Almost six million Ether (ETH) has been staked on the Ethereum 2.0 deposit contract, according to data provided by Eth2 Launchpad. This milestone shows how confident Ethereum users are about this major upgrade, not minding that it could take years to be launched.
Ethereum 2.0 staked ETH chart. Source: Eth2 Launchpad
Over $12.4 Billion ETH Staked
At the time of writing, about 5,958,361 ETH was staked on the deposit contract, worth over US$12.4 billion at $2,090 per coin. In addition, the number of validators has increased to 180,873.
Since the Beacon chain went live in December last year, the number of ETH staked on the network has been increasing at a notable pace. This is evident given more than 5.4 million ETH has been added to the network in that six-month period.
At 6 million ETH, Ethereum 2.0 will account for over 5.1 percent of all ETH in circulation.
Why Ethereum 2.0?
Ethereum 2.0 – also known as Serenity – is a major upgrade to the current Ethereum network. On several occasions Ethereum has suffered network congestion, resulting in slow transactions and expensive fees. This scalability issue led to the proposition of Ethereum 2.0, which will transition the mainnet from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus model to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS).
Most importantly, Ethereum 2.0 will remove the need for miners, since PoS runs with staking, meaning it will be greener. Serenity will bring a lot of improvements to Ethereum and will essentially address the issue of scalability that has been plaguing the network. This simply means it will be faster and cheaper to use the network when Ethereum 2.0 is finally deployed.
Ethereum 2.0 is expected to follow four development phases before launch. We are currently in the first stage (ie, Phase 0 – Beacon Chain), left with the three other phases, which may take up to three years.
perfect diamond isolated on shiny background with clipping path.
International auction house Sotheby’s will accept Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) for a rare 101.38-carat diamond, the first time cryptocurrency will be accepted as payment at auction of a diamond weighing more than 100 carats.
No other physical object with an estimate even approaching this amount has ever been publicly offered for purchase with cryptocurrency, according to the auction house.
This is a truly symbolic moment. The most ancient and emblematic denominator of value can now, for the first time, be purchased using humanity’s newest universal currency. Never was there a better moment to bring a world-class diamond such as this to the market.
Patti Wong, chair of Sotheby’s Asia
Dubbed ‘The Key 10138’, it is an example of type IIa diamonds, the most chemically pure variety of which only 10 over 100 carats have ever been sold at auction.
Sotheby’s, a British-founded American multinational corporation headquartered in New York City and operating in more than 40 countries, is one of the world’s largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, real estate and collectibles.
With the name ‘The Key 10138’, we wanted to celebrate this enlightening virtue while also alluding to the crucial function of digital keys in the world of NFTs and cryptocurrency.
Wenhao Yu, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery in Asia
Along with fiat, the auction house will also accept Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment for the diamond, estimated to be worth between US$10 million and $15 million. The live single-lot auction will be held in Hong Kong on July 9, with online bidding open from June 25. Sotheby’s will host the auction using its hybrid online and live bidding process.
The Key 10138 diamond is the main attraction of Sotheby’s inaugural “Luxury Edit” sale series in Asia, bringing together a variety of luxury items that include jewels, watches, wine, handbags and rare sneakers. The auction house has not stated whether these other items will be available for purchase with crypto as well.
Increasing Interest in the Digital Space
Sotheby’s has made significant strides in the adoption of blockchain-related technologies such as NFTs. The organisation recently sold a CryptoPunk non-fungible token (NFT) for a record US$11.8 million.
Last month, Sotheby’s sold a Banksy for US$12.9 million in the first instance of a work of physical art sold by a major auction house that was bought with cryptocurrency.
According to Chinese media reports, the government of Ya’an – a city in the Sichuan region – has started shutting down crypto mining operations by force and redeploying the hydroelectric plants used to power them.
The government order has apparently caused Ethereum’s hashrate to drop by 7%. It’s safe to assume the hashrate of Bitcoin has also gone down – although at the time of writing, there was no data to back this up.
On June 18, Sichuan officially issued a document requesting power generation companies are required to immediately stop supplying power to any virtual currency mining, and report the relevant situation on the 25th. https://t.co/O39TSETy0k
The cease-and-desist orders started going out on June 18 as the local Ya’an government decided that the hydroelectric power being used to fuel these mining farms could be put to better use elsewhere.
A total of 26 big-league mining plants were identified and shut down. Although lesser mining farms seem to have been passed up by the order, it’s unclear whether these smaller operations will be allowed to remain open.
There are many small and medium-sized hydropower stations in Yunnan, Sichuan, and it may be difficult for them to receive government supervision. However, large-scale projects will be shut down in the short term.
PANews, China
Hydropower Means Green Energy is Not an Issue
This isn’t about green energy, either – according to Jiang Zhuoer, the founder of mining pool BTC.Top, all crypto miners in Sichuan are running their operations off hydropower. This mirrors the overall situation across China, where up to 90% of mining operations allegedly run on hydropower as well.
