ChainHop is a composable omnichain liquidity aggregation protocol that enables one-click, cross-chain swaps with the deepest liquidity and the best rate. The project has hinted at launching its own token. Early users who’ve used the platform to do cross-chain swaps may get an airdrop!
ChainHop Airdrop Step-by-Step Guide
Here’s how to receive a potential ChainHop token airdrop:
ChainHop is an Open API that allows swapping tokens between different chains by using liquidity from various DEXes and bridges. It does this by leveraging cross-chain message passing, allowing the protocol to aggregate multi-chain liquidity sources. It also offers white label solutions for DEXes, NFT platforms and marketplaces, Wallets, GameFi projects, and much more.
Over the past six months, ChainHop has been audited by leading blockchain security firms PeckShield and SlowMist.
Partnership with Celer Network
ChainHop has partnered with Celer Network to build inter-chain messaging. The ChainHop project has been drawing liquidity from the biggest DEXes in the crypto industry coming from 7 different blockchains: Ethereum, Polygon, BNB Chain, Fantom, Optimism, Avalanche, and Arbitrum. The partnership between ChainHop and Celer Network will enable developers to easily access the cross-chain liquidity protocol to build cross-chain DeFi, NFT marketplaces, IDO launchpad platforms, and more.
Does ChainHop have a Token?
ChainHop does not have a token at the moment. However, they have mentioned in their user document that they might launch one in the future. Additionally, early users of the protocol can potentially qualify for an airdrop.
How to Get ChainHop Token Airdrop?
The best chance to get the ChainHop Token Airdrop is to perform cross-chain swaps on their platform. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Connect Your Wallet to ChainHop
Visit the ChainHop Exchange App and connect your MetaMask or other supported wallets. There are seven mainnet chains to choose from. Make sure you have enough funds to cover gas fees.
Perform Cross-Chain Swap
Select a source chain and the token you want to swap, then select a destination chain and the token you want to receive. Confirm the transaction and you’re done!
You can also swap tokens within the same chain, but we recommend swapping on different chains. The more chains you interact with, the more on-chain evidence you generate that could qualify you for a potential ChainHop token airdrop.
Airdrop Review
When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.
Likelihood of Airdrop: ChainHop does not have a token at the moment, but could launch one in the future. Early users can potentially qualify for an airdrop.
Airdropped Token Allocation: There is no tokenomics yet.
Airdrop Difficulty: All you have to do is swap tokens between different chains. Keep in mind that they are mainnets, which means you will need real money to swap and cover gas fees.
Polynomial Protocol is a decentralized derivative exchange powered by the Synthetix Protocol on Optimism. They have distributed Optimism ($OP) airdrops to active users in the past and could do so again. In this article, we will briefly explain what Polynomial Protocol is and what you can do to position yourself for the retroactive airdrop.
What is Polynomial Protocol?
Polynomial Protocol is built on top of Synthetix, with $SNX stakers serving as counterparties for transactions on Polynomial. By offering liquidity, $SNX stakers receive fees from the platform. Apart from trading, Polynomial offers two more products to make DeFi more accessible to users:
Polynomial Earn Vaults: These are the first DeFi Options Vaults (DOV) that operate entirely on-chain by selling options directly to an Automated Market Maker (AMM).
Polynomial Swap: This product streamlines the swapping process on Optimism, particularly for synthetic assets. Non-synthetic assets are routed through 1inch to ensure a seamless experience.
Does Polynomial Protocol have a Token?
Salman Naseer, founder of Polynomial Protocol, said in Discord that they are not planning a token launch at the moment. In the meantime, active users can only claim Optimism ($OP) tokens as rewards.
How to Get Retroactive $OP Airdrop on Polynomial?
The best chance to get another retroactive $OP airdrop is to interact with the Polynomial Trade, Earn, and Swap features. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
After you connected your wallet, you will need to create a Polynomial smart contract wallet. For this part, you also need some ETH to cover gas fees.
Deposit sUSD in Smart Wallet
After creating your smart wallet, you will need to deposit at least $50 sUSD to start trading. You can use the swap feature to get sUSD.
If you don’t have funds in Optimism, you can bridge your assets via the MetaMask bridge aggregator (this could also qualify you for the $MASK airdrop). You can also buy sUSD on KuCoin and transfer them to your Optimism wallet.
Trade Perpetual Futures
You can now trade perpetual futures on the platform. Polynomial has a detailed guide on how to open up standard orders or limit orders for long and short positions.
Use Earn Vaults
You can deposit sETH or sUSD to earn yields in the Polynomial Earn Vaults. It is important to note that these vault strategies are subject to market risks. Check out their earn documents to understand more.
