As we enter the last month of 2020, several cryptocurrency projects, including some of the top-tier ones are making continued progress and deploying updates to their mainnets.
1. Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain platform and its native asset Ether (ETH) is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Ethereum features the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which can execute Turing-complete scripts. This gives Ethereum immense flexibility, allowing users to deploy a wide variety of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) that operate in fast, immutable and trustless manner.
The Highly Anticipated Launch of ETH 2.0 is Finally Here
After a long wait and build-up, the ETH 2.0, which features a shift from a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism to a Proof of Stake (PoS) algorithm, is finally here. The network gathered the necessary 16384 32-ETH validators 7 days ago, so the ETH 2.0 genesis is set to trigger on December 1, at 12:00 PM UTC time. The move to PoS could prove to be revolutionary for the Ethereum ecosystem as it will allow a much higher transaction output. More details can be found in the Ethereum’s last quick update prior to the launch of ETH 2.0.
2. PIVX (PIVX)
PIVX is a project whose name derives from Private Instant Verified Transaction. PIVX launched in 2016 and operates as a fully decentralized and open source project, which aims to provide optimum security and high privacy of its users and their transactions. Its protocol utilizes a CoinJoin-based mixing mechanism, which is administered via network masternodes, to scramble up the transactions.
zPIV to PIV Swap Deadline is December 1
The PIVX team recently announced that all zPIV coins, there are PIV coins that had previously been minted to zPIV under the prior privacy protocol, must be converted back to PIV. The deadline for conversion was December 1 and users who failed to swap their zPIV to PIV by this date will lose their coins as the project discontinues support for v1 and v2 zPIV on both mainnet and testnet. Users were advised to use the PIVX desktop wallet to swap their coins without fees. More details regarding the swap process can be found here. In addition, the team is getting ready to roll-out a new version (v5.0) of the PIVX wallet, which features enhanced user data protection features.
3. Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is a cryptocurrency project focused on creating a smart contract enabled platform on which developers can build decentralized applications. The native asset of the Cardano blockchain is called ADA and the development of the project is overseed by three main organizations – the IOHK, Cardano Foundation and Emurgo. Cardano launched in 2017 and raised $62.2 million for its development through an ICO. What sets Cardano apart from Ethereum and other smart chains is that Cardano aims to implement advanced on-chain functionality and guarantee the scalability of the network.
Trezor and Ledger wallets to fully support ADA in Q1 2021
Charles Hoskinson, the inventor of Cardano and the CEO of IHOK shared updates concerning the development of the Cardano blockchain in a recently published video. Among other things, he revealed that the Cardano developers will continue to collaborate with Runtime Verification company for the launch of IELE and K.IELE is a virtual machine (VM), that will allow developers to create dApps in any popular programming language and then convert them and run them on Cardano blockchain. Hoskinson stated that the VM will be a perfect component to convert dApps from Ethereum to Cardano and that once completed it will make the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) “look like a toy”.
The project is also set to release its roadmap for year 2021 soon. Nevertheless, Hoskinson already provided a sneak peek into 2021, as he revealed that they are likely to be two major updates. The first will bring support for multi-assets and the second will bring full support for the Plutus platform. Furthermore, Cardano expects to fully integrate with Daedalus Trezor and Ledger hardware wallets in Q1 2021 or even by the end of 2020. ADA holders will then be able to partially stake their coins held in hardware wallets.
