Top Blockchain News for Sep 21, 2023

September 21, 2023

Welcome to Morning Blockchain, where we serve up a fresh brew of blockchain and cryptocurrency insights to amp up your day. Today, we’ll be stimulating your neurons with a variety of topics, from the relevance of blockchain in developing security solutions to the revolutionary potential of NFTs in the digital art world. So grab a can of knowledge and get ready to power through your work week. Let’s dive in!

Top Stories

Base introduces security monitoring system named Pessimism Coinbase’s Base Layer 2 network introduces Pessimism, an open-source monitoring system that enhances security oversight in the Optimism ecosystem, showcasing the relevance of blockchain and cryptocurrency in developing security solutions for networks created with EVM-compatible chains. Practical use cases of NFTs NFTs have revolutionized the world of digital art by providing a solution to the issues of scarcity and duplication, allowing artists to create and sell unique pieces of art in the digital realm; however, NFTs also have significant applications in the world of digital collectibles, catering to the demand for unique, digitally ownable items like trading cards or virtual pets, with examples such as NBA NFT collectible trading cards and Jack Dorsey’s first tweet being sold as NFT collectibles, highlighting the authentication and collectability aspects of these unique assets. Friend.Tech-fueled competition sets Pepe social media handle as prize A competition on the web3 social media platform Friend.Tech is offering the @pepe Twitter/X account as a prize, with the transfer occurring when @Pepe becomes the top user by Friend.Tech Key value, making it relevant to blockchain and cryptocurrency as it involves the use of keys and incentivizes early participation. Freatic raises $3.6M in a16z crypto led round to build information markets The developers at Freatic have secured $3.6 million in funding to build a decentralized protocol that combines blockchain cryptography and game theory to accelerate the flow of real-world information about different markets, aiming to connect individuals with untapped knowledge and opportunities; this is relevant to blockchain and cryptocurrency as it showcases the potential for blockchain technology to revolutionize information exchange and enhance market efficiency. Taurus expands custody and tokenization services to private blockchains Swiss fintech Taurus is expanding its digital-asset custody and tokenization services to support private blockchains, meeting the increasing demand from major banks, and aiming to tap into the predicted multi-trillion dollar market for tokenized private assets by 2030; this move is relevant to blockchain and cryptocurrency as it highlights the growing interest in private blockchains and the need for interoperability between public and private chains. South Korean taxpayers declare overseas crypto holdings worth $98.5 billion South Korean taxpayers have declared overseas cryptocurrency assets worth $98.5 billion, accounting for 70.2% of reported foreign assets, after the country implemented new legislation to protect crypto investors and require reporting of overseas crypto holdings, showing the relevance of blockchain and cryptocurrency in tax regulations and financial oversight. The Salvation of Domain Ownership May Lie in Tokenization, and One Firm Is Pressing Hard to Make This a Reality This article discusses the potential of tokenization in revolutionizing domain ownership, as traditional methods of auctioning off top domains are outdated, and explores how Web3 can bring about this change; this is relevant to blockchain and cryptocurrency as tokenization can provide a decentralized and efficient way of buying and selling domains. Payment app Venmo to offer PayPal USD stablecoin Venmo, a peer-to-peer payment platform, will soon allow users to purchase and send the stablecoin PayPal USD (PYUSD), enabling fast and free transfers between Venmo and PayPal wallets, and adding to Venmo’s existing support for cryptocurrency transactions. This development is relevant to blockchain and cryptocurrency as it highlights the growing adoption of stablecoins and the integration of digital assets into popular payment platforms. DYdX v4 integrates Squid and Axelar for Cosmos appchain onboarding The largest decentralized financial derivatives platform, dYdX, has integrated with Axelar’s interoperability network to support easy onboarding and offboarding to their upcoming dYdX v4 platform, which will feature its own appchain model in the Cosmos ecosystem, utilizing Squid for cross-chain transactions. Musk’s Neuralink seeks volunteers for brain implants—who’s in? Elon Musk’s Neuralink is recruiting human volunteers to have an experimental brain implant, aimed at allowing those with quadriplegia or ALS to control a computer using their thoughts, in a trial that will primarily evaluate safety but also measure efficacy; while not directly related to blockchain and cryptocurrency, this article is relevant as it explores the intersection of technology and human augmentation, which is a topic of interest within the blockchain and cryptocurrency community. ‘We Can’t Build Something Like This on Ethereum,’ Says DYdX Founder as Mainnet Nears The article discusses the need for high scalability in building a blockchain-based platform and highlights the limitations of existing solutions like Ethereum, Solana, and layer-2 solutions in achieving the desired scalability, leading to the decision to run certain components off-chain. This is relevant to blockchain and cryptocurrency as it emphasizes the importance of scalability and the challenges faced in finding suitable solutions within the current ecosystem.