Following the decentralized finance (DeFi) boom of 2020, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) solidified their place in the ecosystems of both cryptocurrency and finance. Since DEXs are not as heavily regulated as centralized exchanges, users can list any token they want. With DEXs, high-frequency traders can make trades on coins before they hit major exchanges. Plus, decentralized exchanges are noncustodial, which implies that creators cannot pull an exit fraud — in theory. As such, high-frequency trading firms that used to broker unique trading transactions with cryptocurrency exchange operators have turned to decentralized exchanges to conduct business. What is high-frequency trading in crypto? …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) has seen tremendous growth since its inception, expanding by more than 1,200% in 2021 in total value locked (TVL) and surpassing $240 billion in invested assets. While DeFi has since dropped to around $60 billion TVL as a result of wider macroeconomic trends, such as rising inflation, the seeds are in place for DeFi to reconfigure the foundations of our financial infrastructure when the next market cycle comes. Historically, the return to a bull market develops over a four-year trajectory. This time, a recovery in 2024 is highly feasible due to the maturation of monetary policy and …

Blockchain and crypto are coming to a local weather station near you - or at least that’s what one group of Athens-based engineers is trying to accomplish. WeatherXM is using a combination of blockchain-based data verification with crypto incentives to get people worldwide to capture their local weather data for more accurate forecasting. Cointelegraph sat down with WeatherXM co-founders, CEO Manolis Nikiforakis and chief technology officer Nikos Tsiligaridis for an interview in Athens, Greece. They talked about how Web3 tools provide the best solution to the lack of quality and the quantity of available weather data. The company is deploying …

Samson Mow, a well-known Bitcoin proponent, recently took to social media to talk about the centralization aspects of the upcoming Merge, which he claimed isn’t widely known. Ethereum is in the countdown mode after the completion of the Bellatrix upgrade on Sept. 6 and is all set for the official transition between Sept.13-15, depending on the hashrate (computer power) input on the network. The Merge is slated to be triggered by a difficulty threshold called the Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD) at a value of 58750000000000000000000. Mow claimed that while everyone thinks that the Merge will be triggered by pre-set threshold …

Decentralized identity protocols Several identity protocols, from crypto startups to big tech solutions, deal with decentralized identification, and each has its specifics and features. Though the decentralized identity technology is fairly new, initiatives and players in the decentralized identity space, software for implementing decentralized identity wallets and supporting services are plentiful. They range from the Hyperledger open-source developing community, through a range of decentralized identity protocols and startups, to some of the biggest names in the industry. Decentralized identity protocols and private identity stores such as uPort or 3Box are called identity hubs. Recently, the Ethereum-based uPort platform split into …

Sovereign identity has been a hot topic in blockchain and cryptocurrency, especially with the rise of the creator economy. Currently, there are two types of digital identities— federated and centralized whereby data is in the control of the service provider. Self-sovereign digital identity is often cited as a human right that can reclaim agency using blockchain technology, but what frameworks exist that aid in governing it? On Aug. 2, NFT Steez, a bi-weekly Twitter Spaces hosted by Alyssa Expósito and Ray Salmond, met Marjorie Hernandez, the co-founder of LUKSO and The Dematerialized to discuss the state of blockchain-based identities and …

There are more than 1,400 DApps in operation and their number is growing rapidly, according to a United States Federal Reserve Board discussion paper dated in June but released Aug. 30. Ethereum is their biggest host with 470, or 31%, of them. Those decentralized finance (DeFi) products represent a very small share of the global financial system, but may still pose risks to financial stability, the authors said. The cumulative gross value of DeFi products ranged from $78 billion to $224 billion at the beginning of the second quarter of 2022, depending on how DeFi was defined, the paper said. …

The Ethereum network will be able to withstand censorship risks both in the short and long term, according to Ethereum community member and investor, Ryan Berckmans. The ban of Ethereum-based privacy tool tornado Cash by U.S. authorities earlier this month left many wondering whether Ethereum transactions could be also at risk of censorship, especially after Ethereum’s imminent transition to a proof-of-stake system. A widely spread concern is that entities controlling a large chunk of staked Eth, such as Coinbase or Kraken, would start censoring transactions in order to comply with U.S. sanctions. That is an unlikely scenario according to Berckmans, …

There is no denying that nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have taken a hit in recent months. Market conditions have plunged, scams and hacks are frequent, and there is an increasing number of low-quality projects, pushing many to question the value of NFTs and their place in Web3 altogether. Over the last crypto cycle, NFT market conditions have been largely correlated to and reliant upon the general crypto market. As technology and digital assets soared in valuation, it became easier for individuals and investors to justify speculating on the nascent NFT asset class — often paying exorbitant premiums with the conviction that …

To many, Web3 is a concept that is equal parts promising and distant. Naturally, as the conversation continues to grow, many are now confused about where Web3 can be accessed, especially with the sheer number of self-proclaimed “decentralized applications” better thrown as “dApps” that are supposedly running and available. The caveat is that many of these projects aren’t fully decentralized, as they claim, often relying heavily on components of Web2 like centralized storage. The result is that at any time, a centralized party can disable access leaving users unable to access associated applications or, in extreme cases, compromise the dApps, …

The total value locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) projects is hovering around $62 billion as of mid-August, down from a peak of over $250 billion in December 2021. Capital is fleeing the crypto space amid war, soaring inflation and whatever other surprises 2022 may still have in store for us. However, unlike previous crypto bull runs, it was not just retail interest that drew in this capital in the first place. Rather, major institutional players, which have recently opened up to crypto, quickly developed an appetite for the yields DeFi is known for. But now that winter is upon us, …

Although there is still an apparent lack of women in the Web3 sector, blockchain-based games geared toward women may help drive inclusivity. A recent report from the Entertainment Software Association found that 48% of gamers in the United States identify as female. It has also been noted that nearly half of all gamers in the world are women. The interest that women have taken in the billion-dollar gaming sector is notable. This, combined with the massive growth being projected by the GameFi industry, is a key reason why a number of Web3 games are being built specifically for female users. …