A Tether USDT de-peg has sent a shockwave across the crypto market as Curve 3Pool seems to be in distress.
USDT’s value plummeted to slightly under a dollar, but issuing company, Tether, says it is ready to buy back any amount while it works on restoring the peg
Tether’s USDT traded on a discount of up to 0.25% on June 15, 2023, due to imbalances in Curve 3Pool. Curve 3Pool is one of the most popular pools for stablecoin trading in decentralized finance. Therefore, a miscalculation or imbalance of reserves can affect its stablecoins.
Tether is ready to buy back any USDT amounts to restore the peg
Tether Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Paolo Ardoino, has talked about the dip, saying that the imbalance in Curve 3Pool indicates a broader tension in the crypto market. In an interview with The Block, he expressed that Tether is a liquidity gateway in the crypto industry; when bull markets set in, they see inflows, and when a bear cycle occurs, outflows increase.
“Tether is the gateway for liquidity, inbound and outbound. So when the interest in crypto grows, we see inflows; when the sentiment on the crypto market is negative, we see outflows.”
It is not the first time that Curve 3Pool has had an imbalance. In March 2023, the pool had a similar issue where the balances of DAI and USDC stablecoins exceeded 45% of each. Also, in November 2022, after the collapse of FTX, the volatility in the pool was highly noticeable same as the Terra ecosystem collapse.
Despite the current situation looking ugly for a struggling market, Ardoino has said that the company is closely monitoring the situation and will have a remedy sooner than later. Keep watching Fintech Express for more updates on crypto and other fintech-related news and developments.
Polygon Labs President has testified to the United States House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Innovation, Data, and Commerce on blockchain technology and how its infrastructure could impact the U.S.
The committee has been listening to regulators and crypto executives testify regarding the potential of the crypto and blockchain industry regarding a bill presented for crypto regulation.
U.S. House Committee records Polygon Labs President remarks on the crypto industry
Today, I had the privilege of testifying at the Innovation, Data & Commerce subcommittee at a Congressional hearing focused on educating lawmakers on why this tech is important to all of us, and how it changes the value paradigm of the Internet.
The testimonials session comes at a time when the U.S. SEC is going after crypto exchanges and entities hard without the existence of a binding crypto regulatory framework. The regulator has been in the spotlight after charging Binance.US on June 5 and Coinbase the next day.
Coinbase alleges that it had cleared with the SEC before it began operations and tried to register some of its products later on, only for the regulator to severely stonewall its efforts. The regulator is now suing them for not ‘registering’ their securities with them.
However, such happenings may end sooner than later with the new bill in Congress. In his testimony, Wyatt discussed the potential of blockchain technology and its value to users and revamping the internet infrastructure in the United States. He addressed the problem that blockchain technology solves: value extraction on the internet.
Wyatt said that the current Web 2 internet iteration, where companies extract value from the users, will be best left behind as Web 3 allows users to enjoy their value and own their data. He explained how using cryptography and decentralization could solve most internet users’ issues.
He touched on the current regulatory turmoils asking the U.S. lawmakers to do more as the innovation may slip out of their hands. In his words, Waytt said:
“When regulation does not meet novel technology where it is, the U.S. loses its competitive edge over other countries.”
He topped off his argument by explaining how building blockchain ecosystems in the United States of America would benefit economic growth and inclusion. He explained that the transparency that comes with blockchains would streamline productivity and supply chain management, making every dollar count for its value.
Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on crypto regulation and other FinTech-related developments.
A blockchain node is a device that participates in a blockchain network by running the network’s software which helps it to validate transactions.
Blockchain nodes usually communicate with each other to verify transactions.
The more nodes a network has, the more it is decentralized.
What are blockchain nodes?
The question of what is a node in blockchain is best answered by visualizing a blockchain network. To be a network, it needs several intercommunicating computers/ devices that can write, upload and verify data that goes to the software behind the network. For instance, if you want to run a node for Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), you can download the Bitcoin Core software on a computer and run it without discrimination.
As such, a blockchain node refers to a device or computer running a blockchain network software and communicating with others to verify data uploaded in the blockchain. Running a blockchain network’s software on different computers increases its security and enhances its decentralization.
For most blockchain networks, anyone can run a node; however, some networks are choosy and only allows select nodes to run their software and participate.
