Enterprise blockchain platform Insolar (INS) has successfully launched its testnet on Jan. 22, recording over 10,000 transactions per second (TPS), according to data from its block explorer Insolar Explorer. As the company announced on Sunday, Insolar set up its private testnet launch in order to prove its scalability and speed, with the goal to reach at least 10,000 TPS. The original Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain is able to process about 7 TPS, while the network of another major coin Ethereum (ETH) can process 20 TPS, as recently reported by Cointelegraph. Ripple (XRP), the second biggest crypto by market cap, “consistently handles” …

Open-source project Qtum representatives claim that their enterprise blockchain dubbed ‘QtumX’ can accommodate “more than 10,000” transactions per second (TPS), according to a press release recently shared with Cointelegraph. With yet another player being added to the scalability race, it makes sense to look back and see how the main blockchains and cryptocurrencies stand in regard to TPS — and whether their numbers are actually authentic. Transaction speed: How important is it? Scalability is one of cryptocurrencies’ main issues, especially when it comes to the older coins. In fact, one of the first public comments on Bitcoin’s (BTC) white paper …

I sent a transaction with a tiny fee! What do I do? Relax. You have options. For fear of sounding like a broken record, you can wait. In some cases, you might get lucky and see your low-fee transaction go through when there is a lull in the network. Worse comes to worst, the transaction will be forgotten — meaning you can attempt it once again with a higher fee to ensure it doesn’t get stuck, as the funds will remain at the address where you tried to send it from in the first instance. Platforms such as Changelly are …

The on-chain transaction value of Ethereum (ETH) hit an all time high in December 2018, crypto analytics firm Diar reports on Jan. 21. On-chain transaction levels of the third largest cryptocurrency reached 115 million in December 2018, an all-time high excluding the activity following a hard fork caused by the DAO hack in 2016. Dair stated, “In terms of transaction count on-chain the ‘super computer’ has found stability since October bobbing between 16–17 million monthly transactions.” On-Chain Ethereum transaction Volumes. Source: Diar Conversely, the United States dollar value of the on-chain transactions is at a 22-month low. U.S. dollar value …

For the everyday consumer, cryptocurrencies and blockchain are still shrouded in mystery. User interfaces that are difficult to understand represent a major barrier to entry, with slow transaction speeds frustrating open-minded people who are trying to use the technology for the first time. An upcoming blockchain network says change is desperately needed if crypto is ever going to reach its full potential and enjoy mass adoption. The World Open Network (WON) plans to offer products and services that are centered on users — with intuitive front-end systems that can be easily understood without any technical know-how. According to WON, this …

Venezuela has taken issue with United States sanctions, including those levied against transactions in the country’s national digital currency, the Petro (PTR), according to a World Trade Organization (WTO) consultation request, published Jan. 8. The request, dubbed “United States — Measures relating to trade in goods and services,” was originally filed on Dec. 28. In the document, the delegation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela requests consultations with the U.S. government regarding “certain measures imposed by the United States in relation to trade in goods and services.” In particular, the document describes five key areas through which the U.S. purportedly …

E-commerce giant Overstock.com’s cryptocurrency subsidiary tZERO has filed a patent for a “crypto integration platform” for trading digital assets. The patent was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Jan. 1. The patent filing describes a system that would be able to receive orders to trade “digital transactional items” — such as securities, tokens, digital shares, cash equivalents and digital assets — from broker-dealers and then translate the orders into crypto orders on a digital exchange. The platform reportedly aggregates various market data from cryptocurrency exchanges and “locate[s] the best price in the crypto market for the …

American payment services giant Visa Inc. is acquiring Ripple partner Earthport Plc, a payment network for cross-border transactions, Reuters U.K. reported Dec. 27. Founded in 1997, London-based Earthport is a financial services firm that offers cross-border payments service to banks and financial institutions. Earthport is a partner of tech company Ripple, where the partnership is aimed at integrating the Ripple protocol into the firm’s existing payment network to improve international transactions. Per Reuters, the acquisition will be made for £198 million ($251 million), or 30 pence ($0.38) per each Earthport share, which exceeds the stock’s Monday closing price of 7.45 …

Analysts from global investment bank JPMorgan Chase believe that the protracted crypto bear market is driving away institutional investors, Bloomberg reports on Tuesday, Dec. 18. Analysts from JPMorgan, along with global market strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, have reportedly stated that involvement of institutional investors in Bitcoin (BTC) “appears to be fading.” In a jointly released research note, analysts have concluded that “key flow metrics have downshifted dramatically,” including a decline in the Bitcoin futures market. The experts reportedly noted the decreasing index of open interest (OI) — the amount of open contracts on Bitcoin futures — on the Chicago Board Options …

Bitcoin (BTC) payment processor OpenNode has completed a seed investment round with investment from American venture capitalist Tim Draper, according to an announcement on Dec. 18. Founded in April 2018, OpenNode is a multi-layered Bitcoin payment processor for merchants developed by a group of Lightning Network designers and Bitcoin developers, that aims to improve and simplify the use of Bitcoin. Per the announcement, OpenNode has raised funds from Draper and early stage venture capital firm Draper Associates. The startup plans to spend the funds on scaling the team and building the network. Financial details regarding the investment have not been …

Major American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has introduced free of charge cash withdrawals to online payment system PayPal, according to an announcement published Dec. 14. From now on, Coinbase’s United States-based customers are able to withdraw their cash balances to Paypal. The service for other countries will reportedly be rolled out some time in 2019. Coinbase and PayPal previously integrated in 2016, when Coinbase added support for the payment platform in addition to major credit cards. At the time, Coinbase users were able to sell Bitcoin (BTC) and have their fiat funds deposited to a PayPal wallet. The integration was subsequently …

According to analysis by research firm Diar published Dec. 10, the adoption of stablecoins is growing based on the increasing number of on-chain transactions. Per Diar, four major stablecoins to date — USDC, True USD (TUSD), Paxos (PAX) and the Gemini dollar (GUSD) — have broken the $5 billion mark in on-chain transactions within the three-month period. November reportedly saw a massive 1,032 percent surge in on-chain transactions compared to September, when the stablecoin market breached the $2.3 billion mark at the end of last month. Diar notes that Paxos has recorded over $1.8 billion on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain …