Bitcoin interoperability platform Interlay raises $3M in seed funding

July 17, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin interoperability platform Interlay raises M in seed funding

Interlay’s mission is to bring its interBTC product to all major blockchains, including Polkadot, Ethereum and Cosmos, according to founder and CEO Alexei Zamyatin.

Interlay, a Bitcoin (BTC) interoperability project that first launched on Polkadot, has concluded a $3 million seed round to further develop its flagship decentralized finance product, marking another important capital raise in the blockchain industry.

The funding will go towards supporting Interlay’s interBTC platform, which allows users to invest, earn and pay with Bitcoin on any blockchain. Originally commissioned for Polkadot, interBTC will expand to other blockchains including Ethereum (ETH) and Cosmos.

As Cointelegraph reported, Interlay began building its Bitcoin bridge in early 2020 after receiving a grant from Web3 Foundation, a technology steward for the decentralized web.

Interlay claims that its interBTC product is fully backed by Bitcoin at a ratio of one-to-one. The Bitcoin reserves are locked in collateralized vaults, which means anyone can mint interBTC by locking their Bitcoin or run their own vault. The product is said to be “secured by insurance,” which means users can exit back to Bitcoin any time they want.

The seed round was led by IOSG Ventures, with participation from Blockchain.com, Launchub Ventures, CMS Holdings, KR1, Hypersphere and Zeeprime. Angel investors include Bitmain co-founder Jihan Wu and Blockchain.com CEO Peter Smith.

“Connecting Polkadot and Bitcoin securely and efficiently is the first strategic move for Interlay,” said Xinshu Dong, a partner at IOSG Ventures, who recognized “robust and decentralized infrastructure” as an important enabler for multi-chain ecosystems.

The growth of multi-chain networks represents an important evolution for the blockchain industry. Polkadot has placed itself at the center of multi-chain development, thanks in large part to parachain and parathread technologies, which are designed to unite heterogeneous networks.

Top 5 cryptocurrencies to watch this week: BTC, LUNA, ATOM, CAKE, FTT

July 11, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

If Bitcoin price remains range-bound, altcoins like LUNA, ATOM, CAKE and FTT could continue to move higher over the coming week.

Bitcoin (BTC) price is still range-bound and traders are searching for signs that may provide insight about the next directional move. Philip Swift, the creator of analytics resource LookIntoBitcoin, pointed out on July 9 that the Puell Multiple rebounded “out of the green zone of this week” only for the fifth time in history. Swift said if the indicator continues to move up, Bitcoin’s price may follow it higher.

Another positive outlook for Bitcoin came from Lex Moskovski, chief investment officer at Moskovski Capital, who highlighted that Bitcoin’s price was trading about 59% below the target price projected by the stock-to-flow model, which is the largest negative deflection in history. Moskovski said this could be a “great buying opportunity” for traders who believe in the model.

*Crypto market data daily view. Source:* *Coin360*

In other news, Capital International, a financial services company, has purchased 953,242 shares of MicroStrategy stock in the second quarter of 2021, according to the business intelligence firm’s filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Due to its huge Bitcoin holding, MicroStrategy’s stock price largely follows Bitcoin’s trajectory. Therefore, the purchase by Capital International indicates that institutional investors may have started positioning for a bullish move in Bitcoin.

However, not everyone is so bullish. Guggenheim executive Scott Minerd has an extremely bearish view on Bitcoin because he anticipates a drop to $10,000.

Let’s study the charts of the top-5 cryptocurrencies and spot the critical levels that may signal the start of a strong relief rally.

BTC/USDT

Bitcoin has been trading in a tight range between $31,000 and $36,670 for the past few days, which suggests that traders are undecided about the next directional move. Usually, the breakout from a tight range results in a sharp move.

Both moving averages are gradually flattening out and the relative strength index (RSI) has been trading close to the midpoint, which suggests a balance between supply and demand. If bulls push the price above $36,670, it will be the first sign of strength.

The BTC/USDT pair could then rally to $41,330 and then to $42,451.67 where the bears are likely to mount a stiff resistance. A breakout of this resistance will indicate the possible start of a new uptrend.

