A New Series Of Experiments

Now that the initial series of Web3 experiments have drawn to a close, Cloudflare has launched a new series of experiments that would be focusing on solving the environmental and scaling challenges that plague modern blockchain technology. Over the past couple of years, there has been significant growth in the use of underlying technologies powering Web3. While this has been a catalyst for start-ups, there have been some negative consequences, especially for the environment.

The Problem With Proof-Of-Work

Cloudflare has underlined its commitment to building a better internet and addressing blockchain technology’s impact. While blockchain technologies such as Proof-of-Work have been at the forefront of getting the Web3 ecosystem started, they have had a profound impact on the environment. Proof-of-Work also does not scale well and cannot keep up with the usage that we are currently seeing. Add to this the fact that Proof-of-Work networks are extremely wasteful and electricity-intensive.

This inefficiency of Proof-of-Work was, by design, guaranteeing the security of the blockchain. While the use of blockchain was low, this was considered as an acceptable tradeoff for security; however, as usage has registered a significant increase, scaling needs to keep up.

Web3 As A Catalyst

Until recently, Web3 had not gained much traction and was often described as an up-and-coming ecosystem dwarfed by the traditional internet traffic. However, this reality has now changed, with traffic to Bitcoin and Ethereum networks surging. With the emergence of technologies such as Smart contracts, DeFi, NFTs, and DAOs have become a critical part of the developer community. There is also the emergence of next-generation blockchains such as Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, and Flow.

Cloudflare To Support Development Of Ethereum

As the Ethereum community approaches the transaction from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake, Cloudflare will begin to launch and fully stake Ethereum validator nodes on the Cloudflare Global Network, embracing the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. The nodes will fulfill a critical role as a testing ground for research on energy efficiency, network speed, and consistency management. Running Proof-of-Stake validator nodes on the Cloudflare Global Network will allow Cloudflare to support the development and deployment of Ethereum.

Running validator nodes on Cloudflare will allow Cloudflare to offer more geographic decentralization, especially in places such as LATAM, EMEA, and APJC. This will ensure that the network remains outage resistant, secure and bring it closer to its goal of achieving decentralization for all.

Won’t Run Its Own Infrastructure

Cloudflare believes that running Ethereum validator nodes on its network allows it to help with research and experiment with scaling the next generation of blockchain networks. As part of the experiments, Cloudflare has also affirmed that it would not be running its own Proof-of-Work infrastructure on the Cloudflare network.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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Following the addition of support for Solana tokens, now collectors, traders and other users can simply trade, deposit and withdraw nonfungible assets that comply with the Metaplex token standard.

The FTX.US has also confirmed that they will soon be adding support for other Ethereum-based tokens. Despite being registered in the US the FTX NFT marketplace is open to users from overseas as well. 

Brett Harrison, the president of FTX.US, said that the developments are a part of their commitment to providing users with  “simpler, safer and easier tools” to interact with their NFT marketplace.

“The NFT ecosystem has started to infiltrate pop culture, but has been lacking a platform that provides easy access and exposure to the mainstream audience,” he added. The exchange’s NFT marketplace supports a range of different options including conventional bank transfers, wire transfers and credit card transactions.

Currently, the FTX NFT marketplace charges a 2% fee on all NFT sales and the pricing for newly minted tokens are listed in USD, Solana (SOL), or Ether (ETH).

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“There appears to be a positive trend in the energy usage of Bitcoin,” expressed Musk. “There’s just no way you could basically double or triple the amount of energy in such a short period of time with renewables […] Tesla’s mission is accelerating sustainable energy. We can’t be the company that does that and not do appropriate diligence on the energy usage of Bitcoin.”

“It looks like Bitcoin is shifting a lot more towards renewables and a bunch of the heavy duty coal plants that were unequivocally being used have been shut down, especially in China. I want to do a little more diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy usage is most likely at or above 50% and that there is a trend towards increasing that number. If so, Tesla will resume accepting Bitcoin,” he added.

Earlier Musk had announced that Tesla would be accepting bitcoin payments, but he backtracked triggering a massive drop in Bitcoin prices. After China started cracking down on Bitcoin Mining activities, miners are searching for greener alternatives. Reports suggest that Bitcoin mining is now becoming greener as miners are using renewable energy sources.

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According to the reports in the local media, China is already testing its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), in the insurance industry. The reports claim People’s Bank of China in Shenzhen is piloting Digital Yuan with an insurance service provider Ping An. It is primarily tested for insurance schemes for those in the healthcare sector. 

Explaining the developments, Wang Peng, assistant professor at the Gaoling School of Artificial Intelligence at the Renmin University of China has reportedly said: “As more users get used to making payments with the digital yuan and the market matures, the application scenarios will be able to expand from the insurance industry to more scenarios such as financial services, life services, and even the purchase of funds and trading in securities.” 

