Blockchain infrastructure developer zkLink has revealed Nexus, a layer-3 network built to connect multiple popular Ethereum rollup solutions, including zkSync, StarkNet and Polygon zkEVM.

zkLink’s app-specific rollups inherit security from Ethereum using zk-SNARKs, and can connect to various general-purpose zero-knowledge (zk) rollups.

By enabling tokens to be easily transferred between one zkLink rollup to another, DeFi applications — including decentralized exchanges and NFT marketplaces — will be able to minimize liquidity fragmentation when sending transactions between different blockchains. 

Co-founder of zkLink Vince Yang told Blockworks that Nexus will select just one of…

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International Monetary Fund’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva focused on the benefits of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in a speech Wednesday.

Speaking at the Singapore Fintech Festival, Georgieva asked policymakers to continue introducing and possibly embracing CBDCs. Her speech echoed a similar one from Christine Lagarde — her predecessor — made five years ago.

“The public sector should keep preparing to deploy CBDCs and related payment platforms in the future,” Georgieva said.

She warned that the world continues to move forward at breakneck speeds with new technologies, citing ChatGPT’s two months to reach 100 million users — something that generally…

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On Nov. 15, several altcoins continued to show strength alongside Bitcoin (BTC), which notched an intra-day high at $37,400. Leading into the week, DYDX, Solana’s SOL (SOL) and Avalanche’s AVAX (AVAX) currently reflect double-digit gains, with each chasing after new year-to-date highs. 

The sustained bullish price action from altcoins has led some analysts to declare the arrival of an altcoin season, and at the time of writing, the total market capitalization of the altcoin market has hit a 2023 high at $659.5 billion.

Altcoin price rallies typically involve a slew of factors, some being sentiment-based and others based on project fundamentals. Let’s look at a few of this week’s…

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Members of the House Financial Services Committee clashed Wednesday in Washington over how – and how often – cryptocurrencies are used in illicit financing.

The Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Inclusion and Inclusion hosted a hearing Wednesday titled “Crypto Crime in Context: Breaking Down the Illicit Activity in Digital Assets.” 

Industry leaders, legal minds and financial crime experts gathered to answer lawmakers’ questions on crypto’s role in financing illicit actors, including foreign actors, drug cartels and the terrorist organization Hamas. 

Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., asked witness Alison Jimenez, president of Dynamic…

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The United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion received an education in the uses of blockchain technology in a hearing entitled “Crypto Crime in Context: Breaking Down the Illicit Activity in Digital Assets” on Nov. 15. The hearing was bipartisan in nature, chair French Hill stated at the outset. 

Hill began the meeting by citing an article published by The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 10 on the use of crypto by Hamas for fundraising. The article was corrected on Oct. 27 to reflect more accurately crucial data produced by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, as Hill also mentioned. He continued:

“Phone and the internet… Read more on Cointelegraph

In this week’s newsletter, check out Disney’s plans to release a nonfungible token (NFT) platform by the end of 2023 and find out why NFT sales volumes will likely continue their upward trend in the coming months. Read about China’s stance on NFT theft and why the CEO of Roblox “dreams” of interoperability. In other news, find out what caused eye-related complaints at the recent ApeFest event in Hong Kong. 

Disney launches NFT platform with Dapper Labs

Disney has partnered with NFT company Dapper Labs to launch a digital collectible platform called Disney Pinnacle. Using the platform, Disney will tokenize various characters from the Disney franchise, Pixar and Star Wars as…

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A new report from blockchain security platform Immunefi suggests that nearly half of all crypto lost from Web3 exploits is due to Web2 security issues such as leaked private keys. The report, released on November 15, looked back at the history of crypto exploits in 2022, categorizing them into different types of vulnerabilities. It concluded that a full 46.48% of the crypto lost from exploits in 2022 was not from smart contract flaws but was rather from “infrastructure weaknesses” or issues with the developing firm’s computer systems.

Categories of Web3 vulnerabilities. Source: Immunefi.

When considering the number of incidents instead of the value of crypto lost, Web2…

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Decentralized exchange dYdX entered beta mainnet for its layer-1 on Tuesday, enabling USDC staking rewards for the proof-of-stake blockchain. 

The move drew criticism from Crypto Twitter personalities who painted dYdX staking as too friendly to insiders. Staking rewards are being paid out two weeks before a large set of tokens will be unlocked for dYdX founders, investors, employees and consultants. And the supply of locked tokens vested for dYdX insiders can still be staked and earn rewards.

The project’s founder maintains that dYdX is a long-term actor and is not seeking short-term gains.

Once a layer-2 decentralized exchange (DEX) for perpetual swaps, dYdX is shifting to its own…

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