Blockchains Keep Launching, From Sei (and Its $SEI token) to Shibarium (and Its $SHIB)

Previous eras of crypto improvement have been marked by a speedy proliferation in protocols for decentralized finance (DeFi) or different functions, constructed atop large blockchains like Ethereum. Not too long ago, nonetheless, there’s been a mini-explosion in new blockchains, together with so-called layer-2 networks built atop Ethereum. The pattern is encapsulated on this week’s launch of the Sei network – optimized for pace, and buying and selling purposes – in addition to the meme-obsessed Shiba Inu crypto neighborhood’s new Shibarium blockchain. As documented in The Protocol this week, these launches aren’t at all times so clean.

Our feature story by Sage D. Younger and yours actually takes a deep dive into “restaking” and a pioneering protocol known as EigenLayer – tipped by crypto consultants as a doubtlessly explosive technological pattern; restaking represents a brand new approach of securing blockchain tasks, the place it is simple to piggyback off Ethereum’s personal safety equipment. There are worries, although, that the follow could tackle a lifetime of its personal, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has warned of the potential for systemic threat. The complete story is here.

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SEI HELLO! Sei, a brand new layer-1 blockchain constructed utilizing Cosmos know-how, launched to the public, and its native SEI token garnered greater than $1 billion in buying and selling quantity after being listed on crypto exchanges together with Gate.io and Binance. The challenge is notable as a result of it was designed as an application-specific blockchain meant for buying and selling, in distinction to extra general-purpose networks like Ethereum that would theoretically help a wider vary of use instances. Jay Jog, co-founder of Sei Labs, which led the brand new blockchain’s improvement, stated that the “answer” to offering faster performance of decentralized buying and selling purposes was a “elementary rewrite of the underlying infrastructure.” (Sei Labs raised $30 million in funding in April from big-name backers together with Leap Crypto and Multicoin Capital.) After some wild first-day fluctuations, the SEI token had a market capitalization of about $343 million, a contact under the nearly $500 million mark predicted by some merchants. The much-anticipated debut was blemished by questions and complaints from early adopters who have been anticipating a right away airdrop of rewards tokens; the Sei Basis, which was coordinating the small print, declined Wednesday to offer additional data on the seemingly timing. After the airdrop really started, later within the day, the SEI price tumbled 31% as recipients dumped the tokens available on the market, whereas complaints flooded X (fka Twitter) in regards to the scantiness of the allocations.

DOG HOUSE – The Shiba Inu blockchain neighborhood, centered across the doggy-themed meme coin SHIB, which in flip was a play on Dogecoin’s DOGE, went reside with its new layer-2 blockchain, Shibarium, constructed atop Ethereum. The goal is to reduce transaction fees for customers concerned in Shiba Inu ecosystem, however there’s additionally a mechanism to spice up the value of the SHIB token. The brand new blockchain will use BONE tokens as the first gasoline token – used to pay charges; and a few 70% of base charges shall be transformed into SHIB tokens after which burned, successfully decreasing the provision. However the blockchain’s first day was a little bit of a canine’s breakfast, with the SHIB token tumbling 9% as customers widely reported troubles bridging assets over to the brand new blockchain, with transactions on the community stalled for at the least 5 hours. Customers have been additionally muzzled from sending messages on a neighborhood discussion board on Discord shortly after the preliminary stories began coming in.

DIS-CONNECT: Binance, the world’s largest crypto change, shut down Binance Join, previously generally known as Bifinity, simply one year after its launch. The service allowed retailers to just accept funds in crypto, supporting 50 digital property and main credit-card networks together with Visa and Mastercard. In an announcement, Binance stated the choice got here “in response to altering market and consumer wants.”

OUTED AS ALTCOINER? Recent election-finance disclosures revealed that former U.S. President Donald Trump, who’s operating for the Republican nomination within the 2024 race, held $2.8 million in a cryptocurrency wallet as of early August; the blockchain-analysis agency Arkham Intelligence stated it discovered what seems to be the pockets deal with, and it incorporates ether (ETH) together with wrapped ETH (wETH), Polygon’s MATIC tokens and the USDC stablecoin. The revelations are notable partly as a result of different Republican candidates, together with Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy, have touted coverage positions favorable particularly to bitcoin (BTC), and plenty of bitcoiners are inclined to frown on utilization of something apart from the biggest and authentic cryptocurrency.

Highlighting blockchain tech upgrades and developments.

Injective Protocol, blockchain constructed for finance that claims to be the quickest amongst layer 1s, introduced a brand new “2.0” tokenomics upgrade. The plan will “dramatically enhance the quantity of INJ burned weekly,” based on a weblog submit. In accordance with Messari, the INJ token value has quintupled year-to-date, making it the highest performer amongst cryptocurrencies with a market capitalization of at the least $500 million.