As the popularity of cryptocurrencies skyrockets, more and more countries are planning to create their own digital currency. China has already been cracking down on Bitcoin mining and anything related to cryptocurrency payments. Experts say the Chinese government is paving its way to promote the Digital Yuan.

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The European Commission, in its new proposal mandates that they would require additional information. Crypto payment services providers would have to collect this info from their clients. Effectively it would mean clients will have to submit additional details about their crypto holdings and transfers. 

Some details that are required according to the proposal include the name of the account holder/ wallet operator from where the transaction has been initiated. Their account number and where it’s registered. Also, the operators will have to share identification documents of their clients with government agencies. 

Currently, the proposal calls for sharing such info when the transaction exceeds 1,000 euros. The commission explains the move is important “in order not to impair the efficiency of payment systems and crypto-asset transfer services and in order to balance the risk of driving transactions underground as a result of overly strict identification requirements against the potential terrorist threat posed by small transfers of funds.”

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Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency tokens, have been trading below the $32,000 mark. The top cryptocurrency is struggling to stay above the $30,000 mark amidst sell pressure. While Bitcoin at its peak had crossed the total market capitalization of one trillion dollars, currently, it’s down by over 40% to $594 billion.

On the other hand, the biggest altcoin by market size Ethereum continues to trade below the $2000 mark. Ether’s downward trend is recurring and the tokens have only lost value over the past week. On Monday, the second leading tokens were exchanging ownership below $1,900 and had dropped by over 3% in value in the past 24 hours. It’s market capitalization stands at $221.33 billion. 

The other major cryptocurrencies also dropped in value. All tokens like  XRP, Cardano, Stellar, Dogecoin, Chainlink, Polkadot, and Litecoin have been trading lower than what they were just a few weeks ago. The bearish momentum in the market and no positive developments has made it rather static.

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In a statement to the press, Bishijie said that they will no longer be sharing updates. The crypto-community forum also said that they are not sure when they would resume the activities as normal again. In regards to why they were stopping operations, the company did not make any official comment. 

Speaking to Global Times, a Chinese media outlet, Chen Bo, Director of the Digital Finance Research Center at the Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing said: “Whether involved in the direct trading of cryptocurrency or providing relevant information services, they are within the scope of the government’s crackdown, mainly for the concerns that cryptocurrency will cause systemic risks.”

While China has been known for being a crypto-friendly destination, now with the ongoing crackdown, it has become hostile to cryptocurrency and has strict warnings for using cryptos. For average Chinese people it is becoming increasingly difficult to access a cryptocurrency exchange.

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On his Twitter handle, Dorsey announced that Square will be creating an “open developer platform with the sole goal of making it easy to create non-custodial, permissionless, and decentralized financial services. Our primary focus is Bitcoin.”

Currently, the Ethereum network commands the major share of the Defi market. With Bitcoin-based Defi services, the new solution could be a game-changer as many would actively shift to these protocols.

Reports suggest that the Defi market for Ethereum has exploded in 2021. Jack Dorsey has also previously been involved in promoting Bitcoin-focussed R&D and experts are serious about his commitments.

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The financial watchdog also made it clear that the warning issued is for Binance.com, which is Binance’s main website. It is a global exchange and not a local subsidiary. In the warning the regulator also questioned the company’s legal authority to operate in Italy. 

Recently, there have been a few countries that have issued warnings to Binance for offering crypto investment products and services. Earlier it was UK and now it comes from Italy. 

CONSOB, the country’s top financial regulator said: “In any case, it is important that investors are informed that transactions in instruments related to crypto assets may pose risks that are not immediately perceptible due to their complexity, high volatility as well as for security vulnerabilities.” 

The regulator’s remarks have come in the light of a class action lawsuit filed by a group of italian investors against Binance in which they allege that Binance has violated not only Italy’s but also their own rules regarding future trading on the platform.

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“I believe that cryptocurrency is an inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology built primarily to amplify the wealth of its proponents through a combination of tax avoidance, diminished regulatory oversight and artificially enforced scarcity,” said Palmer.

He also alleged that the entire crypto industry was kind of sham and that it’s being run by  “powerful cartel of wealthy figures” which have “evolved to incorporate many of the same institutions tied to the existing centralized financial system they supposedly set out to replace.”

“Cryptocurrency is like taking the worst parts of today’s capitalist system (eg. corruption, fraud, inequality) and using software to technically limit the use of interventions (eg. audits, regulation, taxation) which serve as protections or safety nets for the average person,” he added.

Back in 2013, Palmer co-founded DOGECOIN. The cryptocurrency met with little success initially but over the years, what started out as a joke has become the world’s one of the top cryptocurrencies by market size.

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