Airdrop Review
When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.
Likelihood of Airdrop: There is no official announcement of the next retroactive $OP airdrop yet. But Polynomial is growing, so there is a good chance there will be another incentive for the community.
Airdropped Token Allocation: The airdropped token allocation is unknown.
Airdrop Difficulty: The trading platform offers a user-friendly interface and operates on the Optimism mainnet. As with any investment, it is advised to only use funds that one is prepared to risk.
Token Utility: Polynomial has no plans to launch its own token yet.
Token Lockup: Polynomial has no plans to launch its own token yet.
ParaSpace recently introduced an incentive program in which users’ actions and activities earn points that can be redeemed for ParaSpace governance tokens through an airdrop when the token launches. Moreover, users have the opportunity to receive a 300% boost in points accumulation until June 30, 2023. In this article, we will explain what ParaSpace is and what you can do position yourself for the airdrop.
ParaSpace is a cross-margin NFT lending protocol that enables users to borrow ETH, stablecoins, and supported ERC-20 tokens against various crypto assets such as blue-chip NFTs, ERC-20 tokens, and Uniswap V3 LPs. The platform allows NFT owners to lend and borrow ERC-20 tokens against a diverse array of non-fungible investments, while ERC-20 holders can earn yields through lending against NFTs.
According to DefiLlama, ParaSpace is the second largest NFT lending protocol in total value locked ($100.5 million) at the time of writing. It is also the sister company of Parallel Finance ($PARA), and both platforms have been audited by some of the top smart contract security firms such as Certik, Trail of Bits, and Veridise.
Does ParaSpace have a Token?
ParaSpace does not have a token yet, but has confirmed that it will launch a governance token in the future. Token holders will be a part of the platform’s decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).
How to Get ParaSpace Token Airdrop?
ParaSpace recently announced an incentive program where users’ actions and activities are rewarded with points that will be redeemed for ParaSpace governance token via airdrop when the token launches. Additionally, users can enjoy a 300% boost for earning points until 30th June, 2023. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Connect Wallet to ParaSpace App
Connect your MetaMask or other supported wallets to app.para.space. The network is Ethereum Mainnet. You will need ERC-20 tokens or ERC-721 (NFTs) to interact with the protocol. Make sure you have enough ETH to cover gas fees.
Supply ERC-20 or ERC-721 Tokens to ParaSpace
If you own any blue-chip NFTs such as Bored Apes or CryptoPunks, you can supply them to the protocol to earn yields. Click the “supply” button on the main page.
Similarly, you can also lend out ERC-20 tokens to earn yields.
Liquidate NFTs
You can perform liquidations for both the user account and tokens held within the account in the Liquidation section.
Borrow ERC-20 Tokens
You can borrow ERC-20 tokens from the protocol, but you will first need to supply NFTs or ERC-20 tokens as collateral.
Stake ApeCoins ($APE) in Auto Compound Pool
You can stake your $APE in the ParaSpace ApeCoin Pool to earn high APY rewards. You can also borrow $APE to stake if you don’t have any.
Stake NFTs in Auto Compound Pool
For NFT owners with or without ApeCoins, you can stake your NFTs in the NFT Staking Pools to earn $APE.
Use Share Staking Pool
You can create $APE listings or NFT listings for the Share Staking Pool. This allows you to find other users to match with your assets for staking purposes and share the APY rewards.
When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.
Likelihood of Airdrop: ParaSpace has confirmed users’ actions and activities will be rewarded with points that will be redeemed for ParaSpace tokens via airdrop when the token launches. Additionally, users can enjoy a 300% boost for earning points until 30th June, 2023.
Airdropped Token Allocation: ParaSpace is still designing its tokenomics for long-term sustainability.
Airdrop Difficulty: It is recommended to engage in this activity only if you have experience borrowing and lending Ethereum NFTs. You will need ERC-20 tokens or ERC-721 (NFTs) to interact with the protocol. You will also need some ETH to cover gas fees.
Token Utility: The ParaSpace token will be used for governance of the lending protocol.
Token Lockup: Details of token lockup period is not yet available.
Opyn is an options trading platform built on Ethereum. It currently does not have a token, but the team announced on Discord that they will consider launching one as the protocol matures. As early users, we are in an opportune position to potentially earn massive token rewards. In this article, we will explain what Opyn is and what you can do to position yourself for the airdrop.
