Avalanche pushes out Dogecoin from top-10 after AVAX price soars 100% in November

November 21, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Altcoin

The market cap of AVAX touched $30.32 billion for the first time in history.

Avalanche (AVAX) is now the tenth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization after more than doubling in price since the start of November.

AVAX entered the top-10 crypto index after pushing out Dogecoin (DOGE). In doing so, its circulating market valuation reached $30.60 billion for the first time compared to Dogecoin's $30.30 billion.

*AVAX circulating market cap. Source: CoinMarketCap*

AVAX price hits another record high

AVAX price climbed while ignoring price corrections elsewhere in the crypto market after Nov. 10.

Notably, Bitcoin (BTC) plunged by nearly 20% from its record high of $69,000, and Ether (ETH) — the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and Avalanche's top competitor — slipped by 19% from its all-time high at around $4,867.

Nonetheless, their downside sentiment failed to impact AVAX over the past 10 days. The Avalanche token rallied by more than 64% in the period of Bitcoin's and Ethereum's price correction, hitting one record high after another, as shown in the chart below.

*AVAX/USD daily price chart versus BTC/USD and ETH/USD. Source: TradingView*

On Nov. 21, AVAX reached $141.50, its best level to date, after rising by nearly 25% in two days.

Deloitte FOMO

AVAX broke its positive correlation with BTC and ETH in the days leading up to "Big Four" accounting firm Deloitte's decision to build its disaster relief platforms atop the Avalanche blockchain platform.

According to Deloitte's press release published on Nov. 17, the "Close as You Go Service" aims to simplify "disaster reimbursement applications for victims of natural disaster, by aggregating and validating the documentation required for funding."

The high-profile partnership prompted analysts to anticipate higher demand for AVAX, which operates as a basic unit of account between the multiple subnetworks on the Avalanche platform and as a currency that users could stake on the network to earn passive incomes.

Pseudonymous market analyst Seq tweeted a rocket emoji to indicate its long-term bullish outlook for AVAX, adding that Deloitte's partnership with Avalanche would enable more exponential parternships.

"It can be difficult to grasp the scope of Avalanche," wrote Seq, adding that the project has witnessed "incredible growth" despite launching just one blockchain.

Deloitte, the largest professional services firm in the world, spanning 150 countries & 20K professionals, provide consultancy & delivering solutions for enterprises, including 90% of the Fortune 500

This is not only a big partnership, but one that will enable exponentially more https://t.co/Y005ZPzr5w
— Seq (@CryptoSeq) November 20, 2021

In detail, Avalanche aims to feature multiple chains, with some performing core functions while others being more application-specific. Meanwhile, all non-core blockchains (called subnets) must depend on validators that stake AVAX on any of Avalanche's three base platforms, dubbed P-Chain, X-Chain, and C-Chain.

*Avalanche network in a nutshell. Source: Avalanche Documentation*

There is "only the C-Chain," wrote Seq, noting that it is just one blockchain "in [one] of an infinite number of subnets that are possible." The analyst added:

"We are just scratching the surface of its potential, and has only been 14 months since mainnet! Avalanche is just getting started!"

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.

DoraHacks Secures $8 Million by Binance Labs to Build a More Open-Source Blockchain World

November 19, 2021 The Crypto Briefing

Binance opens layer-two ETH deposits with Arbitrum One integration

November 19, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Binance

Binance users can now deposit any ERC-20 tokens from the Ethereum network using Arbitrum quickly and at a reasonable cost.

On Friday, Binance announced the integration of the Arbitrum One core network and opened Ether (ETH) deposits on the Arbitrum One layer two.

Arbitrum is a third-generation layer-two optimistic rollup protocol that runs on an off-chain Ethereum contract and has lower costs and faster transactions than on the Ethereum mainnet.

The announcement notes that Binance users can now deposit any ERC-20 token from the Ethereum network with Arbitrum at a reduced transaction cost. In addition, Binance also stated that it will enable ETH withdrawals on the Arbitrum One Network layer two in the near future, making it one of the first centralized exchanges with layer-two support.

Ethereum, arguably the most prominent blockchain network in the world, has been hampered by network congestion and exorbitant fees, stymieing its exponential growth. Arbitrum One offers a solution to this problem by utilizing a multilayered Ethereum consensus protocol that allows for unlimited scalability and near-instantaneous transaction times at a fraction of the cost.

Binance’s integration of layer-two ETH deposits is a significant step forward, coming at a time when decentralized exchanges and cross-chain atomic swaps are gaining popularity in the market. Binance is one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume, and the Arbitium integration is good news for Ethereum adoption.

The launch of the Arbitrum One Network layer two did not include an announcement for ETH withdrawals, but it did promise that more information would be provided when this functionality is available to traders. However, it has been reported that Binance is preparing to let users withdraw their funds directly to Arbitrum.