On the other hand, if the price turns down from the current level or the overhead resistance at $36,670, the bears will try to pull the pair down to $31,000 and then to $28,000. A break below this support zone will increase the possibility of the resumption of the downtrend.

*BTC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

The 4-hour chart shows the formation of a descending triangle pattern that will complete on a breakdown and close below $32,268. If that happens, the possibility of a break below $31,000 increases.

On the contrary, if bulls propel the price above the downtrend line, it will invalidate the bearish setup. The failure of a negative pattern is a bullish sign as it traps the aggressive bears who have sold in anticipation of a breakdown. The pair could then rise to $36,670.

LUNA/USDT

Terra protocol’s LUNA token had been trading inside the $7.96 to $3.91 range since the end of May. However, the bulls pushed the price above the resistance on the range on July 9, indicating that demand exceeds supply.

The moving averages have completed a bullish crossover and the RSI has risen close to the overbought zone, suggesting a change in trend.

If bulls sustain the price above $7.96, the LUNA/USDT pair could start a new uptrend. The first target objective on the upside is the downtrend line where the bears will again try to stall the up-move.

If the price turns down from the downtrend line but rebounds off the 20-day exponential moving average or $7.96, it will suggest the formation of a higher low. The buyers will then try to resume the uptrend by pushing the price above the downtrend line.

Contrary to this assumption, if bears pull the price back below $7.96, it will indicate a lack of demand at higher levels. A break below the moving averages will open the doors for a possible drop to $3.91.

*LUNA/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

Both moving averages are sloping up and the RSI is near the overbought territory on the 4-hour chart, which shows that bulls have the upper hand.

However, the bears have not yet given up as they are trying to stall the up-move close to $8.50. If bulls drive the price above $8.75, the pair could start a new uptrend that may reach $10 and then $12.

Conversely, if the price turns down from the current level and breaks below $7.46, the pair may drop to the 50-simple moving average.

ATOM/USDT

Cosmos (ATOM) has been trading between $17.56 and $8.51 for the past few days. The bulls pushed the price above the 50-day SMA ($12.66) on July 5, which was the first sign of strength.

Thereafter, bears tried to trap the aggressive bulls and pull the price down but they could not break the 20-day EMA ($12.54) support. This suggests buying on dips.

The moving averages are on the verge of a bullish crossover and the RSI is in the positive territory, which suggests that the correction may have ended. The bulls will now try to push the price to the resistance of the range at $17.56 where the bears are likely to pose a stiff challenge.

This bullish view will be negated if the price turns down from the current level and the bears sink the ATOM/USDT pair below $11.41. Such a move could open the doors for a drop to the critical support at $8.51.

*ATOM/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

The price has been trading inside an ascending channel for the past few days. Both moving averages are sloping up and the RSI is in the positive zone, indicating the path of least resistance is to the upside.

If the price rebounds off the 20-EMA, the bulls will try to break the pair above the resistance line of the channel. If they succeed, the pair could pick up momentum and rally to $17.56.

On the contrary, if bears sink the price below the moving averages, the pair could drop to the trendline of the channel. A break below this support will shift the advantage in favor of the bears.

CAKE/USDT

PancakeSwap (CAKE) has been sandwiched between the moving averages for the past five days. This consolidation shows that bears are defending the 50-day SMA ($15.67) while the bulls are buying the dips to the 20-day EMA ($14.55).

However, this tight range trading is unlikely to continue for long and may result in a strong move within the next few days. The RSI has risen into the positive territory, indicating that bulls have a minor advantage.

If buyers push and sustain the price above the 50-day SMA, the CAKE/USDT pair could rally to $18.62 and later to $21.52.

Alternatively, if the price turns down and plummets below the 20-day EMA, the bears might pull the price down to $12.39. A break below this support could open the doors for a retest of the critical support at $10.

*CAKE/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

The 4-hour chart shows that the price is rising inside an ascending channel. Both moving averages are sloping up gradually and the RSI is in the positive zone, suggesting that buyers have the upper hand.

The bulls will now try to push the price into the upper half of the channel. If they succeed, the pair could rise to the resistance line of the channel near $17. Contrary to this assumption, if the price turns down and breaks below the trendline of the channel, it will suggest an end of the short-term up-move.

FTT/USDT

FTX Token (FTT) broke above the downtrend line on July 6, suggesting that the correction may have ended. The bears tried to stall the recovery at the 50-day SMA ($30.26) on July 8 but could not sink the price below the 20-day EMA ($28.68).

The price rebounded off the 20-day EMA on July 9 and the bulls are trying to push the FTT/USDT pair above the 50-day SMA. The 20-day EMA has started to turn up marginally and the RSI has risen into the positive zone, indicating that bulls are attempting to make a comeback.

If buyers propel and sustain the price above the 50-day SMA, the pair could start a relief rally that may reach $34.73 and then $36.73.

This bullish view will invalidate if the price turns down from the current level and plummets below the 20-day EMA. Such a move will suggest that bears are selling on rallies. The pair could then drop to the next support at $25.22.

*FTT/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

The 4-hour chart shows that bulls have pushed the price above the overhead resistance at $30.50. The rising moving averages and the RSI in the positive territory suggest the path of least resistance is to the upside.

If buyers sustain the price above $30.50, the pair could extend its relief rally to $33 and then to $34.73. This positive view will be invalidated if the price turns down from the current level and breaks below $29.50. Such a move could pull the pair down to $28.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

A multichain future will accelerate innovators and entrepreneurs

July 7, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Auction

Alternative accelerator mechanisms will empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and their blockchain projects.

My colleague, Elias Simos, likes to say we're living through a digital asset renaissance, including the digitization of non-digital asset value. Decentralized solutions to a myriad of financial and peer-to-peer obstacles are flourishing, but many innovators and entrepreneurs are still tied to old models of building the projects.

Some platforms, such as Polkadot and Cosmos, are establishing new startup models suited for Web 3.0. They make it easier to create and connect decentralized applications and to empower innovators to build better solutions. Acting like a startup accelerator, these multichain protocols present a mechanism to launch and naturally scale hundreds of new blockchains. It breaks down silos and opens up opportunities for new entrants to participate in and support emerging projects.

The most exciting projects of the next decade will use blockchain-enabled support systems. These alternative accelerator mechanisms will empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and their blockchain projects.

Let’s take Polkadot as an example. Typically, accelerators support early-stage, growth-driven startups through education, mentorship and financing. They supply these resources in exchange for equity in the nascent company. While most ventures fail to take off, a small handful grow into substantial companies. Polkadot’s scaling mechanism bears many of these hallmarks of Silicon Valley accelerators, such as Y Combinator or Techstars, by providing resources for small but promising companies. But in this Web 3.0 version, instead of only a select group of people offering resources, the whole community can get involved with the projects.

Bootstrapping a proof-of-stake network is complex. Founding teams benefit greatly from access to the networks, talent, governance and operational excellence possessed by the blockchain ecosystem — much like what an accelerator offers a startup. The Polkadot network and community provides all of these elements to an application or network developer, meeting them at the most challenging place in the value chain. Entrepreneurs can find their problem/solution fit and connect with the necessary resources before they satisfy strong market demand.

Decentralized parachain process

Polkadot, the flagship project by the Web3 Foundation, and Kusama, an experimental network on Polkadot, operate two types of blockchains: relay chains and parachains. The relay chain is the hub responsible for achieving consensus and finalizing transactions. Parachains are independent and interoperable layer-one blockchains with shared security via the relay chain, and they encompass a variety of decentralized projects such as identity, DeFi, bridges and smart contracts. Polkadot and Kusama will each have up to 100 parachain slots available, and they must be earned. The process of earning a slot aims to ensure that parachains are funded in a fair and equitable way, and it has two stages — crowdloans and auctions.

In the first stage, the decentralized crowdloan, “Polkadot allows parachains to source tokens for their parachain [auction] bids” from supporters who lock DOT, Polkadot’s protocol’s native token, for up to two years to a project they support. Supporters never relinquish custody of the tokens, but the tokens are locked up and are illiquid until the crowdloan expires; this lock-up demonstrates supporters’ conviction that the parachain will be successful. Each potential parachain project will need to compete for the support of DOT and Kusama (KSM) token holders, much like a startup would do at an accelerator pitch day.

