$84,980.00
-1.86%$1,887.46
-6.02%$2.20
-5.74%$626.06
-1.40%$130.20
-5.39%$0.999885
0.00%$0.179634
-6.26%$0.697967
-4.65%$0.230746
-1.43%$1,888.45
-5.86%$85,013.00
-1.64%$3.94
1.59%$14.27
-8.08%$9.67
-0.97%$0.274067
-3.99%$20.20
-7.86%$2,269.73
-5.40%$2.54
-7.32%$0.999859
-0.01%$0.00001336
-5.29%$0.182856
-3.76%$87.52
-6.23%$4.31
-5.26%$6.33
-3.59%$309.30
-5.10%$4.75
-4.47%$0.822038
-0.37%$1,888.56
-5.93%$0.999269
0.03%$1.00
0.09%$13.72
-4.06%$2,006.68
-5.90%$28.84
-1.03%$219.69
-1.77%$6.23
-7.59%$5.52
-6.53%$2.75
-7.15%$0.00000771
-7.82%$1.044
-0.10%$36.72
1.63%$48.73
-2.72%$0.106448
7.82%$22.77
-3.25%$0.819606
-2.90%$85,027.00
-1.78%$5.61
-6.66%$0.847684
-6.52%$171.40
-6.40%$17.08
-4.51%$0.9969
-0.34%$1.16
-0.29%$252.99
-6.07%$0.02433837
-6.32%$3.58
-3.28%$4.63
-3.35%$10.23
-8.85%$0.384776
-10.91%$1.00
0.00%$3.71
-5.94%$2.83
-5.47%$0.211016
-9.41%$0.069993
-6.54%$84,988.00
-1.55%$0.55877
-6.55%$4.02
-0.39%$0.200974
-4.12%$0.349773
-7.77%$0.505213
-6.72%$5.37
-7.46%$11.18
-1.42%$0.82357
-8.32%$0.506357
-6.90%$84,742.00
-1.73%$1,401.49
-1.51%$0.474398
-4.04%$1,962.93
-5.97%$1,886.95
-5.99%$1.12
-3.91%$0.069995
-1.12%$135.91
-5.09%$72.33
-4.72%$0.585187
-8.91%$0.859023
-9.98%$18.14
1.26%$0.666525
-8.64%$0.00001253
-7.64%$0.99952
-0.03%$0.193571
-7.95%$2,139.82
-5.79%$0.096323
-7.97%$0.997651
0.01%$9.38
-10.29%$8.46
2.82%$0.898062
-8.62%$0.589994
3.61%$0.998373
-0.08%$0.999974
0.01%$0.01370207
-5.89%$0.921037
-10.60%$84,463.00
-1.35%$0.999491
-0.03%$3,087.91
1.33%$1.00
0.05%$626.59
-1.17%$2,003.53
-6.01%$0.01688502
-7.33%$2.30
-2.17%$0.68146
-5.75%$0.283355
-7.57%$0.186361
-4.06%$84,844.00
-1.68%$0.519016
-11.57%$0.00000069
-2.86%$3,083.07
1.13%$33.19
-5.50%$166.51
-5.22%$0.107598
-1.90%$2.13
-8.27%$0.999886
-0.06%$0.398163
-5.29%$8.49
2.68%$0.00006315
-9.58%$0.483978
9.26%$1,965.59
-5.92%$35.60
-7.41%$3.15
-1.53%$0.15562
-7.90%$0.01155558
-9.16%$16.69
-5.85%$142.27
-5.60%$1.88
-4.98%$0.00089084
-10.29%$0.999704
-0.01%$0.075916
0.93%$0.684304
-7.37%$0.00549882
-7.42%$3.15
-6.52%$0.999355
-0.03%$0.267803
-3.18%$0.534492
-12.30%$0.999004
-0.09%$0.491726
-11.45%$6.75
-9.25%$16.96
-9.90%$0.438118
-6.91%$81,907.00
-1.98%$0.465632
-10.28%$7.04
-3.55%$0.178975
-6.44%$0.740216
-4.21%$2,004.12
-5.95%$1.00
0.00%$1,887.60
-5.96%$26.99
4.92%$2.72
-6.59%$0.159242
-8.35%$84,930.00
-1.70%$0.00830346
-19.43%$0.66419
-9.69%$1.57
3.73%$0.00000043
-0.89%$0.084855
-7.89%$84,729.00
-2.68%$0.04405174
-6.61%$1.18
-6.14%$0.00652891
-4.16%$1,888.12
-5.93%$0.4088
-6.36%$1,887.37
-6.05%$0.00002049
-8.03%$1.082
-0.58%$1.001
0.05%$0.499834
-2.89%$0.49657
-9.92%$0.00697639
-12.13%$110.47
0.01%$1.097
0.07%$1,969.51
-5.92%$84,806.00
-1.96%$0.398888
-5.22%$0.210914
-9.46%$0.891989
-5.11%$41.37
-6.85%$0.174857
-2.69%$0.998952
0.01%$84,312.00
-1.91%$0.00000168
-1.98%$1,895.27
-5.38%$0.999951
0.25%$1,906.76
-6.24%$0.0000622
-4.91%$1.00
0.16%$0.00394865
-5.64%$0.03339333
-7.90%$1.40
-8.71%$0.0099658
-6.88%$1.003
-0.66%$2.90
-7.69%$124.39
-5.16%$1.29
-9.61%$0.564814
-19.92%$0.254708
-7.91%$0.265888
-4.77%$0.03086949
-1.93%$1,869.86
-5.92%$3.79
-5.42%$0.677298
-6.17%$1,887.84
-5.97%$0.838339
-7.51%$23.13
-3.51%$1.33
2.23%$2.93
-1.58%$16.89
-5.91%$84,913.00
-1.81%$83,100.00
-3.35%$0.19738
-7.06%$0.268963
-5.37%$2,000.45
-5.59%$0.09139
-12.50%$2,065.37
-5.98%$1.10
-15.02%$0.03302115
-7.78%$0.070675
-8.70%$0.03765511
-5.15%$3,076.33
1.16%$0.113686
-8.36%$0.00250413
-6.44%$0.00342691
-6.69%$0.507174
-2.62%$1.025
-11.40%$0.553172
-8.50%$2,047.82
-6.00%$0.999911
0.01%$0.0053222
-6.92%$0.332627
-16.44%$0.03132777
-7.03%$0.116768
-5.62%$1,891.34
-6.44%$1,706.68
-1.80%$0.0117866
-7.01%$0.683469
-7.48%$0.228907
-9.87%$0.539658
4.50%$0.00248738
-24.99%$0.578617
-5.89%$20.40
-0.82%$2.20
10.53%$0.257079
-6.92%Reading
Every few months, a new project is christened an "Ethereum killer." While the massive network still stands tall, EthereumEthereum has a glaring weakness: It's taking its time getting the network to scale.
