In the last couple of years, we have seen an increase in the popularity of cryptocurrencies. Since the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, went live in 2009, the attention toward this concept has been steadily growing, but we've seen the trend explode during 2021. 

According to one of the largest cryptocurrency tracker websites, the global crypto market cap is $1.13T. This is a large number, and whatever your personal opinion about crypto is, you cant deny its importance and popularity. 

One of the cryptocurrencies that are among the most popular among enthusiasts is Solana. Even though it's relatively new, it gained significant popularity, and it's becoming used for various projects. However, even though its popular, it has some downsides that are worth researching. 

Whether youre exploring crypto because it seems exciting or youre looking to make an investment, doing thorough research is crucial. 

Solana explained 

Solana is one of the most popular blockchain platforms. Its quite similar to the largest rival of Bitcoin, Ethereum, yet it brings some interesting novelties with it. You can buy Solana on basically any centralized or decentralized exchange and use it however you like. The token of Solanas blockchain is referred to as $SOL. 

Like many popular crypto projects, Solana is open-source, which allows developers to create their own Solana tools. These apps are scalable and user-friendly, and its theoretically the fastest blockchain that you can find. If you want to become a Solana developer, you can find tutorials on their website. 

While some blockchains often bring frustration because of their high transaction costs, Solana is often praised for its low-cost transactions. This is not only useful for transactions between two individuals or between an individual and an exchange but also for minting non-fungible tokens. The combination of these factors makes it one of the most popular blockchains for NFTs. 

Now lets dig into more technical aspects of this blockchain. Just like Bitcoin, many of the early altcoins chose the proof-of-work system to verify their transactions. A short explanation of this concept is that a computer, in this case, a miner, defines blocks in the chain, a method that requires a lot of power. 

Ethereum was the first blockchain that avoided this method and transferred to proof-of-stake, which requires 99.9% less energy, making it a better alternative for the environment. Bitcoins energy consumption amounts to the total consumption of certain countries.

Now, after Ive given you this lesson in blockchain history, lets move on to the method Solana uses(it also has something to do with history). Solana also uses proof-of-stake but with a slight improvement which makes it more scalable and efficient. 

Proof-of-history is a concept that implements the order and passage of time into the digital ledger, giving every block a unique timestamp. This provides additional security for the blockchain, making it more reliable and practical for digital payments. 

Advantages & uses of Solana

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While the trend of cryptocurrencies has become so popular that everyone and their grandma knows about Bitcoin and Ethereum, the developers of projects on the blockchain are often talented and educated individuals. Solana isnt an exception to this, and its founders solved a significant problem by using the proof-of-history concept.

Proof-of-history is an efficient consensus mechanism that increases the security of the blockchain and helps maintain a high level of decentralization. 

Because of the way that it was developed, Solana has various advantages. As mentioned before, fast-transaction speed puts it at the very top of the blockchains, and this makes it very scalable and efficient. On top of the speed, low fees associated with transactions are also an attractive aspect, as people dont have to spend extra money.

These advantages have brought a number of developers and people together, and they are all working on creating innovative applications and laying the foundation of a decentralized future. The fact that Solana exists only a couple of years yet its just as popular as various other project shows its importance. 

Just like other large blockchains such as Polkadot and Cosmos, Solana was built with interoperability in mind. This means that Solana can facilitate cross-chain transactions and integrate with other decentralized applications. 

Downsides 

So after mentioning some of the key features and benefits of Solana, I wouldnt be objective if I didnt list out some of the important concerns and downsides that people have with it. The general problem that all cryptocurrencies have is their volatility and the scams that surround them.

While the developers of Solana, Solana Labs, and Foundation are reputable, as well as their co-founder, Anatoly Yakovenko, the projects built on Solana can be fraudulent. On at least one occasion, fake NFTs were sold on a Solana-based marketplace. This isnt necessarily a problem with this blockchain, as others had similar issues, but its worth mentioning. 

Digital wallets are commonly used to store Solana, and they are more convenient than the hardware ones. Unfortunately, they arent as secure as them, and thefts of Solana wallets happened. 

Because of the growing popularity, the blockchain suffered from large traffic that led to increased transaction prices as well as the prolonged time it took for them to be executed. The developers addressed this issue by working on solutions such as parallel processing. 

