Smart Contracts

Innovative Blockchain Platform Monad Raises $225 Million in Funding

Thursday. July 18 at 6:30 PM

1 min. read

Monad, a cutting-edge layer-1 smart contract platform, secured $225 million in funding from Paradigm, a venture capital firm. Expected to launch its public testnet in late 2024 and mainnet in early 2025, Monad is a parallel Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) project aiming to boost transaction processing efficiency. By parallelizing EVM instructions, Monad can handle multiple transactions concurrently, enhancing throughput and reducing costs. The platform introduces optimizations like MonadBFT, deferred and parallel execution, and MonadDB to improve consensus, execution, and data storage. MonadBFT, a Byzantine-fault-tolerant algorithm, enhances scalability by reducing communication rounds. Employing optimistic execution, Monad processes transactions concurrently, re-executing conflicting ones when needed. MonadDB, a custom database, utilizes asynchronous disk operations to enhance transaction processing speed. With its innovative approach and advanced features, Monad is set to revolutionize blockchain technology and offer a robust solution for high transaction volumes.

More news 🗞️

The Rise of AI Agents in Blockchain Transactions

Tuesday. October 29 at 5:00 AM

Coinbase has introduced Based Agent, an AI tool capable of handling various tasks like swapping, staking, and registering crypto domain names by interacting with smart contracts and other AI agents. This move signifies Coinbase's ongoing exploration of AI technology, with previous instances of AI usage within the company. Challenges still exist for AI agents, such as the inability to handle off-chain payments like booking hotels or buying plane tickets. Efforts are being made to address these limitations, including the development of onchain payment methods. Companies like Skyfire and Biconomy are creating platforms to enable AI agents to autonomously transact and trade tokens. Despite these hurdles, the growth of AI agents in blockchain transactions is expected to increase significantly in the coming months, potentially accounting for a large portion of all blockchain transactions.

Smart Contracts

Gelato Network Raises $11M in Series A+ Funding Round

Monday. October 28 at 8:30 PM

Gelato, a network specializing in smart contract automation, has secured $11 million in a Series A+ funding round led by Hack VC, with Kraken's upcoming blockchain, Ink, joining as a client. This additional capital infusion will support Gelato in expanding its platform to empower startups and enterprises in launching their blockchain-based applications. Notable investors such as Animoca Brands, IOSG Ventures, and Bloccelerate VC have participated in this funding round, bringing Gelato's total funding to $23 million. Co-founder Hilmar Orth expressed that the funds will enhance user experience to cater to both Web3 and Web2 companies developing scalable on-chain applications. The partnership with Kraken's Ink, a new L2 blockchain solution, is a significant development, aiming to provide users with intermediary-free trading, borrowing, and lending capabilities. Gelato's focus on collaborating with Web3 teams to drive adoption beyond the current norm highlights its commitment to advancing the scalability of Web3 applications.

Smart Contracts

Cardano's Midgard: A Game-Changer in Layer 2 Solutions

Saturday. October 26 at 3:30 PM

Cardano recently announced the upcoming launch of Midgard, its first permissionless Layer 2 (L2) solution, positioning itself ahead of competitors like Ethereum. Midgard, an optimistic rollup, aims to enhance ADA's scalability and functionality by offering unique advancements. Unlike existing L2 solutions that rely on custodial multisignature schemes, Midgard operates without centralized elements, utilizing a permissionless operator set and trustless mechanisms for deposits and withdrawals. The architecture leverages Cardano's design strengths, making it exclusive to the platform. The founder of Anastasia Labs emphasized the power of Cardano's unique architecture and predicted the significant impact of Midgard's launch in the coming months. The announcement has generated excitement within the ADA community and received recognition from industry figures like Charles Hoskinson. With the launch of Midgard on the horizon, Cardano's future in the blockchain space looks promising.

Smart Contracts

Enhancing Ethereum's Blockchain with Verge Upgrade

Wednesday. October 23 at 11:30 PM

Ethereum's co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has proposed a new upgrade called 'The Verge' to improve the blockchain's Proof-of-Stake system. The current system's high data requirements make it challenging for many users to run fully verifying nodes on Ethereum. Buterin's Verge update aims to introduce 'stateless client verification,' allowing devices to validate blockchain data without storing the entire dataset locally. By adopting Verkle trees and advanced cryptographic proofs like SNARKs, the update seeks to make Ethereum verification more resource-efficient. This shift towards stateless clients could enable blockchain verification on small devices like smartwatches, enhancing user experience and lowering barriers to running Ethereum nodes. Buterin also suggests design changes to reduce centralization risks. Despite the slow start, Ethereum ETFs have shown significant growth this year. BrainDAO has launched solidity code generation benchmark tests, while blockchain security firms warn of potential losses from attacks. Readers are advised to conduct their own research before engaging in cryptocurrency activities.

Smart Contracts