Following the document served on June 18, law enforcement agencies immediately began to shut down the identified mining operations. Furthermore, a report to local government authorities is due on June 25 regarding the success of the operation.
This could mean one of two things:
First, it could mean the government simply wants to see the exact impact of large-scale mining operations on the local power grid, after which a more permanent decision can be taken
However, this could also mean the mining operations have shut for good – and that the requested report is merely a formality.
With China shutting down its mining operations, we may see other countries such as the US and El Salvador take up the hashpower by running eco-friendly crypto mining operations.
A new entrant into the crypto copy trading market, DeXe Network offers what it calls the “world’s first” decentralised social trading platform.
Copying the deals of successful traders is an effective way for novices to reduce their effort and risk. While copy trading is not new to the crypto market, where DeXe Network differs is that it operates in the DeFi environment.
An introduction to DeXe Network from the company’s YouTube channel
Simplified Copy Trading for the DeFi Ecosystem
In development since 2019, DeXe Network currently offers a standard “wallet-to-wallet copy” for decentralised copying of successful traders, where users follow another trader’s activity automatically. The application enables social trading of any Ethereum wallet addresses.
Trading in DeFi is a jungle that’s often extremely frustrating, with too many manual steps and complexities. The main mission of the DeXe Network is to simplify much of that into an automatic and transparent way for both traders and followers to increase their DeFi earnings.
Making Decentralised Asset Management a Reality
DeXe’s other main product, which is still in testing phase, is what’s known as DeXe Investments. It involves smart contracts that connect users with a trader in a decentralised way.
Users can essentially invest their capital with specific traders who then manage those assets on their behalf. The user receives a synthetic token from the trader as collateral – and as the trader increases the value of their traded funds, the value of the user’s token also increases. DeXe Investments is in its final testing stages before being opened to the public.
The necessity of such a secure and decentralised money management tool is undeniable. DeXe provides an opportunity for any user to invest safely in a decentralised environment, controlling risks and finances using just his/her wallet.
DeXe Network operates on DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation) principles and is designed to ensure users maintain control of all financial transactions in their personal wallets, with no third-party interference.
While DeFi social trading may be expanding, digital exchanges such as Binance continue to break records for trading volume. Many traders are also making profits through DeFi bot arbitrage trading, according to research on the Ethereum blockchain.
Browser extension GasNow, which is used to keep track of Ethereum gas fees, has recently gained permission settings that are unsettling some of the crypto community.
GasNow is an extension available on Chrome and Brave browsers that allows users to track gas fees and set up alerts. Following a recent update to the app, it now asks to have access and modify what’s in your clipboard (when you copy text or other data with a device it gets put on the clipboard).
Security Concerns
This is a major security concern because, when you copy an address to send funds to, the extension can detect that event and switch the address with another when you paste it.
This will lead to your funds being sent to another address and your crypto being lost in cyberspace if you don’t double-check the address you pasted. Other scams have happened before due to malicious Chrome extensions.
Comments on Chrome web store
This automatically creates a problem for Brave users as well since third-party extensions are not vetted by Brave individually, and the Brave browser can only use Chrome extensions.
What The Developers Said
⭐️ Happy to let you know
✅ v0.3.1 extension ✅ v0.3.2 pre-release to for Chrome 91.X
Most financial/crypto developers are usually aware of the massive security risk with this permission (not just crypto but in general, as it can be used to collect passwords). With such a potential added risk, individuals in the crypto space are becoming increasingly skittish with the proliferation of scams in recent times.
If you are using another similar extension, check the permissions that have been granted because there are other extensions using this technique. And remember to Do Your Own Research (DYOR).
A job ad from Amazon, America’s largest digital retailer, has hinted at the company’s move into the decentralised finance (DeFi) market.
Are you passionate about blockchain and decentralised networks and their potential to transform how people, companies, and governments transact?
Amazon job ad
The listing, featured on jobsite LinkedIn, seeks a ‘Head of Product, Blockchain’ who can apply blockchain for a range of use cases, including DeFi, as part of the Amazon Managed Blockchain (AMB) team.
Amazon’s job ad on LinkedIn
The position description states:
The candidate will have a track record delivering outstanding products at scale in emerging spaces, and is passionate about blockchain, distributed systems and cloud scale software. Ideally you will have experience delivering products or innovations in the blockchain space, and in particular DeFi or Traditional Financial Services.
As well as a computer science degree and more than 10 years’ experience, the job ad lists preferred qualifications including experience in blockchain applications Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric.
Does a Blockchain Hire Signal an Amazon-Branded Crypto?
Given the increasing value of the DeFi industry, it makes sense that the e-commerce heavy hitter wants a slice of the action.
