tokens

TL;DR NEAR Protocol is a layer-1 blockchain that uses Nightshade, a unique sharding technology, to achieve scalability. It was launched in 2020 as a decentralized cloud infrastructure to host decentralized applications (DApps).  NEAR offers cross-chain interoperability through the Rainbow Bridge and a layer-2 solution called Aurora. Users can bridge ERC-20 tokens and assets from the Ethereum blockchain to the NEAR Protocol network, which gives them access to higher throughput and lower transaction fees. NEAR is the native token of the NEAR Protocol. It’s used for paying transaction and data storage fees. NEAR token holders can also stake their tokens on the NEAR wallet to receive rewards or use them to vote for governance proposals.  Learn more on Binance.com Introduction As cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology became more popular, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other networks started facing scalability challenges due to increased demand. The growing interest in decentralized applications and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) make these challenges particularly noticeable on the Ethereum blockchain. The network often faces increased gas prices and transaction costs due to heavy traffic, which can be discouraging for many users and developers.  While there are several teams exploring different scaling solutions for blockchain networks, the NEAR Protocol (NEAR) team is focused on addressing the limitations through sharding.     What is NEAR Protocol? NEAR Protocol is a layer 1 blockchain that uses sharding technology to achieve scalability. NEAR uses smart contracts and adopts the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism to secure its network. Built by the NEAR Collective, the NEAR Protocol was co-founded by Alex Skidanov and Illia Polosukhin in 2020. The project is being developed as a community-operated cloud infrastructure for hosting decentralized applications (DApps). The NEAR platform contains a wide range of programming tools and languages, as well as smart contracts with cross-chain functionality to help developers build DApps. The platform counts with a simplified onboarding process and features human-readable account names instead of cryptographic wallet addresses. As a PoS blockchain, NEAR was awarded the Climate Neutral Product Label in 2021 for being carbon neutral.    How does NEAR Protocol work? To compete with other smart contract-enabled blockchains like Ethereum, EOS, and Polkadot, NEAR implements several features in its ecosystem to enhance its performance.   Nightshade Sharding Nightshade is the core technology of the NEAR blockchain. It is a sharding technology for processing data more efficiently. Sharding refers to splitting the work of processing transactions across many validator nodes. This way, each node will handle only a fraction of the network’s transactions, which allows for a higher number of transactions per second (TPS). On NEAR, Nightshade utilizes block producers and validators to process transaction data in parallel across multiple shards. Each shard will produce a fraction of the next block. Each fraction is called a chunk. These chunks are then processed and stored on the NEAR Protocol blockchain to finalize the transactions they contain. In theory, Nightshade may allow NEAR to handle millions of transactions per second without affecting its performance. Depending on the network condition, it will dynamically split and merge shards based on network traffic and use of resources. When the network is at a high capacity, the number of nodes will increase. The overall efficiency can be maintained, and transaction fees can be kept low. Unlike other PoS networks, validators do not compete for the next block based on the size of their stake. NEAR uses an election mechanism called the Thresholded Proof of Stake (TPoS) to select validators. TPoS is similar to an auction, where a large pool of prospective validators indicates how much NEAR token they’re willing to stake via a signed transaction. TPoS will then determine the minimum threshold for becoming a validator in each epoch (typically, a 12-hour interval). Those that have staked above that threshold will have a chance to be selected as validators, proportional to the amount they staked.    Rainbow Bridge Rainbow Bridge is an application on NEAR that allows users to transfer ERC-20 tokens, stablecoins, wrapped tokens, and even NFTs between the Ethereum and NEAR blockchains. This lets developers and users take advantage of the higher throughput and lower fees on the NEAR Protocol.  The Rainbow Bridge is fully permissionless and decentralized. To bridge tokens, users can send ERC-20 assets directly from MetaMask or other Web3 wallets to the NEAR Wallet and vice-versa. First, they need to deposit the token in an Ethereum smart contract. Since direct token transfer is not possible between networks, the tokens will be locked and taken out of circulation on Ethereum. New tokens will be created on NEAR to represent the original ones. In this way, the total circulating supply of the token remains constant across both blockchains.  