enhancing the utility of the raw material.getty

Coinbases recent quarterly report showed that their staking rewards revenue grew 19% quarter-over-quarter to $88 million or 13% of net revenue, with $7 billion worth of ether being their largest staked asset. In addition, their venture arm is investing millions of dollars in the liquid staking protocol Rocket Pool, while the global competitor exchange Binance is investing $10 million in the liquid staking project Helio. Its clear that traditional exchange companies see liquid staking as the cornerstone of the future crypto economy. All of this raises the question of how exactly liquid staking differs from regular Ethereum staking.

As a reminder, stakers hold and lock up a certain amount of cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, participants, often called validators, receive additional cryptocurrency in exchange for their contributions. Taking this concept a step further, the concept of liquid staking allows crypto assets holders to stake their assets to secure a network and earn rewards while still retaining the flexibility to trade or use their assets as needed. Unlike traditional staking, where locked-up assets are illiquid and inaccessible, liquid staking allows participants to stake their assets while keeping them tradable. The market is clearly showing how interested traders are in liquid staking options. CoinMarketCap currently shows a market cap of around $18 billion for liquid staking derivative tokens, while DefiLlama reports a total value locked of $21 billion for liquid staking protocols.

The biggest trailblazer in the liquid staking arena in terms of TVL is Lido, a set of open-source software tools that operate on the EthereumETH, SolanaSOL, and PolygonMATIC blockchain networks. Lido enables users to mint transferable utility tokens tied to validation activities and staking rewards. But what's truly unique about Lido is the emphasis on user liquidity and participation in the decentralized finance space. Isidoros Passadis, aka Izzy, a contributor to Lido DAODAO as Master of Validators, shared his personal views with me about Lidos role in shaping the DeFi landscape through liquid staking.

Personally, I think that by providing a broader audience productive ways to employ their capital, and enabling deep liquidity for users, liquid staked tokens are poised to increasingly serve as base assets in DeFi, Passadis told me in an interview. Capital tends to look for the most effective and efficient forms to take, and the combination of DeFi and liquid staking enables one to capture additional value from productive capital.

Meanwhile, Liquid Collective protocol, championed by software development company Alluvial, has emerged as a leading force in this liquid staking movement. This protocol allows users to earn rewards by participating in proof-of-stake blockchains while retaining liquidity in the form of a receipt token evidencing ownership of a staked token.

As participation in liquid staking continues to grow, we recognized a need to create a standard to combat fragmentation, Mara Schmiedt, CEO of Alluvial, told me in an interview. Our design philosophy is to develop this security and compliance-conscious solution collaboratively through a collective of global players in the custody, exchange, banking and infrastructure markets and align incentives across all members to ensure the widespread adoption of the standard.

For yet another liquid staking example, Kiln, focuses on providing easy access to staking rewards, enabling institutional customers to stake their assets, and whitelabeling staking functionality into their offerings. Laszlo Szabo, co-founder and CEO at Kiln, told me in an interview that the goal is to provide a seamless staking experience for users across diverse blockchain networks.

"We believe that the staking market is becoming increasingly institutionalized and must evolve beyond merely running validators to address the growing customer need for risk diversification. This entails creating validator-agnostic APIs and services to facilitate multi-provider staking. This, in turn, allows digital assets to be staked wherever they are held, including wallets, custodians, and exchanges. As the industry evolves and the demand for integrating multiple staking players becomes more evident, Kiln is ideally positioned to play the role of an aggregator and accelerate this process," Szabo said.

Last but certainly not least, to round out this roundup of DeFi experiments, StakeWise is a liquid staking protocol on Ethereum that enables users to earn passive yield on ETH without entrusting funds to StakeWise. Users can stake any amount of ETH with the node operators they choose and keep their stake liquid with the liquid staking token of StakeWise.

Despite the high-degree of flexibility that comes with the StakeWise architecture, it is vital that everyday stakers can also benefit from the solution in a user-friendly manner, Kirill Kutakov, co-founder of StakeWise, told me in an interview.

When considering staking, the term "user-friendly" doesn't immediately spring to mind. However, as the notion of liquid staking continues to gather momentum, the companies driving the development of associated tools like Lido, Alluvial, Kiln, and StakeWise face the task of devising solutions that facilitate a smoother and more inclusive approach to our interactions with blockchain networks. Despite over 25 million ether already being staked, this figure represents just 21% of the total ether supply. Undoubtedly, the path to unlocking Ethereum's full potential lies in embracing liquid staking.

