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January 6, 2021
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Ethereum 2.0 and stalked pool
There are great expectations for the new Ethereum 2.0. The expected launch of Ethereum 2.0 will happen very soon. Also, the up-gradation will happen from the existing Ethereum network to the new Ethereum 2.0. The new ETH 2.0 comes with a lot of hope and promise. It will reduce network congestion. It will also come at a lesser cost. But there is a small problem here. Before the ETH 2.0 launch, the users have to lock or stake their ETH tokens in a smart contract. The use or 
movement of these tokens will not possible till the up-gradation is complete.
Curve Finance launched a new innovation. This technology will be helpful, during the up-gradation from ETH 1 to ETH 2.0. It will be easy for the users to support both the networks during the upgrade. Till now, the amount stalked in Ethereum 2.0 is tokens worth $2 Billion.
The process
The process starts with Lido’s stalking service. It got launched in October. With this service, the users will stake the ETH tokens and will receive stETH tokens. stETH tokens will be an asset of equal value as the ETH tokens. In this way, the users will stake the ETH tokens and as well as use them.
Lido got funding in December. It was able to raise $2 million. In addition, it got funding from venture capital firms. It also got help from Defi investors. Stani Kulechov of Aave lending protocol also funded Lido. Kain Warwick of the derivatives protocol Synthetix also supported Lido.
The problem
stETH tokens are the same in value as ETH tokens. However, all the protocols are not designed in a way to handle the new stETH tokens. So, the stETH holders will not be able to utilize all the finance applications in the same way as Ethereum. Few automated financial protocols will not support stETH tokens. these are issuing loans, swap between digital assets, and gaining interest on deposits.
The possible solution
Curve Finance is famous for its cost-effective swap technology. It helps the users to swap between digital currencies and other assets seamlessly. Recently, Curve Finance announced the launch of a new trading pool. 
This pool will support the swap between native ETH tokens and stETH tokens. Due to this, the users will be able to swap between the ethereum tokens with the least cost. So, the stETH holders can utilize all the finance applications in Defi. They will also be able to stake the ETH tokens for the upgrade to ETH 2.0 version.
This new Curve pool is an important part of the Ethereum development. All people interested in the development of the Ethereum blockchain will welcome this step. This will provide the users to utilize the tokens in both ways. The users can stake the tokens till the upgrade. Also, in the meantime, they will be using the tokens for all Defi applications. This is definitely a remarkable step in the crypto world. This technology will ensure the users to trust in the development of cryptocurrencies.
January 5, 2021
Previous reports
The year 2020 was a fantastic year for cryptocurrency. There was a significant rise in the price of bitcoin in 2020. There was a lot of debate and news related to this. This attracted many investors to bitcoin. Bitcoin saw its highest recently. The virtual currency was worth more than $33,000. Many investors are putting more money into bitcoin. This is due to its increasing value since 2017.
However, recent reports are quite shocking related to bitcoin.
Prices drop
Bitcoin’s value saw a significant fall on Monday. After a remarkable new year surge in prices, this is beyond expectation. Bitcoin is always known for its highly volatile nature. Prices fell down by 17%. This is the highest drop the cryptocurrency saw since March last year. The losses are majorly small as the nature of Bitcoin is most volatile. Above all, the cryptocurrency experienced a 50% hike in its value only in December 2020. The digital currency had a superb start in the new year. It touched $34,000 USD on Saturday. It was an all-time high for digital currency.
Expert’s opinion
Adrian Lowcock is the head of personal investing in Willis Owen Ltd. He mentioned that this drop in the price of bitcoin is a reminder for everyone. Tough it is prevalent in the market for a decade, but it is still a relatively new asset. This new-age currency is yet to make its mark in the investment market. He also added that Bitcoin has to cross major hurdles to becoming a useful mainstream asset.
Louis Gave is the co-founder of Gavekal Research. He said that the fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin are more interesting than many things. He added that Nasdaq stocks, Chinese internet plays are dull in comparison to this.
Probable causes
It is very difficult to figure out the possible causes in this world of cryptocurrency. The value of cryptocurrency fluctuated generally due to its volatile nature. The price of Bitcoin surged higher than 300 percent last year. Many companies and investors started opting for Bitcoin as a valuable asset. It saw a lot 
of investment from retail and financial corporations over the past year. Many eminent personalities spoke in favor of Bitcoin. Also, many people believed that cryptocurrencies are the future of investment. Many companies were trying to expand their growth to popularize the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin was emerging as a mainstream asset.
Some people blamed the market’s supply constraints. Some said the money printing by central banks’ is an important factor. Others pointed out that cryptocurrency is yet to make a mark in the market. The indecisive risk-taking factor could also be one of the possible reasons.
Paul Hickey also gave his views. He is the co-founder of Bespoke Investment Group. He pointed out that the link between the rise and fall of Bitcoin with the value of the dollar in the market. In addition, he said that the surge in the price of Bitcoin could be due to weaker dollar value. He mentioned that the last time dollar prices declined was in 2017. It was the same time when Bitcoin surged exponentially and got into mainstream.
January 4, 2021
The findings
ZenGo is a prominent cryptocurrency mobile wallet maker. Zenco did some researches in the crypto world. It found new observations in the Ethereum dark market. The research highlighted front running bots are spying on Ethereum transactions. Front running bots are nothing but malicious software. These bots are spying on other peoples’ transactions, specifically doing Ethereum transactions. 