HOLY COW!!!!! Binance about to enable layer two withdrawals directly to Arbitrum, this is MASSIVE for #ethereum adoption! pic.twitter.com/h069X4gfZM
— Lark Davis (@TheCryptoLark) November 19, 2021

According to a tweet from Lark Davis, a crypto investor from New Zealand, Binance is working on allowing direct ETH withdrawals to Arbitrum. According to Lark, the integration will be “MASSIVE for Ethereum adoption.” A screenshot showing reduced transaction costs and time is included with the message.

The integration of layer-two functionality is a major stride forward in the right direction, as Ethereum strives toward scalability and Ethereum 2.0. It’s worth noting that the launch of Ethereum 2.0 won’t stop layer-two platforms from working to solve for scalability. Instead, technologies like rollups or side chains will continue to aid Ethereum 2.0 scale beyond its current capacity once sharding is completely implemented.

Evrynet Joins Standford’s Future of Digital Currency Initiative And Incorporates SPEEDEX Into Its DEX Dapp

November 12, 2021 The Crypto Briefing

Brave Browser to Integrate Solana Support

November 10, 2021 Bitcoin.com

3 reasons why Kadena (KDA) price went on a 500% parabolic frenzy

November 8, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

New staking opportunities in DeFi and centralized exchanges, along with a migration to the Ethereum network are just a few reasons for KDA’s recent 500% rally.

Proof-of-work (POW) blockchain networks were all the rage in the early days of cryptocurrency when Bitcoin (BTC) set the standard for security and other projects followed suit in various attempts to offer a robust, scalable network that would either support payments of efficiently transmit data.

Most protocols have now shifted to proof-of-stake but Kadena (KDA), a scalable layer-one blockchain protocol is still operating on the old proof-of-work model. According to the project, the network is capable of processing up to 480,000 transactions per second thanks to the use of “braided chains”.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that in the last two weeks, KDA price has rallied 1,124% to a new record high at $25.94 on Nov. 7 as its 24-hour trading volume spiked from a daily average of $3 million to more than $345 million.

*KDA/USD 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

Three reasons for the breakout in KDA price include the launch of wrapped KDA on the Ethereum (ETH) network, the rollout of nonfungible token projects, new exchange listings and the addition of support for KDA staking.

Kadena joins the DeFi brigade

KDA recently launched a wrapped version of its token called wKDA which operates on the Ethereum network and allows it to interact with all EVM-compatible decentralized finance protocols.

The process was completed in conjunction with the CoinMetro exchange and will help to create a new level of token utilization for KDA, which to this point had not been able to cross the bridge into the interoperable world of DeFi.

As noted in the tweet above, the team behind Kadena also plans to add cross-chain support for other blockchain networks like Terra, Polkadot, Celo and Cosmos.

NFT projects launch on Kadena

Another reason for the increased momentum seen in KDA was the addition of NFT capabilities to the network as a way to showcase the smart contract ability to transact high demand items while keeping fees low.

.@TheUFOtoken will be building their #NFT gaming platform on @Kadena_io!

UFO will utilize Kadena’s unique features from our scalable layer 1 #PoW #blockchain & Pact, our safest smart contract, to create the next generation #blockchain gaming experience!https://t.co/itO3QF3Xet pic.twitter.com/Rx1IgZQdX4
— Kadena (@kadena_io) October 29, 2021

NFTs have been one of the hottest sectors in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and also appear to be one of the primary methods for attracting new users to a network so it's not surprising to see yet another project resort to this tactic.

One of the main selling points for Kadena is its ability to offer low-cost transactions in a POW setting while still offering fast processing times.

The project has also introduced a “crypto gas station” feature that allows businesses to eliminate all transaction fees for their customers by creating accounts that exist to fund gas payments on behalf of their users under certain conditions.

New exchange listings and staking opportunities

KDA has also received support from cryptocurrency exchanges, including a new listing on Crypto.com and CoinMetro offers KDA staking.

$KDA #staking on @CoinMetro has been a huge success with 730,000 KDA filled in 20 minutes!

This was made possible by @kadena_io's strong and tight-knit community! https://t.co/uzefvikgad
— Kadena (@kadena_io) November 4, 2021

After officially reopening KDA staking capabilities on Nov. 3, CoinMetro saw 730,000 KDA tokens deposited within 20 minutes to fully tap out the staking pool's capacity.

This indicates KDA holders are excited about yield opportunities and it could bode well for its integration into DeFi. wKDA might also contribute to reducing the circulating supply of KDA, which ideally would additional buy pressure on the tokens' price.

OMG eyes a new all-time high after unveiling its ‘Boba Network’ layer-2 solution

October 1, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Altcoin Watch

Since hitting a bottom below $3 on July 20, OMG price has hiked 380% and now targets a new multi-year high.

