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Ankr Announces Its Most Important Upgrade, Ankr Network2.0, to Decentralize Web3’s Foundational Level

San Francisco, United States, 15th July, 2022, Chainwire Ankr, one of the world’s leading Web3 infrastructure providers, is delighted to introduce Ankr Network 2.0, described in the new whitepaper as a “Decentralized marketplace for Web3 infrastructure.” The upgrade brings a full suite of decentralized products and services that serve as the critical infrastructure behind Web3…

San Francisco, United States, 15th July, 2022, Chainwire

Ankr, one of the world’s leading Web3 infrastructure providers, is delighted to introduce Ankr Network 2.0, described in the new whitepaper as a “Decentralized marketplace for Web3 infrastructure.” The upgrade brings a full suite of decentralized products and services that serve as the critical infrastructure behind Web3 growth.

There have been long-standing concerns that Web3 may not be as decentralized and open as its promoters suggest. The majority of Web3’s server infrastructure (node), for the underlying blockchains, is hosted by data centers and centralized companies. Ankr 2.0 addresses this critical problem by providing new decentralized web services that allow independent node operators to connect developers to blockchains, and to earn rewards for doing so.

“Ankr 2.0 is the missing link for Web3 to become decentralized once and for all. The dream of allowing blockchains to collaborate with multiple infrastructure providers on one network has been a reality for speed, reliability and decentralization. With the Ankr Network it’s possible. This is a significant step forward in the industry’s quest to create an infrastructure capable of handling mass adoption over the next ,” years, said Greg Gopman (chief marketing officer at Ankr).

The new Ankr Network took over a year to create. Ankr switched its centralized infrastructure business into a decentralized protocol and created the first-of their kind node infrastructure protocol that the industry can collaborate on. The fully decentralized Ankr Network offers the following upgrades to all stakeholders:

Independent node providers to run full nodes

Independent providers of nodes can serve traffic and earn rewards through the Ankr Network. Organisations can connect to the Ankr Network for rewards if their projects don’t use them. Independent nodes join Ankr’s existing global network to serve all blockchain request methods, including the Advanced APIs that streamline and simplify data querying.

Developers connect to a decentralized RPC layer

Ankr Network is powered by independent node providers. This means that developers, wallets and other projects can now connect to blockchains using a decentralized method. These parties all pay as they go when they request blockchains (around $7.2 billion per day), and this income is divided between the node providers and the community that helps secure full nodes.

Greater utility for the ANKR token & first ever instance of staking to full nodes

The ANKR token is a key component of all operations in the new decentralized Ankr Network:

Developers pay for access to on-chain data (RPC requests) in ANKR
Independent node providers serve blockchain requests to earn ANKR
Stakers contribute ANKR to nodes to secure the network and share in the rewards

Anyone can stake to Ankr Network full nodes and receive rewards for RPC traffic served. Ankr Network is a decentralized infrastructure market and economy that will allow for more stakeholders to reap the benefits of its growth.

Ankr DAO to democratize services

Ankr Network is transitioning operations to a new DAO framework in order to encourage consensus-based decision making. In the initial phase, Ankr DAO will democratize decision-making in three core areas:

Deciding where to allocate funds from the Ankr Treasury to incentivize protocol growth and rewards.
Determining pricing and revenue splits for various systems touching the protocol like Node Providers and Staking.
Choosing which blockchains to onboard next to Ankr’s industry-leading RPC services.

About Ankr

Ankr is the most established global node network in the sector, laying the foundation for Web3. It currently serves around 250 billion blockchain requests a month across 50 different chains and runs RPC services for 17 blockchain partners, making it the largest RPC provider in the industry. Ankr offers a range of tools to enable dApp developers build Web3 applications quickly and easily.

Contacts

Greg Gopman, [email protected]

Bitcoin

Fed Report Explores How Crypto Price Changes Affect Ownership

A report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Consumer Finance Institute found that cryptocurrency ownership declined during market downturns, despite price increases in bitcoin. Data from multiple surveys showed that crypto interest and ownership did not rise, even as prices surged. The report suggests further research into consumer behavior in response to market fluctuations [……
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The Open Network (TON) to launch teleport Bitcoin bridge

The Open Network announces plans to launch a bridge to get Bitcoin onto the TON blockchain, The bridge will allow Bitcoin to be used for DefI purposes in the TON ecosystem. The TON Foundation announced that the Open Network will launch a trustless bridge to allow people to bridge Bitcoin into the TON ecosystem for…

The Open Network announces plans to launch a bridge to get Bitcoin onto the TON blockchain,
The bridge will allow Bitcoin to be used for DefI purposes in the TON ecosystem.

