Altcoin originally meant “Bitcoin alternative” because, in the early stages of cryptocurrency development, every blockchain-based currency was seen as a sort of Bitcoin (BTC) knockoff. Cryptocurrencies back then were mainly used for payments, such as Litecoin (LTC), XRP (XRP) and Peercoin (PPC). Altcoin was used as a catchall term for cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. That’s changed since 2011. With the emergence of more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies, each linked to different types of crypto projects and tokens. We have also seen the dexterity of coins stretch across sectors of public chains, decentralized finance (DeFi), layer 2, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), stablecoins …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has spoken out in the wake of the FTX collapse, offering his thoughts and some positives from one of crypto’s biggest black swan events. In a Nov. 20 Bloomberg interview, Buterin said that the collapse of FTX contains lessons for the entire crypto ecosystem. He acknowledged that the underlying stability of distributed ledger and the technology powering the crypto asset economy has not come into question. The problem in this instance (and several before it) has been people, not technology. Buterin also labeled the FTX collapse as a “huge tragedy” but added that it reaffirms the …

The sudden fall of FTX revealed the need for fresh reforms aimed at protecting investor funds against manipulation and misdirections. The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, believes what FTX did was a bigger fraud when compared to the infamous Mt. Gox and Terra (LUNA) collapses. Buterin believed that people running Mt. Gox and LUNA ecosystems “looked” sketchy and did not try too hard to whitewash themselves enough to change investor perspectives. On the other hand, Buterin said that “FTX was the opposite and did full-on compliance virtue signaling.” While virtue signaling relates to the practice of publicly demonstrating one’s good …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has added a new stage to the Ethereum technical roadmap, one that aims to improve censorship resistance and decentralization of the Ethereum network. The Ethereum network’s new plans were revealed by Buterin in a Nov. 5 Twitter post — which introduced “The Scourge” in a now expanded six-part technical roadmap. Following Ethereum’s shift to a proof-of-stake (PoS) network on Sept. 15, Ethereum has been in the second stage — “The Surge — with the goal of getting to 100,000 transactions per second through rollups. The updated technical roadmap now inserts “The Scourge” as the new third …

The co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), Vitalik Buterin, believes that the crypto ecosystem needs to mature and be in tune with the regulatory policies that allow crypto projects to operate internally freely. Sharing his opinion around crypto regulations, Buterin spoke against the regulations that have an impact on the inner workings of a crypto ecosystem. Considering the current circumstances, he believed it was better to have regulations that allow inner independence to crypto projects, even if it hampers mainstream adoption. Buterin opined: “I'm actually kinda happy a lot of the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are getting delayed. The ecosystem needs time to …

An NFT event ticketing marketplace has teamed up with a major electronic music brand. SeatlabNFT says its goal is to help artists build a closer connection with fans — all while eliminating fraud and reducing the impact of scalping. The NFT ticketing and experience platform has partnered with Elrow Dubai to become their exclusive VIP ticketing provider. This means all VIP tickets will be issued as NFTs — with digital collectibles, airdropped rewards and on-site gamified interactive blockchain installations also on offer. Elrow is famous for carnival and circus-themed events where crowd interaction and immersiveness take center stage. Speaking to …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes that solo validators that choose not to include certain transactions should "be tolerated" to stop the Ethereum community from becoming the "morality police." Vitalik Buterin made the comment in reply to a Twitter poll from latetot.eth, discussing a hypothetical scenario whereby a validator censors a transaction that doesn't align with their beliefs. The thread, published on Oct. 17, asked what should happen if a solo validator, in a country at war with another, decides not to process a block because it includes donations to the opposing military force. I’m a solo home validator in Country …

The function of crypto wallets has changed significantly over the last few years. They initially secured token holdings or served as art galleries with nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Today, they’ve become like bank accounts for many, and soon, they will offer even more functionality by enabling digital curriculum vitae (CVs). In a May 2022 paper, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and others introduced the concept of “Soulbound tokens” (SBTs). Buterin and his co-authors argued that credentials on a blockchain offer many advantages to establishing provenance and reputation. Nonfungible tokens will serve as essential building blocks Related: Facebook and Twitter will soon be …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has come out swinging in defense of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), arguing that in some circumstances they can be more efficient and fairer than a traditional corporate structure. In theory DAOs are collectively owned and managed by their members and have no central leadership. All decisions relating to aspects such as the usage of treasury funds or protocol improvements are made via voting on proposals submitted to the community. In the lengthy Sept.20 post on his website, Buterin outlined that critics often argue DAO governance is inefficient, that DAO idealists are naïve, and traditional corporate governance …

Ethereum’s upgrade to proof-of-stake (PoS) may make it more vulnerable to government intervention and censorship, according to the lead investigator of Merkle Science. Speaking to Cointelegraph following the Ethereum Merge, Coby Morgan, a former FBI analyst, and the Lead Investigator for crypto compliance and forensic firm Merkle Science expressed his thoughts on some of the risks posed by Ethereum’s transition to PoS. While centralization issues have been broadly discussed leading up to The Merge, Moran suggested the prohibitive cost of becoming a validator could result in the consolidation of validator nodes to the bigger crypto firms like Binance, Coinbase, and …

As the clock counted down to the final moments of the big Ethereum (ETH) Merge, co-founder Vitalik Buterin joined the “Ethereum Mainnet Merge Viewing Party” livestream hosted by the Ethereum Foundation to share his final thoughts. When asked if he was excited about the Merge, Buterin responded that he is "absolutely excited about being exited from the proof-of-work era." The co-founder went on to say that the historic transition of the network from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) has been on the agenda for years. “[It] has obviously been a dream for the Ethereum ecosystem since pretty much the beginning. …

The Merge is fast approaching — and the switch to a Proof-of-Stake blockchain will be the most significant moment in Ethereum's history. Now, Proof of Attendance Protocols — unique NFTs known as POAPs for short — are being created for crypto enthusiasts who want a special memento of this historic occasion. POAPs have been celebrated by none other than Vitalik Buterin himself, as it allows recipients to show they personally participated in an event, such as a conference. The project spearheading these commemorative NFTs is known as EtherPOAP — and in another distinctive twist, POAP badges are going to be …