This is basically for making huge profits at other’s expense. This may create gains for a few people. On the other hand, it will impact many authentic people badly, creating huge losses. So, the advice for developers is to build more secure systems.
This is basically for making huge profits at other’s expense. This may create gains for a few people. On the other hand, it will impact many authentic people badly, creating huge losses. So, the advice for developers is to build more secure systems.Explanation with example
One famous example is the exchange bids. Let’s explain this with one example. If someone is buying a huge amount of ETH on any cryptocurrency exchange. This incident can trigger a huge fluctuation in the price of ETH. The price of ETH will go up immediately. Another person, who is monitoring this activity, will purchase ETH at a lower price. When the price will go up, he will sell this token at a higher price. In this way, he will make a large number of profits. Apart from this, there are many other ways to make profits. They are liquidations, buying rare NFTs, or user mistakes.
Studying the bots’ behavior
ZenGo carried out an experiment to understand the behavior of bots. The researchers trapped a few bots and locked them with cryptocurrency. After that, they studied their way of functioning. They tried to know how the bots are capturing the bait and how perfectly it is doing that. In addition, they also checked the probability of the success rate of this bait. They also experimented with ways of escaping the bots and not getting into their trap.
One of the first traps found was worth ETH 0.035 (USD 21). The time span is three minutes. Another incident found was for ETH 0.055. This was a different bot and it got completed only within few seconds. Lastly, an ETH 0.05 trap got created. Luckily, the researchers were successful in extracting all the funds. There are more sophisticated bots present in the crypto market.
Eminent personalities’ opinion
Dan Robinson and Georgios Konstantopoulos are prominent Defi investors. They highlighted the various 
attacks on the Ethereum blockchain by bots. They also focused on the consequences of these attacks by bots.
attacks on the Ethereum blockchain by bots. They also focused on the consequences of these attacks by bots. Alex Manuskin is a blockchain researcher at ZenGo. He conducted research about the front running bots trapping Ethereum transactions. Also, he mentioned that this activity is not something new on the Ethereum blockchain. He added that the reality is they are looking for bots that could possibly make some profits. It is easy to fall prey to such baits for higher returns. He emphasized that front runners are actually more prominent than one may think. According to him, it is possible to avoid these front-running bots but it is not at all easy to escape them. Each and every bot functions in different ways. Moreover, different factors trigger the transaction. There is a competition among the bots themselves to gain the highest bait. Lastly, he specified that this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a whole new world of bots running the Ethereum blockchain transactions.
January 2, 2021
What is Defi?
Defi stands for Decentralized financing. It is a term that includes various financial applications in cryptocurrency. In addition, this is not controlled by a single centralized body. Above all, it is not governed by a central body like RBI. There are specific reasons for decentralization. As nobody has control over it, no one can limit its speed. Moreover, it provides direct control of their money. 
The major advantage of Defi is it removes all the middle sources. Therefore, users have direct access to their funds. They will be able to do direct purchases, take loans, do insurance, crowdfunding, and many more. Basically, the idea is open finance.
The major advantage of Defi is it removes all the middle sources. Therefore, users have direct access to their funds. They will be able to do direct purchases, take loans, do insurance, crowdfunding, and many more. Basically, the idea is open finance.Ethereum applications
Most of the applications, that is Defi are on the Ethereum platform. It is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency platform after Bitcoin. This platform is for smart contracts. The execution of transactions is automatic. Above all, it also gives more flexibility. Some types of Defi applications are :
- Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) – These platforms help users to exchange their cryptocurrency. It gets exchanged for other currencies. DEXs are a type of exchange where users trade their cryptocurrency. This happens without the involvement of any intermediary party.
- Stablecoins – The value of cryptocurrency varies a lot. In addition, it is very volatile in nature. So, Stablecoins are a cryptocurrency that got ties to an asset. This brings stability to the cryptocurrency.
- Lending platforms – This platform connects the borrower with the lender. They use smart contracts. So, this removes the option of middlemen or intermediaries.
- Prediction markets – This platform is for betting purposes. It is a market where people bet for the future outcome of something. Also, the aim of this platform is to provide the same functionality. The major advantage is the absence of middlemen.
Some new Defi concepts have also come up. The list includes:
- Yield Farming – This is basically for the users who are willing to take the risk. The users can scan among the various Defi tokens available. Among them all, he will check for opportunities that will yield more returns.
- Liquidity mining – This is the most popular form of yield farming. In this, the user earns free tokens by providing liquidity to the token.
- Composability – The Defi applications are in the public forum. So, anyone can view the code behind these
applications. Hence, these apps get used to creating new apps with the same code. The same code gets used as building blocks here.
- Money Legos – Legos are the toy blocks. By combing the toy blocks, a child creates a building or a structure with the legos. This works in the same way. Defi apps get combined together to build new financial applications.
Making money with Defi and risks involved
The Ethereum Defi projects are on the boom recently. Many users are making a lot of money from it. User can lend money and gain interest through this. Users can use yield farming methods to gain larger returns. But investing in Defi is risky as well. There is no governing body present. The systems are very complex. They don’t provide transparency. So, a lot of knowledge and exposure is the basic requirement for this.