Bitcoin Makes Progress in Clearing Backlog, but Lightning Network Capacity and Channels Dropped Amid Congestion

In the past week, the Bitcoin network has made progress in resolving its congestion issues. On May 7, 2023, the number of unconfirmed transactions reached an all-time high of over 500,000 transfers, causing a major backlog. However, as of today, that…

Over 440,000 Ethereum Added to Liquid Staking Derivatives in Two Weeks

In less than two weeks, the total value locked (TVL) in liquid staking derivatives has increased by 441,110 ether, worth roughly $793 million. While Lido Finance dominates the market with 74.35% of the TVL, competing liquid staking protocols Rocket Pool and…

The Elusive Satoshi Nakamoto: Last Emails Reveal Bitcoin Creator’s Thoughts Before Disappearing Over a Decade Ago

Twelve years ago, on this very day of April 23, 2011, a cryptic individual, known only as Satoshi Nakamoto, penned one of the final correspondences to software developer Mike Hearn. The elusive mastermind behind Bitcoin conveyed in the message that he,…

Chip Giant Intel Abandons Bitcoin ASIC Production

After announcing the production of bitcoin application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, appears to be abandoning its blockchain chip production. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the chip manufacturer explained that Intel has “end-of-lifed the…

Liquid Staking Protocols See Increase in Monthly ETH Deposits Despite Withdrawals Post-Shapella Hard Fork

Following the Shapella hard fork on April 12, 2023, approximately 332,368 ether, valued at around $699 million, has been withdrawn. Despite these withdrawals, liquid staking protocols like Lido, Rocketpool, and others have experienced an increase in ether deposits over the last…

Value Locked in Defi Holds the Line at $50B, After Temporarily Shedding $8B in Mid-March

The total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) during the first week of April is about $50 billion, roughly the same as on March 1. The value locked dropped to $42 billion on March 12 but has since rebounded as…

Napster Expands Into Web3 Music Space With Acquisition of Mint Songs

On Wednesday, Napster, the music streaming service originally launched in 1999, announced that the company has finalized a deal to acquire the Web3 music startup Mint Songs. Napster’s CEO, Jon Vlassopulos, insists that “we are in an unprecedented era of innovation…

Meme Coin Economy Swells by $5.8 Billion in Less Than a Month, Suggesting Demand for Meme Tokens Still High

The meme coin economy has grown significantly over the past 27 days, increasing 34.52% against the U.S. dollar. The largest meme coin by market capitalization, dogecoin, has risen 29.5% in the past month, while the second-largest meme coin, shiba inu, has…

Nexo Bitcoin Withdrawals Surge Following Raid of Bulgarian Offices

After the offices of crypto lender Nexo were raided in Bulgaria, the digital currency lending platform experienced a significant amount of withdrawals starting Jan. 12, 2023. An archived snapshot of Nexo’s real-time attestation shows that the company held 133,263 bitcoin on…

Global Cryptocurrency Trade Volumes Saw a Significant Decline in December 2022

According to statistics, daily cryptocurrency trade volumes have dropped significantly during Dec. 2022. On Jan. 1, data shows that $22.95 billion was traded in the last 24 hours, compared to double that amount, $54.78 billion, two weeks earlier. On November 8,…