Avalanche subnets can now let validators stake using the subnet’s token
Avalanche subnets can now let validators stake and earn rewards with the subnet’s own native token due to the implementation of the Banff upgrade today.
The upgrade provides subnet creators with more customization and control over their ecosystems. Subnets are application-specific blockchains within the wider Avalanche ecosystem. Each subnet can have its own purpose, its own set of validators and its own level of security.
$740 million in Bitcoin exits exchanges, the biggest outflow since June’s BTC price crash
Over 37,800 BTC left crypto exchanges on Oct. 18, according to data tracked by CryptoQuant. This marks the biggest Bitcoin daily outflow since June 17, when traders withdrew nearly 68,000 BTC from exchanges.
Moreover, over 121,000 BTC, or nearly $2.4 billion at current prices, has left exchanges in the past 30 days. Bitcoin bottomed out locally at around $18,000 when its outflows from exchanges reached nearly 68,000 BTC on June 17. The cryptocurrency’s price rallied toward $24,500 in the following weeks.
Polkadot hits all-time high in development activity
According to data from programming repository GitHub, Polkadot recognized more than 500 contributions each day in September — an all-time high for the multichain protocol.
In total, 14,930 contributions from developers were recorded on Polkadot’s GitHub in the month of August. As told by project developers, 66 blockchains are now live on Polkadot and its parachain startup network Kusama.
Aptos (APT) hyped tokenomics finally unveiled ahead of listing on Binance and FTX
According to the Aptos Foundation, of the total APT offer of 1 billion tokens, 51.02% will go to the community, 19% to key developers, 13.48% to early investors and 16.5% to the blockchain’s foundation.
All investors and current core contributors are subject to a four-year lock-up schedule, excluding staking rewards if applicable, from mainnet launch.
Mastercard launches program to help banks offer crypto trading
According to CNBC, the multinational financial services company Mastercard is all set to launch a program to help financial institutions offer cryptocurrency trading to their clients.
The company plans to serve as a “bridge” between the crypto trading platform Paxos and banks to oversee regulatory compliance and security – two major areas that the banks have cited as reasons to avoid the asset class.
XRP introduced the first phase of EVM sidechain
Ripple announced that it has released the first phase of the EVM sidechain for the XRPL, allowing EVM developers to experiment with the functionality on XRPL Devnet.
This milestone means more developers can easily access the XRPL’s feature set (such as its speed, sustainability and low-cost transactions) and bring Solidity-based smart contracts to the XRPL.
FTX US under investigation by Texas regulator over securities allegations
The Texas State Securities Board is investigating FTX US over allegations it offers unregistered securities products in the U.S. through its yield-bearing service, according to a recent court filing.
In a statement, an FTX spokesperson said the company had already been “in talks” with the TSSB and stated that FTX have an active application for a license which has been pending, and believe that they are operating fully within the bounds of what they can do in the interim.
Optimism introduced the OP Stack
On October 18, Optimism introduced OP Stack, a new scalability architecture with the ambition of making the platform a “Superchain”.
The OP Stack is a modular, open-source blueprint for highly scalable, highly interoperable blockchains of all kinds. The OP Stack is designed to help developers to build their own blockchain easily.
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The next major Ethereum upgrade, Shanghai, now has a testnet
The Shanghai upgrade will be Ethereum’s first upgrade since the Merge in September, when Ethereum transitioned from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake model.
The most anticipated proposal is EIP 4895, which will allow for those who have staked ether (ETH) on the Beacon Chain to withdraw their stake, along with any rewards they have earned over time. Ethereum has enabled the ETH 2.0 staking contract since November 2020. As of now, the amount locked in ETH 2.0 is more than 14.2 million ETH, worth $19 billion.