In bull and bear markets, the mantra for cryptocurrency projects that are focused on long-term sustainability is “always be building.” Kadena (KDA) is one project that has earned rewards from its forward-looking approach to development despite the weakness in the wider crypto market and the layer-one proof-of-work blockchain protocol has seen its price reverse direction recently. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of KDA spiked 40% from a low of $5.94 in the early hours on March 11 to a high of $8.28 as its 24-hour trading volume surged 784% to $325 million. Three reasons …

Solana (SOL), one of the most active proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchains, appears to be a PoS protocol consuming the lowest amount of electricity per transaction, according to a new report. The Crypto Carbon Ratings Institute (CCRI), a research startup focused on the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies, released on Wednesday a new report calculating the electricity consumption and carbon footprint of major PoS blockchains. The CCRI specifically analyzed PoS networks including Cardano, Solana, Polkadot, Avalanche, Algorand and Tezos. According to the CCRI’s findings, the Solana blockchain consumed 0.166 watt-hours (Wh) of electricity per transaction within the study, becoming the most energy-efficient PoS …

On Jan. 27, a group of eight U.S. lawmakers, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren, sent letters to the world’s six largest Bitcoin mining companies, demanding to reveal the detailed data on their electricity consumption. This isn’t the first time Senator Warren requested this information from a mining operation — last month a similar letter was sent to Greenidge Generation, which uses a natural gas plant to power its facility. These moves highlight the increasing regulatory pressure on crypto mining businesses in the United States. But, as last week’s Congress hearing showed, the growing scrutiny might turn out to be an …

Cointelegraph is following the development of an entirely new blockchain from inception to mainnet and beyond through its series Inside the Blockchain Developer’s Mind. In previous parts, Andrew Levine of Koinos Group discussed some of the challenges the team has faced since identifying the key issues they intend to solve and outlined three of the “crises” that are holding back blockchain adoption: upgradeability, scalability and governance. This series is focused on the consensus algorithm: Part 1 is about proof-of-work, Part 2 is about proof-of-stake and Part 3 is about proof-of-burn. This article is the second in my series about consensus …

Proof-of-work (POW) blockchain networks were all the rage in the early days of cryptocurrency when Bitcoin (BTC) set the standard for security and other projects followed suit in various attempts to offer a robust, scalable network that would either support payments of efficiently transmit data. Most protocols have now shifted to proof-of-stake but Kadena (KDA), a scalable layer-one blockchain protocol is still operating on the old proof-of-work model. According to the project, the network is capable of processing up to 480,000 transactions per second thanks to the use of “braided chains”. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that …

Even with Bitcoin (BTC) price on the verge of a new all-time high, the cryptocurrency market projects an aura of anxious optimism on Oct. 18 as investors await the official launch of the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which is set to begin trading on Oct. 19. While the market waits for the historic ETF launch, BTC bulls are battling to hold the $62,000 level as support. Meanwhile, a handful of altcoins posted double-digit rallies on Oct. 18 as traders look to capitalize on the gains they provide when Bitcoin price consolidates. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows …

What is the difference between self-staking and ETH2.0 Staking Earn? While Ethereum 2.0 staking allows validators to be compensated for securing the network, ‘Ethereum 2.0 Staking Earn’ is its own product, providing users rewards from several DeFi products. On Ethereum 2.0, the PoS-powered blockchain will bundle 32 blocks of transactions during each validation round. Each block bundle is known as an epoch, which are finalized transactions. During the validation process, also known as "attesting," the Beacon Chain assigns groups of stakers into "committees" of 128, who are then given a shard block. A base reward will determine the issuing rate …

Smart contract platform Algorand plans to achieve a carbon-negative network by implementing a “sustainability oracle” in partnership with ClimateTrade in a move that could make blockchain adoption more environmentally friendly. The partnership, which was announced Thursday, enables Algorand to notarize its on-chain carbon footprint and then lock the equivalent amount of carbon credits into a so-called green treasury. Silvio Micali, Algorand’s founder, said the company is focusing on sustainability at a time of growing adoption for the smart-contract protocol. “As this period of hyper growth continues, we find it crucial to operate at a carbon-negative level. Indeed sustainable growth is …

Major privacy-oriented cryptocurrency, Beam (BEAM), is making its first official move towards decentralized finance, or DeFi. In anticipation of Beam’s soon-to-come hard fork, the team behind the project updated a number of relevant specifications, paving the way to the so-called “Confidential Defi,” Beam announced to Cointelegraph on June 24. Confidential Assets are at the core of Beam’s future DeFi offering Scheduled for June 28, the hard fork will enable Confidential Assets, or Beam CA — independent tokens on the Beam network. Beam CA will be a key component in the future Beam’s DeFi offering, Beam advisor Guy Corem said. Beam …

JPMorgan’s blockchain spin-off Kadena has fully launched its public blockchain, completing what it calls the “industry’s first hybrid blockchain platform.” Launched on Jan. 15, Kadena’s public blockchain includes full transactions and the ability to write smart contracts, the firm’s CEO co-founder and Will Martino said in a press release shared with Cointelegraph. The company claims the product is the first sharded Proof-of-Work Layer 1 network to make it to market. Kadena’s hybrid blockchain seamlessly integrates a public chain with a private network As the launch completes Kadena’s hybrid blockchain platform, the fully functional hybrid blockchain enables the connection of a …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance will suspend Ether (ETH) deposits and withdrawals to support the recently announced Ethereum network Muir Glacier upgrade. In a Dec. 30 blog post, Binance said that deposits and withdrawals will be suspended on the platform prior to the Ethereum network block height of 9,200,000 selected to execute the upgrade. Ether trading will not be affected While ETH trading will not be affected during the upgrade, deposits and withdrawals will be reopened once Binance deems the upgraded network to be stable. Binance noted that it will not make a separate announcement about the resumption of deposits and …