In most cases, transactions on NEAR will confirm in 1-2 seconds and cost under $1. However, if the user wishes to move the token back to Ethereum, the procedure can cost more and take longer to process. The final value will depend on the current Ethereum traffic and gas prices.    Aurora Aurora is a layer-2 solution on the NEAR Protocol blockchain. It aims to help developers expand their apps on an Ethereum-compatible platform that offers low transaction costs for their users. According to NEAR, Aurora is able to host thousands of transactions per second, with only approximately 2 seconds of block confirmation time. Aurora is composed of the Aurora Engine and the Aurora Bridge. Aurora Engine is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) on the NEAR Protocol, meaning that it is compatible with Ethereum and supports all tools available in the Ethereum ecosystem. This makes it easier for developers to get started on NEAR without having to rewrite their DApps or learn how to work with new development tools. They can also use the Aurora Bridge (the same technology as the Rainbow Bridge) to seamlessly bridge their smart contracts and ERC-20 tokens between the Ethereum and NEAR Protocol blockchains. Users can also pay transaction fees with ETH on Aurora.   What is the NEAR token? NEAR Protocol (NEAR) is the native token of the NEAR ecosystem. It’s an ERC-20 token with a max supply of 1 billion. NEAR can be used for paying transaction and storage fees on the network. Also, smart contract developers can receive a portion of the transaction fees their contract generates. To keep NEAR scarce, the remaining transaction fees will be burned. Token holders can stake on the NEAR Wallet to earn rewards too. They stake NEAR to run validating nodes for rewards that amount to 4.5% of the total NEAR supply. They can also participate in the governance of the NEAR network by voting on decisions and submitting proposals related to the platform and products.   How to buy NEAR on Binance? You can buy NEAR Protocol (NEAR) on cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance.  1. Log in to your Binance account and click [Trade]. Select either the classic or advanced trading interface. 2. Click on [BTC/USDT] to open the search bar. Enter “NEAR” and you’ll see the available trading pairs. In this example, we’ll use NEAR/BUSD. 3. Go to the [Spot] box on the right and enter the amount of NEAR you wish to buy. You can use different order types to place the order. Select an order type, such as Market order, and click [Buy NEAR]. The NEAR tokens will be credited to your Spot Wallet.       Closing thoughts As the blockchain space grows, platforms that can offer lower transaction costs and increased throughput will likely play an important role in mainstream adoption. NEAR’s scaling solutions can attract developers looking to build more efficient DeFi products and decentralized applications (DApps). The NEAR roadmap includes further sharding developments and layer-2 cross-chain solutions to further scale its blockchain and ultimately benefit developers and end-users.

BTC changed a little on Monday, ending the day around $41.3K. However, in early trading on Tuesday, we saw a jump of more than 5% to $43.3K; then the first cryptocurrency sunk to $42K. Over the past 24 hours, Ethereum has gained 4%, and other leading altcoins from the top ten are not far behind: Solana and Avalanche are up 2%, Cardano is up 6%. Terra is out of the general outline, decreasing by 0.5%. According to CoinMarketCap, the total capitalization of the crypto market increased by 3% over the day, to $1.92 trillion. The Bitcoin Dominance Index added 0.1 percentage points to 42% due to the BTC surge. Cryptocurrency fear and greed index fell by 4 points in a day, to 26, as its estimates do not include the latest bitcoin spurt. This is not the first such jump in BTC since the beginning of March, in contrast to the neutral or even negative sentiment in the stock markets. All this indicates the readiness of the bulls for decisive action. However, until now, such impulses cannot be on a solid basis, because the fundamental demand for risks is under obvious pressure. The most that the bulls were capable of in this case was the formation of support at the lows of July last year (ie below $30K). In January, the level moved to $35K and further to $37K at the end of February. According to the FxPro analysts, institutional investors withdrew about $47 million from crypto funds over the past week. The outflow of funds has been observed for the second week in a row. Meanwhile, the largest Australian financial conglomerate Commonwealth Bank of Australia stated a sharp increase in interest in crypto assets among clients. The bank intends to double the department responsible for the crypto industry. Among the big news, it is worth noting the number of burned ETH tokens in the Ethereum network, which exceeded 2 million. The process of burning altcoins began on August 5 after the release of the London update, which changed the mechanism for calculating commissions for transactions. Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak called for the legalization of cryptocurrency mining, recognizing it as a taxable business. A number of observers believe that this could be a way for Russia to capitalize on its energy potential in the face of reduced demand for Russian oil and gas.