One of the most significant problems that Solana has compared to other blockchains is outages. Its tough to say that these outages are frequent, but they happened more than once. In other sections of the article, Ive mentioned some advantages that Solana had over Ethereum. However, Ethereum never had a single outage, while Solana had four in the last two years. Each lasted for at least a couple of hours and up to one whole day.

These situations led to a drop in trust in the community, as well as a decline in the $SOL price. 

The word that keeps coming up when people discuss cryptocurrencies is decentralization.  Its considered one of the most important advantages of crypto over traditional money. While there are some concepts of decentralization that blockchain provides, Solana isnt completely decentralized.

A significant portion of its network is validated by validation nodes that are controlled by Solanas Foundation or Labs. Based on previous outages and problems that the network had, people are afraid for the platforms security and whether this centralized approach might compromise it. 

Popular predictions

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Some unfortunate events, both internal and external, happened to Solana. However, even though they impacted the price of their token and the trust in the project, nothing is stopping it from returning to its previous state. 

This blockchain has a variety of useful benefits, and it will surely attract many developers and users in the future. As the Web 3.0 industry continues to grow, Solana is surely one of the blockchains that will be used for dApps, services, NFT marketplaces, and a variety of other applications. 

The reason why this is the case is Solanas fast transaction speed as well as its scalability. In the February of 2023, large companies Def Jam and Universal Music Group started their gamified NFTs, which surely impacted the project positively. 

Its worth mentioning that the price of $SOL increased by 100% from the start of the year, and while nobody can guarantee that the price will continue increasing, we can only hope that large companies and personalities will continue popularizing Solana. 

External factors play an important role in whether this cryptocurrency will advance. The price of all cryptocurrencies varies depending on whether we are in a bull or a bear market. Events such as FTX bankruptcy also impacted the price of $SOL, as they held millions of dollars worth of tokens. 

The potential future of Solana

Nobody can be completely sure when making predictions about the further development of the crypto industry. However, the events that occurred in the world of cryptocurrencies can provide guidelines for some conclusions. 

Solana is definitely a blockchain that has a lot of potentials, and even though its relatively new, it has gained a lot of popularity, and its token has become one of the most traded and worthy assets. 

This project had a couple of setbacks that seriously impacted the trust that people had in it. If these problems occur again in the future, they will continue to make serious blows to the reputation of Solana, and its place in the crypto sphere can only drop. However, the positive changes that happened in the first months of 2023 can be a sign that its coming back.

About the author...

Veljko is a student of information technology that paired his passion for technology with his writing skills. He enjoys researching topics such as robotics and programming and cultivates his knowledge in philosophy, classical literature, and fitness. Veljko is currently a marketing specialist for a large NFT marketplace and launchpad called NFTb. 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veljko-petrović-699ab0201/

Website: www.writerveljko.com

In an unexpected twist, the iconic Twitter bird logo was recently replaced with the Internet sensation known as Dogecoin (DOGE), increasing the value of the meme crypto. The change occurred after billionaire Elon Musk purchased the social media giant for $44 billion in October 2022.

Various Twitter users have expressed mixed feelings about the new logo. Some find it amusing and in line with the kind of antics Elon is known for, whereas others are wondering if the platform has been hacked or if this is simply some kind of joke.

Some have even viewed the logo change as a diversion from the ongoing Twitter Blue kerfuffle. Twitter Blue, a subscription service which enables users to purchase verified status with a blue tick, is replacing the previous system that reserved blue ticks for notable accounts, with legacy accounts required to pay a monthly fee to retain verification.

However, almost all prominent media companies, celebrities, and politicians have refused to pay the fee, posing a major problem for the social media platform as there are many accounts which can simply buy verification status now, to the point where it might not mean much anymore.

Stuart Alderoty, the Chief Legal Officer for Ripple, has criticized the stance taken by policy makers on cryptocurrencies and their approach to regulating the booming industry.

Alderoty voiced his displeasure with certain senior bureaucrats who have formed an opinion about the status of crypto assets as securities. He highlighted the importance of understanding the implications of their actions and words on the rapidly expanding digital asset sector.

Alderoty also advised caution in joining the anti-crypto campaign of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, reminding politicians of her less than successful presidential campaign.

