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This latest report from Cointelegraph Research dives into the tsunami of solutions coming onto the market that improve security, privacy and speed from existing protocols. The long-awaited “ crypto spring” may be upon us as Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto currency markets rise in anticipation of a full-on bull market.  Over the recent crypto winter, many different projects have been growing, gaining users and building new networks. Some of these, like Polygon, are layer-2 (L2) solutions to help scale the primary protocol, Ethereum. But what are the implications of L2s? Are they a better protocol to build on or invest in? Are other layer 1s (L1s) doing anything to stay competitive? These questions and more are the focus of a new report from the Cointelegraph Research Terminal. The report looks at up-and-coming projects in the crypto verse, as well as case studies for L1s like Avalanche and Hedera and how they compare to the new tech that is on the rise. Download the report on the Coin...

Beam wallet uses Web3Auth and account abstraction to allow for seedless accounts, stablecoin gas payments, and other user experience features. A new wallet that has launched on Optimism (OP) allows users to generate an address without storing seed words, and the account can be saved using an ordinary Twitter login . Called “Beam wallet ” the application runs in a browser window and requires no downloads, according to a July 27 announcement from its developer. It also allows users to send transactions on Optimism without owning Ether (ETH). INTRODUCING BEAM The first self-custody payments wallet built for the mainstream — no download or signup required. Beam is the easiest way on the planet to send anyone money. Try it out with a single click — Andy Bromberg (@andy_bromberg) July 27, 2023 Beam was developed by Eco, a payments company backed by Web3 venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, Founders Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Pantera Capital. To...

The Public Goods Network from Gitcoin promises to redirect most net sequencer fees into public goods, instead of giving them to token holders or developers. Layer-2 blockchain Public Goods Network launched a testnet on July 7, promising to spend “the vast majority of net sequencer fees” on public goods instead of paying them out to the development team or token holders, according to an announcement from the network’s developers. In economics, a “ public good” is a good that cannot be produced for profit because it is difficult to exclude non-payers from its consumption. The new network was developed by the same team that created Gitcoin, a project that seeks to raise funds for open-source projects. Public Goods Network is being built using the OP Stack, meaning that it can become part of the proposed “Superchain” that will include Optimism and Base networks. Okay Devs, Overjoyed to announce @pgn_eth, a community-led L2 focused on sustainable funding for public goods Check this ou...

The much needed upgrade will provide a number of improvements across the network, and come at a time when competition in the Layer 2 space has been heating up. Layer 2 scaling solution Optimism is set to undergo its highly anticipated Bedrock upgrade on June 6. The move is expected to result in significantly reduced transaction fees, provide greater network security and enhanced compatibility with Ethereum. The Optimism team stated via a May 15 Twitter thread that the network will be down for 2-4 hours on June 6 as the upgrade goes through. “On upgrade day, transactions, deposits, and withdrawals will be unavailable for the duration of the downtime, and the OP Mainnet chain will not be progressing,” an accompanying blog post reads. The official date of OP Mainnet’s upgrade to Bedrock has been set: June 6, 2023 at 16:00 UTC! The upgrade will require 2-4 hours of downtime for OP Mainnet. Visit Mission Control for full details on what to expect:https://t.co/o6UjKZaVKy — Optimism ...

Vitalik Buterin has weighed the impacts of the addition of zk-EVMs at the protocol level, saying it could speed up the verification process on the base layer. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin wants to see zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machines (zk-EVMs) built on Ethereum’s first layer to speed up the verification process on the base blockchain. Buterin explained in a March 31 post that it’s possible to integrate a zk-EVM on the base layer without compromising on decentralization and security . The technology enables Ethereum Virtual Machines to execute Smart Contracts on the Blockchain with ZK proofs. How will Ethereum's multi-client philosophy interact with ZK-EVMs?https://t.co/MPpTPNhldR — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) March 31, 2023 Ethereum was developed with a “multi-client philosophy” to ensure decentralization at the protocol level, Buterin explained. By integrating zk-EVMs at the Ethereum layer 1, it would be the third type of client. “Once that happens, zk-E...

The two layer-2 networks processed more than 1.1 million transactions combined on Jan. 10. Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) on-chain activity has been increasing to the extent that the leading two networks now process more transaction volume than the Ethereum network. Layer-2 networks Arbitrum and Optimism have seen an increase in transaction s over the past three months. Comparatively, aside from a few spikes, transaction s on the Ethereum network have declined by around 33% since late October according to Etherscan. This has enabled the two L2s combined to flip Ethereum for this metric, according to Dune Analytics data. The chart shows Ethereum processed over 1.06 million transactions on Jan. 10 whereas Arbitrum and Optimism combined processed over 1.12 million transactions. Additionally, Optimism has now surpassed Arbitrum in terms of daily transactions following a steady uptrend in activity since September. Layer-2 ecosystem analytics website L2beat reported all L2 activity in terms of tra...