As usual for the crypto community, it was an eventful week, with lots of exciting news amidst the uncertainties of a bearish collapse. The spread of cryptocurrency coverage within and without the digital world expanded tremendously. The week also increased the security concerns of the crypto market amidst increasing concerns about centralization. Now to the details.
Google partners with Coinbase to implement Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin payment options
It was a great week for the crypto community as internet giant Google decided to dip its hand in the crypto cookie jar. Google announced its partnership with crypto exchange Coinbase this week. The cooperation aims to enable crypto payments for Google’s cloud services. Google made the announcement at its 2022 cloud event, the annual event where the internet giant unveils its latest cloud computing functionalities and products.
In the words of Zavery Amit, Google Cloud’s Vice president and general manager, Google are in "partnership with Coinbase to accept crypto payments from a few of its customers." Coinbase commerce will make the crypto payments possible for users of Google Cloud services.
Released reports suggest that Google would likely integrate PayPal crypto services, even though Coinbase remains its choice presently. Coinbase commerce supports about 10 cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Tether, and Dogecoin. Google's partnership with Coinbase to support crypto payments changes its anti-crypto stance. It sends a warm message to the crypto community suggesting cryptocurrencies' gradual yet increasing penetration of the internet space. According to Widmann, developers at Google are developing a "bridge" that would enable cross-chain interoperability. He also said Google’s ethos of decentralization and open-source development is the same as the core values in crypto. The statement confirms Google's secret interest in Web 3. It suggests we might see more pro-crypto moves from the search engine giant.
BNB Smart Chain successfully hardfork to fix vulnerability
On the 12th of October, Binance Smart Chain announced the implementation of a network upgrade, which was triggered at block height 22,107,423. Before the upgrades, Binance halted all withdrawal and deposit activities. Binance also revealed from official channels that the upgrades would not affect trading activities on the BSC network; however, node operators must replace existing nodes with a new binary.
According to BSC’s Github page, the Moran fork is a "temporary urgent patch to mitigate the cross-chain infrastructure between Beacon Chain and Smart Chain so that the cross-chain can be re-enabled back." Moran fork is an attempt to plug the vulnerabilities which enabled hackers to steal about $100 million from the BSC network via the Binance cross-chain bridge. According to the official news release, the hackers exploited the system's vulnerabilities to create 2 million BNB tokens worth $572 million. However, only 20% left the Binance network due to the swift response of the Binance team.
The unfortunate breach is a stark reminder that the security of blockchain networks requires more investment. The swift shutdown of the system also raised concerns over the centralization and decentralization debate.
Justin Sun bought Huobi
The journalists called the founder of the Tron Foundation Justin Sun the buyer of a controlling stake in the Huobi exchange. According to various sources, the price could be $ 1 billion. However, Justin Sun himself denies his participation in the deal. He also said that he joined the advisory board of the platform. The company said the advisory board will help develop Huobi Global's business, as well as participate in the development of a strategic roadmap for global expansion.
Bitcoin mining difficulty increased by 13.55%
On October 10, Bitcoin mining power increased by 13.55%. There was a similar increase in May 2021, when the difficulty increased by 21.5%. Typically, difficulty changes fluctuate within 10% every two weeks. According to BTC.com, at the time of writing, the difficulty was 35.61T with a network hashrate of 259.52 EH/s. An increase in indicators indicates that the number of miners is growing, and therefore the competition among them is growing.
But at the same time, at the current Bitcoin rate, the profitability of mining approaches 0. According to experts, the profit of mining enterprises is already close to the cost mark, and in some cases even goes into negative values.
Polygon launches service to fight corruption and police lawlessness in India
Polygon launched the First Information Report (FIR) service on the blockchain in India to receive complaints about the police. Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of the network, said on Twitter that the protocol platform is available for the Firozabad Police District in Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of over 2.8 million people. The main advantage of a running service is that the information in it cannot be faked or changed. According to the creators, this should simplify the process of filing a complaint and increase the transparency of the process of their consideration within 7 days.
Tether has blocked 8.2 million USDT
This is not the first time that the issuer of the stablecoin Tether has blocked coins on the Ethereum blockchain. This time, more than 8 million USDT was frozen. The reasons for the blocking were not reported, but Tether representatives explained that this was due to a law enforcement investigation. Tether has frozen 3 addresses for 3.4, 1.95 and 2.9 million USDT. The smart contract has blocked the funds on the addresses and does not allow the transfer of coins to other addresses.
Shiba Inu to be used as payment for Elon Musk's perfume brand Burnt Hair
Doge and Shiba are in the news as memecoins use-cases are in a race to catch up with their popularity. This week, Elon Musk’s Boring Company partnered with Bitpay to enable customers to buy the billionaire’s perfume brand using Shiba tokens, the Doge and possibly 14 other cryptocurrencies supported by Bitpay. In other Shiba-related news, the memecoin has become the most popular crypto asset among the vibrant Indian crypto community. With over 10% of India's 1.4 billion people in crypto, Shiba is held and transacted by many Indians. According to Nomics data, 9 percent of Shiba transactions can be traced to India. The Asian country has transacted over $120 million worth of Shiba tokens since the beginning of the 2022 fiscal year.
Reports from India’s leading crypto exchange, WazirX, with over 15 million daily active transactions, reveal that 10% of its daily transactions relate to SHIBA tokens. In addition, CoinDCX and ZebPay, two giants in India's top crypto exchanges, attribute five and nine percent of their daily transactions to Shiba tokens.
Crypto pundits argue that the popularity of the memecoin can be traced to Vitalik Buterin’s donation of 50 trillion SHIB tokens to the Indian government to fight the Covid pandemic. While Buterin donated in other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, SHIBA seems the cheapest, which most Indians can afford and hold, hoping they can grab its tail as the memecoin jets off to the moon.
Dominica has chosen TRON to issue its token
This week Dominica joined the likes of El Salvador, as the country names the TRON Blockchain as its official national blockchain infrastructure. The collaboration also names TRON as the official partner of Dominica in the development of Dominica Coin (DMC). According to an official release from the Dominican authorities, the momentum for crypto adoption is favorable; hence, Dominica aims to leverage the positive sentiments around digital assets in the Caribbean. TRON will issue the Dominica Coin (DMC) on behalf of the Dominican government. The DMC will be a fan token that will promote "Dominica’s global fanfare for its natural heritage and tourist attractions."
The Dominican authorities pointed to TRON's efficient and low-cost crypto settlements as one of the principal reasons for its choice of the TRON Network. According to Skerrit Rosevelt, Prime Minister of Dominica, the move will enable the country to leverage blockchain technology in creating a more inclusive and diversified economy. As part of the partnership, TRON-related currencies such as the TRX, JST, USDD and TUSD will become legal tenders in the country. Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON network, confirmed the partnership with a tweet stating that the Dominican Republic will grant statutory status to all TRON-based crypto assets. Official documents credited to the Dominican authorities reveal that the country would accept TRON-based cryptocurrencies for tax payments and payment of goods and services.
