contracts
What are Smart Contracts and Why are They Important?
Since the lack of transparency puts the security of any transaction in jeopardy, this as now a problem of grave concern, so how do smart contracts solve these problems?
Binance Adds Smart Contracts to its Blockchain Platform, Moving Towards Direct Competition with Ethereum
Crypto giant Binance will be adding smart contracts to its blockchain platform, Binance Chain, according to its whitepaper released today.
Cardano Introduces Two Devnets to Enable Any Developer to Build Smart Contracts and Dapps
IOHK, recently announced that they have introduced two new development environments enabling developers to write smart contracts for Cardano.
SushiSwap Deploys Contracts to Five New Networks as Ethereum Gas Fees Surge
SushiSwap has deployed its contracts to five new networks. What should be expected of SUSHI's price in the next few days?
Ontology Teams Up with Chainlink to Solve the Oracle Problem by Creating Externally Connected Smart Contracts
In an effort to foster the Ontology network, the platform has announced its decision to collaborate with Chainlink to build data-driven smart contracts with end-to-end security and reliability, which is centered on solving what they identified as the oracle problem.
UK Media Mogul Calls DeFi a Revolution Against Corrupt Global Banking System
Alexander Lebedev, the billionaire UK media mogul and former banker has endorsed the revolutionary power of DeFi against a corrupt global banking system.
AI bias: how blockchain can ensure its safety
Blockchain technology can combat bias in AI systems through decentralized, transparent smart contracts, but challenges like scalability, interoperability, and regulatory compliance need to be addressed.
Forsage Founders Indicted for Alleged $340 Million "Global Ponzi" Scheme on Ethereum Blockchain
Oregon's federal grand jury indicted Forsage's founders. "Global Ponzi and pyramid scam" investors lost $340 million on the site.
Singapore Regulator MAS is Exploring Use of Cases in Digital Assets
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched Project Guardian, a sandbox initiative that is set to explore a number of defined use cases with respect to asset tokenization on the blockchain.
Stellar (XLM) Development Foundation Delays Protocol 20 Upgrade Due to Core Bug
The Stellar Development Foundation has postponed the vote on Protocol 20, initially set for January 30, following the discovery of a bug in Stellar Core v20.1.0. The decision was made to ensure ecosystem readiness and broad consensus, with the new vote date to be determined after the bug fix release, expected within the next two weeks.
Alonzo Smart Contract Upgrade Goes Live on Cardano
The Alonzo Hardfork with its accompanying capability for smart contracts has gone live on the Cardano blockchain.
Ethereum Layer 2s See Surge in Popularity in Q1 2023
Alchemy's Q1 2023 report shows Ethereum layer 2 networks, including Optimism, Arbitrum and Polygon, saw a 44% increase in bridged crypto assets compared to Q4 2022, and a 518% increase compared to Q1 2022. The report suggests this growth may have been driven by successful airdrops from Optimism and Arbitrum. Additionally, the deployment of smart contracts related to layer 2s increased by 160% compared to Q1 2022, despite a 30% decrease from Q4 2022.
Vodafone DAB and Chainlink Labs Unveil Blockchain Solution to Streamline Global Trade
Vodafone's Digital Asset Broker and Chainlink Labs, in partnership with Sumitomo Corporation and InnoWave, have developed a proof of concept to improve the global trade ecosystem. The initiative aims to facilitate the seamless exchange of trade documents across various platforms and blockchains, reducing fragmentation and inefficiencies. The collaboration uses Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol for security and interoperability, paving the way for smart contract, blockchain, and AI applications.
Exclusive: Access, Connectivity and Inclusion—How UNICEF Leverages Blockchain to Close the Digital Divide
Christina Lomazzo is the Blockchain Lead for UNICEF’s Office of Innovation; whose work mainly involves leading the blockchain efforts at UNICEF Ventures where she heads up a diverse team of six. Together they invest in early technology prototypes that they assess and determine could have an exponential impact on UNICEF’s operations and ability to fulfill its mission across the developing world.