Opyn Airdrop Step-by-step Guide
Here’s how to receive a potential Opyn token airdrop:
Opyn is a DeFi options trading protocol that allows users to buy, sell or create options on ERC-20 tokens. It is powered by Squeeth, short for squared ETH, which is a derivative contract that tracks the index of ETH². This allows traders to make a leveraged bet on ETH, while also having protection from losses and not needing to worry about being forced to sell.
Does Opyn have a Token?
As of now, Opyn does not have a token yet. However, the team announced on Discord that they plan to launch one down the line as the protocol becomes more decentralized. Moreover, they also mentioned that most of the tokens will be distributed to the community, DAO, or in the form of grants. This means airdrop opportunities for early users of the protocol!
How to Receive Potential Opyn Token Airdrop?
The best chance to receive a potential Opyn token airdrop is to trade Squeeth (oSQTH token) or use deposit strategies on the platform. It is on the Ethereum mainnet, so you will need some ETH for trading and gas fees. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Connect Wallet to Opyn
Go to opyn.co and connect your MetaMask or other supported wallets. Switch the network to Ethereum, and have some ETH ready.
Trade Squeeth (oSQTH Token)
Use ETH to buy oSQTH at opyn.co/squeeth. You can enter a long or short position, and it will tell how much your profit/loss and breakeven point is if ETH price goes up or down.
You can see all of your open positions at opyn.co/positions, and close them anytime.
Deposit on Crab USDC Strategy
You can earn yields on your USDC on opyn.co/strategies/crab. It is worth noting this strategy favors sideways market conditions for ETH, hence its name.
Deposit on Zen Bull ETH Strategy
You can earn yields on your ETH on opyn.co/strategies/bull. This strategy favors low volatility markets where the price of ETH trends upwards.
Provide Liquidity on Uniswap V3 SQTH-ETH Pool
You can provide SQTH-ETH liquidity at Uniswap via opyn.co/lp. It gives you exposure to ETH 1.5x leverage, but you give up some of your Squeeth in exchange for trading fees.
Airdrop Review
When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.
Likelihood of Airdrop: Opyn doesn’t have a token yet, but the team mentioned that they will launch one as the protocol grows in the future.
Airdropped Token Allocation: The team mentioned that most of the tokens will be distributed to the community, DAO, or in the form of grants. This means airdrop opportunities for early users of the protocol!
Airdrop Difficulty: The steps are easy to complete, but it will require ETH.
Token Utility: Token utilities are unknown.
Token Lockup: There are no available tokenomics yet.
Sentiment is a lending and borrowing protocol built on Arbitrum. It does not have a token, but the team mentioned on Discord that they did not rule it out. As such, if the airdrop is confirmed, early users of the protocol can potentially earn massive token rewards. In this article, we will explain what Sentiment is and what you can do to position yourself for the airdrop.
Sentiment Airdrop Step-by-step Guide
Here’s how to receive a potential Sentiment token airdrop:
Sentiment is a liquidity protocol that enables undercollateralized borrowing and lending. This means that borrowers can create leveraged positions without the need for overcollateralization, which is the more common practice in DeFi. Despite providing capital efficiency and flexibility, the undercollateralized model is challenging in crypto due to the volatile nature of the market. In the event of a default, there is nothing to back the lenders’ fund.
Sentiment aims to solve this issue by assigning a proxy contract that holds the borrower’s collateral and borrowed assets. This means that the borrower never has custody of the loaned assets in their wallet, but they are allowed full control over deploying these assets, as long as it meets the requirements of the system’s risk measures.
Project Funding and Audits
In September 2022, Sentiment successfully raised $2.4 million in a seed funding round led by Archetype Ventures, with participation from Castle Island Ventures, Maxtriport Ventures and numerous angel investors.
Sentiment’s smart contract code has been reviewed and audited by Web3 security firms Arbitrary Execution and Sherlock. Additionally, the team is insuring the first $10 million of total value locked (TVL) on Sentiment in the case of any smart contract vulnerabilities.
Does Sentiment have a Token?
As of now, Sentiment does not have a token. However, the team mentioned in Discord that they have not ruled out the possibility of a token launch. Additionally, DefiLlama has listed Sentiment as one of the tokenless protocols that may have an airdrop.
How to Receive Potential Sentiment Token Airdrop?
The best chance to receive a potential Sentiment token airdrop is to interact with the protocol. On-chain activities are essential to be included in the snapshot for the airdrop. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Click “Mint A Margin Wallet” on the top right side of the screen. You will need some ETH to cover gas fees.
Deposit Assets on Your Account
Once you set up your wallet, you’ll see your account assets and debt on the main page dashboard. You can deposit some stablecoins, WBTC or ETH to begin using the protocol.