Amazon’s recruitment of a blockchain product manager is driving speculation about exactly how the company will apply DeFi – whether accepting cryptos as payment or creating its own digital currency and exchange.
The AMB team leverages blockchain for use cases “across DeFi, Supply Chain, Financial Services, Identity and more”, and it seems the new hire will play an important role in shaping Amazon’s approach to DeFi. As the ad says:
We are looking for an experienced product leader to drive the vision, roadmap, feature definition and go-to-market strategy of the AWS [Amazon Web Services] product offering across the rapidly evolving and broad landscape of blockchain technology and use cases.
What appears to be a move to do more in the DeFi space could help Amazon stay ahead of rivals like Cudos, a decentralised cloud computing network, which launched its private testnet in May.
Solana is challenging Ethereum’s lion’s share of the decentralised applications market after rumours emerged it will receive a funding injection of between US$300-450 million.
Solana is making real progress towards positioning itself as the preferred blockchain on which the next generation of dApps are built, powering DeFi, NFTs and gaming. We also saw recently that SOL was listed on Coinbase Pro, which also boosts its tradability.
While Ethereum has struggled to meet the booming demand in the market as increased adoption has resulted in painfully slow transaction wait times and soaring gas prices, the current congestion issues have opened up the space for new contenders.
Solana’s open-source proof-of-stake blockchain aims to solve the traffic bottleneck on the Ethereum network. Solana’s advanced scalability offers dApps built on its blockchain lightning-fast performance at significantly cheaper costs to those built on Ethereum. Currently, Solana can handle more than 50,000 transactions per second, while Ethereum averages only 10-15 transactions per second. On its website, Solana boasts a low average fee of only $0.00025 per transaction.
The funding round for Solana was due to close in March but was extended due to strong interest. Solana has not released an official statement but, in a recent interview, executives did not deny it, commenting:
This information wasn’t shared by our team …We won’t be able to assist with any additional commentary around this as it’s not officially being released by Solana.
Solana spokesperson
According to Forbes, if the rumoured sum raised amounts to even $300 million, that would place it in the top six venture capital rounds in crypto and blockchain to date. It will be interesting to see if Solana comes under scrutiny from the SEC, who may deem the SOL tokens as securities and thus subject to regulatory challenges.
Learn more about the Solana project on the Solana Podcast.
Let’s take a closer look at this week’s altcoins showing breakout signals. We’ll dive into the trading charts and provide some analysis to help you.
1. Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is a decentralized open-source blockchain system that features its own cryptocurrency, Ether. ETH works as a platform for numerous other cryptocurrencies, as well as for the execution of decentralized smart contracts.
Ethereum’s own purported goal is to become a global platform for decentralized applications, allowing users from all over the world to write and run software that is resistant to censorship, downtime, and fraud.
Ethereum Price Analysis
At the time of writing, ETH is ranked 2nd cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$3571. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis.
ETH‘s stunning rally to $5647 plummeted over 60 percent during May to sweep consolidation lows at $2576. This sweep of the lows could set the stage for a new bullish cycle to begin.
The price is currently balancing around the June monthly open. A quick stop runs into support beginning near $2527 could set the stage for a move into the daily gap beginning near $3255 – potentially reaching resistance near $4624.
A sweep of the highs near $3752, followed by a sharp sell-off, could hint that bears are preparing to run the swing low near $2810 AUD. This drop could find support around $2479 in the candle wick that created the May low. If the market remains bearish, the price will likely sweep May’s low into possible support near $2192.
2. Elastos (ELA)
Elastos aims to be a blockchain-powered version of the internet. The project originates all the way back to the year 2000; however, the current version that is based on blockchain technology and has been in active development by Elastos was founded in June 2017.
The team behind the project genuinely believes that Ethereum, as well as DApp platforms, faces limitations in scaling. While they are great for smart contracts, they are slow, not flexible at all, and inconvenient for full applications, according to Elastos. Elastos is a platform for decentralized apps (DApps for short) that claims to solve many of these limitations.
ELA Price Analysis
At the time of writing, ELA is ranked the 366th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$5.44. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis.
ELA formed relatively equal lows near A$3 after dropping over 81 percent during May. These lows could provide the target for another leg down, possibly finding support in the monthly gap of around $2.63.
If this sweep of the $3.90 swing lows occurs, more aggressive bulls might begin bidding the weekly level near the swing low around $3.37. Should the market take a more bullish turn, the level just below near $5.08 could provide some short-term support.
The steep drop left large areas of inefficient price action, making the daily gap up to $7.60 likely to be touched or filled. A sustained move through this resistance could visit a significant area on the monthly and weekly chart near $9.55.
3. Origin Protocol (OGN)
Origin Protocol is a network that allows market participants to share goods and services through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. The platform aims to create an extensive online marketplace leveraging the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain and Interplanetary File System (IPFS) in order to eliminate the need for middlemen.