The NEAR Protocol is the newest Ethereum killer and it's taking aim at Ethereum's soft spot. A proof-of-stakeproof-of-stake network that uses shardingsharding to tackle blockchain's scalability issues, NEAR launched its network today and subsequently announced it had raised $21.6 million in a funding round that featured Andreessen Horowitz's a16z crypto fund.
On April 30, a16z said it had created a $515 million fund for blockchain and cryptocrypto networks. It was particularly interested in DeFi, payment systems, and alternative monetization models for the Internet. It wasted little time in targeting NEAR, which also received investments from Blockchange, Distributed Global, Electric Capital, Libertus, and Pantera Capital.
NEAR, in a nutshell, is a platform for building a variety of decentralized applications—not just digital currency. According to a press release, "NEAR provides the scale and programmability to allow any data—whether digital currency, karma, gaming items or stock certificates—to become a fully portable, programmable and tradable asset."
The scalability is key. NEAR explicitly aims to avoid network congestion via sharding, which has been part of the plan for Ethereum 2.0 since at least 2016 but has yet to be implemented. The proof-of-work network’s transition to proof of stake is taking a while.
NEAR appears to have beaten Ethereum to the punch, boasting on its website that "the NEAR team has previously built one of the only sharded databases in production at scale today (which is used by Uber, Goldman Sachs, and Comcast)."
But not everyone views NEAR as directly competitive with Ethereum. Spencer Noon, head of crypto investments at DTC Capital, tweeted earlier today that he is an investor in both ETH and NEAR and views the networks as complementary pieces in the crypto ecosystem.
Congratulations to the @NEARProtocol team for their newest round of fundraising! As a $NEAR and $ETH investor though, can't say I agree with @TechCrunch's characterization that launch is a "black eye" for Ethereum. I believe both networks will complement each other in the future. https://t.co/UmK7i5783d
— Spencer Noon (@spencernoon) May 4, 2020
Though the NEAR Protocol mainnetmainnet went live today and has already hit a million blocks (blocks are created quite a bit quicker than on the Bitcoin or Ethereum protocols), it currently has limited functionality. During this proof-of-authority phase, the network is run by just four nodes and a limited number of validators.
Ethereum (ETH) mined its 10 millionth block today, marking a significant milestone for the world’s second largest cryptocurrency. Data from blockchain explorer Etherscan shows the 10 millionth block was successfully mined at exactly 01:22:13 PM (UTC). In contrast, just 628,900 Bitcoin blocks have been mined, since it launched on January 3, 2009. However, Bitcoin blocks take much longer to be produced, around 10 minutes on average. Launched in 2015, Ethereum was envisioned as a decentralized “wo...
NEAR said it will distribute the funding announced today to continue its rollout plans. Subsequent phases will theoretically lead to a community-run network and remove current restrictions on NEAR tokens. The full blockchain could be operational as soon as July, according to NEAR's timeline.
That would be a sweet spot for NEAR to be in. So far, so good.
France-based public investment bank Bpifrance announced Thursday plans to invest $27 million (€25 million) directly into tokens and decentralized technologies in an effort to “strengthen the French blockchain ecosystem.” Announced during a blockchain-focused event in Paris, the bank’s investment seeks to accelerate its “digital asset investment strategy” by bolstering French crypto startups and assisting the local venture capital players in Web3. “We are convinced of the growing importance that...
Tether revealed Thursday it is investing in a pair of firms unrelated to the crypto industry, continuing an investment spree that has only intensified since the company reported record profits earlier this year. The El Salvador-based company snapped up 49,596,510 shares of Latin American-focused agricultural firm Adecoagro, growing its stake in the business to 70%, according to an SEC filing published Thursday. "Our investment aligns with Tether's broader strategy to back infrastructure, techn...
GameStop’s announcement on Wednesday that it would sell convertible debt to buy Bitcoin and bolster its balance sheet seems contrary to its past approach to digital assets. In recent years, the video game retailer debuted an ill-fated NFT platform and sold large quantities of IMX, the native token of Ethereum layer-2 network Immutable X. GameStop now appears to be following the path of Bitcoin hodler Strategy, saying it will offer $1.3 billion worth of convertible senior notes and potentially u...