You can borrow and repay tokens at arbitrum.sentiment.xyz/borrow. There is a health factor which shows the safety of your deposited assets against the borrowed assets and its underlying value.
When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.
Likelihood of Airdrop: Sentiment does not have a token, but the team mentioned on Discord that they did not rule it out.
Airdropped Token Allocation: There are no token distribution information yet.
Airdrop Difficulty: You will need some ETH on your Arbitrum wallet to cover gas fees. Other than that, the tasks are relatively straightforward.
Token Utility: Token utilities are unknown.
Token Lockup: There are no available tokenomics yet.
Hunting for crypto airdrops is a great way to make free money. Some people have made as high as $10,000 from the Aptos token airdrop. If you missed it, Quai Network is another upcoming project with airdrop qualifications happening right now. Let’s take a look at what Quai Network is and what you can do to receive their token airdrop before it’s too late!
Quai Network ($QUAI) Airdrop Step-by-step Guide
Here’s how to receive a potential Quai Network ($QUAI) token airdrop:
Quai Network is a decentralized network of multiple proof-of-work (PoW) blockchains running in unison. These blockchains have native interoperability, allowing for cross-chain transactions and messages. It is also fully EVM compatible, allowing any Solidity contract to be ported and deployed.
Quai Network provides a novel approach to blockchain scaling, different from parallel processing chains such as Aptos and Sui. It aims to maximize the energy efficiency of PoW by introducing the concept of modularity.
Proof-of-Work 2.0 (PoW2)
Quai Network sought to improve upon the PoW consensus mechanism by addressing its environmental concerns. For the longest time, Bitcoin’s PoW algorithm has been infallible, but it also consumes massive amounts of energy. And it will continue to rise as mining difficulty increases after every Bitcoin Halving event. This is why Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake (PoS).
But Quai Network believes that PoS is inherently centralized due to the amount of money it requires to be a validator, creating a gap between the validator “class” and everyday users. Therefore, Quai Network has introduced an upgraded version of PoW called Proof-of-Work 2.0 (PoW2) where hash power can be reused to secure multiple chains. This is achieved by utilizing a novel combination of merged mining and sharding, reducing computational cost while allowing the network to scale more efficiently.
Merged Mining
Merged mining is the process of securing multiple blockchains with one miner, allowing miners to earn rewards in multi cryptos without having to switch between networks or use additional hardware. It was first conceived by Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin white paper, in which a completely seperate blockchain could share CPU power with Bitcoin, inheriting the same security and decentralization of Bitcoin without requiring dedicated miners.
Quai Network uses this concept, but instead of having Bitcoin as a parent chain, it has its own parent chain (the Prime Chain) which secures the many other chains beneath it by sharing hashrate. This improves throughput over monolithic chains such as Solana without the need for layer-2 solutions. Moreover, Quai Network is horizontally scalable, which means additional chains can be added to meet network demands. This is possible because of their multi-chain architecture.
Multi-Chain Architecture
Quai Network’s architecture makes use of sharding by dividing a single blockchain into multiple smaller and faster blockchains to improve network performance, similar to Ethereum and Polkadot. Its network is divided into a hierarchical structure of three different types of chains. At mainnet launch, Quai Network will begin with the single Prime Chain, three Region Chains, and nine Zone Chains.
Prime Chain
The Prime Chain is at the core of the entire network, utilizing a hashing algorithm that is shared across all subordinate chains (Region and Zone). It aggregates and settles state transitions across the network, which means miners are required to mine the Prime Chain to keep the blockchains functional.
However, it has the highest mining difficulty, which means it has the slowest throughput (one block every 15 minutes). Therefore, it is not ideal for simple transactions and DApp activities. It is mostly for use in situations where the whole network is being addressed and securing the network.
Region Chains
There are three Region Chains at mainnet launch: Cyprus, Paxos, and Hydra. These chains have lower mining difficulty, thus a higher throughput than the Prime Chain (one block every 5 minutes). These chains handle lesser network interactions that are not necessary to address the entire network. They can also interact natively on the network, but each require unique mining power. Therefore, a miner can only mine a single Region Chain at a time, in addition to the Prime Chain.
Zone Chains
At mainnet launch, each Region Chain will have three Zone Chains under it. These Zone Chains have the highest throughput (one block per 10 seconds) and TPS capacity, making them ideal for regular transactions and contract interactions. As such, most activity on Quai Network will occur on Zone Chains. They are also able to interact with other Zone chains, even those under different Region Chains. But similar to Region Chains, miners can only select one Zone Chain to mine.