Warren has been attempting to reach out to conservative Senate Republicans for support on her crypto bill, which would enforce rigorous anti-money laundering rules, in her attempts to form a unified front against the digital asset industry.

The Ripple executive is convinced that the ongoing legal battle with the SEC will be won, citing a recent court decision that denied the so called expert views of the SEC on XRP while enabling Ripple to remain involved. He has repeatedly criticized SEC Chair Gary Gensler and his anti-crypto stance, recently claiming that it may become a political liability for U.S. President Joe Biden.

UNICEF, the largest humanitarian aid organization in the world, is experimenting with the idea of a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) to greatly boost its work with children around the world.

According to various reports, the organization is currently in the early stages of a pilot program designed to facilitate simpler interaction among the users of a DPG (Digital Public Good) when addressing the addition of potential new features to the project.

A DPG is a kind of freely available software, model, or standard which nations may employ to construct digital infrastructure instead of private proprietary solutions. UNICEF eventually hopes to build a platform which projects can readily use to conduct DAO governance votes in order to fund any new features.

Moreover, because of its high throughput and low cost, UNICEF chose the Ethereum layer-two scaling solution Polygon as the host for its DAO pilot. UNICEF has also experimented with the open-source voting tool known as Snapshot for possible future governance proposals,.

UNICEF previously developed a CryptoFund in 2019 to accept BTC and ETH donations. Contributions to the fund are utilized to financially support startups identified by the organization as supplying technological innovations which primarily benefit children in need.

It particularly aids these startups in obtaining DPG certification through the Digital Public Goods Alliance. To date, the fund has invested in over 40 startups, and its portfolio companies have generated approximately $17 million in follow-on funding after exiting the program. ETC Labs, Animoca Brands, and Huobi Charity are among the notable donors to this fund.
 

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Walt Disney Company has completely removed its metaverse division as part of a massive reduction in head count over the next two months.

CEO Bob Iger announced on Monday that layoffs would start this week. The team that was working on metaverse strategies, which had the potential to be the next cutting-edge storytelling and consumer experiences unit for Disney, appears to be one of the first to go.

Presently, Mike White leads the metaverse division after being promoted from SVP of consumer experiences and platforms last year. He was tasked with bringing Disney deeper into the emerging Web3 space. The division appeared to focus on finding new ways to tell engaging narratives via immersive formats.

According to WSJ, nearly all 50 or so members of the division have either already lost their jobs or will be let go very soon. For his part, Mike will reportedly continue to work for the company, but it is unclear in what capacity.

Disney announced last month that it would make over $5 billion in cuts and lay off 7,000 employees as part of a larger restructuring. Disney, like many other massive corporations, is under pressure to cut costs, which often means abandoning expensive moonshot projects which do not generate immediate revenue.

The U.S. CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) has filed a lawsuit against Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao for allegedly violating trading regulations. The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Illinois.

Binance reportedly failed to meet its regulatory obligations, according to the CFTC, by not being able to properly register with the derivatives regulator. Since 2021, the crypto exchange has been the subject of a CFTC investigation.

In February, the exchange acknowledged that it would most likely face regulatory action in the U.S. and that it had already been working with regulators to alleviate some concerns.

Binance has additionally been investigated by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and federal prosecutors, who have questioned whether the exchange has indeed complied with the proper AML and KYC policies. Correspondingly, the U.S. SEC is also looking into whether Binance gave local traders access to unregistered securities.

However, not everyone is supportive of the actions taken by the likes of the CFTC and SEC, as with the recent failures of banks such as SVB (Silicon Valley Bank), many have instead started embracing crypto.

In fact, Cathie Wood believes Bitcoin will skyrocket in value if the trust in the traditional financial system continues to erode. The ARK Invest CEO claims that the decentralized nature of crypto and its scarcity will attract capital seeking a superior store of value to what has previously been available.

As the United Arab Emirates (UAE) prepares its core infrastructure for the future of finance, the UAE Central Bank has started implementing its central bank digital currency (CBDC) strategy, the Digital Dirham. A CBDC is a digital representation of government-issued currency. They are comparable to cryptocurrencies in that their value is determined by the local monetary authority and is equal to the value of the corresponding fiat currency.

