Coindesk

Ethereum's developers have finally delivered a timeline for the chain's next big upgrade, Pectra, which promises to introduce an array of speed and efficiency improvements to the second-largest blockchain. At a developer meeting held virtually on Thursday, Ethereum's core team set the upgrade's target release date for March 2025.Pectra combines together eight major upgrades, or "Ethereum improvement proposals" (EIPs), into one package.Among the most anticipated upgrades is EIP-7702, aimed at improving the user-experience of wallets. The upgrade, which was reportedly sketched out by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in a mere 22 minutes, enables user wallets to be programmed like smart contracts. It's part of a broader strategy to bring account abstraction to Ethereum — a series of features that make...

Crypto exchange Crypto.com has received in-principle approval for a European Union (EU) Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license from Malta's Financial Services Authority, edging it closer to be able to operate fully across the trading bloc.The in-principle license means that the exchange is expected to receive its full CASP license soon, a Crypto.com spokesperson said on Friday. Companies have been working towards getting a crypto asset service provider (CASP) license under MiCA since the bespoke crypto legislation passed in 2023. The CASP license allows companies to serve clients across the European trading bloc which consists of 27 nations. "Receiving full regulatory approval will allow Crypto.com to provide its market-leading range of crypto services across the EU under a streamlined and...

CoinDesk Indices presents its daily market update, highlighting the performance of leaders and laggards in the CoinDesk 20 Index.The CoinDesk 20 is currently trading at 3949.35, up 1.1% (+41.73) since 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.Sixteen of 20 assets are trading higher.Leaders: NEAR (+6.3%) and LTC (+5.9%).Laggards: XLM (-3.4%) and HBAR (-3.3%).The CoinDesk 20 is a broad-based index traded on multiple platforms in several regions globally.Source link

Crypto venture capital (VC) activity remains below the levels seen in previous bull markets despite the recent rally in digital assets, Galaxy Digital (GLXY) said in research report on Wednesday.Total capital allocated to VC funds in 2024 was $11.5 billion, less than in 2023.Galaxy noted that VC activity was highly correlated to crypto asset prices in previous bull runs in 2017 and 2021, "but for the last two years activity has remained depressed while cryptos have rallied."Stagnation in the venture capital market is due to a number of reasons. These include a "barbell market" where bitcoin (BTC) and its new spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have taken centre stage, with "marginal net new activity" from memecoins, Galaxy said. These memecoins are...

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise)The crypto world is buzzing as President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration nears. Bitcoin is holding above $100,000 and altcoins like SOL, ADA, LINK, XRP and LTC are shining as it's not just about a potential strategic bitcoin reserve anymore. Reports suggest Trump could announce crypto as a policy priority.Things are heating up for ether too. A blockchain address associated with Trump's World Liberty Finance (WLF) project snapped up nearly $10 million of ETH this week, according to Arkham Intelligence. And keep your eyes on layer-1 blockchain Near Protocol's NEAR. The token's supply dynamics look bullish, with the ratio of staked to unstaked NEAR rising, according to data source Flipside.Overall, the outlook for the...