Coincident Blocks
Coincident Blocks tie the whole hierarchal structure together, linking all chains which enables cross-chain state transfers and periodic pegging of all chains to the Prime Chain’s total work. These blocks allow the entire network to inherit the same security of the Prime Chain, governed by three rules:
All Prime blocks must contain a Region and Zone block.
All Region blocks must contain a Zone block.
Zone blocks can be mined asynchronously without being included in a Prime or Region coincident block.
Basically, a Coincident block occurs when (1) a Prime, Region, and Zone block are confirmed at the same time OR (2) when just a Region and Zone block. Each time a Coincident block is mined, all blocks since the last coincident block are then confirmed by the Region Chain, continuing upwards until the Prime Chain — think of it as a roll call. Therefore, chains lower in the hierarchy can inherit the security of the Prime Chain while still conducting independent activities.
Who is the Team behind Quai Network?
Quai Network is developed by Dominant Strategies, a technology development company based in Austin. The company was co-founded in 2019 by Alan Orwick, Jonathan Downing, Karl Kreder, Yanni Georghiades, and Sriram Vishwanath, all of whom worked together in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Texas. They co-wrote and published the white paper for Quai Network in December 2021.
Dominant Strategies has raised $10 million over two funding rounds — $8 million from Polychain Capital in March 2022 and $2 million from Alumni Ventures in May 2022.
Does Quai Network have a Token?
Yes. $QUAI will be used to ensure network security and as an exchange of value in the ecosystem. Their token supply is hard-capped but its total number is not yet determined. According to their tokenomics, 25% is distributed as “adoption incentives”, 3% for “community” and 0.5% for “testnet incentives.” This means token airdrop opportunities for early users of Quai Network!
How to Receive Quai Network ($QUAI) Token Airdrop?
Quai Network has a Social Media Rewards Program that will airdrop $QUAI tokens for engaging with their Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. Compared to other projects, this is one of the easiest ways to earn free tokens.
To begin, join their Discord server and follow their Twitter account. Afterwards, you can check your rewards on the Quai Dashboard. If you have a Citizen role in their Discord server, you will have a 1.5x multiplier for your $QUAI rewards. You can obtain it by completing their survey here. It is easy to do if you have some degree of understanding of the project.
From here on out, Quai Network will reward you $QUAI tokens for your engagement with their social media platforms. As of now, only Twitter and Reddit rewards are available. YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram rewards will be available soon.
Liking and retweeting Quai Network’s Tweets that are less than seven days old (limited to twice a day).
Make a Tweet mentioning Quai Network. Original and insightful Tweets that are liked or replied by Quai Network will grant you additional rewards.
Reddit
Make a unique post in their channel (limited to twice a day).
Make a post about Quai Network in another approved crypto-related Subreddit (limited to twice a day).
It is worth noting that your account must have more than 50 post/comment karma, and the post must be approved by their team. Therefore, it will some time for your rewards to show if you make a post on Reddit.
Quai Airdrop Review
When reviewing an airdrop, there are several factors to consider. First, the likelihood the project will even do an airdrop in the first place. Then, to look at how many tokens the project intends to allocate towards airdrop campaigns, as well as the difficulty in participating in their airdrop. It is also important to look at the utility of the token so that there will be an actual use and purpose in participating in the airdrop in the first place. Finally, a factor to consider when reviewing an airdrop is whether the airdropped tokens are subject to any lockup period.
Likelihood of Airdrop: Quai Network’s token airdrop is now live!
Airdropped Token Allocation: According to Quai’s tokenomics, 25% will be distributed as “adoption incentives”, 3% for “community” and 0.5% for “testnet incentives.” This could mean token airdrop opportunities for early users of Quai Network!
Airdrop Difficulty: Quai Network has a Social Media Rewards Program that will airdrop $QUAI tokens for engaging with their social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram. This is one of the easiest ways to earn free tokens compared to other projects!
Token Utility: The $QUAI token will be used to ensure network security and as an exchange of value in the ecosystem.
Token Lockup: Participants of Quai Network’s Social Media Rewards Program will receive their $QUAI tokens upon Quai Network’s Mainnet Launch
Visa payment is proposing to use Ethereum and Smart Contracts as an Auto-payments platform in order to increase efficiency and speed. The company published a technical paper detailing its plan to develop an automatic payment system for self-custodial wallets on the Ethereum network. This would enable Ethereum users to schedule auto-payments from their own self-custodial wallets, making online bill payments possible via blockchains. This comes at a very critical time as Ethereum is currently in a series of network upgrades, dubbed “Ethereum 2.0“, that will drastically increase its network efficiency and capacity.