Smart Contracts Enables Commodity Trading Transformation, GSCG Report Shows
Given that commodity trading is highly fragmented, blockchain-driven smart contracts can transform this sector by redefining market transactions and transparency, according to a Global Smart Commodity Group (GSCG) report.
Astar Network To Launch Smart Contracts 2.0 on the Mainnet on April 6th
Astar Network, a smart contracts platform for multichain, is thrilled to announce that it will launch Smart Contracts 2.0 – the WebAssembly (WASM) smart contracts that extend the Web3 functionality of EVM – on the mainnet at 14:00 UTC on Thursday, April 06th. With this technical update, Astar Network will support both Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and WASM VM smart contracts on the mainnet.
BlockSec Launches Phalcon Fork for Private Chain Collaborative Testing
Blockchain security firm BlockSec has launched the Phalcon Fork toolkit for collaborative testing on private chains forked from the Ethereum mainnet. The toolkit provides more control for developers over testing, analysis, and debugging of transactions, while retaining services and states from the Ethereum mainnet. It also includes an integrated faucet for free fork network Ether (ETH) and Fork RPC for integration with Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible development frameworks.
Malaysia's National Stock Exchange Conducts Blockchain PoC to Digitize Bond Market
Malaysia’s national stock exchange, Bursa Malaysia will conduct a blockchain Proof-of-Concept (PoC) dubbed "Project Harbour" to explore the DLT management of the country’s bonds market.
Real Vision CEO believes NFT will act similar to high-end property
The Real Vision CEO predicted that when the crypto market swells again, high-end NFTs would be bought like high-end property.
Ethereum Foundation Brings Blockchain to UNICEF
The Ethereum foundation team made a series of donations to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in a move considered both charitable and good for blockchain adoption.
ADA Price Surges to $0.50 as Cardano Inches Closer to DeFi with Mary Hard Fork
The ADA token price is up nearly 50% this week as Cardano inches closer to DeFi following the blockchain’s successful Mary hard fork upgrade.
Curve Founder Michael Egorov Withdraws Near 12 Million CRV Tokens
Michael Egorov, the founder of Curve Finance, withdrew nearly 12 million CRV tokens, equivalent to $5.08 million, from the platform's vesting contracts on October 12, 2023. This move aligns with the vesting schedule of CRV, enabling Egorov to claim $235,000 worth of CRV daily.
Brazil Considers CBDC Project as a Means to Innovate Digitally: Economist
The development of CBDC means several things to several people, and for Brazil, it is a broad complement to its already transforming payment ecosystem.
Banking Infrastructure Needs Blockchain Technology to Meet Rapid Fintech Enviroment, HashCash CEO Says
With the fintech industry making significant strides within a short time, the banking sector ought to integrate blockchain technology to keep pace with this area, according to HashCash CEO Raj Chowdhury.
Axiom Secures $20 Million in Series A Funding for Blockchain Data Access Innovation
Axiom, a smart contract infrastructure firm, raises $20M in Series A funding led by Paradigm and Standard Crypto, aiming to transform blockchain data access using zero-knowledge cryptography.
Global Blockchain IoT Market Expected to Generate Returns Worth $5.8 Billion by 2026
The global blockchain IoT market is expected to offer a revenue of $5.802 billion by 2026, driven by factors like IoT being increasingly implemented by mand end-use industries worldwide.
Bitcoin’s Taproot Upgrade Launch in Three Days, Smart Contract Capabilities to be Unlocked?
Within around three days, Bitcoin’s Taproot will go live. It is arguably the most anticipated and vital upgrade to the BTC network since the Segregated Witness (SegWit) improvement in 2017.
The Most Unworkable State Law
An Illinois senator has presented a law that would compel crypto node operators, miners, and validators to reverse transactions if ordered by the court, even though it's impossible.
