As Lightning Labs continues to expand the Lightning Network’s capabilities, another major exchange announces its plans to integrate. Global cryptocurrency exchange OKEx is moving to cheaper and faster Bitcoin (BTC) transactions with its upcoming Lightning Network integration. According to a Feb. 2 announcement, OKEx’s Bitcoin Lightning Network will be integrated “in the coming quarter,” making OKEx a participant node in the Lightning Network. The integration will allow OKEx users to select the Lightning Network option when depositing and withdrawing BTC, intending to decrease transaction fees and times. […]

Bitcoin bulls must overcome a major hurdle before new all-time highs can come back into play. Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a turbulent past few days after Elon Musk showed support for the cryptocurrency amid the GameStop fiasco on the equity markets. However, since that tweet, Bitcoin’s price has been correcting after the entire push through Elon Musk was retraced. Since then, Bitcoin’s price is facing a crucial hurdle at the $35,000–$35,200 area before an all-time high test. Once that area breaks and flips for support, continuation toward a […]

Keeping an eye on the recent fork of Vertcoin (VTC) form Lyra2REv3 to the new Verthash algorithm the profitability has been nice, although not as good as mining Ethereum. The VertHash algo is a memory-intensive algorithm, so GPU performance is not as important as having fast video memory with wide memory bus. It is similar to Ethash in that matter, however the interesting advantage of VertHash is that it uses much less video memory and thus can be mined on older GPUs. This makes it quite interesting […]

Manta Network may be the first DEX to fully shield its activity from prying eyes. Manta Network has closed a $1.1 million funding round to create a fully private decentralized exchange on Polkadot. Announced on Tuesday, the round was led by Polychain Capital and joined by Hypersphere Ventures, Three Arrows Capital, Defiance Capital, Multicoin Capital, Alameda Research, BTC12 Capital, Genblock Capital, Rarestone Capital and AU21 Capital. Manta wants to create an automated market maker exchange on Polkadot that would feature fully private swaps. It uses zk-SNARKs with […]

The Algorand Foundation introduced its Europe Accelerator program in October 2020. Now, 11 startups have been selected as part of the inaugural cohort. The Algorand Foundation, the research body behind smart contract protocol Algorand, has selected 11 startups for its inaugural accelerator program, a move that could enhance innovation on the emerging blockchain network. The 11 startups selected by Algorand Europe Accelerator are focused on payments and lending, infrastructure, network solutions and the Internet of Things. The accelerator program runs for 12 weeks, from Feb. 1 until […]

The newly launched Codefi Staking purports to be a more secure staking solution for Ethereum 2.0. ConsenSys, a New York-based Ethereum software company, has partnered with cybersecurity firm Securosys to launch a more secure staking solution for Ethereum 2.0. The new product, dubbed Codefi Staking, provides “institutional staking tools for Ethereum 2.0,” whose Beacon Chain launched on Dec. 1, 2020 after securing the minimum deposit contracts. By partnering with Securosys, ConsenSys said it was able to create a more secure method for long-term Ethereum staking. The enhanced security […]