Visa is also innovating using Ethereum’s account abstraction — combining Ethereum’s user accounts and smart contracts into one account type which allows smart contract functions including pre-scheduled executions for recurring payments. This not only progresses blockchain technology but also brings real-world applications for the general public.
Limited Payment Options on Blockchain Networks
Existing blockchain infrastructures do not have the core functionality for auto-payments. In order to send funds to another address, all crypto users must generate a cryptographic signature via their private key. This is an example of push payments, where a payment transaction is manually triggered by the payer. It requires time and attention from the payer.
On the other hand, there is pull payments, where a payment transaction is triggered by the payee. Automatic online bill payments are an example of this. Most of our recurring payments today are done directly on mobile banking applications or charged on our credit/debit cards. It is very convenient as users do not have to manually settle bills every month.
Large blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum support push payments but do not natively support pull payments. Additionally, users might be unwilling to hand over their private keys to a third-party custodian for monthly bill payments. Therefore, Visa has found a solution to enable pull payments on Ethereum, giving users full control over their scheduled payments.
Smart Contract Auto-Payments
Visa leverages the concept of Ethereum’s account abstraction to provide self-custodial wallets with automatic recurring payment capability. Instead of hard-coding validity conditions into the Ethereum protocol that applies to all transactions, validity conditions can be programmed in a customizable way into a smart contract on a per-account basis. This means that users would be able to create a whitelist of pre-approved auto-payments on a “delegable account.” This would not require the owner’s signature every time a payment is made.
Furthermore, Visa also believes account abstraction has other real-world applications beyond just recurring payment such as account recovery services, multi-owner accounts or even public accounts where anyone could make a transaction. But the technology is still nascent and a lot of research needs to be done around fundamental aspects important for digital payments such as security and scalability, which are crucial for crypto adoption.
Other payment competitors
As one of the world’s largest payment networks, Visa is actively getting involved in the crypto ecosystem, looking for ways to expand their capabilities within blockchain payments. This could be a huge step towards mass adoption as traditional financial leaders are seeing the potential of crypto in the long-term future of digital payments.
In fact, more and more global financial services are getting involved in the crypto ecosystem. Last week, PayPal is partnering with MetaMask to allow users to purchase ETH directly in their wallet via PayPal. On another note, Cash App, the number one finance app in the App Store, has also added support for transactions via the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
FAQ
What is Visa proposing?
Visa is proposing a technical paper detailing their plan to develop an automatic payment system for self-custodial wallets on the Ethereum network. This would enable Ethereum users to schedule auto-payments from their own self-custodial wallets, making online bill payments possible via blockchains.
How does Visa’s solution work?
Visa leverages the concept of Ethereum’s account abstraction to provide self-custodial wallets with automatic recurring payment capability. Instead of hard-coding validity conditions into the Ethereum protocol that applies to all transactions, validity conditions can be programmed in a customizable way into a smart contract on a per-account basis. This means that users would be able to create a whitelist of pre-approved auto-payments on a “delegable account.”
What are the benefits of Visa’s solution?
Visa’s solution would enable pull payments on Ethereum, giving users full control over their scheduled payments. It also has other real-world applications beyond just recurring payment such as account recovery services, multi-owner accounts or even public accounts where anyone could make a transaction.
What other companies are getting involved in the crypto ecosystem?
PayPal is partnering with MetaMask to allow users to purchase ETH directly in their wallet via PayPal. Cash App, the number one finance app in the App Store, has also added support for transactions via the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
What is the potential impact of Visa’s solution?
Visa’s solution could be a huge step towards mass adoption as traditional financial leaders are seeing the potential of crypto in the long-term future of digital payments. It could also open up more real-world applications for the general public.
Flare, a new layer-1 Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchain has gone live with the launch of two core protocols as well as its FLR token airdrop. All existing XRP holders from participating crypto exchanges including Binance, Bybit, Kraken, and OKX have been distributed FLR tokens. The airdrop marks one of the largest token distributions in crypto history, with over a million users receiving 4.279 billion FLR tokens.
The initial airdrop began at 23:59 UTC on January 9, representing 15% of the FLR’s total token distribution. The remaining 85% of tokens will be distributed over the next 36 months according to the community vote on Flare Improvement Proposal 01 (FIP.01). If passed, the proposal would place a hard cap on FLR’s annual inflation at 5 billion tokens per annum.
Over 4.28 billion Flare ($FLR) tokens were airdropped to XRP holders holding at least 1 XRP based on a snapshot taken in December 2020. FLR tokens were distributed at 1:1, meaning that XRP holders received 1 FLR for every 1 XRP held.