Arbitrum's New ArbOS 11: A Game Changer for Blockchain and Crypto
The recent implementation of ArbOS 11 by the Arbitrum community introduces key improvements, including EVM Shanghai support and gas efficiency enhancements, fostering optimism in the crypto market for ARB.
Court Upholds OFAC's Designation of Tornado Cash Under IEEPA
The US District Court upheld the OFAC's designation of Tornado Cash under the IEEPA, rejecting plaintiffs' claims of overreach and First Amendment violations, highlighting legal challenges for privacy-oriented blockchain entities.
Binance.US Digital Asset Trading Marketplace is Now Available in North Carolina
Binance.US has now expanded its digital asset trading services to include North Carolina investors.
Equilibrium and Chainlink to Power Synthetic Assets and Stablecoins on Polkadot
Equilibrium has chosen Chainlink, a tokenized oracle network, to power synthetic assets, lending, and stablecoins using its smart contracts.
Blockchain in Manufacturing Market Expected to Hit $17 Billion by 2027
The urge to streamline operations and track assets with unprecedented precision are some of the factors expected to make the blockchain in the global manufacturing market hit $17.047 billion by 2027, according to a report by Research and Markets.
Web3 Security 2023 State Revealed, Nearly $2 Billion Lost
CertiK's "Hack3d: The Web3 Security Report 2023" provides a thorough analysis of Web3 security incidents in 2023, highlighting key vulnerabilities and trends in the blockchain and smart contract security landscape.
Web3 Foundation Announces Over $1.1M in Grants Under Wave 19 Program
The Web3 Foundation disclosed the conclusion of its 19th grant wave, allocating over $1.1 million to 33 projects to bolster the Polkadot ecosystem. The foundation marked its 600th grant and 1000th milestone, reflecting the growth and the fervor of the Polkadot developer community, now the second largest globally. This wave spotlighted grants enhancing smart contract capabilities on Polkadot’s ink! smart contracts, and core infrastructure improvements. The foundation continues to welcome new proposals, underlining its ongoing commitment to support the evolving Web 3.0 ecosystem.
Ant Group Launches Blockchain-Powered System to Help SMEs in Cross-Border Trade
China's Ant Group established a blockchain-enabled smart contract platform Trusple to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for cross-border trades.
The Number of Ethereum Deposits on Crypto Exchanges Hit a 5-Month Low-What This Mean
The number of ETH deposits on crypto exchanges continues to diminish, given that it reached a 5-month low of 548.940.
$1.5 Billion of BTC Locked Up In Ethereum
Bitcoin maxis are turning to the dark side as the value proposition of DeFi sees record levels of Bitcoin on Ethereum.
Sber Bank's blockchain technology uses Metamask
Russia's biggest lender integrates its blockchain technology with Ethereum to enter DeFi and Web3. The connection lets users utilize Sber's tokens and smart contracts. Sberbank is developing blockchain goods. It requested a blockchain platform for its "Sbercoin" stablecoin from the Bank of Russia in 2021.
Why Vitalik Buterin Proposed 33% Increase in Gas Limit for Ethereum
Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin proposes a 33% increase in the gas limit to improve network throughput. This first change in three years aims to balance efficiency and stability, addressing scalability.
Exclusive: LabCFTC's Melissa Netram Talks Advancing Policy and Regulation in FinTech and Blockchain Through Times of Crisis
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) established LabCFTC as an initiative under the General Counsel’s office in 2017 aimed at promoting FinTech innovation and competition. The office has been very active with over 400 different private meetings held with innovators in the last three years. In addition, LabCFTC has published three primers in the marketplace based on their understanding of smart contracts, artificial intelligence, and crypto-assets.
Blockchain Can Improve Climate Crisis through Smart Contracts, Study Shows
Climate change is considered a desperate issue in modern times. Blockchain technology is believed to act as a stepping stone towards addressing economic complexities and interoperability when transiting to renewable energy, study shows.