The second stage requires that all the tokens locked in the crowdloans be used in a parachain slot auction. Teams use the locked tokens to bid for a slot, raising the bid as necessary, until an unknown amount of time expies. This style of auction harkens back to candle auctions popular in the 17th century, where the expiration of a candle flame signaled the end of the auction to avoid competitors coming in at the last minute with a high bid. Supporters of winning projects will receive native tokens for the parachain in exchange for locking up their tokens.

This decentralized parachain process may offer more promise than a conventional accelerator for Web 3.0, for both developers and supporters. The resources available are crucial to success.

Key differentiators of Polkadot’s Web 3.0 accelerator model include:

Supporters never give up custody of their tokens.
Supporters' locked-up tokens are returned either when the project loses the auction or once its access to the parachain slot expires.
Supporters have skin in the game while also being insulated from the consequences of their actions.
Supporters don't share the opportunity cost.
A decentralized and trustless ecosystem of partners are accessible beyond the small network of an accelerator.
Any individual or entity can run validators to receive rewards.
There is inherent scalability for parachains.
The ability for parachains to use a shared security model, be interoperable with other projects inside and outside the Polkadot ecosystem, and tap into a large community of enthusiasts, is a boon for developers.

Developers are currently building parachains, such as Acala, ChainX and Chainlink, for Polkadot. The first Kusama parachain slot auction is slated for summer of 2021.

The multichain future

Other platforms, such as Cosmos, also provide a peek at the multichain future. The Cosmos Hub is the main chain and economic center, connecting the blockchains, called Zones, together through inter-blockchain communication. In exchange for securing services on the Cosmos Hub, transaction fees and staking rewards are distributed to stakers of the native token, ATOM.

Polygon and SKALE are examples of Ethereum-compatible networks that provide developers the opportunity to build sidechains to support the growth of decentralized applications for the ecosystem. As of December 2020, Ethereum, Polkadot and Cosmos, all platforms geared towards enabling developers to build applications, are the fastest-growing layer-one ecosystems. It’s possible we’re seeing the rise of Web 3.0’s answer to Y Combinator and Techstars.

By cultivating community and facilitating partnerships with key supporters, teams can test solutions, develop winning strategies and demonstrate considerable traction before a true launch. A multichain future, underscored by alternative support mechanisms, will empower the next cohort of entrepreneurs and their blockchain projects. Interoperable ecosystems like Polkadot will play a critical role.

Thank you to all of those who read earlier drafts and to Elias Simos for inspiring this article.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Harry Alford is a business development manager for Bison Trails, a blockchain infrastructure platform-as-a-service (PaaS) provider and standalone product line at Coinbase. He’s spent the bulk of his career funding and advising startups and innovators, and has particular familiarity with the accelerator model as a mentor for Techstars.

Top Trader Says This Group of Altcoins Poised To ‘Massively Thrive’ in Next Bitcoin and Crypto Bull Run

July 3, 2021 The Daily Hodl

These Altcoins in the Cosmos Ecosystem Are About To Go Vertical, According to Top Trader

June 18, 2021 The Daily Hodl

Altcoin Roundup: Bitcoin price crash is a reminder to put fundamentals over fear

May 22, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Persistent struggles with high fees and network congestion have allowed layer-one solutions like Polkadot, Solana and Cosmos to become established competitors.

In bull and bear markets, wise cryptocurrency investors know that the primary focus should be on project longevity rather than jumping on every short-term price movement. As the crypto ecosystem expands and new sectors arise, protocols that offer the most value to the community stand the best chance at long-term survival and price appreciation.

The goal of this newsletter is to take a more thematic, macro view of niche sub-sectors within the cryptocurrency market and identify projects whose signal they will be successful within the space.

It isn’t about the token price; it’s about the tech, the fundamentals of the project, and how each one must help push the sector forward to the next level.

In a recent conversation with Cointelegraph, Élie Le Rest, partner at digital asset management firm ExoAlpha, said: “Sector trends and crypto are big and are here to stay, but idiosyncratic risk must be taken into account while weighing portfolios.”

According to Le Rest, the “crypto market tends to work on comparable principles,” which is a repeating trend seen multiple times in its history.

With that said, let’s take a deeper dive into the current market cycle rotation taking place in the wider crypto market to get a better grasp on where new money and participants coming into the market are beginning to focus their attention.

