Web3 (345)

With the arrival of Nostr in late 2020, the idea of a censorship-resistant social network protocol became a reality. As digital communities increasingly gravitate towards decentralized social networks, protocols like Nostr offer a tangible solution. But what exactly is Nostr?

You may have heard the phrase “[not your keys, not your coins](/learn/proof-of-keys).” In the crypto world, this phrase refers to self-custodying your crypto by taking ahold of your private keys, so t

After the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector blew up in 2020, Binance quickly launched its second blockchain. Known as Binance Smart Chain, the new blockchain was faster and a lot more efficient than

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic over the past few years. It’s also one of the emerging technologies that’s started combining with the crypto industry. For example, AI image generator

The crypto world was abuzz with excitement as one of the largest blockchain conferences took place in Singapore. With thousands of attendees from around the globe, the TOKEN2049 event showcased the latest and greatest in blockchain and onchain innovations. Aside from getting excited for , there were plenty of influential projects to dig into that highlight the innovation in the world of crypto. In this rapid recap, we'll dive into some of the major trends that stood out and provide insights into what the future holds for the crypto industry.

Sky is the new name for MakerDAO, a decentralized finance platform. Alongside its rebrand, Sky will be introducing a new stablecoin USDS (Sky Dollar) and a governance token, SKY. The platform is due to launch on September 18, and joins Ripple in presenting traders with a new stablecoin option.

Ever wondered how you can trade cryptocurrencies directly between different blockchains without relying on an intermediary? THORChain makes this possible by allowing seamless, secure swaps across blockchains, all while keeping your assets under your control. Here’s how it works and what it brings to decentralized trading.

In the dynamic world of cryptocurrency trading, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have emerged as powerful platforms for onchain trading. By eliminating the need for intermediaries, DEXs effectively offer users greater control and flexibility. Among these leading DEXs, a notable one that's been gaining traction in the is Raydium.

A beginner-friendly introduction to Bitcoin’s SegWit, including what SegWit is, why it’s important, and what it achieves When Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin , he stipulated that the capacity of each block should not exceed one million, and the number of transactions that can be recorded in each one million capacity is extremely limited. In the earliest days, the capacity of each block of one million was enough to cope with the transaction volume of the niche market, but when the number of Bitcoin players surged, it became particularly congested.

Prediction markets pose an age old question: are the many truly smarter than the few? With prediction markets like Polymarket and Drift Protocol’s Bullish on Everything (BET) making headlines and gaining popularity, this question is more relevant than ever. Featuring the ability to forecast everything from election results to stock prices, these crypto prediction market platforms allow individuals to trade contracts based on the potential outcome of future events while tapping into the collective wisdom of the crowd. As these markets continue to grow and evolve, they offer a fascinating glimpse into the potential of crowdsourced intelligence.

Imagine a blockchain built for speed and designed to overcome the common challenges of decentralized trading — this is what Sei attempts to achieve. Sei aims to process transactions fast, while still being flexible enough to support everything from trades to gaming and NFTs.

Picture an app that isn't controlled by a single company and allows you to take back control of your data and privacy. This is what decentralized apps (DApps) are all about. Whether for decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, or social, there’s a DApp for everyone. As such, the technology underpins many of today's most positively disruptive projects.

As one of the original Layer-1 blockchains in the crypto space, Fantom has been through numerous highs and lows since its introduction in 2018. Despite nagging adoption concerns, co-founder Andre Cronje and the non-profit Fantom Foundation have seemingly managed to raise Fantom from the ashes thanks to the hype surrounding Sonic. With its Sonic rebranding, Fantom has managed to position itself as a major contender in the blockchain world thanks to its improved scalability.

If Web3 is going to take over the globe, it's going to have to change. For some, DeFi, NFTs, dApps, DAOs, and everything in between have already been exciting enough to dive in. But, as all crypto users know, this exploration isn't without risk. And that risk can be ‌reason enough to stay away. Enter our latest feature, OKX Smart Account , an extension of our commitment to building the safest, most secure, and most affordable Web3 experience around.

Authored by Kiwi Yao, researcher @OKX Ventures The simplicity account abstraction (AA) brings to Web3 onboarding has seen the number of registered accounts soar during 2023. That could signal a bright future for Web3's mainstream adoption, as fresh use cases bring others into the latest iteration of the web. But what does the growth of account abstraction look like exactly, and what's caused it's recent emergence?

What are Merkle trees and how do they enable Proof of Reserves? You’ll often hear that some kinds of Proof of Reserves are based on “Merkle trees”. But what are they and how do they even work? Here’s

You might have heard of Proof of Reserves (PoR) but did you know there are actually different types of PoR, each giving more weight to different aspects? In this article we'll cover what these are, in

Put simply, a nonce in crypto is a number that’s used once in a very specific way within the blockchain. Think of it as a unique one-time code that plays a key role in adding new data to the blockchain.In most blockchain networks, including Bitcoin, the nonce helps solve the complex puzzle that allows new blocks to be created. But here’s the thing — you don’t need to be a math whiz or a tech expert to grasp the basics. The nonce is part of how blockchain stays secure, making sure that all the transactions are valid and the network operates smoothly.

Dogecoin , the fun and friendly cryptocurrency, has evolved to be more than just another memecoin. Just as Bitcoin got BRC-20, Dogecoin now has its own token standard, DRC-20. It's like giving Dogecoin a new set of tricks!

One of the most important parts of the Bitcoin machine is Proof of Work (PoW) — a consensus mechanism that gives the decentralized ledger robust security.The concept of PoW first emerged with the arrival of Hashcash in 1993. Hashcash's creators, Moni Naor and Cynthia Dwork, devised a form of PoW to stop denial-of-service attacks and other abuses like spam. Doing so required some work from the person requesting the service, usually involving a computer’s processing time.

Pi Network is a smartphone app that allows anyone to mine cryptocurrencies directly from their mobile device. The platform aims to lower the barrier to crypto participation for people by simplifying the mining process. Now, crypto users no longer need to invest in mining hardware or stomach the energy costs typically involved in mining crypto.

The Taproot upgrade marked an interesting chapter in Bitcoin’s history when it launched in November 2021. One upgrade the industry is starting to witness more and more of is the network's smart contract capabilities. Taproot is designed to meet the growing demands of Bitcoin users while staying true to its decentralized roots.

As blockchain technology becomes more widespread, the security of digital assets is increasingly critical. Towards this end, the multisignature (multisig) mechanism is a security measure that's gaining attention and adoption among users. Through this system, a wallet can be controlled by multiple users, requiring several signatures to complete a transaction. This can be compared to a safe that needs multiple keys to open — only when all keyholders cooperate can the safe be accessed.

The digital currency industry is known for many reasons, not all of which are positive. Despite its positives and technological advancements, it is a prime target for hacks, scams, frauds, security breaches and theft. Even though cryptocurrencies managed to increase their networks’ security through decentralization, they are not immune to these threats. What’s more, bad actors seem to be getting more and more innovative with their approaches.