Cardano's Goguen Rollout Could Directly Compete with Ethereum with its New Smart Contract Implementation
Cardano’s Goguen era, which marks the next period after Shelley, will be the era of implementing smart contracts and enabling decentralized applications (Dapps) on the network. The Goguen era is Cardano’s third development phase, which is expected to start in the third quarter of 2020 with the release of its testnet.
Stellar Network Advances with Protocol 20 and Smart Contracts Activation
Stellar Development Foundation activates Protocol 20 and smart contracts on its network, enhancing scalability and efficiency, and marking a milestone in growth.
EY, Microsoft and ConsenSys Create a Platform For Enterprises on Ethereum Mainnet
Global accounting firm EY have launched their open-source Baseline protocol which aims to address privacy issues to encourage enterprise adoption of public Ethereum.
Binance Launches Football Fan Token Index Perpetual Contracts Ahead of FIFA 2022
Binance is offering its customers another trading opportunity by launching football fan token index perpetual contracts. The new product is set to help users make the most of market conditions.
Cardano Records Over 100 Smart Contracts Following Alonzo Upgrade
Cardano has records more than 100 smart contracts launched on the blockchain as the Alonzo upgrade goes live.
Visa New Crypto Initiative
Visa is developing a new crypto product to promote the adoption of public blockchain networks and stablecoin payments. The company is seeking software engineers with experience in programming, Web3 technologies, and Solidity to build the product.
Bybit Launches Futures Contracts Settled in USDC Stablecoin
Bybit is one of the major crypto exchanges offering futures trading services globally. The exchange has launched a new trading service that settles options contracts in the stablecoin USDC.
Jay Z-Backed Ethereum App Platform Officially Opens Doors to Public
Blockchain startup Alchemy has recently announced that the blockchain developer platform was perfected and now open to any companies or individuals looking to build smart contract-based projects.
Iota Floats Smart Contracts Beta with Zero Execution Fee
The Iota Foundation has launched its smart contract functionality which it said is now available in IOTA 2.0 DevNet.
WeBank Blockchain Patents Filings Rank Third Highest Globally for 2019
China’s WeBank is leading the global banking community in banking technology patents jumping ahead of US giants JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America with 632 filed patents in 2019.
Coinbase is challenging the U.S. Treasury over the recent tornado cash sanctions
Coinbase is suing the U.S. Treasury for listing Tornado Cash on the SDN List, arguing it violates digital privacy and regulatory authority in the cryptocurrency sector.
Ex-CEO of Investment Firm Pleads Guilty to Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme
Peter Kambolin, the ex-CEO of Systematic Alpha Management, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit commodities fraud involving cryptocurrency futures contracts, as revealed by the DOJ on October 12, 2023. The case, marking a milestone as the first of its kind, unveils a "cherry-picking" scheme where Kambolin misallocated profitable trades to his accounts, misrepresenting trading focuses to investors. With legal proceedings underway, Kambolin faces up to five years in prison, showcasing the authorities' resolve against financial fraud in the crypto sector.
Strategies for Trading Bitcoin in 2021
Almost everybody that uses the internet knows about Bitcoin trading. And, the Bitcoin market doesn't seem like it will slow down any time soon. So, if you're yet to venture into Bitcoin trading, you need to consider making a move.
Cardano EUTXO Blockchain Upgrade Will Combine the Best Of Bitcoin and Ethereum
Cardano founder Charles Hoskins recently shared a file on his Twitter feed that outlined how the upcoming Goguen update will implement smart contracts using an extended UTXO purported to offer the best features of both the Ethereum and Bitcoin blockchain record keeping models.
Machine Learning Network Fetch.ai Shares Vision of Interoperable Blockchains
Fetch.ai has a vision: to bring machine learning services to every ledger and blockchain.