Layer-one projects continue to attract users

Layer-one is a term used to describe the main underlying blockchain architecture of a network, while layer-two solutions are protocols that operate on top of the underlying L1 blockchain and cannot function without the framework that they provide.

Bitcoin is by far the dominant L1 solution in terms of value, while the Ethereum network has been fundamental in reshaping the crypto market landscape over the past few years thanks to smart contracts and the rise of sectors such as decentralized finance and nonfungible tokens.

*Ether price vs. number of active addresses. Source:* *Glassnode*

While Ethereum has received a majority of the attention when it comes to discussions about smart contract platforms, several projects have been rising in prominence of late as high fees and a low transaction-per-second count on the Ethereum network have enticed projects to build on up-and-coming networks.

*Average gas fee on Ethereum. Source:* *Etherscan*

Ethereum’s success has demonstrated to the world the capabilities of smart contract platforms, but its continued struggles have opened the door for protocols like Polkadot, Solana and Cosmos, which offer a similar value proposition along with solutions to the underlying problems mentioned, to grow in terms of price and relevance over the past year.

Polkadot

Polkadot has become one of the most well-known and successful L1 projects in the crypto space besides Ethereum in 2021 thanks in large part to the project’s approach of interoperability and cooperation as opposed to the previous “Ethereum killer” approach taken by many.

Created in part by Gavin Wood, who also played an instrumental role in the creation of Ethereum, the Polkadot network has taken a more complementary approach as an open-source sharding multichain protocol that enables cross-chain bridges so that projects and developers can choose the network that best suits their needs and easily transfer their protocols if necessary.

Not limited to just tokens, Polkadot’s multi-chain functionality enables the cross-chain transfer of any data or asset types, helping to establish a wide range of interoperability between separate blockchain networks.

Polkadot’s ecosystem is one of the largest and most active in the space, with a rapidly expanding list of projects launching on the protocol and looking to obtain one of the limited parachain slots in the upcoming parachain auctions.

*Polkadot Ecosystem. Source:* *Web3 Foundation*

As seen in the graphic above, the Polkadot ecosystem has rapidly expanded to incorporate the major sectors of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, including DeFi platforms, nonfungible token protocols, oracles and decentralized autonomous organizations.

The network also has a growing list of applications that facilitate interacting with the protocol, including a wide range of wallets that support Polkadot’s DOT and Polkadot-based assets, as well as multiple network explorers, including Polkascan.

Popular projects that are currently operating on the Polkadot testnet and are favored to win a parachain slot include DeFi ecosystem Acala Network and the Polkaswap decentralized exchange, which are both available now for testing and can be accessed using the Polkadot-js wallet browser extension.

Once the parachain auctions are finished and the projects go live on Polkadot, the network’s launch will officially be complete. While there is no definitive date yet set for when the parachain auctions will begin, excitement for DOT has continued to build, which has translated into its price increasing more than 800% in 2021.

*DOT/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

With the prospect of full network capabilities set to launch within a period of weeks to months and mainstream attention beginning to arrive, many investors feel that Polkadot is well-positioned to see further growth in price and adoption as a key player in the future of interoperability across blockchain networks.

Solana

Solana is a fast, secure and censorship-resistant blockchain network that “provides the open infrastructure required for global adoption,” according to the project’s website.

The project’s connection with the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, who also had a hand in the creation and operation of the Serum decentralized exchange, which operates on the Solana network, has been beneficial for the protocol in terms of financial backing and media exposure.

Aside from those positive associations, the underlying technology of the Solana network has attracted the attention of a wide range of projects interested in launching or bridging to its high-speed, low-cost environment.

*Solana ecosystem. Source: Coin98 Analytics*

The rapid expansion of the Solana ecosystem over the past year began with a focus on decentralized finance and has been bolstered by the success of the Serum, which users can interface with using several wallets that support Solana, including Sollet, Ledger and Math Wallet.

While a majority of the tools and supporting infrastructure on the network have been geared toward DeFi, recent additions to the network, such as the decentralized music-sharing and streaming protocol Audius, show that the protocol is beginning to branch out and attract the attention of other types of projects interested in its capabilities.

The Solana protocol utilizes an innovative hybrid model consisting of a proof-of-history consensus combined with the underlying proof-of-stake consensus of the blockchain to increase the network’s overall scalability.