In a statement last week, the regulator stated that it had signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi based G42 Cloud and R3 (a digital finance services provider) to successfully become the primary infrastructure and technology providers for the eventual rollout of the new CBDC.

What issues will the CBDC solve?

The Digital Dirham seeks to solve the main recurring problems of both domestic and cross-border payments, in addition to improving financial inclusion as well as the eventual transition to a fully cashless society. The CBDC will also look to help strengthen the payment infrastructure in the UAE by adding new channels and enhancing accessibility.

The CBDC strategy, which is just one of nine initiatives launched by the Central Bank in February, will reportedly further position and solidify the country as a leading global financial hub, according to Khaled Balama, Governor of the UAE Central Bank.

The launch of the CBDC strategy is a significant step forward in the evolution of money and payments in the country, and the Digital Dirham will hence play a significant role in accelerating this journey and promoting financial inclusion going forward.

The UAE continues to impress

The Reserve Bank of India and the UAE Central Bank recently signed an initial agreement to enhance collaboration and empower innovation in financial products and services, part of which includes proof-of-concept and pilots of a bilateral central bank digital currency bridge to facilitate cross-border CBDC remittances and trade.

According to the UAE Central Bank, the main goal is to ensure that the country is ready and able to integrate payment infrastructures with future potential tokenization options which could also involve the tokenization of both financial as well as non-financial activities.

Why CBDCs?

There is a recurring argument that CBDCs offer some semblance of stability in the volatile cryptocurrency market. They mitigate the risks associated with crypto use and provide a reliable means of exchanging digital assets.

CBDCs are hence often thought of as a risk-free form of digital money that is issued and guaranteed by the central bank which also serves as a safe, cost-effective, and reliable form of payment as well as long term store of value. However, many have argued against this viewpoint by claiming that CBDCs have their own risks as well.

Regardless, central banks around the world are actively looking into the development of digital currencies, as cryptocurrencies continue to gain popularity as an asset class among retail and institutional investors. In fact, as per the US-based think tank Atlantic Council, 65 countries are already in late stages of CBDC development as of March 1st. According to the report, the UAE is one of 18 countries which have made the most progress in CBDCs by 2023, joining the likes of Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Do Kwon, the fugitive crypto boss responsible for the infamous collapse of the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem, was recently apprehended in Montenegro, according to South Korean police.

Earlier this year, US regulators charged Mr. Kwon and his company Terraform Labs with masterminding a multibillion dollar cryptocurrency asset securities fraud which led to a huge crash in the market.

Last September, South Korean authorities issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Kwon, believing Terraform Labs had breached capital market guidelines. They believed he was in Serbia and sent officials to Belgrade to negotiate, despite the fact that the two countries do not have an extradition treaty. According to Elliptic, investors in TerraUSD and LUNA lost an estimated $42 billion globally.

Do Kwon has repeatedly denied being in hiding but also never revealed where he was. The disgraced crypto executive was allegedly traveling under a false name and using forged documents. South Korean police confirmed Mr Kwon as the suspect in Montenegro on Friday after his fingerprints matched official records.

Contango Digital Assets has successfully closed its $1.2 million seed round for its parent business to establish Web3 infrastructure and spread awareness for Contango as a top investment firm going forward.

Thus far, Contango has deployed over $7 million to support more than 50 Web3 teams, with plans to at least double that figure this year. Unsurprisingly, the seed round has piqued the interest of a diverse group of investors, including Family Office, Venture Capital, and HNW Angel investors.

This round was a catalyst for Contango, as it enables everyone involved to bet on the the unprecedented growth of this booming industry while establising a viable presence as one of the top rising VCs in the Web3 space, said Contango Digital Assets Co-Founder Mike Grantis.

Fellow Co Founder Josh Field further clarified that the team envisions a future in which they can provide reliable avenues for all levels of sophisticated investors to gain access to competitive Web3 private markets that are typically only available to large funds.

Contango intends to accomplish this by consistently innovating on the existing infrastructure available to investors and developing systems that increase transparency in this process. This seed round will therefore act as the aforementioned catalyst to successfully execute that vision.

In the Web3 private investment landscape, the firm is currently developing a SaaS platform which shall add transparency to the complicated private capital markets while simultaneously leveling the playing field for angel investors.
 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has introduced new legislation to protect residents from a national CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) in accordance with the new Uniform Commercial Code.

