accounts soar during 2023. That could signal a bright future for Web3's mainstream adoption, as fresh use cases bring others into the latest iteration of the web. But what does the growth of account abstraction look like exactly, and what's caused it's recent emergence?

Cross-chain bridges are a powerful force in crypto, allowing for the seamless transfer of your digital assets from one blockchain to another. The tool aims to improve the compatibility of different blockchains, simplifying the transfer of assets between various networks.

When Bitcoin was introduced in 2009, it revolutionized decentralized transactions by enabling peer-to-peer exchanges without intermediaries. However, with the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Ethereum’s dominance of the market dominance left Bitcoin enthusiasts seeking ways to incorporate NFTs on Bitcoin. In response, Casey Rodarmor introduced ordinals, allowing NFT creation directly on the Bitcoin network. This innovation expanded the possibilities of the network, but did face some limitations.

Over the past couple of months,  BRC-20 tokens  and  ordinals  have gained plenty of attention in the Bitcoin community. Some have suggested the developments could raise gas fees and take up unnecessary space on the blockchain. In contrast, others have hailed both as being among the most incredible innovations since Satoshi published Bitcoin's whitepaper in 2008.

A blockchain address is a unique identifier for cryptocurrency wallets and smart contracts. This umbrella term refers to the string of characters that serves as a destination for cryptocurrency transactions (in the case of a wallet) or allows users to interact with a smart contract (in the case of smart contracts).

When it comes to Web3, self-custody refers to absolute ownership of your digital assets, without relying on a third-party intermediary. It means that only you hold the keys to your cryptocurrency wallet. Losing your recovery phrase and private keys results in losing access to your wallet, along with all stored assets. Additionally, if your private keys end up in the wrong hands, your funds can be stolen. The standard practice has been to write down your phrases and keys physically and store this paper securely to prevent digital hacks.

Cryptocurrency and its associated technologies are on the rise in Latin America (LATAM), driven by a variety of nation-specific social and economic factors. The region is rife with opportunities for the technology, fueled by inflationary pressure, the devaluation of local currencies, and a strong entrepreneurial mindset among many. Most significantly, we see undeniable real-world examples of how cryptocurrencies can bring about financial inclusion and rewrite the traditional financial system. Industry players have taken note of the same.

Crypto is on the march in Europe, with Central, Northern, and Western Europe (CNWE) representing the second-largest market in 2023 behind North America, according to Chainalysis . Meanwhile, Eastern Europe captured 8.9% of the total global crypto value received in the year to June 2023, with Ukraine sitting highest (fifth) among all European nations in Chainalysis' 2023 Global Crypto Adoption Index.

Could Australia be the next location for a spike in crypto interest, adoption, and invention? Many in the space are bullish on just that, and for good reason. At 23%, the nation has the highest rate of crypto adoption among all developed countries and the eight highest globally, according to a Swyftx survey. Meanwhile, 25% of the 2,199 adults surveyed in July 2023 intended to purchase digital assets over the following 12 months. And, according to the same survey, 54% of Australian millennials own or have owned crypto in the past.

Dubai isn't a city lacking in ambition. One of the seven emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai has been instrumental in the hyper-growth experienced by the UAE since its formation in 1971. Many would agree then that Dubai's high enthusiasm for crypto and Web3 technologies was inevitable.

Crypto is busy causing positive disruption in the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye (MENAT). The region led the way for digital asset adoption between July 2021 and June 2022, according to data from Chainalysis . The blockchain data platform's 2022 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report showed that users in the region received more than $566 billion in cryptocurrency value across the period — a 48% jump compared to the previous year. Although this figure dropped to an estimated $389.8 billion in on-chain value between July 2022 and June 2023, optimism remains high for crypto's continued emergence across the region.

Crypto staking platforms offer users the opportunity to earn passive rewards by putting their cryptocurrency to work. By staking your crypto and holding onto it for a certain period, you can earn rewards in the form of interest or dividends. With so many different crypto staking platforms on the market, it’s essential to before staking your coins.

Layer-2 (L2) solutions help to enhance Ethereum's scalability, making it more accessible to a larger audience. Two notable L2 options are Optimistic Rollups (OP) and Plasma (POL). OP allows fast off-chain transactions by assuming their validity unless challenged.

Have your friends sent you invites to Telegram crypto games, but you're unsure what they are? They're a form of Telegram Mini App (TMAs), which are web applications that run seamlessly within the Telegram messenger, leveraging technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Mantle Network is a pioneering modular Layer-2 solution designed to help scale the Ethereum network efficiently, handling more transactions faster than before. The tool achieves this by bundling transactions together using technology, reducing gas fees and speeding up transaction times.

Imagine a society where information is siloed, and valuable data is locked away in isolated vaults. This is akin to the current state of blockchains, where different networks operate independently without being able to communicate with each other. While each blockchain offers unique advantages, this fragmentation hinders the potential for a truly interconnected future. Fortunately, with crosschain interoperability solutions like LayerZero, we're on the cusp of a blockchain revolution.

Each year, the Bitcoin community enthusiastically celebrates Bitcoin Pizza Day to commemorate a significant milestone in cryptocurrency's history: the first-ever real-world transaction completed with Bitcoin.

The internet’s most famous frog, Pepe, is making waves in the crypto space since a memecoin created in its honor, PEPE, soared into the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap. Just weeks after launch, the coin was rubbing shoulders with top tokens and with a market cap well north of $400 million. But what is the PEPE project all about?

Automated market makers (AMMs) are a form of decentralized cryptocurrency trading platform that uses smart contracts to enable token swaps and value exchange. Unlike centralized exchanges, this process doesn't rely on order books to determine asset prices. Instead, it uses a mathematical formula to determine prices based on the asset's supply and demand curve.

Transaction speeds are one of many real-world issues cryptocurrency looks to solve. When you need to send a payment, being aware of the transaction time is important. This tends to be vague within traditional banking systems, and even more so in international payments. However, cryptocurrency provides a solution.

It's tough to overestimate how disruptive cryptoassets have been to the traditional financial system. The industry provides a compelling alternative, as it aims to create a fairer and more equitable system for all. At the same time, the ripples of this disruption have reached security and ownership, guided by crypto's core concept of decentralization.