Fortunately, Celsius Network (which is now bankrupt) obtained Court approval for XRP token holders to also receive the Flare ($FLR) token airdrop.
What is Flare Network?
The Flare network serves as an oracle network that allows developers to build apps that are interoperable with the internet and other blockchains. It leverages two interoperable protocols to power its application-building suite: the State Connector and the Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO).
State Connector
According to their white paper, the State Connector protocol enables smart contracts to interact securely with information and data from other blockchains and internet sources. This function offers powerful data to the network in a decentralized manner on-chain, facilitating the development of cross-chain solutions.
Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO)
The Flare Time Series Oracle (FTSO) provides prices and data series to DApps running on the layer-1 blockchain without relying on centralized data providers. It is essentially a decentralized data feed oracle that sources data from many independent data providers. In conjunction with the State Connector, it provides inputs for DeFi platforms as DApps can access timely information across different blockchains easily.
Key Takeaway
Flare initiated its token airdrop on Jan. 9, with 4.27 billion FLR tokens distributed to millions of existing XRP holders across various cryptocurrency exchanges including Bybit, Binance, Kraken, and OKX.
The initial token distribution released 15 percent of the full public token allocation, with the remainder set to be released monthly over 36 months. The allocation method for the remaining token supply will be settled by a community vote through the Flare Improvement Proposal 01 (FIP.01).
Flare Network is a layer-1 EVM blockchain that serves as an oracle network to provide developers a platform to build interoperable DApps such as DeFi solutions.
If you hold stablecoins on Ethereum or other EVM platforms, you must be aware of this smart contract feature…
Token Issuers on Ethereum Can Freeze Your Funds Without Notice
In order to issue tokens on EVM platforms including Ethereum and Polygon, the first step is deploying a smart contract, which is then used for transferring tokens. However, the token issuer can define support for transaction censorship and token freezing in the contract. This is how Circle, the issuer of USDC, froze 75,000 USDC in user funds with ties to Tornado Cash, in compliance with U.S. sanctions.
Not many users are fully aware of this feature. This can be compared to how traditional banks have the authority to freeze your funds without notice. If the stablecoin ecosystem depends on a centralized entity for issuing tokens, it could prove to be risky for all crypto users.
USDT and USDC — Regulatory Compliant Stablecoins
Paxos and Circle, the issuer of USDT and USDC respectively, are required to comply with regulators in order to be allowed to tokenize US dollars on blockchain platforms. One of the major regulators is the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), who not just sanctioned Tornado Cash, but also oversees Ethereum block validations.
It is important to note that regulations for the crypto industry is not necessarily bad. They protect the interests of investors and prevent fraudulent activities. However, this is in conflict with the basic principles of decentralization, especially when user funds are on the line.
How are Transactions Censored on Ethereum?
Although a deployed smart contract can never be stopped or otherwise manipulated by a third party, token issuers, however, can write whatever they want in smart contracts, including censorship features. Here’s how:
In order to mint fungible tokens on Ethereum, developers must follow the ERC token standards including the ERC-20 (token), ERC-721 (NFT) or ERC-1155 (multi-token). These standards define a common list of rules that EVM tokens should adhere to. A customized and deployed smart contract is then used each time tokens move from address to address. However, a smart contract can define any behavior that the EVM will allow, which includes the ability to censor transactions based on a blacklist or freezing an account. As a result, any Ethereum user may lose the ability to spend or use the tokens in any way. This is what the smart contract for USDT looks like:
As shown in the image above, Paxos has the power to blacklist token owner accounts and burn their funds. Of course, one could argue that this is for our safety, freezing the account of someone who has been involved in criminal activity. After all, the blockchain industry should not be a way for criminals to circumvent the law. But herein lies the dilemma: how is decentralized finance (DeFi) different from traditional finance if we still have to trust the system?
Key Takeaway
It is true that certain censorship features in place help protect investors’ interest, but the blockchain industry is meant to be different from the traditional financial world. Take the Tornado Cash incident for example, one of the developers was arrested for simply writing code, and several users who used Tornado Cash without malicious intention ended up having their funds frozen.
If we blindly accept the rules of the existing system, we will not be able to create anything innovative. It is not true self-custody if a third party can control the tokens you have in your own wallet. Nevertheless, the blockchain industry is still in its infancy, and if we are being pragmatic, a common ground must be reached between crypto users and regulators. For DeFi to move forward, we can only construct a system that remains decentralized and that regulators have no objections to.
