On Thursday, The Interchain Foundation, a non-profit steward of the Cosmos (ATOM) ecosystem, announced the release of Interchain Accounts. The inter-blockchain communications protocol (IBC) enables an entire blockchain to control an account on a separate chain. It is the largest software upgrade to the Cosmos cyberspace since Stargate. To date, there are 38 projects utilizing IBC, including Terra Luna, Crypto.org, and Gravity Bridge, with 8.4 million transactions in the past 38 days. With Interchain Accounts, one blockchain can access the application features of another blockchain, such as staking, voting, swapping tokens, etc. "Enabling composability in IBC allows innovation in distinct …

On Wednesday, blockchain oracle solution Chainlink (LINK) announced the release of Chainlink Verifiable Random Function, or VRF, v2. As told by its developers, the new, improved version of the random number generator can reduce transaction fees by 60% compared to v1. Randomness is a core component of making nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and gaming applications fair and secure. On their own, blockchains and smart contracts cannot guarantee randomness, but rather require an oracle network to deliver such solutions on-chain. Since its launch, Chainlink VRF (v1) has become the most widely adopted random number generator solution in the blockchain industry, fulfilling …

Solana has become one of the fastest-growing smart contract blockchain networks since it was first officially launched in March 2020. The total value locked (TVL) on decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols on the network grew from nearly $152 million in March 2021 to $8.08 billion at the time of writing, as per data from DefiLlama. Simultaneously, the network has also been subject to several network issues and outages. Most recently, the Wormhole token bridge was hit by a security exploit on Feb. 3 that culminated in the loss of 120,000 wrapped Ether (wETH) tokens, worth over $375 million at the current …

On Tuesday privacy coin Monero (XMR) mining pool MineXMR's hash rate surpassed over 1.4 GH/s, accounting for 44% of the hash rate of the XMR network. MineXMR has about 13,000 miners and charges a 1% pool fee. According to a screenshot from Archive.org, last August, the pool only contributed to 34% of the hash rate of the XMR network. The rapid rise in hash rate network has spooked some XMR enthusiasts, with Reddit user u/vscmm writing: "We need to talk with MineXMR to take some action right now! Please send an email for [email protected] to MineXMR admins to take action; …

This week on “The Market Report,” we jump right into our main event. Join Cointelegraph analysts Benton Yaun, Jordan Finneseth, Sam Bourgi and Ornella Hernández as they debate each other on the top metaverse projects on the market. First up, we’ve got Bourgi’s pick of Wilder World, which allows you to interact with its immersive 3D world via nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and is also based on the massively popular Unreal Engine 5. Following Bourgi, we have The Market Report first-timer Hernández, who has decided to go with Boson Portal, which aims to revolutionize metaverse commerce. Will its high-profile partners such …

The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games, kicked off on Feb. 4 in Beijing with crypto being a major part of the event, partly because of the Chinese government’s digital currency ambitions. The cryptocurrency community hasn’t had strong ties to the Olympics over the last few years. The last major headline-grabbing interaction was when the Dogecoin (DOGE) community helped fund the Jamaican bobsled team in 2014 so they could attend the event in Sochi. The 2022 Winter Olympics, however, are making history due to the presence of nonfungible tokens (NFTs), Bitcoin- (BTC)-supported athletes, the launch of …

Charities and donations have been a trending topic in the cryptocurrency realm as of late. And its not simply as an act of giving; in countries such as the U.S., the country's revenue authority provides generous tax deductions for those who donate their crypto to registered charities. One company, The Giving Block, provides such crypto-fundraising onboarding solutions to more than 1,000 nonprofits. But just how does investors' money make a difference? In a series of case studies provided to Cointelegraph, The Giving Block illustrated how six such charities benefited as overall donations volume on its platform surged over 1,000% year …

According to a new report published by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis on Monday, approximately 74%, or over $400 million USD, of ransomware revenue last year were funneled into high-risk wallet addresses that are likely to be based in Russia. The report analyzed ransomware hacks throughout 2021 and determined their affiliation to Russia through three key charactersitics: Traces of Russia-based cybercriminal organization Evil Corp being behind a given breach; the group has alleged ties to the Russian government. Ransomeware programmed only against victims of non-former-Soviet countries. Ransomware strains that share documents and announcements in the Russian language. In addition to the …

It's a controversial topic in the blockchain community that comes up from time to time — just how much impact Bitcoin (BTC) mining has on the environment. Last year, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk brought forth a sharp correction in the cryptocurrency market by tweeting that his namesake car company would abandon plans to accept BTC, citing "rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions." However, a recent report published by CoinShares notes that despite the widespread use of coal, oil, and gas for Bitcoin mining, the network accounts for less than 0.08% of the world's CO2 production. …

In Spain, companies across various industries — not just digital finance — have begun to apply blockchain technology to their operations. This disruptive technology has promoted pioneering projects in the country that are expected to add 20 billion euros to Spanish gross domestic product by 2030. As expectations around this technology increased in Spain throughout 2021, so did investment, hype and concerns regarding the stability and regulation of digital assets. Here, we will take a look at some of the most notable developments in the Spanish cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystems throughout 2021. Central bank warns about risks of crypto investment …

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 …

Mark Zuckerberg might claim the Metaverse is the future — but in the eyes of others, the future has already begun. Science fiction author Neal Stephenson coined the term “Metaverse” back in his 1994 novel, Snow Crash. Within the pages, the main character, Hiro Protagonist, navigates through the virtual world. Since 2003, millions have also worked, played and socialized in the Metaverse within the online Second Life world. While the game, with a heyday in the first decade of the 2000s and featuring some blocky graphics is a far cry from the modern Metaverse vision laid out by companies like …