DekaBank to Launch Blockchain-Based Tokenization Platform
German asset management DekaBank is cooperating with Metaco to build a tokenization platform but won't trade Bitcoin.
UK Launches Global Crypto Law Review as it Considers Legal Reforms
The Law Commission of England and Wales will explore legal proceedings from other countries to create its own crypto-based legal reforms
VanEck Announces Launch of Ethereum Futures ETF (EFUT)
VanEck announces the launch of VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT), targeting Ethereum futures contracts for capital appreciation. EFUT, listed on CBOE, complements VanEck's Bitcoin ETF (XBTF) with a tax-efficient structure.
Grayscale Floats New Smart Contract Fund for 6 Ethereum Competitors
The acclaimed largest digital assets management company, Grayscale Investments has launched a new investment product tagged the Grayscale® Smart Contract Platform Ex-Ethereum Fund (GSCPxE).
Mina Protocol to Launch ZK Smart Contracts, Backed by $92M from Three Arrows and FTX
Mina Protocol is set to introduce Zero-Knowledge smart contracts to its mainnet, simplifying zkApp development and enhancing security. The upgrade will phase out supercharged rewards and phase out supercharged rewards. Mina Protocol, the world's lightest blockchain, combines Bitcoin and Ethereum elements, and the success depends on collective effort from node operators, developers, and users.
HKEX Introduces Synapse: A New Settlement Acceleration Platform for Stock Connect
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announces the launch of HKEX Synapse, a settlement acceleration platform designed to improve market efficiency and transparency for Northbound Stock Connect participants. The platform, set to launch on October 9, 2023, will employ DAML smart contracts to streamline post-trade operations. The move aims to enhance real-time data synchronization and scalability for asset managers, brokers, and other market participants.
Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Discusses ETH 2.0 Progress and Bitcoin-Ethereum Debate
On Peter McCormack's talk show, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin discussed the challenges faced by Ethereum 2.0 and the debate between Bitcoin and Ethereum.
What Is Chainlink?
The Chainlink network has made a name for itself by providing reliable tamper-proof data for complex smart contracts on any blockchain.
Four Reasons Why Cardano’s ADA Price is Surging
Cardano’s cryptocurrency ADA has been on a tear this month, doubling in price since the start of February—here are four reasons why the ADA price is surging.
Smart Contracts Security Firm Certora Pulls $36m in Series B Funding
Certora, a security tech startup that helps DeFi based smart contracts identify bugs in their codes before they are deployed has raised $36 million from investors.
Digital Currency and the Financial Inclusion Drive: The Journey So Far
With the digital currency ecosystem running toe-to-toe with traditional finance, here is a brief look into the journey thus far on the industry's financial inclusion drive.
Ethereum-Based Products Hit a 72.8% Monthly Growth as the US Reigns Supreme in DeFi Adoption
Ethereum-based products skyrocketed to $13.8 billion after recording a 72.8% monthly growth.
Investment Funds for 2020 | Index Funds Centralized Decentralized and the Blockchain
On the outset, this article has been written to put in perspective Index Funds as we know them, which new kind of Index Funds are developing with Cryptocurrencies (Digital Assets) and what developments are taking place in the Global Capital Markets with Blockchain developments.
Astar Network Launches Second Iteration of Smart Contracts
Astar Network is launching the second iteration of its smart contracts that support both Ethereum Virtual Machine and WebAssembly Virtual Machine on its mainnet on April 6. The Astar team invited community members to a panel discussion led by its executives and Polkadot developers to discuss how WASM can be utilized.
ADA Price Surges Over 100% As Cardano Goguen Update Set For March
The ADA price surged by over 100% this week and with Cardano’s Goguen update and functional smart contract integration set for March, ADA’s price rally looks far from over
Binance to Delist LTC/BUSD and DOGE/BUSD Perpetual Contracts
Binance Futures has announced its decision to delist the LTCBUSD and DOGEBUSD Perpetual Contracts.