More recently, the network has seen a number of new projects launch that have employed some of the same tactics that drummed up activity and enthusiasm on the Ethereum network in 2017, including airdrops and copycat projects.

While some may see this as a negative, it demonstrates the increased adoption and allure of a low-cost environment as well as showing that Solana is a developer-friendly network.

*SOL/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

These influences, combined with a multitude of other factors, have helped boost the price of Solana (SOL) by more than 3,200% so far in 2021.

Given that DeFi and other hot sectors of the cryptocurrency sector still in their infancy, Solana is well equipped to see its ecosystem expand and token value increase as global cryptocurrency adoption increases.

Cosmos

Cosmos refers to itself as “the internet of blockchains” consisting of “an ever-expanding ecosystem of interconnected apps and services, built for a decentralized future.”

The network arose out of the Tendermint project, which is considered “the gateway to the Cosmos ecosystem” and launched via a token sale in 2017. The protocol utilizes a PoS consensus algorithm that allows token holders to stake their coins to help keep the project’s flagship blockchain Cosmos Hub secure, while also earning a yield that is paid out in Cosmos (ATOM) tokens.

Momentum for the project in 2021 was kicked up a notch in February following the Stargate update, which included the Inter-Blockchain Communication protocol, an interoperability layer for Cosmos blockchains.

The IBC allows projects built with the Cosmos software development kit, like Kava and Band Protocol, to easily interoperate and bridge tokens across other blockchains on the Cosmos network, which currently hosts more than 240 apps and services.

*Cosmos ecosystem. Source:* Coin98 Analytics

The capabilities of the IBC will eventually connect with other blockchain networks, such as the Binance Smart Chain, helping to increase interoperability across the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

With a transaction speed of 7 seconds and an average fee of $0.01, transacting on the Cosmos network is a welcome experience for users fleeing high fees on Ethereum.

The May 10 completion of the Gravity decentralized exchange testnet trading competition shows the protocol is gearing up to offer solutions similar to Uniswap for a fraction of the fees, hinting at a promising future for this growing ecosystem.

Layer-one projects are bullish, but there are a few hurdles to overcome

Growing ecosystems and the planned development and integration of interoperability features are strong indicators of longevity for layer-one projects in the rapidly growing cryptocurrency space.

Potential threats to the success of L1 solutions include projects, such as Polygon and Fantom, which provide cross-chain bridges to other more capable networks and L2 solutions that eliminate the scaling issues that plague the Ethereum network.

While these threats are real, each network or protocol will eventually run into its own unique set of challenges that hamper its capabilities and open the door for competitors to offer a better solution.

Ethereum introduced the world to smart contracts and expanded the scope of what could be done on L1 solutions beyond what was previously achievable on Bitcoin.

Limitations in the original and current design of the Ethereum network have opened the door for newer L1 solutions like Polkadot, Solana and Cosmos to establish themselves as viable contenders thanks to faster transaction times and an already-established proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Google Cloud integrates Band Protocol for real-time crypto price data

April 15, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

Pricing oracles are playing a leading role in driving blockchain adoption.

Google Cloud is incorporating core technology from Band Protocol, a decentralized oracle service, to enable “immediate and accurate analysis of financial time series data,” according to Kevin Lu, head of business development at Band.

Lu announced Thursday that Band’s Standard Dataset is now live on Google BigQuery, an enterprise data warehouse powering ultra-fast SQL queries. Lu described the partnership as “one of the direct collaborations with the Google Cloud team to enable traditional, hybrid blockchain and cloud applications to be built which use decentralized oracles.”

He continued:

"Our teams are empowering researchers and developers to use decentralized oracles for any external data source or type, regardless if the application is natively built on the blockchain or Web 2, through the flexible design of Band Protocol oracles."

Google Cloud has figured out how to translate financial time series data into real-time analytics using machine learning. That data will come directly from Band’s public dataset via BigQuery.

Band launched in September 2019 as an ERC-20 token before migrating over to the Cosmos chain in June 2020. The protocol has quickly emerged as one of the major competitors to Chainlink, the blockchain industry’s leading oracle service provider. The protocol’s native BAND token has enjoyed tremendous success as of late as cross-chain interoperability and new developments surrounding DeFi continue to lure investors.

