Polkadot (DOT) launched a stand-alone blockchain today, although the network is not considered the project’s mainnet yet. Polkadot sits under the wing of blockchain infrastructure company Parity Technologies, and the Web3 Foundation, a type of incubator for decentralized tech. The Polkadot protocol aims to provide compatibility across different blockchains. “There could be more than one chain candidate before it officially transitions to mainnet,” said Peter Mauric, head of public affairs at Parity Technologies. The solution unveiled a testnet of sorts in 2019. Calling the exploratory product “Kusama,” Polkadot did not refer to this as a testnet, but as a “canary …

The Ethereum developer community is nearing the launch of Ethereum 2.0, a major multiyear milestone for the blockchain network. Ethereum 2.0 will mark the start of a shift from the miner-reliant proof-of-work consensus algorithm to a proof-of-stake algorithm. In a PoS system, miners are not needed to mine blocks and verify transactions. Instead, users — or stakers — verify data on the blockchain. For now, there is no specific date at hand for the release of Ethereum 2.0, according to its testnet coordinator, Afri Schoedon. “The final spec is not implemented in any client and we didn’t launch a coordinated …

The launch of Ethereum (ETH) 2.0 may be delayed yet again after developers rescheduled the network’s proof-of-stake algorithm upgrade for June 2020, as reported by Cointelegraph on May 15. Taking into account all of the factors surrounding the highly anticipated launch, the statements made by the development team can be construed as an almost official promise. Or, as the devs themselves say, “carefully” optimistic, meaning that the critical update is still not in sight. The main reason for the note of this careful optimism is the presence of multiple bugs in the system that the Ethereum team is striving to …

The open blockchain platform Harmony announced that it will now support staking in a bid to create a blockchain infrastructure that attains high scalability without compromising on decentralization. In a press release published May 19, 2020, Harmony claimed it is the first to ever integrate staking into a blockchain network also utilizes database partitioning — called sharding — to attain high transaction throughput. Nick White, Harmony co-founder told Cointelegraph: "You will not find another chain that can support the same throughput, same speed of settlement, same extremely low cost, and the same level of decentralization. This puts us in a …

Major Swiss cryptocurrency broker Bitcoin Suisse has added high-security custodial support and staking services for Tezos (XTZ), with an eye to its institutional clients. In an announcement on May 19, Bitcoin Suisse — which custodies over $1 billion in assets — revealed it was going live with XTZ delegation and custody support using its Bitcoin Suisse Vault, which completed an ISAE 3402 audit by PwC last fall. Similarly to other Proof-of-Stake (PoS)-based blockchains, Tezos investors are able to earn a form of “interest” by staking (depositing) their tokens to both maintain the network and earn rewards. With Tezos in particular, …

What are the risks and benefits of staking? Passive income vs. vulnerability to changes in the market. The most obvious benefit of staking is the opportunity to generate income from holding crypto. Staking also provides an opportunity to be an active participant in your favorite blockchain projects. However, by staking, users lock up their cryptocurrency holdings for a defined period. This means that if there’s a sudden market crash, they won’t be able to pull their crypto out of the staking program to sell and mitigate any losses. Even in the event of a smaller market downturn, the value of …

The debate over which consensus algorithm is right for blockchain is long overdue. While proof-of-work remains popular with Bitcoin (BTC), interest in proof-of-stake protocols has been picking up speed, especially with the planned shift of Ethereum to a PoS, Ethereum 2.0. Which one is better, though, remains up for debate. For example, Ankit Bhatia, a co-founder and the CEO of Sapien, told Cointelegraph: “Proof-of-stake is simply more scalable because it eliminates the race to solve math problems and the need for computation to grow the pot.” According to Bhatia, PoS’s ability to make use of sharding makes it the better …

The Proof of Stake Alliance revealed that it is taking critical steps toward improving the regulatory space around the Staking-as-a-Service (STaaS) market, including dialogues with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. According to the announcement, the POSA met with the SEC to discuss increasing adoption of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocols — a successor to Bitcoin’s (BTC) Proof-of-Work consensus protocol that is perceived to be more efficient and scalable. Staking allows token holders to earn interest on locked amounts of a network's native token, which in turn supports the network's overall efficiency. The POSA submitted a white paper containing a legal analysis …

Bitcoin (BTC) is the largest decentralized digital currency in the world, with an estimated market capitalization of around $169 billion. In the nearly 12 years since the publication of Satoshi Nakamoto’s famous white paper in 2008, Bitcoin has become the most well-known example of a cryptocurrency, and it is responsible for sparking the blockchain revolution. More than half a million peer-to-peer transactions have been recorded on the Bitcoin blockchain, a public and verifiable distributed ledger. The network’s proof-of-work consensus algorithm confirms transactions and produces new blocks without needing a third party. Bitcoin is a revolutionary technology, but the network's massive …

As the Ethereum community anticipates the long-awaited launch of Ethereum 2.0, users are also bracing themselves for a major systematic shift from a proof-of-work model to a proof-of-stake. As a reminder, in PoW networks, miners have to compete with one another to solve complex mathematical problems to validate a block. The first miner to solve the problem is rewarded with the block reward. Whereas in PoS networks, token holders (validators) need to “stake” or risk their tokens to validate transactions. Validators who verify honest transactions are rewarded with newly “minted” tokens but are punished (“slashed”) for allowing false or incorrect …

Blockchain-based ecosystem, Tachyon, has a decentralized virtual private network, or VPN, hosting 100,000 users as of April, according to V Systems chief architect, Sunny King. "Tachyon has started open pilot testing," King told Cointelegraph in an April 25 email. "Features are introduced step-by-step," he said, adding: "I’m delighted that Tachyon VPN has just reached 100,000 users globally this month and I believe that eventually it would enable a vibrant VPN service marketplace for the world." Tachyon and V Systems go hand in hand Pseudonymous proof-of-stake, or PoS, creator Sunny King is the chief architect for a blockchain infrastructure outfit called …

Ethereum 2.0 has dragged its feet. But when it does finally ship, it could provide the “largest economic shift in society” — or so it’s believed. The launch of ETH 2.0 is tentatively penned for July, transforming Ethereum from a no-frills proof-of-work protocol to a fully fledged staking platform. After that, instead of competing against each other to solve puzzles, users who accrue the most wealth, or stake, will be in charge of validating transactions. It’s this fundamental development that some experts believe could catalyze a bull run for Ether (ETH). Among them is partner at MetaCartel Ventures DAO, Adam …