The TON Foundation announced that the Open Network will launch a trustless bridge to allow people to bridge Bitcoin into the TON ecosystem for DeFi purposes. The bridged Bitcoin, called Teleport BTC, will maintain the original Bitcoin’s security while allowing holders to take advantage of the growing opportunities on TON.

According to the Foundation, each Teleport BTC will be backed 1:1 by native Bitcoin via a trustless, transparent process chiefly executed by verifiable smart contracts and validators.

This new development aims to “enhance Bitcoin’s utility, transforming it into a powerful tool for generating additional rewards on TON.”

TON’s Growth in 2024

The Open Network, closely linked with the popular Telegram messaging app, has been on an upward climb in 2024 both in price and network development. The network was initially created by the Telegram team for internal use but was abandoned and eventually picked up by the community.

TON made major waves after Telegram re-established contact by using the network to power its ad reward system, which pays channel owners in TON (the network’s native cryptocurrency) for traffic and views.

Outside of Telegram, TON is making a name for itself as a social gaming chain with tap-based casual projects like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat garnering attention.

TON’s Growing DeFi Ecosystem

While TON is not primarily known as a network for decentralised finance, its DeFi ecosystem has witnessed a boom in recent months. According to Defillama, a leading on-chain finance data provider, the total value locked on TON currently stands at $745.96 million as of writing after rising significantly from $22 million at the end of February 2024.

The Open Network plans to launch the Teleport BTC bridge later this year.

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First ETP for Near Protocol’s NEAR token unveiled on Sweden’s Spotlight Stock Market

Valour’s NEAR ETP will be available on Sweden’s Spotlight Stock Market. Valour currently operates one of the largest Solana ETPs. The crypto fund issuer also operates Bitcoin, Ether, and Internet Computer ETPs. Crypto fund issuer Valour today announced the launch of an exchange-traded product (ETP) for Near Protocol’s native token, NEAR. This groundbreaking ETP will be…

Valour’s NEAR ETP will be available on Sweden’s Spotlight Stock Market.
Valour currently operates one of the largest Solana ETPs.
The crypto fund issuer also operates Bitcoin, Ether, and Internet Computer ETPs.

Crypto fund issuer Valour today announced the launch of an exchange-traded product (ETP) for Near Protocol’s native token, NEAR.

This groundbreaking ETP will be available on Sweden’s Spotlight Stock Market, offering retail and institutional investors the opportunity to gain exposure to the decentralized application development platform.

NEAR ETP joins Valour’s diverse portfolio of ETPs

Valour already operates one of the largest Solana ETPs, Valour Solana, and offers a suite of staking products, including ETPs for Bitcoin, Ether, and Internet Computer.

Valour’s head of product, Elaine Buehler, emphasized the significance of this new fund, highlighting its potential to grant investors access to an asset renowned for its transformative impact on decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Near Protocol, designed to tackle common blockchain development challenges such as user onboarding and multi-chain operations, boasts a market capitalization of approximately $6.8 billion. This positions NEAR among the top 20 digital assets globally, according to CoinMarketCap.

The launch of NEAR ETP comes amid a wave of regulatory approvals in the United States, where investment managers BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and VanEck recently received preliminary approval to list the first exchange-traded ETH products. Analysts predict this move will pave the way for more crypto exchange-traded products in the US, including potential Solana-based ETFs.

Valour’s parent company, DeFi Technologies, currently manages around $600 million in assets across various crypto-native strategies.

On July 16, DeFi Technologies expanded its footprint by acquiring trading desk Stillman Digital in an all-stock deal. This acquisition is expected to significantly enhance the Canadian crypto platform’s capabilities, potentially positioning it as a formidable competitor to larger entities like Galaxy Digital.

Valour’s new NEAR ETP represents a significant advancement for investors seeking exposure to innovative blockchain technologies, reinforcing the firm’s position at the forefront of digital asset investment products.