The concept of the “Flippening” has been increasingly gaining traction in the crypto space. It refers to the hypothetical moment when Ethereum (ETH) surpasses Bitcoin (BTC) as the most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization. The Flippening is important because it would signify a major shift in the overall direction of the crypto landscape, signalling a change in investor sentiment and adoption patterns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lQ8bz9QRBo
While the Flippening is not set in stone, there are compelling data that indicate it is coming, and sooner than you think… Here’s why:
The Case for Bitcoin
Being the world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has maintained its throne on the crypto market since its genesis block in 2009. It is often considered as the safest digital store of value by investors, with its limited supply structure similar to the scarcity of gold, hence its nickname “digital gold.” As such, Bitcoin is usually the primary choice of cryptocurrency for financial institutions looking to get involved. As far as mainstream adoption goes, Bitcoin has led the way so far.
However, Bitcoin’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus model is highly energy-intensive, sparking criticisms of the network’s impact on the environment. Additionally, the usage of Bitcoin is only limited to exchanging and storing value. This is where Ethereum has much more to offer.
The Case for Ethereum
As the second most valuable cryptocurrency, Ethereum is designed to be used as the foundation of a decentralized, blockchain-based internet — an idea that is become known as Web3. Apart from exchanging and storing value, Ethereum introduced smart contract functionalities that allows developers to do all kinds of innovative and creative things on the network. This brought about a proliferation of financial products that have enabled a much broader range of investors.
Ethereum earned its nickname “digital oil” because it is a utility-based asset like oil, fuel or gas, and its value is largely dictated by supply and demand mechanisms. Similar to how the world’s global supply chain is fueled by crude oil, Ethereum lays at the heart of the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) space as well as GameFi and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market. And as the Web3 landscape progresses, demand will increase as more and more people are recognizing the potential of a decentralized internet. It is only a matter of time when Web2 evolves to Web3, and Ethereum is at the centre of that.
Do “Ethereum Killers” Hinder the Flippening?
It is worth noting that Ethereum faces competition from other prominent layer-1 blockchains such as Aptos, Cardano, Solana, BNB Chain, Polkadot, and Avalanche. There is a trending “Ethereum Killer” narrative in which user adoption will be distributed amongst these blockchains instead of focusing on Ethereum only. However, most of these blockchains in fact depend on Ethereum, as one way or another they are associated with the network’s smart contract. As shown in the image below by Cryptowatch, all of the top layer-1 blockchains are closely correlated with Ethereum’s price action.
Comparing Market Share between Bitcoin and Ethereum
As of 11th January 2023, Ethereum’s market share increased by 3% among global crypto assets, signalling its dominance on the rise. According to Coinmarketcap, Ethereum’s market dominance is at 19%, valued at around $856 billion. On another note, Coingecko’s metrics were slightly different, indicating Ethereum’s dominance at 18.3%. But both aggregation websites show that Bitcoin’s market dominance is decreasing, from 40% to 38%.
It is unclear whether this trend will continue, but according to data sourced from Blockchain Center, the Flippening has been on an uptrend since July 2021. And we are nearly halfway for it to happen. It is also worth noting that Ethereum came closest to the Flippening in 2017, when Bitcoin’s market dominance’s dropped by 40.6% and Ethereum took over 32% of the market amidst the situation.
In reference to the data provided by Blockchain Center, there are also other metrics apart from market cap that determines the Flippening. As of now, Bitcoin is still by far superior in trading volume, which is a crucial metric for adoption usage. However, Ethereum has Bitcoin beat in active addresses, transaction count and volume, and total USD transaction fees.
Outperformance of Ethereum will be primarily driven by the strength of its post-Merge fundamentals. The upcoming Shanghai Upgrade will significantly reduce the risk and opportunity cost of staking ETH, which is likely to attract participation from more crypto users.
Key Takeaway
Despite Ethereum’s increasing adoption and market dominance, Bitcoin still reigns supreme in the crypto space. In fact, Bitcoin saw significant adoption in 2021-2022 from retail and institutional investors, public companies, and even countries. As of now, El Savador and the Central African Republic (CAR) have adopted Bitcoin as a legal currency. This is a monumental step towards mainstream adoption.
But that is not to say the Flippening will never happen — it is certainly a possibility. After all, both Bitcoin and Ethereum have different visions. Bitcoin aims to become the global reserve currency, whereas Ethereum aims to become the infrastructure of a global digital economy. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) applies to both assets, but it all comes down to supply and demand mechanisms. If demand in digital money is higher, then Bitcoin dominates. But if demand in utility-based asset in building out a decentralized ecosystem is higher, then Ethereum is generally favored.
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