#blockchain

The Central African Republic (CAR) is expanding its Sango blockchain initiative to include the tokenization of land and natural resources. Recently, the CAR National Assembly passed a law, receiving unanimous approval, that facilitates online business visa applications and simplifies the process for both locals and foreigners to establish businesses in sectors like real estate, agriculture, and forestry. This move follows CAR's earlier efforts in the crypto space, including the launch of Project Sango in May 2022 and its brief adoption of Bitcoin as a national currency.

Base, engineered on OP Stack as a second layer network, has managed to surpass Arbitrum and Optimism in the number of daily transactions this week. Data from The Block highlighted that on August 15, Base's moving average reached 610,000 transactions, while the counts for Arbitrum and Optimism stood at 576,000 and 597,000, respectively. Although Optimism currently holds a slight lead, overall, the networks are closely competing.

The Sei team has initiated token claims for those who participated in the testnet early on. However, the meager bonuses received have left many reevaluating their decision to engage in future airdrops, especially for Tier-2 or Tier-3 projects. Rewards were disappointingly scant, with most individuals earning only a nominal amount for blockchain testing. The SEI token price decreased by 20%, possibly attributed to either the overnight downturn in the crypto market or the airdrop itself. P.S.:To claim your tokens, the Compass wallet is essential, and some regions might require a VPN.

Quantum Blockchain Technologies (QBT), a research company, has unveiled an innovative bitcoin mining method that utilizes artificial intelligence. According to the company's statement, this new approach to hash verification, as opposed to random selection, boosts the chances of finding a winning hash by approximately 260%.

Stated to be a staggering 10 times faster than Solana, the network accomplishes transaction finality in just 250 milliseconds. Trading of the blockchain's native token (SEI) has started on different centralized exchanges, and it's now valued at approximately $0.19. There's also news of an airdrop, but claiming will be permitted only after the "initial warm-up period." The time frame for this warm-up has not yet been revealed.

Web3 gaming platform is launching a Layer 2 blockchain testnet, Immutable zkEVM, to reduce dependence on a single network infrastructure. The platform utilizes Polygon Supernets, which facilitate the creation of application-specific blockchains.

Jesse Pollak, Coinbase protocols lead, has clarified the "permissionless" nature of Coinbase’s Layer 2 blockchain, Base, on X (formerly Twitter). Responding to Gnosis founder Martin Köppelmann's concerns about Base’s centralization, Pollak emphasized that Coinbase doesn't have unilateral control over contracts or the ability to freeze funds on the network. Despite being the sole operator of Base's sequencer, Pollak insists that the platform aims to be open, permissionless, and decentralized.

Football club Barcelona, an official partner of the cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBit, has divested some of its shares in Bridgeburg Invest.The aim? Raise funds for a new Web3 endeavor named Barca Vision. This project is designed to become a hub for all club-related digital wonders, be it NFTs or metaverse explorations.

Currently, Mantle DAO is evaluating a proposal that would prohibit the conversion of BIT tokens held by FTX Group into the new MNT token. Previously, Alameda Research, a branch of the FTX Group, swapped 3.4 million FTT tokens for a staggering 100 million BIT tokens, which equated to around $43 million. Yet FTX's descent into bankruptcy prompted DAO members to introduce this proposal. MNT is a token that was launched as Mantle's L2 mainnet went live. The blockchain was established by the Bybit exchange, which initiated the merge of BIT (BitDAO) and MNT tokens. Controversies aside, there's robust support for this proposal within the Mantle enclave, spotlighting the overarching investor community's interests.

The Exactly Protocol has suffered a hacking attack. Running on the Optimism blockchain, this lending DeFi platform was targeted by malefactors who stole over 4300 ETH, totaling approximately $7.3 million. Both BlockSec and Beosin security agencies have corroborated the theft. The hackers reportedly found and exploited a weak point in the platform's smart contracts, although the finer details are still under wraps. UPD: The team at Exactly Protocol would declare a $700,000 reward for any leads on the hacker, should they not receive a response from the malefactor by the end of August 22nd. "You can return the funds, minus a 10% fee to you, without worries about us coming after you," the Exactly team conveyed in their message.

The issuer of USDT has resolved to end support for Kusama, Bitcoin Cash SLP, and Omni Layer. This move follows an in-depth analysis of the functionality, safety, and stability of these particular blockchains. Notably, Omni Layer, Tether's first transport layer since its inception in 2014, was instrumental during its early days. However, it has witnessed a decline in popularity due to rising competitive solutions. Though minting of USDT on the aforesaid platforms will be terminated, the redemption process will stay in place for a duration extending at least a year.

Between mid-July and Base’s public introduction in August, more than 500 scam tokens, like BASEPEPE (BPEPE) and Baby Yoda (YODA), were deployed on the blockchain, as reported by Solidus Labs, Around 300 of these tokens enabled their creators to generate an unlimited number of coins, unbeknownst to Base users, significantly impacting the tokens’ values. Moreover, about 60 tokens prevented buyers from reselling them on exchanges. The scam tokens collectively generated approximately $3.7 million in trading volume and yielded around $2 million in profits, according to Solidus.

Under the new regulations, stablecoin transfers will require up to three business days. This rule has caused bewilderment within the blockchain community. However, officials state that this restriction is consistent with the pace of standard domestic money transfers and will also apply to stablecoin redemptions. "The redemption timeline is intended to strike a balance between responsiveness to users’ requests and ensuring there is enough time for the SCS issuer to do so in an orderly manner under various stress situations," added the regulator.

A year has passed since WhiteBIT's exchange token was unveiled on August 14th. In this brief time, the team behind it didn't just rest on their laurels; they launched a blockchain, making WBT's first anniversary a celebration of a genuine coin! Facing the challenges of a prolonged bear market head-on, WBT swiftly carved out its own space, gaining a legion of ardent supporters. Its market standing? A noteworthy triple of its inaugural IEO pricing and a 5th rank amidst centralized exchange tokens, as chronicled by CoinGecko. We salute this shining star and hope for further ascent, delighting all crypto enthusiasts who set the level!

The TVL of Coinbase's blockchain has surged to $146 million following its mainnet launch, surpassing StarkNet's TVL of $112 million. What's particularly striking is that roughly 87% of Base's TVL is held in ETH. However, the network's throughput still has room for improvement, with its TPS standing at roughly 5.81. For comparison, here are the TPS figures of other L2 solutions: Optimism — 6.88 Arbitrum One — 7.26 zkSync Er — 10.72