Chainspot weekly news review for 31.03-7.04.2023 week. Enjoy reading!Chainspot team
🤩 zkEVM Hype: zkSync and Polygon
Polygon has joined the zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine (zkEVM) market, which is set to be one of the hottest blockchain trends of 2023. Polygon and zkSync saw an increase in TVL on their networks, indicating strong interest in zkEVMs.
In terms of market dominance, zkSync controls 57.7% of all activity on zkEVM networks, with Stark Net in second place at 25%. Despite Polygon’s TVL increasing to $750 million, the protocol is still relatively new and trails behind. The assets of these networks are the ones to watch. Diversifying and swapping is easier with the smart web3 liquidity aggregator.
💻 Bitcoin White Paper Hidden in MacOS
According to a recent report by technologist Andy Baio, every modern version of MacOS reportedly contains a hidden PDF of the Bitcoin White Paper by Nakamoto. The document is said to be a template for a Virtual Scanner II device, which Baio stumbled across while trying to set up a printer/scanner. The document is signed as “simpledoc.pdf” and is only 184 KB in size.
🤖 AI virus threat concerns tech CEOs
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has expressed support for an open letter calling for a halt to the development of advanced AI software, citing concerns over the potential threat of a “smart virus” that could emerge within the next five years. Technologist Javi Lopez predicts that this virus, similar to ChatGPT, will reproduce itself and spread through any “loophole”, making it difficult to find and eradicate.
While some, like Coinbase, continue to test ChatGPT’s capabilities, Zhao calls for balance in the development of AI to avoid the technology taking over and rendering humanity unnecessary. However, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes that a ban on the development of new versions of the software is a “bad idea.” In his words, idle fears should not stand in the way of progress.
📈 The difficulty of $BTC mining reached a new peak
Bitcoin mining difficulty reached a historic high on April 6, increasing by 2.23% to 47.89 trillion. This marks the fourth consecutive increase in mining difficulty and reflects the state of the industry, with rising BTC prices and relatively low ASIC costs. Miner revenue has increased, with Bitcoin miners earning just under $732 million in March from block subsidies. This increase in mining difficulty brings the date of the next halving closer.
🐶 $DOGE drops after Twitter removes dog logo
Dogecoin fell sharply after Elon Musk-owned Twitter removed the cryptocurrency’s dog mascot on the site. The crypto fell around 7.3% in the past two days. $DOGE had briefly surged as high as 10.5 cents on April 3 after Twitter inexplicably removed its blue bird logo, replacing it with Dogecoin’s mascot.
This week’s crypto news roundup is over. More updates to come as the market evolves! Stay tuned!
Chainspot team
