Cardano is a proof-of-stake (PoS) platform launched in September 2017 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson. In September 2021, Cardano added support for smart contracts, which paved the way for developing decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) applications. NFTs landed on Cardano’s blockchain in 2022, with Cardano’s native cryptocurrency ADA (ADA) utilized to buy and sell them. The deployment of smart contracts on Cardano allowed the creation of NFT marketplaces, including CNFT.IO and Jpg.store. These marketplaces facilitate NFT projects on Cardano in a cost-effective and scalable way, attracting many enthusiasts seeking a user-friendly platform for creators and traders with low-cost …

Payments giant PayPal and investment management firm Galaxy joined hands to raise $20 million in seed funding for Chaos Labs, a New York-based cloud platform for securing blockchains and protocols. Chaos Labs protects crypto protocols against external exploits and risks with an automated risk management platform. The platform does this by offering agent- and scenario-based simulations, which in turn, helps secure protocols against economic vulnerabilities and market manipulation events. The seed funding is aimed at helping Chaos Labs further automate on-chain risk optimization. 1/ We are thrilled to announce we have secured $20M in seed funding led by @galaxyhq and …

Solana Spaces will close down its two Solana (SOL)-themed, community-oriented retail stores in New York City and Miami at the end of the month, as the physical stores didn't onboard as many users as it initially anticipated. Solana Spaces tweeted the news on Feb. 21 sharing a note from its founder, Vibhu Norby, explaining the reasons behind the store shutdowns. The following is a note from our founder, @vibhu. Dear @solanaspaces community, We’ve made the difficult decision to sunset our stores in NYC and Miami by the end of February, and to pivot our Solana onboarding efforts into digital products …

According to a medium post on Feb. 20, the Interchain Foundation (ICF), a non-profit organization behind the creation of the Cosmos (ATOM) interblockchain communications (IBC) ecosystem, has committed to spending approximately $40 million in 2023 to develop its core infrastructure and applications. As a part of the Interchain Stack, which is utilized by around 50 blockchains, these include the Tendermint Core (and now CometBFT), Cosmos SDK, Cosmos Hub, and the IBC protocol. "Throughout the year, we envisage engaging other teams to deliver smaller, tightly defined tasks within each area of work. Such contracts will be to supplement the work of …

Automated systems and blockchain technology are being increasingly utilized to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the carbon market, a critical component in the fight against climate change. Cointelegraph spoke to Bill Kentrup about the role of blockchain technology in digitizing verifiable data in the carbon market. Kentrup is the head of Origination and co-founder of enterprise software Allinfra Climate — a platform designed to help institutions achieve their sustainability goals. According to him, on-chain monitoring, reporting, verification, issuance, allocation, and retirement of carbon credits and carbon claims, could bring about efficiency and predictability that hasn’t existed in the past. …

Starting to invest in cryptocurrency does not necessarily require attaching a bank account or spending money (fiat) to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Another way to earn cryptocurrency and build a portfolio is to complete a variety of tasks on various Web3 platforms. Using decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, users earn cryptocurrency and then swap, sell or hold them in centralized or decentralized wallets without even having to spend money. Let’s look at a few ways to build a crypto portfolio without connecting a bank account. Interact with Web3 browsers A person without cryptocurrency knowledge might …

According to a report on Feb. 21, Deutsche Bank Singapore and Memento Blockchain have successfully completed the proof of concept phase of Project DAMA (Digital Assets Management Access), designed to facilitate the management of digital funds investing in tokenized securities. Per its report, asset managers were able to create a digital asset fund with its own soulbound token and launch a direct fiat-to-digital on-ramp for users. Institutional investors could then subscribe to the fund through the direct minting of tokens, via a decentralized exchange aggregator, or through a built-in marketplace. As the first step, Deutsche Bank and Memento Blockchain created …

Play-to-earn blockchain gaming experienced a downturn over the last year as gamers prioritized improving the gameplay experience. However, according to a new report from DappRadar, in the first month of 2023, gamers made up nearly half (48%) of all blockchain activity. January also saw the market caps for top gaming tokens increase by 122% on average, with Gala (GALA), the digital utility token of the Gala Games ecosystem, surging by 218%. According to the report, the rise in interest in these gaming tokens comes as industry buzz hits mainstream audiences. For example, Gala Games made headlines after it acquired a …

Microsoft has partnered with decentralized blockchain infrastructure provider Ankr to provide a novel node hosting service on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. In addition, the partnership will see an integration of technology from both companies, pairing Ankr’s blockchain infrastructure with Microsoft’s cloud solutions. Per Ankr, the enterprise node deployment service will offer low-latency blockchain connections for Web3 projects so that developers can instead spend their time scaling their applications. The service relays transactions, deploys smart contracts and can read or write blockchain data. By upgrading its load balancer to use Azure-based routing solutions, Ankr said the firm would be able to …

A $100 million is being earmarked for a grant program funding the development of Web3, AI and decentralized technologies in a partnership between Bosch and Fetch.ai. The two companies are collaborating to create the Fetch.ai Foundation, which will aim to fuel industrial adoption of innovative software, AI and Web3 technologies. The initiative will fund research and develop decentralized technologies for real-world use cases. The program will provide $100 million in grants to fund the long-term development of Web3-based solutions and services for the mobility, industrial technology and consumer industries. An announcement shared with Cointelegraph indicates that the grant program will …

What is a market maker, and how do they differ in the crypto and traditional finance markets? At the European Blockchain Conference in Barcelona, Cointelegraph discussed the topic with key market makers in the crypto industry on one of the conference’s first panels. Cointelegraph reporter Joseph Hall drew up the analogy that crypto market makers are much like cool bartenders at a very high-tech and unashamedly nerdy cocktail party. Their job is to keep the drinks flowing, i.e., provide liquidity and ensure everyone's having a good time while maintaining order in the market. Cointelegraph's @JoeNakamoto hosting the "Why Market Making …

Since its inception, blockchain technology has found diversified and valuable applications to help boost efficiency and incentivize community participation in different areas and industries. Farming is a sector that can benefit from comprehensive blockchain technology solutions, specifically when it comes to assembling actionable data and making it work to improve small businesses’ operations across several financial and sustainability metrics. By 2050, it is estimated that 10 billion people will inhabit the earth, and agricultural development will be a powerful mechanism to end extreme poverty, facilitate shared prosperity and feed the overall global population. The global agri-food industry is worth an …