With respect to DeFi, oracles play an important role in securely transmitting financial data, such as price and trading volume, to various blockchain networks. DeFi remains one of the biggest growth stories in all of crypto, with more than $121 billion locked into various decentralized finance protocols at the time of writing.

Polkadot and Cosmos connect as Plasm and Secret Network release bridge MVP

April 13, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bridge

The two projects seek to become the forerunners of Cosmos and Polkadot interoperability.

Plasm Network and Secret Network, two projects based on Polkadot and Cosmos, respectively, have launched the first iteration of a bridge to connect the two ecosystems, each representing a different “layer-zero” protocol.

The bridge, deployed on Tuesday on Plasm’s testnet, allows users to transfer assets between Plasm Network and Secret, allowing them to enjoy transaction privacy and use SecretSwap, the first automated market maker exchange on Secret Network. The bridge would allow Plasm users to benefit from Secret Network’s privacy layer, which is based on hardware guarantees offered by trusted execution environment, or TEE, cells. Secret nodes and validators use the TEE to perform operations requiring privacy, which makes them untraceable for the nodes themselves.

In the long-term, the Plasm team expects to become the gateway to Cosmos for other Polkadot projects. Key to this is winning the parachain auctions on Kusama and Polkadot, becoming fully embedded in their environments, Plasm co-founder Sota Watanabe told Cointelegraph:

“Currently, we are focusing on becoming one of the first Kusama parachains. After becoming a parachain, we will implement [the bridge] on the mainnet and make it more and more decentralized and trustless step by step.”

The current implementation of the bridge is based on the SecretBridge framework by Secret, which uses multisignature custody with dedicated validators performing the conversions. This architecture is currently the most prevalent within various bridges and interoperability solutions — for example, underpinning bridges from Ethereum to other layer-one platforms like Solana and Avalanche.

Though there are various proposed solutions to decentralize the bridging process, such as by introducing a dynamic validator selection process, the “holy grail” for blockchain bridges is the light client model. In this architecture, one blockchain is able to independently evaluate transaction proofs from another chain and make that data available to a smart contract, removing the necessity of any type of middleman.

Watanabe said that light clients are the goal, but there are still some hurdles to overcome:

“We have considered the light client implementation. And we are highly likely to take this approach after becoming a Kusama Parachain. The implementation we have today is a MVP [minimum viable product]. [...] Currently, we are discussing this topic in another group with the Cosmos team. One big issue is that we need no_std versions of some of the underlying libs.”

The "no_std" moniker is used in the Rust programming language to denote applications that do not use the standard library. This can be a very restrictive limitation, as Rust's standard library defines many features that would be considered core attributes in higher-level languages — for example, dynamic arrays and memory. In blockchain usage, no_std is a necessity due to WebAssembly, the virtual machine framework used by Polkadot and other blockchains, which has its own standard library.

Nonetheless, the Plasm and Secret bridge would mark the first time that Polkadot and Cosmos are connected. Watanabe said that the concept could easily be expanded to more Cosmos blockchains, while another option is directly implementing Cosmos’ Inter-Blockchain Communication framework on Plasm and Substrate. The current bridge design can still connect with the entire Cosmos ecosystem, provided that they pass through Secret.

Though Cosmos and Polkadot are sometimes seen as competitors, Watanabe said the bridge drives forward a different vision:

“This is the first commercial trial that brings Cosmos assets to the Polkadot ecosystem and vice versa. We would like to make the idea of 'Cosmos vs Polkadot' obsolete.”

Kava launches Hard V2 to become first full lending protocol in the Cosmos ecosystem

March 31, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Shortly after the launch of Stargate, Cosmos ecosystem chains are entering the DeFi arena.

Kava, a DeFi-centric blockchain project built on the Cosmos SDK, has announced the concurrent release of Kava 5.1 and Hard Protocol V2, which marks the full launch of two-sided lending markets on the Kava blockchain.

The Kava 5.1 upgrade is a significant boost to performance over previous major versions, with the team claiming a ten-fold increase in throughput through “consensus enhancements.” The upgrade also carries improvements to the BEP3 relayer that acts as the connection to Binance Smart Chain, and other improvements to APIs and overall reliability.

