Kategorie: Ethereum News

• Scroll is an open-source Ethereum L2 rollup leveraging zero-knowledge proofs.
• The network offers increased speed and lower fees for developers.

Scroll, an Ethereum layer 2 zkEVM-powered network, has announced that its mainnet is now officially live. The announcement comes after the zkEVM appeared to have quietly launched on mainnet a few days ago.

The L2 solution was founded in 2021 by Ethereum enthusiasts and developers and focused on advancing zero-knowledge proofs on the leading proof-of-stake blockchain. 

After more than two years of building, we are thrilled to announce the launch of Scroll Mainnet.

As we open the doors to Mainnet, we want to take a moment to reflect on our journey thus far 💛 pic.twitter.com/WKfkjyIkB0

— Scroll 📜 (@Scroll_ZKP) October 17, 2023

Scroll’s live on mainnet

The launch of the Scroll mainnet comes after more than 15 months of extensive testnets and security audits. The development means Scroll is now publicly available.

“Our testnets have allowed us to approach the Mainnet release with the attention to detail and caution necessary to ensure its success,” the team noted an announcement published on Tuesday.

Since its initial release, Scroll’s testnets has seen more than 450,000 smart contracts deployed and over 90 million total transactions at an average of 305,000 transactions per day. Details shared via blog release also showed the production of over 9 million blocks and 280,000 zk proofs generated.

Users of the zkEVM-enabled scaling solution will benefit from EVM compatibility and the security of the Ethereum blockchain. But more than that, Scroll promises lower network fees and latency. In this case, developers canl leverage the platform’s technology for cost-efficient development of decentralised applications.

“We see a future where the vast majority of value transfer takes place on L2s on Ethereum. What will drive that adoption is improved user and developer experience,” Sandy Peng, co-founder of Scroll, said, adding:

“We focus on enabling developers to build blockchain applications that will anchor web3 in real world use cases, attracting new users en masse, and moving everyone forward.”

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• Ethereum validator queue at an all-time low.
• Staking demand wanes as wait times plummet.
• At press time, the entry queue for Ethereum only had 377 validators.

The Ethereum network’s validator queue once jam-packed with applicants eager to participate in the blockchain’s proof-of-stake system, has reached an all-time low. Data reveals that the queue has dwindled to just 598 validators, a stark contrast to the staggering peak of over 96,000 seen in early June.

This significant reduction in the validator queue marks a remarkable development in the Ethereum ecosystem, as it has not been this empty since the major “Shapella” upgrade in April, which finalized Ethereum’s transition to a fully functioning proof-of-stake network.

Staking demand declines

The shrinking validator queue is indicative of the diminishing staking demand on the Ethereum network. At its peak, individuals seeking to become validators faced a daunting 45-day wait, driven by pent-up demand to stake Ethereum’s native token, ETH.

However, as of Thursday, the expected waiting time to add a new validator to the network has plummeted to less than four hours according to data on Validator Queue. This swift decline reflects a change in the staking landscape following the Shapella upgrade, which allowed for the withdrawal of staked ETH for the first time, reducing the risk for investors.

The Shapella upgrade had initially sparked a surge in staking activity on the Ethereum network, with ETH staking growth described as “exceptionally strong” following Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake in September 2022. However, the initial fervour seems to have cooled in recent times.

The decline in staking demand has resulted in a decrease in staking rewards, which have fallen from 5%-6% earlier in the year to around 3.5%. This is partly due to lower network activity generating fees and an increasing number of stakers.

In comparison to other prominent proof-of-stake networks, Ethereum’s staking ratio, measuring the share of tokens staked relative to the total supply, has grown to over 22% since April. Nevertheless, it still lags behind competitors like Solana, Cardano, and Avalanche, with their staking ratios ranging from 53% to 69%.

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• The trial involved wrapping CBDCs for use in purchasing NFTs on blockchains.
• Mastercard’s Multi Token Network played a pivotal role in the trial.
• There is a growing importance of CBDCs and blockchain in the financial industry.

In a groundbreaking development, Mastercard has announced the successful completion of a trial involving wrapping central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for use in purchasing nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on blockchains, particularly Ethereum.

This milestone experiment demonstrates the fusion of traditional financial systems and blockchain technologies, promising innovative possibilities for commerce.

The CBDC wrapping trial

Mastercard’s trial was executed with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Australia’s Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre CBDC, Cuscal, and Mintable. The primary aim was to assess the feasibility of integrating CBDCs into blockchain platforms. The live test involved a CBDC owner buying an NFT listed on Ethereum.