In September the frenzy that propelled the nonfungible token (NFT) sector quieted down but a burst of fresh energy emerged as the layer-two sector heated after the successful launch of Ethereum (ETH) scaling solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism.

Another project that has benefited from the sector's transition to layer-1 and layer-2 alternatives is OMG Network (OMG), a non-custodial layer-two protocol that utilizes an optimistic rollup scaling solution to improve Ethereum scalability.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $8.42 on July 20, the price of OMG has climbed 380% to reach a daily high at $13.52 on Oct. 1 on a record $3.37 billion in 24-hour trading volume.

*OMG/USDT 1-day chart. Source:* *TradingView*

Prior to the market-wide pull-back that began in early May, OMG had been performing well in large part thanks to a Coinbase listing. A major development for the protocol came at the beginning of June when the project rebranded from OmiseGO to OMG Foundation as part of its pivot toward layer-two solutions.

Enya and the Boba Network back OMG's progress

A major part of the rebrand was to highlight the network’s partnership with Enya, a company that creates decentralized infrastructure solutions and the creator of the Boba Network.

1/ The Layer 2 space is heating up. @optimismPBC, @arbitrum, @StarkWareLtd and sidechains like @0xPolygon. We now have @bobanetwork The differentiating feature for Boba Network is fast transfers from Boba to #Ethereum mainnet, which is not found in other rollups.
— DeFi Info (@AboutDefi) August 19, 2021

According to the project’s website, the Boba Network is a Ethereum layer-two optimistic rollup scaling solution aimed at reducing gas fees, improving transaction throughput and extending the capabilities of smart contracts.

With Enya building the Boba Network as a core contributor to the OMG Foundation, the OMG token has benefited from its association with the launch of a new layer-two solution

The rollout of the Boba Network, which rebranded from OMGX, began on Aug. 19 and closely tracked the rise in the price of OMG.

VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for OMG on Aug. 16, prior to the recent price rise.

The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historical and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.

*VORTECS™ Score (green) vs. OMG price. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

As seen in the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for OMG began to pick up on Aug. 16 and climbed to a high of 75 on Aug. 25, around 24 hours before the price began to increase by 100% over the next three weeks.

Umbrella Network launches on Ethereum with cross-chain bridge to BSC

October 1, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Smart contracts, especially for DeFi, are becoming a data-intensive industry. Oracle services are helping to bridge the gap.

Decentralized oracle service Umbrella Network officially launched on Ethereum Friday, setting the stage for cross-chain transactions between the dominant smart contract platform and Binance Smart Chain, or BSC.

The cross-chain bridge connecting Ethereum and BSC was developed in-house at Umbrella Network, underscoring the need to transfer tokens and other crypto assets between the two networks. The cross-chain bridge also enables users to stake and farm crypto tokens on either blockchain. Umbrella said it’s planning future cross-chain integration with Polygon, Solana, Cardano and Avalanche, though no timetable was given.

Although the blockchain industry has given birth to several oracle services, Umbrella claims that its protocol provides quick and affordable price feeds when compared with the leading competitors. Initially, the protocol will have over 1,200 data pairs on Ethereum, allowing users to integrate data from spot cryptocurrency, crypto derivatives and traditional financial markets.

Oracles are considered to be an essential component of smart contracts because they provide reliable data feeds from external sources, thereby broadening the scope of their operations. The need for reliable data feeds appears to be growing as smart contract technology becomes more mainstream. Case in point: Brazil’s main stock exchange is exploring ways to provide data inputs for the country’s central bank digital currency project.

Protocols tied to decentralized finance, or DeFi, have been keen to integrate data oracles. Chainlink, the dominant oracle provider, has carved out a strong presence in this niche, especially since its successful deployment on Ethereum layer-two scaling solution Arbitrum in August.

Celer (CELR) gains 400% after traders embrace its multi-chain ‘cBridge 2.0’ solution

September 29, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Altcoin Watch

CELR soars to a new all-time high following the launch of its cross-chain bridge that allows traders to jump back and forth between various layer-1 and layer-2 platforms.

High transaction costs have been a thorn in the side of investors and developers for more than a decade and the issue became worse in 2021 after the emergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible tokens (NFT) led to record-high levels of activity across the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Since the completion of Ethereum's London hard fork, cross-chain bridges and layer-2 solutions have been revised as options for mitigating the high fees on the Ethereum network. In the past two weeks, Celer, a layer-two scaling solution that utilizes off-chain transaction handling to help increase the throughput capacity of its network, has seen an uptick in user activity.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $0.0398 on Sept. 8, the price of CELR has surged 400% to reach a new all-time high at $0.199 on Sept. 26 as its 24-hour trading volume spiked to $1.27 billion.

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

Three reasons for the price rally in CELR are the release of the protocols cross-chain software cBridge, new integrations that have led to the expansion of its ecosystem and the increase in overall strength and demand for layer-two solutions.