I have been passionate about web3 and crypto since 2017, when I started my career in the industry as a Chief Growth Officer at Bits of Gold, a leading cryptocurrency brokerage service in Israel. Since then, I have gained five years of experience in various roles of strategy, business development, sales and marketing, working with global crypto platforms, such as eToro and Outlier Ventures.

Today, I am leading the crypto and web3 investments at Entre Capital, a prominent venture capital fund that backs early-stage startups in fintech, e-commerce, SaaS, and other sectors. I also mentor web3 startups for Outlier Ventures, a venture platform that supports innovative projects in crypto, DeFi, and NFTs. In addition, I am the editor in chief of Web3 Start-Up Nation, a weekly LinkedIn newsletter that covers the thriving web3 scene in Israel. My mission is to help entrepreneurs and investors navigate the opportunities and challenges of the web3 space, and to contribute to the growth and adoption of this transformative technology.

Read more:

4 Liquid Staking Startups That Are Unlocking Ethereums Potential - Forbes

Crypto social media platform friend.tech has denied it leaked a database of 101,183 Ethereum (ETH) addresses. The breach reportedly allowed the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol to impersonate users on social media.

The breach claimed to link the X (Twitter) IDs of affected members with their ETH wallets. The platform enables users to exchange tokenized shares with their influencers.

Several users whose ETH addresses were compromised said they revoked access. The link to the leaked database has since broken.

Four days before its launch friend.tech announced a new bridge to fund user wallets from Ethereum balances. On Aug. 12, a Twitter user with the handle @w1nt3r_eth flagged concerns that friend.tech logged ETH transfers.

The project team said the user misidentified the printing of the users public wallet address in their browser as an attempt to log a transaction. They also claim friend.techs wallets need more than one signature to spend crypto.

But friend.tech denied anything sinister had occurred, saying:

This is just someone scraping our public API that shows the association between public wallet addresses and public Twitter usernames. Its like saying someone hacked you by looking at your public Twitter feed.

SponsoredSponsored

Friend.tech was founded by the creators of Stealcam, an application that instantly converts uploaded images to NFTs. Both projects meld elements of social media and crypto-economics.

Friend.techs user base swelled to 44,000 in five days after launching on Coinbases Base chain a week ago. On Sunday, the number of unique buyers rose to more than 54,000, while the number of sellers totaled 20,000.

Before the project launched, friend.tech described itself as an upcoming crypto x social platform. In other words, it earned money from trades between connected users.

Stealcam incentivizes users to steal NFTs from each other. It pays the victim in full for the NFT. The creator and previous owner share 45% of the restitution payment, with Stealcam earning a 10% cut.

Find out here how to monetize NFT art.

In an interview with Artnet News, one of Stealcams founders said crypto users saw the project as a playful extension of their social media circles.

Got something to say about Friend.techs revealing of ETH addressesor anything else? Write to us or join the discussion on ourTelegram channel.You can also catch us onTikTok,Facebook, orX (Twitter).

In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

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Base App Friend.Tech Reveals Users' Ethereum (ETH) Addresses - BeInCrypto

Details

Delve into the fascinating world of Ethereum's advanced data structures. This article presents a deep dive into Ethereum's usage of Merkle Trees and Patricia Trees, shedding light on how these components intertwine to boost efficiency, security, and scalability. If Ethereum has captured your interest, it's essential to understand the essence and fundamental aspects that drive its ecosystem.

Exploring Merkle Trees

So, what exactly is a Merkle Tree? A Merkle Tree, often referred to as a 'hash tree', is a binary tree of hashes. In the context of Ethereum and other blockchains, it's used for efficient and secure verification of large volumes of data. The tree structure begins with the 'leaf nodes' at the bottom of the tree these represent the raw data. Each leaf node is given a unique cryptographic hash. These hashes are then paired, hashed again, and this process continues up the tree until you reach the 'root' or 'Merkle root'. This single hash effectively represents the entirety of the data stored in the tree.

Within the Ethereum ecosystem, Merkle Trees serve a vital function. They are used to confirm the integrity and validity of the transactions within each block. This application allows for "light" Ethereum clients that can operate with less computational power, as they can simply verify the chain with hash roots instead of needing the entire blockchain history.

However, like all technologies, Merkle Trees have their strengths and limitations. On the one hand, they offer robust security and efficiency, allowing for the rapid validation of data, an attribute crucial in a blockchain's operation. Yet, on the other hand, the construction and maintenance of Merkle Trees can be complex, especially as the volume of data increases.

Understanding Patricia Trees

A Patricia Tree is a type of trie, or a search tree, an ordered tree data structure. This unique data structure is used to store a dynamic set or associative array where the keys are usually strings. The name Patricia stands for Practical Algorithm to Retrieve Information Coded in Alphanumeric, signifying its fundamental function of enabling fast data retrieval.

