Base Layers

Year in Review 2020

The Fight for Consumer Adoption Is Just Beginning

Justin SunDec 29, 2020

In the next phase, blockchain networks have to find use cases beyond censorship resistance and permissionless access, says TRON's founder.

Polkadot

Cere Network Raises $1.5M More to Bring Its ‘Decentralized Salesforce’ to Polkadot

William FoxleyDec 23, 2020

Binance-backed Cere Network has raised another $1.5 million to become a decentralized version of Salesforce.

Year in Review 2020

The Rise of Layer 2s Spells End for Altcoins

Edan YagoJan 3, 2021

Bitcoin is no longer limited to a single chain, meaning altcoins like ether are trending towards irrelevancy, says the neuroscientist and DeFi entrepreneur.

Opinion

Ethereum Enhancers, Not Ethereum Killers

Matthew FinestoneOct 14, 2020

The new competitive arena in the so-called scaling wars is between Ethereum enhancers, not Ethereum killers.

Polkadot

Polkadot Projects Will Be Able to Mint Their Own Tokens in 2021

Ian AllisonSep 16, 2020

A token minting system is coming to the Polkadot blockchain ecosystem, promising to be a leaner, meaner version of Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard.

Base Layers

Chia Network

Chia Network Raises $5M to Rival New Crop of DeFi-Friendly Base Layers

Leigh Cuen

Chia Network, led by BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen, just raised another $5 million in an equity round led by Slow Ventures.

Emin Gün Sirer

Base Layer Wars Heat Up With Another $12M Committed to AVA Labs’ Avalanche Blockchain

William Foxley

AVA Labs has closed a $12 million private token sale. The funding round – co-led by Galaxy Digital, Bitmain, Initialized and others – comes weeks before an anticipated mainnet launch.

Infrastructure

NEAR Protocol Enlists Bison Trails for Validator Support as It Heads Toward Full Mainnet

William Foxley

Bison Trails will help host the NEAR Protocol’s early validator set, currently consisting of over 150 nodes including some 40 of the project’s investors.

Harmony

Base Layer Blockchain Harmony Adds Staking to Open Up Validator Set

Brady Dale

Harmony announced Tuesday that its mainnet has incorporated staking, allowing users to earn ONE tokens for locking in their current holdings.