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Modularity is transforming the cryptocurrency landscape
Disclosure: The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views and opinions of the crypto.news editorial.
The first smart contract blockchain, Ethereum, was monolithic in nature, meaning it manages its own execution, settlement, consensus, and data availability. Over the years, new decentralized applications have developed, leading to an increased demand for blockspaces. When demand for blockspace exceeds its supply, limited availability narrows the range of potential applications, causing a significant barrier to utility and widespread adoption.
This limitation is called the scalability trilemma, or simply put, the idea that no public blockchain can simultaneously achieve maximum decentralization or security to achieve optimal scalability. To overcome the limitations of the scalability trilemma, modularity has emerged as a way to outsource core components optimized to solve critical functions.
Courtesy of the Inco team
The modular blockchain thesis focuses on role specialization. It proposes decentralizing traditional blockchain functions, such as execution or data availability, across specialized networks. By segmenting these functions from a single L1 into distinct layers, blockchains can be tailored for optimal performance in specific areas, significantly increasing customization, efficiency and, where necessary, decentralization, security and scalability.
Given the wide range of use cases, these functions can be different. A modular network could be specialized to push oracle price feeds and deliver zero-knowledge testing servicesmake data available or enable a more scalable execution layer on top of another underlying blockchain.
The need for modularity in the cryptocurrency industry
Ethereum exemplifies the gradual transformation into a modular world. The chain was initially launched with a monolithic design, following in the footsteps of Bitcoin. Arbitrum, a layer 2, represents rollups’ success story in decoupling the intense computation needed for off-chain scaling while rolling back on-chain. Many other projects have adopted this design due to the resource efficiency and less expensive design of transaction processing using rollups.
It does not end here. Networks that help developers see and exploit the value of modularity are on the rise. Celestia is a great example of solving an obvious problem: the significant cost of storing data availability (DA) on Ethereum. Although rollups enable higher throughput, the transaction cost is still relatively high because it ultimately depends on the storage cost of the settlement layer. One solution to this problem is to offer an alternative DA layer.
The realization that a single monolithic design cannot meet today’s blockchain needs without compromise is why the space is moving towards modularity. Ethereum is the most secure blockchain with smart contracts, but it has continued to face various shortcomings in transaction processing and gas fees.
Courtesy of the Inco team
In addition to solving blockchain’s architectural challenges, it is becoming clear that additional services are needed to enable new use cases and drive web3 adoption. Examples of such additional services include Oracle services, decentralized RPC, ZK prover networks, AI, to name a few. However, blockchains cannot support these services natively due to additional costs, hardware requirements, or technical incompatibilities. Given the composable nature of modular architecture, blockchains no longer need to support everything themselves – everything can be plug-and-play like Lego.
Courtesy of the Inco team
For example, one unresolved issue that this space will continue to face concerns privacy. Most widely adopted blockchains today are transparent and cannot add on-chain confidentiality without requiring resource-intensive hardware for their validators when using encryption methodologies such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) or fully homomorphic encryption (FHE).
In addition to the four existing blockchain layers (execution, settlement, data availability, and consensus), a privacy layer on top of existing dApps is a critical missing piece that will enable neat new use cases that are not feasible on transparent blockchains. Inco is an example of a modular protocol that serves as the fifth layer, i.e. confidential processing, introducing fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) to Ethereum and other blockchains without changing the core protocol.
Today, modular protocols are gaining ground and, with the widespread adoption of decentralization, will likely become the standard for building in web3. This standard will undoubtedly disrupt the vertically integrated approach of monolithic chains and draw on specific Lego blocks that can be combined to create distinct modular stacks. This means that projects will use the modules they need for their specific needs instead of trying to do everything.
This will unlock infinite scalability because a network could depend on Ethereum for security, Move as an execution environment, Celestia for data availability, and Inco for confidential processing. The ultimate goal is for the different modules of the ecosystem to coexist and grow together.
The blockchain technology landscape is poised for significant expansion with the advent of modular architectures in 2024 and beyond. These new blockchains delegate at least one of the essential functions – regulation, consensus, confidentiality, data availability (DA), or execution – to another distinct blockchain framework.
Remi Gai
Remi Gai is the founder and CEO of Inco. He is a founding member of web3 at South Park Commons, with a background in engineering (Google, Microsoft), entrepreneurship (founding member of Parallel Finance, a defi protocol suite on Polkadot that has reached over 500 million TVL supported by Polychain, Sequoia , Founders Fund, Coinbase Ventures), product management (head of web3 UX at co-founded blockchain studio), and venture capital (8 Decimal Capital). He is now creating Inco, with the aim of breaking down the last barrier to mass adoption of web3.
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How Ether Spot ETF Approval Could Impact Crypto Prices: CNBC Crypto World
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CNBC Crypto World features the latest news and daily trading updates from the digital currency markets and gives viewers a glimpse of what’s to come with high-profile interviews, explainers and unique stories from the ever-changing cryptocurrency industry. On today’s show, Ledn Chief Investment Officer John Glover weighs in on what’s driving cryptocurrency prices right now and how the potential approval of spot ether ETFs could impact markets.
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Miners’ ‘Capitulation’ Signals Bitcoin Price May Have Bottomed Out: CryptoQuant
According to CryptoQuant, blockchain data shows signs that the Bitcoin mining industry is “capitulating,” a likely precursor to Bitcoin hitting a local price bottom before reaching new highs.