The bill, if passed, would also protect Floridians from a global digital currency issued by a foreign central bank. Florida, according to DeSantis, will not support the deterioration of financial freedom.

Governor DeSantis has also urged other governors to fight surveillance and control from the federal government by enacting similar legislation under their commercial codes.

Tarren Bragdon from The Foundation for Government Accountability stated that he supported the bill and was opposed to a government bureaucracy which was clearly out of control.

Elsewhere, The Federal Reserve of the United States recently announced that its FedNow payments system would go live in July 2023.

FedNow, widely regarded as a forerunner to a programmable CBDC, will aspire to settle payments quickly between merchants, consumers, and banks. It is worth noting that blockchain technology is not used in the settlements.

Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard stated in May of last year that FedNow serves nearly the same purpose as a CBDC. A CBDC, on the other hand, would be legal tender instead of a real-time payment system.

Arbitrum has finally announced its plans of getting a token. According to the Arbitrum Foundation, ARB will be the official name of the new token, and it shall reportedly be airdropped to community members on March 23rd, 2023.

As per the Arbitrum Foundation, ARB will therefore mark the official transition of Arbirtrum into a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), which means that ARB holders shall be allowed to vote on key decisions governing Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova. Both of these are networks which enable users to transact on the Ethereum blockchain at faster and relatively lower fees.

Important details

Arbitrum DAO will be given the authority to regulate key decisions at the core protocol level, such as from how the core technology is updated to how revenue can be used to support the ecosystem. Moreover, while the Arbitrum Foundation intends to distribute a relatively large number of tokens (44%), Offchain Labs claims that the ARB token would make the Arbitrum ecosystem much more decentralized than alternative scaling chains.

The most exciting part however is certainly the decentralization aspect, in the sense that Offchain Labs would no longer have any control over the future of this chain, according to Offchain Labs CEO Steven Goldfeder. Arbitrum collaborated with Nansen, a crypto analytics firm, in February to monitor user activity in order to determine who can qualify for ARB tokens.

Additionally, users of Arbitrum can check their eligibility for the airdrop and also claim tokens if they qualify. They are advised to exercise caution when claiming their tokens though as scammers often rely on airdrops to phish people through spoof websites and other schemes.

Time is of the essence

Arbitrum has nearly $3.7 billion invested in its Ethereum rollup network, Aribtrum One, making it the undisputed market leader in a crowded field of rival chains. Arbitrum also controls 55% of the Ethereum Layer 2 market, according to an analytics website called L2 Beat. Since the network went live in 2021, anticipation for an Arbitrum token has been at an all-time high as the project is one of the most noteworthy crypto projects without a token.

Optimism, the main competitor to Arbitrum in the Ethereum scaling space, also launched its own token nearly a year ago when it transitioned to DAO governance. Arbitrum One and Optimism are both examples of optimistic rollup networks. They are blockchains that run alongside Ethereum, group together large numbers of transactions, and then write those transactions to the Ethereum ledger in bulk, reducing the fees required to execute those transactions individually.

Microsoft is reportedly working on an Ethereum crypto wallet built into its Edge browser, allowing users to send and receive crypto and NFTs without the need for additional extensions. The wallet is currently in limited testing and is a non-custodial solution, providing users complete control over their funds.

According to BleepingComputer, this experimental Edge browser feature was discovered by the pseudonymous software documenter Albacore. Microsoft, in collaboration with Consensys, shall also provide a built-in crypto swap feature between $ETH, $DAI, $UNI, $USDC, and $USDT.

Moreover, the public keys of the Edge Crypto Wallet enable users to receive payments and they must also keep secret private keys in order to authorize transactions. The wallet appears to be in its early stages for now, with access granted only to Microsoft Edge Dev Channel users.

Also, Microsoft emphasized that during the onboarding process, it would not have access to passwords or recovery keys. To secure and recover their crypto wallet, testers must create a password and a 12-word recovery phrase.

When the onboarding process is finished, the wallet generates an Ethereum address for receiving funds, and multiple Ethereum accounts are also supported by the Edge Crypto Wallet. Users can also connect to dApps and read the latest crypto news. Lastly, there are some indications that support for a Bitcoin wallet may be added in the future.