The Kava 5.1 launch is bundled with Hard Protocol V2, Kava’s in-house lending protocol that works in a similar manner to Compound. The V2 enables borrowing of the assets supplied to the chain, making it a fully functional lending protocol. Coupled with Kava’s main DeFi app, a stablecoin protocol similar to Maker, the project now offers a full lending ecosystem within the Cosmos “internet of blockchains.”

The upgrade comes shortly after the release of Stargate, a comprehensive Cosmos upgrade that enabled the Inter Blockchain Communication protocol, or IBC, a key component of the Cosmos white paper. The Cosmos ecosystem is different from most other protocols due to its heterogeneity. Each project building on Cosmos is an independent blockchain powered by its own set of nodes, which distinguishes it from projects like Polkadot, where the parachains share a common set of validators.

IBC provides the communication overlay that makes it easy to maintain interoperability between all chains built on the Cosmos SDK, and to a lesser extent, with blockchains outside the ecosystem.

The Cosmos SDK is being used by a number of notable platforms, including Binance Chain, Terra and Secret. Binance Smart Chain uses a modified version of Ethereum, though it maintains close interoperability with the Cosmos-based Binance Chain. The separate implementation of the DeFi-centric Binance Smart Chain means that Kava’s release makes it the first full DeFi lending platform within Cosmos.

Kava and Hard focus heavily on cross-chain assets, notably Bitcoin (BTC), XRP and Binance Coin (BNB). The Kava platform is nonetheless different from most other DeFi environments, as it sacrifices decentralization by actively vetting projects who wish to build on its chain. The goal is to make it “an App Store” of curated DeFi DApps, Kava CEO Brian Kerr told Cointelegraph. The team is also making a bet for institutional adoption of its lending platform, positioning it as a lucrative opportunity for institutional investors wishing to grow their BTC holdings. The Hard Protocol currently features double-digits yield on most of its assets, including BTC, though the high levels are partially the result of liquidity mining rewards.

Cosmos launches Inter-Blockchain Communication to enable cross-chain DeFi

March 30, 2021 Coin Telegraph

ATOM

Cosmos is now building a cross-chain DEX for IBC-enabled blockchains, dubbed Gravity

The self-described “Internet of blockchains,” Cosmos, has launched its Inter-Blockchain Communication standard, or IBC, enabling crypto assets to be transferred easily between independent blockchains.

Comos’ IBC went live on March 29, enabling token transfers between Cosmos and other IBC-compatible blockchains.

The feature, which has been in development for five years, was voted in via community governance with 112 million votes supporting the activation and 75 million opposed.

Over a two-week period, a Cosmos proposal needs to secure at least 512 ATOM tokens deposited in support of it for voting to proceed. The number of tokens an individual or group holds determines how much influence their vote will have on the outcome of a proposal.

Cosmos asserted that IBC facilitates new applications by facilitating both fungible and non-fungible tokens between chains and paving the way for cross-chain exchanges and NFT marketplaces.

Today @Cosmos has enabled Inter-Blockchain Communication (#IBC) transfers on the Cosmos Hub, making it possible for sovereign blockchains to transfer digital assets (tokens) and data b/w one another.

The Interchain era has begunhttps://t.co/3vybbrLJ5G

Thread pic.twitter.com/7NRgqHiTBe
— Cosmos - Internet of Blockchains ⚛️ (@cosmos) March 29, 2021

Cosmos added that it is already working on a decentralized exchange supporting cross-chain functionality for IBC-compatible blockchains. The announcement stated:

“The Gravity DEX will act as a marketplace for trading tokens from any connected blockchain, including tokens from IBC-enabled blockchains, wrapped ETH and ERC20 tokens, wrapped BTC tokens, as well as from any future networks that implement IBC.”

IBC is a standard that provides a method of securely exchanging data between two independent blockchains. Inter-Blockchain Communication also provides scaling through sharding by utilizing sidechains for different applications.

The standard has been rolled out as part of a broader Cosmos ecosystem upgrade called Stargate, which also included new nodes that can synchronize 200x faster.

Cosmos’ native token, ATOM, has trended sideways despite the announcement. At the time of writing, ATOM last changed hands for roughly $20 and is down 23% from its Feb. 17 all-time high of $26.

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