CryptoQuant analyzed metrics for miners, who are responsible for securing the Bitcoin network in exchange for newly minted BTC. As outlined in the market intelligence platform’s Wednesday report, multiple signs of capitulation have emerged over the past month, during which Bitcoin’s price has fallen 13% from $68,791 to $59,603.
One such sign includes a significant drop in Bitcoin’s hash rate, the total computing power that backs Bitcoin. After hitting a record high of 623 exashashes per second (EH/s) on April 27, the hash rate has fallen 7.7% to 576 EH/s, its lowest level in four months.
“Historically, extreme hash rate drawdowns have been associated with price bottoms,” CryptoQuant wrote. In particular, the 7.7% drawdown is reminiscent of an equivalent hash rate drawdown in December 2022, when Bitcoin’s price bottomed at $16,000 before rallying over 300% over the next 15 months.
This latest hash rate drop follows Bitcoin’s fourth cyclical “halving” event in April, which cut the number of coins paid out to miners in half. According to CryptoQuant’s Miner Profit/Loss Sustainability Indicator, this has left miners “mostly extremely underpaid” since April 20, forcing many to shut down mining machines that have now become unprofitable.
CrypotoQuant said that miners faced a 63% drop in daily revenue after the halving, when both Bitcoin block rewards and transaction fee revenues were much higher.
During this time, Bitcoin miners were seen moving coins from their on-chain wallets at a faster rate than usual, indicating that they may be selling their BTC reserves“Daily miner outflows reached their highest volume since May 21,” the company wrote.
Among the sales of Bitcoin miners, whales and national governmentsBitcoin’s price drop in June also hurt Bitcoin’s “hash price,” a metric of Bitcoin Miner Profitability per unit of computing power.
“Average mining revenue per hash (hash price) continues to hover near all-time lows,” CryptoQuant wrote. “Hashprice stands at $0.049 per EH/s, just above the all-time low hashprice of $0.045 reached on May 1st.”
By Ryan-Ozawa.
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US Congressman French Hill Doubles Down on Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance
US lawmaker French Hill has noted that Donald Trump will take a more pro-crypto approach than the current administration. The run-up to the presidential election has seen cryptocurrencies become an issue with lawmakers making huge statements ahead of the polls. Donald Trump has also been reaching out to the industry, making a pro-crypto case.
French Hill Backs Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance
Republican Congressman French Hill has explained the type of cryptocurrency regulatory framework he believes Donald Trump could adopt in the country. In a recent interview with CNBC, French Hill said that the recently passed FIT21 bill is the type of regulatory framework the Trump administration will adopt in the sector.
#FIT21 passed the House with 71 Democratic votes, it’s exactly the kind of digital asset regulatory framework former President Trump would support if re-elected.
See more on @SquawkCNBC🔽 photo.twitter.com/ceTmU4LApU
— French Hill (@RepFrenchHill) July 3, 2024
THE FIT21 Bill It is intended to protect investors and consumers in the market by establishing clear rules and powers for the various regulators in the sector. According to Hill, Trump will adopt it because it directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on the specific regulatory framework needed in the market.
“… for people who are innovating and starting a crypto token, a related business, custody of those assets, how to ensure consumer protection, so I think that framework is the right approach and that’s what I’m going to recommend to the President to pass, which is that we have not passed it between now and the end of this Congress.”
He also called Trump an innovative and pro-growth president in financial matters.
Cryptocurrency is going mainstream
This election cycle saw the cryptocurrency industry taking a place in mainstream issues following broader adoption across demographics. From candidates moving toward enthusiasts to recent pro-Congress legislation, cryptocurrencies have become a rallying point for officials. The U.S. regulatory landscape has been criticized for stifling growth due to frequent SEC LawsuitsThis has led executives to push for pro-cryptocurrency laws and raise money for pro-industry candidates.
Read also: Federal Reserve Predicts “AI Will Be Deflationary” to Stimulate Economy
David is a financial news contributor with 4 years of experience in Blockchain and cryptocurrency. He is interested in learning about emerging technologies and has an eye for breaking news. Keeping up to date with trends, David has written in several niches including regulation, partnerships, cryptocurrency, stocks, NFTs, etc. Away from the financial markets, David enjoys cycling and horseback riding.
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US Court Orders Sam Ikkurty to Pay $84 Million for Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme
A federal court has ordered Jafia LLC and its owner, Sam Ikkurty, to pay nearly $84 million to cryptocurrency investors after ruling that the company was operating a Ponzi scheme.
The ruling, issued by Judge Mary Rowland in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, follows a lawsuit filed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2022 after the fund collapsed.
Judge Rowland found that Ikkurty, based in Portland, Oregon, did numerous false claims on his company’s hedge funds.
These included misleading statements about his trading experience and the promise of high and stable profits. Instead, Ikkurty used funds from new investors to pay off previous investors, a hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.
The Ponzi Scheme
The court found that Ikkurty misappropriated investment funds for personal use without the knowledge of the investors. These funds were used for personal use and were reported as Fraudulent Investmentscausing significant financial losses to customers.
This non-transparent operation violated Transparency Commission regulations, which led to the imposition of a hefty fine to compensate defrauded investors and restore some public confidence in the financial system.
Judge Rowland emphasized that fraudulent activity such as this violates the law and undermines the integrity of modern financial markets. The $84 million award seeks to address the financial harm inflicted on investors and reinforce the importance of legal compliance in cryptocurrency trading.
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