1) Ethereum 2.0 successfully goes live.
Ethereum 2.0 successfully goes live after 12 pm GMT on Dec 1 as planned. Vitalik Buterin tweeted that how people expecting some giant leaps for mankind or whatever and joked about the same. The biggest modification is the introduction of a proof-of-stake consensus to the network which earlier based on proof-of-work consensus as Bitcoin.
2) Russia’s Alfa-Bank comes up with a platform for gigs.
After Waves Enterprise’s blockchain-based freelance platform Alfa-Bank is providing a new service that covers the entire process of registration and remuneration for freelancers which is completely based on blockchain. The Director of Alfa-Bank’s research and development center said:
DLT and embedded smart contracts with an end-to-end integration into the banking core settlements and clearings system allows to effect automatic formation of payment instructions […] with direct transmission of payment instructions via DLT to cards and bank accounts of self-employed in any bank.
3) BitMEX’s parent 100x announced Alexander Hoptner as the new CEO.
Alexander Hoptner, chief executive officer of the German stock exchange Borse Stuttgart GmbH will join from January 2021. Hoptner said:
I am proud to join 100x Group because I share the global ambition and audacity of its founders and employees to create an ecosystem of cryptocurrency technology that will improve lives. The future of this industry will increasingly belong to those who provide a regulated trading environment that is innovative, liquid, and fair for institutional and retail investors alike.
4) Niall Ferguson advises the US to consider Bitcoin as a “Chinese-style digital dollar.”
Niall Ferguson, a British economic and financial historian said:
Even governments that are resisting Chinese financial penetration, such as India, are essentially building their own versions of China’s electronic payments systems. Rather than seeking to create a Chinese-style digital dollar, Joe Biden’s nascent administration should recognize the benefits of integrating Bitcoin into the U.S. financial system.
5) Ethereum’s node count to surpasses Bitcoin.
As per Ethernodes.org data, 11,259 Ethereum nodes are currently active which is 1% more than that of Bitcoin. Ethereum’s node count last surpassed Bitcoin’s in early September. Also as per Blockchain Center’s data, the surge in node counts had the index gain from 50.5% to 62.4% during November.