“One thousand Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) were minted today on the Ethereum network (ETH) — a single transaction that represents more U.S dollar value than the entire Lightning Network.
It brings the total amount of Bitcoin now locked in WBTC tokens to 2,300, compared to the roughly 927 Bitcoin (BTC) locked on the Lightning Network.
Wrapped Bitcoin is an ERC-20 token that allows users to access popular ETH-based DeFi protocols using the value represented by their Bitcoin holdings.”
“According to a research paper, only 2% of transactions on the XRP ledger and 18% of transactions on Tezos (XTZ) lead to value transfers. During the period studied, 95% of transactions on EOS were related to the EIDOS token airdrop — a token that’s effectively worthless.
On Tezos, 82% of the transactions were involved in endorsing blocks. 18 accounts made 50% of all XRP transactions.“
“Andreessen Horowitz-backed dYdX released its Bitcoin Perpetual Contract, bringing the most liquid digital asset derivative to Ethereum’s burgeoning DeFi market for non-U.S. investors.
dYdX’s newest derivative will offer 10x leverage and no expiry, with margin and settlement conducted in USD Coin (USDC). The bitcoin contract will soon also be joined by ETH/USDC and DAI/USDC.
For the first time, users can trade the most popular financial product in crypto – BTC perpetual contracts – on a decentralized exchange.”
See Also: Introducing Strike — Decentralized Perpetual Swaps for Every Asset
“This integration demonstrates the power of OVM to deliver high-speed Ethereum transactions to supercharge the Synthetix trading experience.
The Optimism team has previously launched a demo with Uniswap at Devcon V in October 2019, which used a custom OVM. This new demo showcases a general alpha version of the OVM requiring no custom code, ahead of a launch later this year.”
See Also: Demo
See Also: Ethereal Summit: Preparing Ethereum for Mass Adoption (Video)
“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking third-party contractors to help it assess whether certain U.S. taxpayers have properly paid taxes on their crypto holdings.
According to the document, attached in full below, the contractors would have to look at both on-chain and off-chain data; information obtained through API keys, taxpayer submissions and other sources; determine the gains and losses for each taxpayer and note cost basis; track sales and other transactions; and find any inconsistencies in how the taxpayer is reporting their data.
Our dedication is 100% to our users. We have no plans of working with the government in this regard. [cryptotrader.tax]”
“The average block production time was roughly 7.5–8.5 minutes per block 24 hours prior to the halving, and we see an increase in block time post-halving, with an average of 11 minutes per block in the 12 hours following the halving.
With the available sample, we can safely conclude that the network has experienced a hash rate decline post-halving. The next difficulty change will happen in roughly six days.”
“What seems to be a fresh attempt to sway the Fed to take rates negative saw immediate backlash from sound-money supporters. Bitcoin (BTC) bulls were lambasting United States President Donald Trump this week as he called on the Federal Reserve to tax people’s savings.
Negative rates are not a gift. They are a transfer of wealth from savers to debtors.
As the Fed adopts a controlled Weimar strategy, Bitcoin just completed its third halving.”
“Cambodia’s DLT payments platform is designed to make it easier for Cambodia’s banks, E-wallet providers, and banking customers to transact with each other. Consumers will be able to make near instant payments via the platform, using a mobile app and QR codes.
There are 12 participating banks trialing the platform and it’s expected that all of the country’s financial institutions will join the platform.
We plan to go live in 2020, hopefully very soon.”
“Dr. Steven Waterhouse, a founding partner of Pantera Capital, says that his biggest regret as a VC is not investing in the Ethereum (ETH) Initial Coin Offering (ICO). [Waterhouse] explains how a Bitcoin maximalist bias led to the biggest mistake of his investment career.
Dr. Waterhouse still believes it to be the strongest project based on the number of developers involved. Ideological biases do not help make good investment decisions — Lesson learned.”
The Disrupt 