China's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
China's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) now supports smart contracts. Soochow Securities' mobile app allows e-CNY purchases. Android phones may now perform contactless digital yuan wallet payments.
Polygon 2.0 Takes Major Step with POL Contracts on Goerli Testnet
Polygon is closing in on the launch of its 2.0 version with the deployment of POL contracts on the Goerli testnet. This significant development is a result of community consultations and the introduction of two new Polygon Improvement Proposals (PIPs), PIP-24 and PIP-25. These PIPs aim to modify the EIP-1559 burn system and adjust the POL token supply.
Ethereum’s DeFi Trades Skyrocketed in Q3 2020, but Bitcoin Volume Declined
A quarterly report from eToro indicated that while DeFi sector was bullish in 2020’s third quarter (Q3), Bitcoin trades decreased in contrast.
Algorand Implements Sustainable Carbon Offset Smart Contracts
Blockchain-based crypto platform Algorand said it will implement smart contracts that automatically offset carbon emissions, and use part of the transaction fees to offset its carbon emissions.
Australia Opens Public Consultation on National Taxonomy of Crypto Assets
A crypto licence and custody document will be released in mid-2023.
Algorand Protocol Stateful Smart Contract Upgrade Targets Scalable DeFi Solutions and Dapps
Algorand is entering the decentralized finance (DeFI) ecosystem with its new highly scalable stateful smart contract capabilities.
Here’s A Look at The Top Outlets For Blockchain Developers To Source Grants
Monetary grants are extremely important in any field - be it the arts, media, technology - especially nascent ones where there is a lot of scope for growth and development. For example, blockchain is one such domain which over the course of the last decade or so has seen an incredible output of innovation (ala smart contracts, decentralized finance, etc) from relatively independent developers working with limited resources.
EY Increases Its Investments in The Blockchain Market
EY has committed another $100 million in funding to sponsor the development of several blockchain products.
Bitpanda Launches New Crypto Indices for Long-Term Diversified Portfolios
Bitpanda, a digital investment platform, rolled out at least four crypto indices for investors, providing more options by helping them to diversify their portfolios.
Chinese E-Commerce Giant JD.com Launches Enterprise-Level Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts
Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, also known as Jingdong, has successfully launched two enterprise-level applications, including blockchain-based smart contracts, and the protection of commercially confidential information. These two applications were launched on JD’s independently-developed proprietary blockchain, JD Chain. The JD Chain blockchain framework was made open sourced around a year ago, five months after the company launched the JD Blockchain Open Platform enabling companies to use JD’s platform using pre-built APIs. The blockchain protocol has been opened up to allow enterprises to built custom solutions.
Bakkt Platform Launched: Trades 71 Bitcoin Futures Contracts in 24 Hours
ICE’s historical data on Bakkt’s Bitcoin/USD futures contract trading reveals that the platform traded 71 BTC at press time, with the last trading price recorded at $9,875 per Bitcoin.
Investors Double Down on Derivatives Market as Bitcoin Futures Contracts Hit New All-Time High
The derivatives market is growing as the open interest has surged to a new all-time high of $20 billion across major exchanges.
Chico Crypto Goes Head-to-Head with Cardano Founder on Smart Contracts
Crypto gets its first bout in the ring with well-known crypto YouTuber Tyler Swope aka Chico Crypto going head to head against Charles Hoskinson Founder of Cardano.
US CFTC Commissioner Says Crypto Derivative Contracts Had an Enormous Positive Impact on the US Economy
United States Commissioner of the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Brian Quintenz spoke about the current and future regulation in Fintech at the Singapore Fintech Festival held last week.
Cardano to be Integrated with Wolfram Alpha’s Technology to Build Advanced Smart Contracts
Cardano has recently announced that it will be integrating with Wolfram Alpha, the world’s largest answer computing engine.
What is Tezos?
Tezos, a promising new blockchain-based platform for building smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps).