From the Dencun upgrade going to Blast announcing an airdrop, here is a 2-minute breakdown of everything important that happened in crypto today.
Ethereum continues marching towards lower costs and greater access with the successful deployment of the Dencun testnet upgrade this week. This initial integration kicks off a series of forks across multiple testnets, smoothing the upgrade path towards Dencun's mainnet migration.
But that's not all that's happening in the world of crypto today. Let's dive into the top news stories:
- Bankrupt mining firm Core Scientific is making a comeback and returning as a public company on Nasdaq!
- Blast launched a developer-focused testnet called "Big Bang" with airdrop rewards up for grabs!
- The Switzerland-Liechtenstein crypto corridor saw a 107% value explosion to $383 billion.
- Texas' cold snap forced Bitcoin miners to shut off 34% of the network's hash rate.
Now let's dive deeper into each of those stories...
Dencun Testnet Is Here!
Ethereum's road towards scaling enlightenment just paved a few more feet this week!
Core devs successfully deployed the Dencun upgrade across the Goerli testnet.
While syncing issues briefly stalled the rollout, engineers quickly patched validators to finalize consensus.
This initial integration kicks off a series of incremental forks across multiple testnets - smoothing the upgrade path towards Dencun's mainnet migration.
So what does this Dencun do and why the Ethereum community considers it a significant milestone? Read the full story!
And that brings us to our Word of the Day…
It’s testnet!
A testnet in blockchain refers to a testing environment that runs parallel to the main blockchain network. Testnets allow developers to experiment with new features and changes to the blockchain protocol without impacting the mainnet (main network) and real-value transactions.
This enables safer development and testing using test coins or tokens without real value, allowing for stress testing and experimentation without needing to risk real assets. They emulate mainnet conditions to be as realistic as possible for testing purposes before deploying to the mainnet.
But how do users benefit from testnets? Read more!
Now back to our daily stories!
Bankrupt Mining Firm Is Back!
What a difference a year makes!
Core Scientific - the firm that filed for bankruptcy back in 2022 - is making a comeback!
A judge signed off on Core's reorg proposal this week - including its return as a public company on Nasdaq.
The miner also recently bagged a $55 million lifeline to restructure debt and reinforce operations.
But aren’t miners facing a threat to their profitability due to rising energy costs and upcoming reward reductions (aka Bitcoin Halving)? Read the full story!
Blast Announces Airdrop
Amidst brewing controversies around Blast’s unusual locked deposit bridge approach, the project turned focus to launching a developer-geared testnet instead.
Dubbed "Big Bang," the event invites engineers to start building dApps and infrastructure atop Blast for a chance to earn airdrop rewards.
Blast big brain Tieshun "Pacman" Roquerre will judge submissions along with reps from Paradigm and Standard Crypto.
They also offer mentoring and support accelerating projects towards the final mainnet migration at the end of next month.
Will users be receiving this airdrop? Read the full story!
$383 Billion and Counting
Bullish signs from the Switzerland-Liechtenstein crypto corridor this week!
Venture firm CV VC reports a staggering 107% explosion in value created by regional projects - about $383 billion!
Yet this parabolic wealth generation remains undetected due to glooming global VC trends.
2022 witnessed over 90 regional deals soak up $1 billion in capital. But 2023 funneled under 50 investments totaling just $283 million so far...
Still - 1,290 blockchain companies currently call Switzerland or Liechtenstein home. Including heavy hitters like Cosmos, Internet Computer and Near Protocol.
So a green light for crypto companies? Read the full story!
Crypto Winter in Texas! 🥶
Texas’ cold wave forced BTC miners to shut off rigs en masse - crashing the total network hash rate by 34% in the past few days.
With Texas hosting almost a third of the US Bitcoin hash rate, site outages proved devastating for major players.
Thankfully most miners participate in a state program paying them to adjust operations when electricity reserves run low. So blackouts are avoided...for now!
So Texas is going to lose its top rank in mining in the US? Read the full story!
That wraps up today's top crypto stories. See you tomorrow!
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