The protocol allows for the creation of a decentralized setting where both buyers and sellers can connect, check for available listings, write reviews, and perform many other actions. With this, fractional usage of assets can be traded more easily.
OGN Price Analysis
At the time of writing, OGN is ranked the 139th cryptocurrency globally and the current price is A$1.19. Let’s take a look at the chart below for price analysis.
April started a gradual 87 percent decline in OGN‘s price. The move into February’s swing high saw a sharp jump in price, showing that some support exists near $0.59.
A sweep of the most recent swing lows into possible support beginning near $1.04 could lead to a rally over the June monthly open. This rally would likely sweep the swing high into the resistance near $1.55.
This potential bullish move could continue through the relatively equal swing highs near $1.89 – but is likely to find some resistance in the weekly level around $2.
Continued bearishness in the crypto markets might push the price to fill the weekly gap down to $0.54. This drop would sweep the stops under May’s low and potentially mark a new accumulation zone for the next bullish cycle.
Where to Buy or Trade Altcoins?
These 3 Altcoins have the highest liquidity on Binance Exchange, so that could help for trading on USDT or BTC pairs. Instead, if you’re looking at buying and HODLing cryptos, then Swyftx Exchange is a popular choice in Australia.
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, came across the term “Ether” (also written as aether) on Wikipedia while searching for science fiction-themed words as he wrote his whitepaper.
Ether From Medieval Science
Ether is a common term from ancient and medieval science and was used in various theories to explain several natural phenomena, such as gravity and the travelling of light. However, there was no hard evidence to back ether being a medium through which light can travel. Scientists in the late 19th century postulated that ether was transparent, frictionless and weightless, and that it permeated all matter and space.
South American-born crypto journalist and founder of DeFi newsletter The Defiant, Camila Russo, detailed in her 2020 book The Infinite Machine that the name of the second-largest blockchain network, Ethereum, was coined from a medieval scientific theory. As Ethereum was developed to be an imperceptible medium for every decentralised application, it’s worth mentioning that the blockchain is fairly living up to that.
Ether is Still Relevant in Crypto
Although the concept of ether posed by medieval scientists has been dismissed, Buterin still chose the term for the blockchain network as he appreciates the assumed properties of ether.
Vitalik wanted his platform to be the underlying and imperceptible medium for every application, just what medieval scientists thought ether was. […] Plus, it sounded nice.
Camila Russo
Buterin came up with “Ethereum” for the blockchain network, while “Ether” refers to the native cryptocurrency (ie, ETH). Since its inception in 2015, Ethereum has grown to become one of the core pillars of cryptocurrency. Several projects have been built on the network, and still counting.
Despite the fact that Ethereum has scalability issues, many experts believe the network still has more to offer, especially with Ethereum 2.0 under way.
NortonLifeLock is launching a new feature for their users that will allow them to mine Ethereum (ETH) from their own computers. The software is there to allow users who opt in to skip all the steps and mine crypto with only a few clicks.
From June 3, Norton 360 customers in the early adopter program were invited to mine Ethereum. At launch, the tool would only allow users to mine Ether, the cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, the world’s second-largest crypto. However, Norton told CNN it may allow users to mine other “reputable cryptocurrencies” in the future.
We are proud to be the first consumer Cyber Safety company to offer coinminers the ability to safely and easily turn the idle time on their PCs into an opportunity to earn digital currency.
Gagan Singh, chief product officer at NortonLifeLock
The Norton press release claims its service is well suited to people who don’t want to deal with the nitty-gritty of setting up mining software and are afraid of using “unvetted code” that could be skimming or planting ransomware on their machines.
The Norton Mining Pool
Mining from a normal computer is very difficult since one requires significant power to crack the Proof-of-Work puzzle. Mining in a pool allows many computers to contribute joint resources over a network and split the reward based on how much work their machines did together.
Pools almost universally take a percentage cut of all earnings, this being a widely used standard. If it is indeed the case that users will be contributing to a mining pool, Norton will be leveraging its millions of customers’ computers to generate a new income stream.
Norton Crypto Wallet
Any earnings will be funnelled into a cloud-based wallet called the Norton Crypto Wallet. From there, users will be able to trigger transactions and receive payments. It’s funny to consider the possible additions to hashrate from 13 million Norton 360 users.
There Could Be Some Issues
Norton 360 users might need to consider tax implications before getting a surprise in the tax season. In the US, mined cryptocurrency is considered by the IRS as a taxable event and must be reported on tax returns as income.
The other side is environmental; does this mean that more people will leave their personal computers in idle to mine crypto? This might cause a higher electricity bill for some unsuspecting customers. Also, most mining farms have carbon offset technologies or make use of sustainable energy, where most individuals don’t.