How does a blockchain node work?
The main roles of a blockchain node are broadcasting and validating transactions. Once a user submits a transaction, it’s received by a node that then broadcasts it to all other network nodes.
Once the transaction is read by all nodes and verified that the user has enough funds to satisfy it, they authorize the user to complete the transaction. Since all nodes verify a transaction in a blockchain, a transaction can only be cancelled or rejected if 51% of the available nodes confirm it to be wrong.
As such, the 51% attack can be made, but it’s not easy in a decentralized network. A decentralized network is one where different nodes are available and are not led by a single user or a block of users that can concur to Sencor select transactions. That means the higher the number of nodes, the higher the security of a blockchain against the 51% attack.
Once a node validates new transactions, it is grouped into blocks that are then added to the blockchain following the set rules of the network. After that, no node in the network is allowed to change the contents of any block, making the data recorded in the network immutable.
Texas has shown continued support for Bitcoin mining after introducing two bills to help provide incentives to miners
One bill requires miners with a power consumption rate of over 75 megawatts to register legally while the other makes tax exemptions for miners who make use of wasted energy resources.
Bitcoin mining encouraged in Texas
Texas has introduced bills SB 1929 and HB 591 which were primarily designed to help and provide incentives to the bitcoin miners. Talking in detail, SB 1929 needed miners who had an energy capacity of over 75 megawatts to register themselves with the Public Utilities Commission of Texas.
Apart from this, these mining organizations would also need to share their data with the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas. The second bill, HB 591seeks to effect the introduction of tax exemptions for organizations that make use of wasted gas, like data centers.
The bill named SB 1751 could result in limiting the bitcoin industry’s participation in a cost-saving demand-response program that offers power credit to miners when they reduce their operations during times when there is high energy. This bill, however, is yet to be introduced, but it has been recorded and thus can be passed in the future.
Most industry experts hold the view that an increase in communication can help in being transparent regarding data that is publicly available on mining. Apart from Texas, there are other states too which are supporting bitcoin mining. For instance, Arkansas and Montana have already come out in support of Bitcoin mining.
New York has also imposed a moratorium on new fossil fuel-based bitcoin mines, and then there is Oregon which is striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from data centers and miners. Additionally, Biden’s proposed 30% tax on Bitcoin mining is most likely put on hold giving Bitcoin mining a chance to thrive in the country. keep watching Fintech Express for updates on the crypto industry and other fintech-related developments.
Rocket Pool announces that it’s deploying on zkSync Era
Users to stake ETH on zkSync Era by holding rETH in their wallets
$rETH will continue to accrue staking rewards automatically, similar to what happens on Mainnet and other Layer 2’s
Rocket Pool is coming to zkSync Era
On June 1, 2023, ETH staking services provider Rocket Pool announced that it was deploying on zkSync Era. This development will allow users to start staking their ETH on Era by holding rETH in their wallets. Additionally, like on ETH mainnet and other L2s, $rETH will automatically accrue staking rewards.
You'll soon be able to liquid stake your ETH on zkSync Era by simply holding rETH in your wallet. Just like on mainnet and other L2's, $rETH will continue to accrue staking rewards automatically (1/3) pic.twitter.com/8HLus9hUwO
Rocket Pool is yet another integration coming to the fast-growing zkSync Era’s zkEVM DeFi ecosystem that has been taking the internet and crypto industry by storm since its launch two months ago.
Rocket Pool will benefit Liquid stakers with Era’s faster speeds & lower transaction costs, secured by zkSync’s zero-knowledge proofs upon capital deployment with them. The staking provider says this development is yet another step in its mission to lower barriers to entry & ensure anyone can participate in Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system and benefit from it fully.
In a press release, Rocket Pool said:
“As Ethereum’s most decentralized liquid staking protocol, we’re also researching how zero-knowledge proofs can be used in other parts of the protocol to provide decentralized security.”
Since its launch (March 2023), zkSync Era has seen a tremendous spike in its network activity, recording the highest levels ever reached by any Ethereum scaling solution in a short period. As recently highlighted by Messari, the adoption of zkSync Era has also rapidly grown in terms of Total Value Locked (TVL) and transaction volume.
These developments foreshadow the growing interest and faith in innovation, which may see even more projects adopting it. Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on these developments as soon as they happen.