The process was straightforward yet pioneering. It “locked” a predetermined quantity of a pilot CBDC on the RBA’s pilot CBDC platform, creating an equivalent amount of wrapped pilot CBDC tokens on the Ethereum blockchain.

Notably, security measures were in place to ensure the transaction’s legitimacy. The Ethereum wallets of both the buyer and seller, along with the NFT marketplace’s smart contract, were meticulously vetted, permitting only authorized participants. This demonstration showcased the ability to exercise controls, even on public blockchains.

Role of Mastercard’s Multi Token Network

Mastercard’s Multi Token Network, introduced in June 2023, played a pivotal role in enabling this transformative trial. This network seamlessly bridges payment technology with blockchain, offering a dynamic way to link digital currencies and NFTs.

Zack Burcks, CEO and founder of Mintable acknowledged the potential of this collaboration, emphasizing its ability to combat fraud, enhance security, and streamline record-keeping.

In a broader context, the Reserve Bank of Australia has shown keen interest in the potential of an Australian dollar CBDC. It envisions the CBDC facilitating complex payment arrangements and fostering financial innovation that fiat currencies cannot replicate. However, it’s noted that further research is essential to fully comprehend the benefits and implications of such a digital currency.

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• Analyst Geoff Kendrick explains his super bullish view on Ether.
• He expects Ethereum to reclaim its dominance in smart contracts.
• Kendrick also sees new uses cases as catalyst for price appreciation.

Ether has been in a downtrend over the past three months but a Standard Chartered analyst remains super bullish on the cryptocurrency.

The bull case for Ether

Geoff Kendrick expects Ether to hit $8,000 by the end of 2026 that translates to a whopping 5x growth in about three years.

The analyst is convinced that Ethereum will reclaim its dominance in smart contracts. New use cases, he added in a research note this morning, will also help drive its price up moving forward.

Layer 2 scaling solutions … are likely to grow in importance over time. This should help in … increasing its [EHT’s] P/E ratio over the next couple of years.

Earlier this month, Grayscale filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission to convert its Ethereum trust – the largest Ether investment vehicle in the world to a Spot ETH exchange-traded fund.

Layer 2 could help its PE ratio

Layer 2 solutions are built on Ethereum for efficiency.

The likes of Arbitrum and Optimism also help with preventing transactions from spilling over to a competing network – which should eventually deliver a boost to the token’s price-to-earnings ratio, as per Geoff Kendrick.

Ethereum’s established dominance in smart contract platforms, [and] emerging uses in gaming and tokenization, has the potential to push ETH to $8,000.

Interestingly, the Standard Chartered analyst said the cryptocurrency could even be worth $26,000 to $35,000 eventually but that valuation assumes revenue streams and use cases that are yet to materialise.

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• The swap was done on Uniswap.
• Ethereum (ETH) had dropped 1.64% at the time of writing to trade at $1,593.66.
• Ethereum Foundation’s significant holdings of Ether influence market dynamics despite its decentralized nature.

The Ethereum Foundation, a key player in the development and ecosystem of the Ethereum network, sold a portion of its allocated Ether (ETH) tokens. A wallet identified as “0x9eE457023bB3De16D51A003a247BaEaD7fce313D,” labelled as a “Grant Provider” on blockchain tracker Etherscan, executed a swap of over 1,700 ETH for $2.7 million in USDC on the Uniswap decentralized exchange.

Market reaction and impact

The sale of ETH tokens by the Ethereum Foundation triggered a reaction in the cryptocurrency market.

Ether’s price dipped by approximately 1.5% within a few hours, and over the subsequent 24-hour period, the drop extended to 1.8%. This event led to a temporary slump in the value of Ether and affected other major tokens as well.

Ethereum Foundation’s holdings

As of April 2022, the Ethereum Foundation held a substantial amount of ETH, valued at nearly $1.29 billion, representing roughly 0.297% of the total Ether supply at that time. Additionally, the foundation had approximately $300 million in non-crypto investments.

While the Ethereum Foundation does not govern the Ethereum blockchain, its actions can significantly influence token prices and impact investor and developer sentiment within the Ethereum ecosystem.

The Ethereum Foundation plays a crucial role in funding and supporting the development of applications and programs on the Ethereum network. While it is not a centralized authority, its activities are closely watched by the crypto community due to its historical significance and impact on the Ethereum ecosystem.

This recent sale is part of the Ethereum Foundation’s periodic token sales to cover operational costs and support ongoing development efforts.

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