This weekly digest of crypto news is fueled by a lot of Ethereum updates, so buckle up if you're looking for thrilling altcoin action! The Ethereum network marked its 8-year anniversary, financial firms are testing the waters for Ethereum futures ETF filings, and Litecoin notched its latest halving cycle. Here's the top crypto news of the week!
The first so-called altcoin made its blockchain debut over eight years ago with the launch of the Ethereum network! And how it’s grown over the years. Here’s a quick recap of the milestones along the eight-year journey:
Support for smart contracts
Decentralized applications (dApps)
Minting of non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
After originally launching as a proof-of-work blockchain, the network made the hotly anticipated switch to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism in September of 2022. Even with all the groundbreaking milestones listed above, the network is finding ways to innovate and adapt to the new frontiers in crypto. Happy birthday, Ethereum!
Fresh off the wave of spot-bitcoin ETF filings earlier this summer, financial firms are now testing the waters for ETH futures ETFs. Volatility Shares was the first to get their application in with the SEC at the end of July. If that application isn’t denied, the timing would line up for an early October launch of the first exchange-traded fund that tracks Ethereum futures contracts. That’s a pretty big if, however, because the SEC has never approved any ETF filing that deals in ETH futures contracts.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer investors a way to gain exposure to crypto markets without needing to hold any crypto themselves.
Litecoin, often referred to as the silver to Bitcoin’s gold, completed its halving on Wednesday, August 2. The halving occurs on a 4-year cycle, much like the halving cycle that’s part of the Bitcoin blockchain – this all makes sense because Litecoin’s source code borrows heavily from Bitcoin but with a greater emphasis on speed. The halving for Litecoin’s proof-of-work blockchain cuts the reward for mining new blocks in half. The reward for mining a new block is going from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC with Wednesday’s halving.
The price for LTC hasn’t exactly tracked with the anticipation of the quadrennial halving event. As of Wednesday, LTC’s price was nearly 20% lower than its previous 30-day high. LTC reached its highest price of 2023 so far ($112) on July 2, exactly one month before the halving occurred. It’s worth noting that LTC’s price is up 50% for the year.
Learn more: What is Litecoin?
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