Cryptocurrency News Roundup | October 1— October 7
Welcome to the PlayChip cryptocurrency news roundup, where you can keep up to date on all of the weeks important cryptocurrency and blockchain related news.
Ethereum Network Update ‘Constantinople’ Promises to Solve Cryptos Energy Waste Woes
Big changes are on the way for the Ethereum network. The upcoming Constantinople update is expected to be deployed to the Ropsten Test Network on the 9th of October.
The most significant change is the introduction of the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus method. Typical blockchain solutions utilise a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus, whereby miners dedicate their computing horsepower to resolve complex math equations. The solutions to these problems are then used to verify entries on the ledger.
Under a Proof-of-Stake consensus model so called ‘validators’ are able to contribute to the process for verifying ledger entries without dedicating excessive amounts of energy. This is achieved by locking a significant number of tokens. These tokens are then forfeited in the event that malicious activity is detected.
Staking requirements are currently slated to be 32 ETH, or about USD $7,000. The requirement was originally set at 1,000 ETH tokens, but was reduced to 32 ETH to allow more network validators, which in turn improves the networks decentralisation. Users who stake their tokens, known as validators, will be rewarded a small percentage of transaction fees. The potential passive income generated will essentially serve as interest on tokens banked on the Ethereum network.
The update will be applied when the test network reaches block number 4,200,000. Updates to blockchain networks are not applied at a specific date and time like traditional software updates, rather they are scheduled to be deployed after a specific block is mined. Assuming the test period is successful the update is expected to be deployed to the Ethereum network over the following weeks.
The Ethereum network is continuously making some of the most important and necessary updates to improve the usability and adoption of cryptocurrencies. The PlayChip Foundation is more excited than ever to start our journey on the Ethereum network!
Goldman Sachs Backed Startup Circle to Launch USD Pegged Stablecoin
Circle, a Goldman Sachs backed cryptocurrency payments company, began issuing a new US Dollar backed stablecoin last week.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to real-world assets, done to ensure the coins value remains stable relative to the rest of the crypto market.
The success of the Tether stablecoin has inspired a number of competitors to enter the space. Recently the Winklevoss twins Gemini exchange launched the Gemini dollar, and IBM collaborated with Stronghold to create Stronghold USD, amongst a host of other stablecoins hoping to recreate the Tether teams success.
The chart below shows some of the more prominent names to have entered the stablecoin space over the past four years.
Persistent questions linger in the community regarding the legitimacy of the Tether internal auditing process, with various bloggers and influencers in the space expressing concerns over the company’s ability to match the existing supply of USDT tokens with actual US dollars.
For more conservative investors the entry of ‘legitimate’ financial institutions (even if by proxy) has long been considered mandatory to inspire the confidence required before buying into an untested asset class.
Read more about Circles vision for the USDC token here.
Delion to Provide Usability Boost to Cryptocurrency Addresses
One of the biggest roadblocks to cryptocurrency adoption is the requirement for users to learn entirely new systems of dealing with money.
In the emerging crypto-economy typical addresses are composed of randomised letters and numbers, such as ‘0x5ed8cee6b63b1c6a-fce3ad7c92f4fd7e1b8fad9f’. Much like traditional banking, these codes are not user-friendly.
After years of making purchases online using the same card details, you may remember some, maybe even all, of your card number, expiry date and CVC number. But good luck recalling that 42 digit Ethereum address. You’re probably even less likely to recall the bank details of all your friends and family.
This is where Delion comes in. Delion allows users to transact IOTA tokens directly via email address. IOTA tokens can be transferred directly by entering the email address, the number of tokens to be transferred and an optional message.
The solution was specifically designed to resolve issues in the IOTA ecosystem which currently force users to update their address for receiving IOTA after every transaction. If Delion’s solution proves successful it is expected that other blockchain networks will adopt similar user friendly solutions for recipient addresses.