Imagine all the people… living life in the Metaverse. Once we immerse ourselves in the digital sphere, gold may go out of fashion. Or maybe not?Do you already have your avatar? If not, maybe you should consider creating one, as the Metaverse is coming! What is the Metaverse? It is a digital, three-dimensional world where people are represented by avatars, a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection, the next evolution of the internet, “extended reality,” and the latest buzzword in the marketplace since Facebook changed its name to Meta. If you still have no idea what I’m talking about, you can watch this or just Spielberg’s Ready Player One.The idea of personalities being uploaded online is an intriguing concept, isn’t it? In this vision, people meet with others, play, and simply hang out in a digital world. Imagine friends turning group chats on Messenger or WhatsApp into group meetups in the Metaverse of family gatherings in virtual homes. Ultimately, people will probably be doing pretty much everything there, except eating, sleeping, and using the restroom.Sounds scary? For people in their 30s and older who were fascinated by The Matrix, it does. However, this is really happening. The augmented reality technology market is expected to grow from $47 billion in 2019 to $1.5 trillion in 2030, mainly thanks to the development of the Metaverse. China’s virtual goods and services market is expected to be worth almost $250 billion this year and $370 billion in the next four years.In a sense, it had to happen as the next phase of the digital revolution. You see, we now experience much of life on the two-dimensional screens of our laptops and smartphones. The Metaverse moves us from a flat and boring 2D to a 3D virtual universe, where we can visualize and experience things with a more natural user interface. Let’s take shopping as an example. Instead of purchasing items on Amazon, customers could enter a virtual shop, see and touch all products in 3D, and buy whatever they wanted (actually, Walmart launched its own 3D shopping experience in 2018).OK, we get the idea, but why does Metaverse matter, putting aside sociological or philosophical issues related to transferring our minds into the digital world? Well, it might strongly affect every aspect of business and life, just as the internet did earlier. Here are a couple of examples. Famous brands, like Dolce & Gabbana, are designing clothes and jewelry for the digital world. Some artists are giving concerts in virtual reality. You could also visit some museums virtually, and instead of taking a business trip, you can digitally teleport to remote locations to meet with your co-workers’ avatars.Finally, what does the Metaverse imply for the gold market? Well, it’s difficult to grasp all the possible implications right now. However, the main threat is clear: as people immerse deeper and deeper into the digital world, gold could become obsolete for many users. Please note that cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are and will continue to be widely used as payment methods in the Metaverse.However, there are some caveats here. First, the invention and spread of the internet didn’t sink gold. Actually, the internet enabled gold to be widely traded by investors all over the world. Just take a look at the chart below. Although gold was in a bear market in the 1990s and struggled during the dot-com bubble, it rallied after the bubble burst.Second, the digital world didn’t kill the analog reality. Despite digital streaming of music, vinyl record sales soared last year, reaching a record high in a few decades. The development of the Metaverse could trigger a similar backlash and a return to tangible goods like gold.Third, some segments of the Metaverse look like bubbles. Maybe I’m just too old, but why the heck would anybody spend hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars to buy items in the virtual world? These items include virtual real estates (CNBC says that sales of real estate in the metaverse topped $500 million last year and could double this year), digital pieces of art or even tweets (yup, the founder of Twitter sold the first tweet ever for just under $3 million)! It does not make any sense to me, as I can right-click and download a copy of the same digital files (like a PNG file of a grey pet rock) for which people pay thousands and millions of dollars.Of course, certain items could increase the utility of the game or virtual experience, but my bet is that at least some buyers simply speculate on prices, expecting that they will be able to resell these items to greater fools. When this digital gold rush ends – and given the Fed’s tightening cycle, it may happen in the not-so-distant future – real gold could laugh last.Thank you for reading today’s free analysis. We hope you enjoyed it. If so, we would like to invite you to sign up for our free gold newsletter. Once you sign up, you’ll also get 7-day no-obligation trial of all our premium gold services, including our Gold & Silver Trading Alerts. Sign up today!Arkadiusz Sieron, PhDSunshine Profits: Effective Investment through Diligence & Care.

  // 🔥 AXS On It's Last Legs by FieryTrading on TradingView.com AXS has been steadily losing value ever since topping in October last year. As of now, AXS has fallen through the bull-floor with a huge red candle. In my view, the bull-floor was the last support of the AXS bull-pattern.I think that the near-term future of AXS looks dire, bad at best. Investors are losing confidence in the AXIE game and are dumping the token by the masses. Bearish targets are placed at previous important tops.