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, written by Andrew Levine of Koinos Group. In my first article in this series, I explained why Ethereum and Steem haven’t been able to deliver a mainstream social decentralized application (DApp), despite taking two very different approaches and how this makes the solution seem. Therefore, why not combine the fee-less system developed for Steem with the flexibility of a blockchain with smart contracts like Ethereum? Then, we could give developers the best of both worlds, enabling …

Mobile payment service Cash App revealed that Lightning Network can now be used to transfer Bitcoin (BTC) through its app. With the new feature, its users can send their BTC to any Lightning or on-chain BTC address. Lightning Network is now available on Cash App. It's the fastest, free way to pay anyone in bitcoin. Buy tacos, tip your favorite Twitter comedian, or send a friend money abroad—anywhere that accepts lightning. pic.twitter.com/65TXSJ6yL6 — Cash App (@CashApp) February 7, 2022 A few weeks ago, the company announced through a notification within the app that it has integrated the Lightning Network. Now, …

Polygon, a layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum compatible blockchains, stated in a press release provided to Cointelegraph that it has launched its zk-STARK powered Miden Virtual Machine for the development of decentralized applications, also known as DApps. 1/7 We are proud to reveal the newest member of the Polygon family - Polygon Miden, an upcoming STARK-based, EVM-compatible Rollup! The project is led by @bobbinth, former Facebook's lead ZK researcher who led the development of Winterfell. A on why this is exciting... pic.twitter.com/5RqAJgnZlP — Polygon | $MATIC - We're hiring! (@0xPolygon) November 16, 2021 zk-STARK stands for zero-knowledge Scalable Transparent …

The rollout of the world's second central bank digital currency, or CBDC, is off to a rocky start. Last week, Nigeria rolled out its eNaira CBDC after the Bahamas became the first country in the world to launch theirs, known as The Sand Dollar, the year prior. In a statement quoted by local news outlet The Nation, Central Bank of Nigeria, or CBN, Governor Godwin Emefiele said "overwhelming interest and encouraging response". Similarly, President Muhammadu Buhari estimates that the eNaira could generate an additional $29 billion in economic activity over the next decade, citing the possibility of direct government welfare …

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com now tops the charts as the most downloaded app for the U.S. Google Play Store across all categories. According to the most recent list of Google Play Store’s top free apps, Crypto.com’s app has surged in number of downloads to jump to the 1st position ahead of TikTok. Coinbase’s app sits at 3rd ahead of Cash App, while Voyager Digital is 10th following the trading platform’s announcement it would be partnering with the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. Crypto.com’s rising popularity could be the result of the exchange releasing an ad campaign featuring actor Matt Damon, arguably one …

Just a week after Bitcoin (BTC) became legal tender in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele has admitted that the rollout of the state Bitcoin wallet was too much of a challenge. Chivo, El Salvador’s official Bitcoin wallet, has temporarily disabled new registrations and halted app downloads for new smartphone models due to ongoing issues with the app, Bukele said on Twitter late Monday. “Both things will be enabled until the application has no errors,” the president noted, adding that the Chivo team expects to resume registrations and downloads in a couple more days. “The technical errors of the Chivo wallet …

Google has delisted eight allegedly fraudulent mobile apps from its Play Store that were duping crypto enthusiasts by charging fees for an illegitimate cloud mining service. Fraudulent mobile applications have now become a popular method to mislead unwary users with high success rates. Trend Micro’s latest research discovered eight Android applications that were exploiting crypto users by charging a monthly fee under the false pretext of running a legitimate cloud mining service. Further analysis into the matter uncovered that the malicious apps hosted by Google — posing as crypto mining applications — were deceiving users into watching paid ads and …

Popular Bitcoin (BTC) rewards app Lolli has received fresh backing from venture funds and other investors as it plans to scale its services to a wider audience. On Wednesday, the company announced it had closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by Acrew Capital, with additional participation from UpNorth Management, Animal Capital, Banana Capital and Formula. Influencers such as Logan Paul and Chantel Jeffries also participated. Several of Lolli’s previous backers including Seven Seven Six, 3K VC, Gabriel Leydon and Forerunner Ventures also recommitted to the company in the latest fundraiser. Lolli said the financing will go towards …

The estimated windfall Apple got from its App Store in 2020 is $67 billion. That’s up from $50 billion in 2019, a 28% increase. Even as the company has lowered its commissions for smaller developers, the App Store remains a major component of Apple’s bottom-line profits. And it’s not just Apple taking a cut of developer revenue: On Android, the world’s most popular mobile operating system, the Google Play Store netted $38.6 billion in 2020. That’s over $105 billion in revenue from the top two app stores combined. It’s no wonder that regulators in many countries are closely considering whether …

Hong Kong tech company Meitu has taken a $17.3-million hit on its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings — but on the upside, its Ether (ETH) holdings have gained $14.7 million. The developer of popular Photoshop-style apps spent a total of $100 million on BTC and ETH between March and April this year, acquiring a total of 940.89 BTC for $49.5 million and 31,000 ETH for $50.5 million. According to a Tuesday voluntary announcement from Meitu, the fair value of its BTC and ETH holdings is based on the market prices as of June 30, which is the final day of the firm’s …

A blockchain application platform has announced that its testnet migration is taking place on July 1. Lisk says its testnet is an invaluable tool — enabling upgrades to be put through their paces in a public setting before they are released into production on the mainnet. The migration is due to occur on block height 14,075,259. However, the exact time will hinge upon conditions on the testnet, and whether new blocks are being reliably created. Once completed, all protocol improvements introduced through versions three, four and five of the Lisk software development kit will be functional on the testnet, too. …

A blockchain application platform has launched a refreshed website with substantial improvements and a new design — all as part of a quest to be more developer friendly. Lisk.com, which builds upon the project’s first online presence at Lisk.io, “delivers an optimal and enhanced user experience that more closely aligns with our core mission — to make blockchain accessible to everyone,” executives explained. The new interface follows on from extensive user testing sessions and feedback from Lisk’s core community, giving the project an understanding of what developers felt was missing. Now, Lisk.com is confident that it conveys an even clearer …