Biz Builder Mike

You can't sail Today's boat on Yesterdays wind - Michael Noel

Enterprise Blockchain Platform Waves Launches ERC-20 WAVES Token to Enable Access to Ethereum Network Apps

by

Waves (WAVES), a blockchain-based platform for developing enterprise-grade applications, will be issuing an ERC-20 compliant token as part of its collaboration with the Ethereum (ETH) network.

The Waves development team noted:

“As Waves continues to foster interoperability between various protocols, the WAVES token has been ported to Ethereum….a gateway facilitating transfers of the WAVES token to the Ethereum blockchain has been launched. This will enhance interoperability between the two blockchains and introduce Waves functionality to Ethereum users.”

The Waves team also mentioned that the gateway launch will allow WAVES token holders to gain access to many different decentralized applications (dApps), crypto-asset exchanges, and various decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. These services are operating on the Ethereum blockchain, whose users will gain “easy access to the WAVES coin.”

Users will have the option to transfer the WAVES token between the two independent blockchains through a gateway that has been launched in the Waves.Exchange client interface. There will be a minimal 2 WAVES withdrawal fee and the deposit fee will be 0 WAVES (so it’s currently free to make deposits). As explained in the announcement, users must lock one WAVES token so that they can issue one ERC-20 WAVES token.

The Waves team confirmed that a WAVES to USDN (an algorithmic crypto-collateralized stablecoin pegged to the US dollar) pool has now emerged on Uniswap, a major non-custodial Ethereum token exchange. (Note: for more details, check here.)

The Waves developers have acknowledged that Ethereum currently has the largest ecosystem in terms of the number of dApps and total active users. They claim that the launch of the WAVES token in the ERC-20 format “opens up new opportunities for interaction between the two ecosystems.”

They added:

“As of 2021, the gateway [to Ethereum] will be operated through Gravity, a data protocol that connects disparate blockchains with a truly agnostic and untokenized hub, acting as an oracle between systems. Waves is also going to implement the option of staking WAVES tokens directly from Ethereum wallets.”

They further noted:

“Two Waves ecosystem tokens — Neutrino USD (USDN), an algorithmic dollar-pegged stablecoin, and Neutrino System Base Token (NSBT), a system and governance token for the Neutrino protocol — have been available in the Etherum network for several months.” 

The Waves team revealed that there are approximately 15.3 million USDN that have been moved to Ethereum. These coins are available via the pools of several different DeFi protocols, including Curve, 1inch, and Uniswap.

As reported recently, the Waves Association is offering 1 million WAVES or $2.9 million via its blockchain developer grant program.

Source

Metamask Rides DeFi Wave to Surpass a Million Monthly Users

by

The growing decentralized finance (DeFi) space has been one of the best things to happen to Ethereum this year, as it has propped both the network and its currency, Ether. However, several other Ethereum-affiliated products are now getting a boost from this surge. Metamask, the top wallet provider, has crossed a significant milestone. 

A Convenient Coincidence 

Earlier this week, Metamask, an Ethereum-based browser wallet application, announced that it had recorded a million monthly users for the first time. In its announcement, the wallet application name-dropped several DeFi protocols, including Curve, Aave, Yearn Finance, and Uniswap, as some of the primary drivers of its growth. 

The wallet application’s developers reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring that they support DeFi projects as much as they can. It has been a good few months for both Metamask and DeFi, with the wallet’s user base tripling since February and the total value locked in DeFi increasing by 1,000 percent in that time. 

DeFi is Clogging Up Ethereum 

Currently, DeFi and Ethereum are enjoying a blissful relationship. Ether as a currency thrives on adoption from developers, and a surge in DeFi adoption has only served to stabilize the asset’s price over time. Save for the usual swings and market reactions, Ether has been a viable crypto investment for any prospective investor in 2020. 

However, this relationship has also come at a pretty steep cost. Particularly, the boom in the DeFi sector has made Ethereum less scalable. 

Early last month, data from Glassnode confirmed that gas fees on the Ethereum network reached $500,000 in an hour – a new all-time high. At the same time, Ether had consolidated 10 percent in 24 hours, sitting at a price of $486. 

Many believed that this increase in network activity came from Sushiswap, a fork of top decentralized exchange Uniswap, which crossed the billion-dollar mark in total assets locked in less than a day. 

Although the increased network activity meant good news for miners, it also pointed to the ever-present issue of scalability and sustainability on the network. DeFi has been the driving force behind an Ether bull run, but it has brought technical difficulties.  

As activity in the decentralized sector continues to surge, the Ethereum network is moving close to capacity. Congestion on the network could increase transactions going unconfirmed, causing longer wait times, and raising transaction fees. 

Left unchecked, this problem could affect the usability of smart contracts. Such an outcome will be a significant problem, as Ethereum’s entire operation rests on smart contracts’ ability to operate.

Speaking on the implications, Kosala Hemachandra, founder and chief executive of wallet provider MyEtherWallet, explained to Cointelegraph that it would be impossible for a single blockchain to hold so many transactions. 

Hemachandra highlighted that Ethereum’s popularity among DeFi projects is the reason for such high gas fees. However, it won’t be possible for DeFi to ditch Ethereum and go elsewhere. His posited solution is for them to migrate to some other high transaction-per-network solution, such as delegated proof-of-stake. However, he also noted that such a move could jeopardize DeFi projects’ decentralization.

Metamask Rides DeFi Wave to Surpass a Million Monthly Users

Source

Ethereum Transaction Fee Falls to 49-Day Lows

by

Ethereum transaction fee is often considered a benchmark for on-chain activity. After reaching new heights, the transaction fee has fallen to its 49-day low.

A damp squib after a record run

The average transaction fee on the Ethereum network recently fell to its 49-day lows. The last time the transaction fees were this low was in early August. The network recently went on a record high in terms of transaction costs which made the network very expensive to use.

Ethereum Transaction Fee Falls to 49-Day Lows

Ethereum Transaction Fee Falls to 49-Day Lows

According to BitInfoCharts, the average transaction fee was $2.248. On August 23, it was barely four cents higher at $2.28. Since August 9, it slipped below $2.248 when the average transaction fee went down to just $1.94. In the month of September, Ethereum transaction costs hit new highs. On September 2, the average cost of the transaction was $14.6. About 10 days ago, the cost was $11.6. These remained the highest transaction cost on the network ever. It broke the previous record of $5.5 on July 2, 2018. Does it mean that people are buying Ethereum?

Why is the fee fluctuating?

Fees increase on the network when the demand for processing transactions is high. Miners are given more incentives in the form of a transaction fees when the demand is high. It is often used as a benchmark for increased activity. If the average transaction fee is decreasing, it is also a sign of decreasing activity on the blockchain.

The rise in transaction fee in summer could be attributed to the growing popularity of DeFi or decentralized finance. Decentralized stablecoins, DeFi lending protocols, and synthetic assets all gained momentum during the summer. As of today, at least $11 billion is locked up in the DeFi smart contracts. DeFi Pulse suggests that this number was just $1 billion in June. The Ethereum blockchain is the de facto leader in DeFi industry. However, the blockchain can only process about 14 transactions per second, has struggled to keep up with the rising demand for this new development in the blockchain industry.

Ethereum Transaction Fee Falls to 49-Day Lows

Source