In Ethereum's context, Patricia Trees are employed as a form of storage for account data. More precisely, Ethereum uses a specialized version of Patricia Trees called 'Merkle-Patricia Trees' or 'Trie'. These offer a way to encode the state of the entire blockchain, ensuring that every node, transaction, and contract in the history of the blockchain can be found quickly and efficiently.

Patricia Trees bring their own set of advantages and potential constraints to the Ethereum framework. The key advantage of using Patricia Trees is their efficiency in storing and retrieving data, making them ideal for a blockchain network that must handle vast quantities of data quickly and securely.

In essence, Patricia Trees form a vital part of Ethereum's approach to data management, providing a solution to the demands of speed, security, and efficiency that come with operating a blockchain platform. Their role becomes even more intriguing as we delve into the synergy between Merkle Trees and Patricia Trees in Ethereum's data structure design.

The Intersection of Merkle Trees and Patricia Trees

Having examined Merkle Trees and Patricia Trees independently, it's now time to explore the intersection of these two powerful data structures in the Ethereum ecosystem. This combination results in what is commonly referred to as the 'Merkle Patricia Tree', a unique hybrid that Ethereum utilizes for its state storage.

The Merkle Patricia Tree, often simply referred to as 'trie', is a unique fusion of the principles of Merkle Trees and Patricia Trees. While the Merkle Trees allow Ethereum to ensure data integrity through cryptographic hashes, Patricia Trees offer efficient storage and retrieval of this data.

In the context of Ethereum's blockchain design, Merkle Patricia Trees play a critical role in recording the state of the Ethereum network. The entire state of Ethereum (including account balances, contract code, contract storage, and more) is stored in a large Merkle Patricia Tree. When a new block is mined, a new state of Ethereum is created, but this new state is highly linked to the previous state via the trie structure, allowing for a compact and efficient representation of the Ethereum state over time.

Merkle Patricia Trees offer a high degree of scalability and data optimization. They are crucial in enabling the 'light' client operation in the Ethereum network, which allows for secure interaction with the Ethereum blockchain without needing to store the entire blockchain history.

Conclusion

Understanding Ethereum's Merkle Trees and Patricia Trees unravels the complexity behind the blockchain's efficient operation. As we continue to explore and develop blockchain technologies, these innovative data structures will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping the future.

DISCLAIMER: Branded Voices features paid content from our marketing partners. Articles are not created by Native News Online staff. The views and opinions expressed in the Branded Voices are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Native News Online or its ownership. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.

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Untangling Ethereum's Merkle and Patricia Trees | Branded Voices ... - Native News Online

Alex Dovbnya

Yet, XRP's recent achievements come against a backdrop of legal uncertainties and a turbulent month where it underperformed many of its peers

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XRP, the digital asset affiliated with Ripple, witnessed a significant uptick, surging nearly 10% earlier today. As of recent metrics, XRP has settled at a 4.5% gain, still significantly outshining its rivals, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Cardano.

Bitcoin, for instance, barely moved with a 0.2% increase, while Ethereum slightly ascended by 0.4%. In contrast, Cardano, a notable contender in the crypto market, saw its price dip by 0.4%.

However, when we zoom out to look at the seven-day performance, the narrative changes a bit. Over a week, XRP suffered a notable decline, shedding 14% of its value. In comparison, Ethereum's value decreased by 9.3% and BNB's by 9.9% over the week. Cardano's seven-day performance also indicated a drop but at a lesser rate of 7.5%.

As reported by U.Today, XRP recently lost roughly 40% in a single month, underperforming other top cryptocurrencies and erasing its gains that were added because of the favorable Ripple ruling.

Despite its impressive short-term performance, XRP remains clouded by uncertainties surrounding the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appeal against Ripple.

The appeal, recently submitted by the SEC, challenges a July court order. This order had decided that Ripple's sales and offers of XRP on cryptocurrency trading platforms didn't lead investors to anticipate profits dependent on others' efforts.Furthermore, it had ruled that XRP distributions as payment for services don't constitute an "investment of money."

This appeal's central issues revolve around the classification of XRP's offers and sales. One court has already indicated a disagreement with the initial Ripple decision, but some prominent voices within the XRP community have downplayed the significance of such a move.

The court previously recognized that institutional sales fit the Howey criteria. However, distinctions have been drawn regarding the categorization of coins sold directly to institutional investors compared to retail investors in secondary markets.

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XRP Outperforms Shiba Inu, Ethereum and Cardano with 10% Price Spike - U.Today