A mysterious Redditor has made a data-driven prediction that the next major phase of development in the blockchain space will be in layer-2 solutions, primarily on Ethereum. The May 22 post explains that “We’re at a turning point” where the industry is moving away from bridging between L1 blockchains toward L2s which are “right out of the gate, more secure and decentralized than alt-L1s and are built to use sound money on a credibly neutral platform:” “L2 adoption is happening now, even if it is slow and in bursts. Behind the scenes, L2’s are improving reliability, decreasing fees, and increasing …

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has declined for eight consecutive weeks, the first such losing streak since 1923. On May 20, the S&P 500 briefly fell into bear market territory, indicating that traders continue to sell risky assets in fear of a recession. Due to its tight correlation with US equities markets, Bitcoin (BTC) has remained under pressure for many weeks. The bulls are attempting to push Bitcoin higher during the weekend and avert an even longer losing streak. Bitcoin’s performance in the first five months has been the worst since 2018, indicating that sellers are in control. However, after …

Blockchains have relied on proof-of-work (PoW) validation since their inception. Yet the PoW consensus proved to be unsustainable with its high energy usage and its need for fast, powerful hardware creating high barriers to entry. That’s why blockchains are adopting proof-of-stake consensus algorithms (PoS), where those wanting to earn rewards don’t have to compete against other miners, but can simply stake part of their crypto for a chance to be chosen to be a validator — and reap the returns. Everyone who owns crypto on PoS blockchains must want to take advantage of the opportunities staking provides, right? Actually, according …

Which blockchain is best for NFTs? When choosing any blockchain for minting NFTs, such as Ethereum for NFT development, ensure the robustness of its smart contracts, check the blockchain’s fee structure, security measures and transaction speed, and assess the possibility of forking. In the cryptocurrency market, NFTs are a significant niche. They provide further exposure to cryptocurrencies for people who might not otherwise have come into contact with these assets. In addition, they actively contribute to the mass adoption of blockchain technology because they are so closely linked to digital art and gaming. However, the resilience of a blockchain's smart …

Whoever coined the phrase “sell in May and go away” had brilliant insight, and the performance of crypto and stock markets over the past three weeks has shown that the expression still rings true. May 20 has seen a pan selloff across all asset classes, leaving traders with few options to escape the carnage as inflation concerns and rising interest rates continue to dominate the headlines. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) taking on water below $29,000, and traders worry that losing this level will ensure a visit to the low $20,000s …

Satoshi Nakamoto left a large pair of shoes to fill after releasing the code for Bitcoin (BTC) to the world, helping to establish the network, then vanishing without so much as a trace. Over the years, the crypto ecosystem has seen many developers and protocol creators rise in stature to become crypto messiahs for faithful holders who eventually have their best-laid plans end in catastrophe when the protocol is hacked, rugged or abandoned by whimsical developers. 2022 is hardly halfway complete and the year has already seen a particularly bad stretch of good intentions gone awry, which have collectively helped …

Bitcoin’s (BTC) tight correlation with the legacy markets continues to be a drag, especially as the United States equity markets remain in a firm bear trend. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is on track for its eighth consecutive negative week and the S&P 500 is close to plunging into the bear market territory. Celsius (CEL) CEO Alex Mashinsky believes that the short sellers on Wall Street are looking for any weakness in crypto companies to “short and destroy.” Mashinsky blamed “the Sharks of Wall Street” for bringing down Terra (LUNA) and trying to destabilize Tether (USDT) and Maker (MKR) and …

Crypto markets remain volatile and a handful of seasoned traders believe that the bearish trend will continue as long as stock markets are chasing new lows. Most investors would agree that crypto is now in a bear market and the current price action for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) suggests that capitulation and consolidation are a ways away. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that Ether still struggles to reclaim the $2,000 level as support and this zone has been a notable support and resistance since February 2021. Ether needs a monthly close above $2,250 Insight into the …

Ethereum's native token, Ether (ETH), continues to face downside risks in a higher interest rate environment. But one analyst believes that the token's next selloff move could turn into a bear trap as the market factors in the possible release of the Merge this coming August. ETH to $4K? Ether's price could reach $4,000 by 2022's end, according to a technical setup shared on May 20 by Wolf, an independent market analyst. The analyst envisioned ETH moving inside a multi-month ascending triangle pattern, which comprises a horizontal trendline resistance and rising trendline support. Notably, ETH's latest retest of the structure's …

Ethereum’s long-awaited migration to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which has been pushed back time and time again, looks set to occur sometime in August — hopefully. Preston Van Loon, a core developer of the Ethereum network, told attendees at the Permissionless conference that the transition, known as The Merge, would occur sometime in August if everything plays out according to plan. Ethereum core Dev @preston_vanloon just said the eth merge is ready,they are now only testing, and expects the merge to happen in August. Packed room @Permissionless are excited about it. Great question @TrustlessState. Also on panel @drakefjustin pic.twitter.com/vX4beNatJ5 …

The Ethereum ecosystem is set for a “huge testing milestone,” with the Ropsten testnet Merge set to be conducted on June 8. According to the Merge testnets page on GitHub, Ethereum DevOps engineer Parathi Jayanathi submitted a pull request for the Ropsten testnet Merge configuration code on Monday, suggesting the implementation is ready to go. Ropsten is one of several testnets created by the Ethereum Foundation in 2017 and is currently maintained by the Geth developer team. This specific testnet is seen as the best replication of the Ethereum Mainnet as it follows a similar network structure. This enables developers …

On May 17, United States Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told the Wall Street Journal that the 50-basis-point rate hikes would continue until inflation is under control. Powell’s emphasis on a hawkish policy suggests that monetary conditions are likely to remain tight in 2022, which could limit the upside in risky assets. On-chain market intelligence firm Glassnode said that historically, Bitcoin (BTC) has bottomed out when the price breaks below the realized price. However, barring the 2019 to 2020 bear market, during previous bear cycles, Bitcoin’s price stayed below the realized price for anywhere between 114 to 299 days. This …