Weekly Update - Layer 1 & Layer 2 News ( Week 2, 11/1/2022 - 17/1/2022)
BTC hash rate jumped over 100% in 6 months. Polygon launches Plonky2 zero-knowledge scaling.
Key Takeaways
The Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate has witnessed a jump of more than 100% in the last six months. Glassnode’s data shows that BTC’s mean hash rate has touched a new all-time high of 183 Exahash. (ref)
Polygon (MATIC), a layer-two Ethereum (ETH) scaling solution, has announced the launch of Plonky2, a zero-knowledge scaling technology. The move comes after Polygon allocated $1 billion to the advancement of zero-knowledge technology. (ref)
Proof-of-stake blockchain Near Protocol (NEAR) has raised $150 million in seed investments to accelerate the adoption of Web3 technologies. The team announced that the fund would be used to develop regional hubs and raise awareness for blockchain and decentralised tech. (ref)
The two month-long Cronos (CRO) Hackathon has concluded with 62 total submissions and 16 winners across 5 categories. The Grand Prize went to #dev DeFi, a decentralised aggregate lending and borrowing protocol built on the Cronos Chain. (ref)
Cronos (CRO) saw a +8.06% increase in total transactions to 11.00M and an increase of TVL to $1.86B (+2.20% week-on-week). The total number of wallet addresses now stands at 332,542, up +4.93% from last week.
Highlights
Payments giant Block to build open-source Bitcoin mining system
Paper by researchers at Peking University and Duke University on the consequences of EIP-1559
Tiny Bitcoin miner defies massive odds to solve a valid block
Ethereum-compatible smart contract parachain Moonbeam is live on Polkadot
Polygon (MATIC) schedules long-awaited EIP-1559 upgrade for next week
Cardano to unveil scaling plans for 2022 as number of blockchain projects grows to near 200
Elrond ($EGLD) Unites With Utrust ($UTK) to Tackle Web3 Payments
Jack Dorsey proposes creation of fund to ‘minimise legal headaches’ for Bitcoin developers