Blockchain News Roundup: NFTs, Smart Contracts, and DeFi

Introduction

In this blockchain news roundup, we will look at the most recent developments in the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem, concentrating on three main areas: Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Smart Contracts, and Decentralized Finance (DeFi).

As these groundbreaking innovations keep evolving and acquiring popularity, it is critical to stay updated about their commercial impact, user uptake, and the current arguments over their deployment and governance.

Smart Contracts: Aiken Language and Crypto Trading Bots Transforming the Landscape

In this section, discover the latest breakthroughs in the realm of smart contracts, like the Aiken language, which promises to transform Cardano platform development, and 3Commas, which leads the charge in crypto trading bot innovation.

Introducing Aiken: A New Platform for Smart Contracts on Cardano

Aiken, a new programming language meant to facilitate the development of smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain, has been released by the Cardano Foundation.

Aiken is small and simple to learn, but it has advanced features including strong static typing with inference, first-class functions, custom types, recursion, modules, and generics. This new language intends to improve the developer experience and help the Cardano ecosystem expand.

Aiken provides a rich set of tools for interacting with Plutus, Cardano’s native smart contract platform. A built-in unit test framework, a full-fledged Plutus interpreter and disassembler, execution cost evaluation with trace reporting, and low-level script parameters injection are all included.

The toolkit also supports the Language Server Protocol (LSP) with auto-formatting and provides aesthetically appealing library documentation that is simple to create.

The Cardano Foundation supports Aiken, a fully open-source project developed in Rust and licensed under Apache-2.0. The Cardano community, with over 20 contributors, has extensively documented Aiken and provided end-to-end examples through a straightforward contribution process and explicit guidelines.

TxPipe initiated the project, but the Cardano Foundation is now developing it, showing promise for a bright future in smart contract development on the Cardano platform.

Dive Deeper: Ethereum Starter Kit: Smart Contract Development For Beginners

Cryptocurrency Trading Bots: Paving the Way for Advanced Smart Contracts

Cryptocurrency trading bots have grown in popularity in recent years due to their capacity to automate the trading process and execute plans 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These bots are programmed to evaluate market data, locate profitable trading opportunities, and place orders on customers’ behalf, optimizing efficiency and minimizing human mistakes.

3Commas, a popular cryptocurrency trading bot, provides a full set of capabilities, including automated trading, portfolio management, and customizability. It is simple UI and powerful functionality make it appealing to both rookie and seasoned traders.

The underlying technology underpinning trading bots like 3Commas may pave the door for more complex smart contract applications that harness automation and data analysis capabilities to transform numerous industries as the crypto ecosystem evolves.

DeFi: iZUMi Finance’s Funding Success and the CeFi vs. DeFi Debate

Dive into the latest developments in decentralized finance, including iZUMi Finance’s $22 million fundraising round to strengthen its multichain protocol, and the ongoing dispute between CeFi and DeFi, which continues to influence the future of crypto money.

iZUMi Finance Raises $22 Million: A New Era for Multichain DeFi Protocols

iZUMi Finance, a multichain decentralized finance platform, has raised $22 million in investment. The money will be utilized to provide early liquidity for iZiSwap Pro, the startup’s on-chain order book DEX available on the zkSync Era network.

According to Defi Llama data, iZUMi Finance provides one-step “liquidity-as-a-service” and currently has around $25 million in total value locked.

iZiSwap Pro is a market maker-driven automated order book DEX that attempts to reduce transaction costs and custody concerns associated with similar market offerings. The financing round included the issue of an iZUMi zk-Fund, a semi-fungible token (SFT), by strategic partner Solv Protocol.

Investors received an SFT in their wallet, reflecting their portion of the fund and making them limited partners. Unicode Digital, NextGen Digital Venture, Bella Protocol, and Incuba Alpha were among the round’s investors.

DeFi vs. CeFi: The Battle for the Future of Crypto Finance

Centralized exchanges (CeFi) played a crucial role in fostering early crypto adoption. However, their recent failures have highlighted the need for decentralized exchanges (DEX). Panelists at CoinDesk’s Consensus 2023 conference engaged in debates. They discussed the distinction between CeFi and DeFi, and their future roles in banking.

Many new digital asset users have gained access to CeFi exchanges such as Coinbase. CeFi’s lack of transparency and reliance on non-blockchain technology are concerns. These issues have led to high-profile disasters, such as the November collapse of FTX.

Panelists believe that DeFi will eventually dominate. In the short term, however, CeFi may continue to lead due to its compatibility with existing regulations.

Learn more about DeFi: DeFi Lending: How to Earn Passive Income with Crypto

NFTs: Market Shifts in Buyer-Seller Dynamics and the Royalties Debate at Consensus Festival

As recent data shows swings in buyer-seller dynamics and conversations on creator royalties heat up at the Consensus Festival, the NFT market is undergoing substantial adjustments. As the market for digital art and collectibles continues to grow and evolve, these developments give light on its future.

NFT Market Experiences Consistent Seller Surplus in April

Throughout April, data from the analytics platform NFTGo demonstrated a steady surplus of sellers versus buyers in the NFT market. On April 26, for example, there were just 7,907 buyers and 8,641 sellers, indicating a possible lack of demand.

On April 19, the market reached its second-lowest point in a year, with only 5,893 buyers. The lowest recorded buyer count was 5,343 on June 18, 2022.

Notably, there was not a single day in April when the number of buyers outnumbered the number of sellers. March 11 was the final reported day with more buyers than sellers.

Following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank on March 12, the NFT market fell. Fear gripped traders, as NFT trading volumes fell from $68-74 million on March 10 to $36 million on March 12.

Royalties and the NFT Debate: Balancing Creator Rights and Market Opportunities

Erick Calderon, the co-founder of Art Blocks, spoke on the NFT creator royalties dispute at CoinDesk’s Consensus Festival. Art Blocks is a generative art NFT collection and organization. They recently established an NFT marketplace with built-in creator royalties as a default feature.

Calderon stated that royalties are beneficial not only to authors but also to the broader NFT ecosystem, including collectors and investors. He explained that royalties can encourage artists to think more deeply about their work. Regular participation in the NFT community, driven by these incentives, can lead to higher quality and more valuable art.

Calderon did recognize, however, that anti-royalty marketplaces and NFT collectors still have a place in the ecosystem, and that players have the right to operate in a decentralized economy as they see fit.

Explore the realm of NFTs: NFT Platform: A guide to creating your digital marketplace

Conclusion

That’s all there is to it, guys! That concludes today’s interesting news headlines from the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. As we ride the digital currency wave, it’s nice to have industry specialists like OnGraph Technologies giving free consultations to help us navigate the thrilling twists and turns of the blockchain rollercoaster.

So, strap in, grab your crypto helmets, and let’s plunge into the decentralized future together, aided by our colleagues at OnGraph. Remember, information is power, and it’s also your ticket to ride in the world of blockchain!

See you on the other side, crypto fans!