Cross-chain connections through the cBridge

Arguably the biggest development to come out of the Celer protocol in 2021 has been the release of its cBridge cross-chain bridging solution, which went live on the mainnet on July 22.

At the time of writing, the cBridge supports the transfer of assets between 10 different protocols, including Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Polygon, Fantom and Avalanche.

*Networks supported by cBridge. Source: Celer Network*

Data provided by Celer shows that in the two months since the launch of cBridge, the protocol has facilitated the transfer of more than $242 million worth of value between networks as it continues to rise in popularity amongst the crypto community.

*Daily transaction volume on cBridge. Source: Celer Network*

Celer's ecosystem expands

A second reason for the gains seen in CELR over the past month has been the expansion of the project's ecosystem.

The launch of Optimism and Arbitrum and Celer's cross-bridge integration to the layer-2 solutions are likely the primary factors backing the rally in CELR price.

When the cBridge was first released, it supported Polygon, Ethereum, BSC, Arbitrum and Optimism. In the two months following the initial launch, it added support for Fantom, xDAI, Avalanche, OKExChain and Heco, effectively doubling its reach and the number of users interacting with the token.

The functionality of the protocol has also led to a handful of integrations such as being added to the TokenPocket and ONTO cryptocurrency wallets. CELR token was also listed on WOO Network and BarterTrade exchanges recent.

Increased demand for layer-2 solution

A third reason for the overall strength of CELR has been the increase in demand and activity on layer-two protocols and data from Etherscan shows that the gas price continues to spike higher as Ethereum network activity increases.

*Average Ethereum gas price. Source: Etherscan*

Arbitrum and Optimism had their full launches within the past few months following years of development and users have now begun the process of migrating assets to these scaling solutions as DeFi protocols slowly integrate this new technology.

As a way to further capture some of the energy generated following the release of Arbitrum, Celer's cross-chain bridge offers a work-around to the seven-day withdrawal period required when users want to migrate assets from Arbitrum back to Ethereum.

According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, market conditions for CELR have been favorable for some time.

*VORTECS™ Score (green) vs. CELR price. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

As seen on the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for CELR began to pick up on Sept. 7 and climbed to a high of 75 on Sept. 8, around 48 hours before the price increased by 275% over the next two weeks.

Ethereum alternatives and layer-1 solutions see steady gains in September

September 26, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Celo

Multi-million dollar incentive programs and the ease of cross-chain transfers are boosting the value of L1 and L2-based tokens and raising the total value locked in their associated DeFi platforms.

The competition among layer-one (L1) smart contract platforms has been on the rise in the past couple of months as traders and developers continue to embrace Ethereum (ETH) network alternatives that offer faster transaction times and lower fees.

According to a recent report from Delphi Digital, the price of Ether has remained relatively flat over the past month while competitors like as Solana (SOL) and Fantom (FTM) have seen their prices rally more than 200% during the same time.

*Relative performance of L1 tokens over the past 30 days. Source: Delphi Digital*

One of the drivers of the rallies seen in Fantom (FTM), Avalanche (AVAX) and Terra (LUNA) is the fact that each has launched a variety of mulit-million dollar funding initiatives designed to attract developers, investors and new liquidity to their ecosystems.

These initiatives sparked a flurry of new activity and cross-chain transfers from the Ethereum network to the layer-1 projects and to date, Solana has seen the biggest gains.

*Total USD value locked in the top layer-one protocols. Source: Delphi Digital*

When it comes to individual applications located on the different blockchains, the Avalanche-based Trader Joe DeFi protocol has seen the biggest gain in terms of TVL over the past seven days as the value locked on the protocol has increased by 57%.

*Total value locked on Trader Joe vs. exchange trading volume. Source: Token Terminal*

Layer-2 platforms increase their gas consumption

It’s not just Ethereum’s layer-one competitors that have seen an uptick in activity in the past few months. The launch of several new layer-two solutions and an airdrop by the decentralized derivatives exchange dYdX (DYDX) have led to an increase in gas consumption by layer-two protocols.

*Layer-two vs. Layer-one gas spend as a percentage of total gas. Source: Delphi Digital*

Data from Delphi Digital shows that the percentage of gas used by layer-two solutions is now above 1% after spiking as high as 2% in early September.

DYdX protocol was one of the earlier adopters of layer-two technology thanks to a collaboration with Starkware, and the protocol has seen a new level of activity in recent weeks following the release of its DYDX governance token which was airdropped on Sept. 8 to users who had previously used the protocol.

*Total value locked on dYdX vs. trading volume. Source: Token Terminal*

Since the airdrop release, the TVL locked on the dYdX has increased from $422 million to $554 million, and its 24-hour training volume has climbed from $700 million to as high as $2.4 billion.

Scalability