WhiteboardCrypto Newsletter - Nov 2

Welcome back to this week's edition of our WhiteboardCrypto Newsletter!

Cardano integrates Bitcoin

As the first L1 to do so, Cardano has integrated BitcoinOS's Grail Bridge, a tool that allows Bitcoin assets to move into Cardano's ecosystem. BitcoinOS uses zk-proofs on the Bitcoin blockchain, which they claim enables smart contract functionality on the otherwise non-smart contract-enabled chain. This integration allows Bitcoin users to move their BTC to Cardano, improving the versatility of Bitcoin in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications built on the Cardano L1.

Learn more here.

Circle and Inco work on privacy

Circle, the creator of the USDC stablecoin, has paired up with Inco to release a whitepaper detailing a confidential ERC-20 token solution. A big problem in crypto privacy has been the government’s desire to track who is doing what, and other privacy solutions help users hide their wallet addresses, which makes it more difficult to trace who is using them. Circle and Inco’s solution keeps wallet addresses visible while hiding transaction volumes and balances. It also allows unique programmability such as the new token issuers to require KYC. They foresee use cases including payroll, businesses, and P2P.

Learn more here.

Stacks’ Nakamoto upgrade went live

The Bitcoin L2 called Stacks released an upgrade called Nakamoto that increased block times and improved finality, making it so transactions on the L2 are as irreversible as those on Bitcoin L1. This upgrade comes ahead of the launch of sBTC, a programmable token on Stacks backed by BTC which allows users to bridge BTC natively between the L1 and L2.

Learn more here.

Coinbase’s Base decentralizes a little more

The popular Ethereum L2 run by Coinbase, Base, has launched fault proofs, which brings the network closer to full decentralization. Though still far from decentralized, this brings it closer from “Stage 0” to “Stage 1” on Vitalik’s decentralization framework, with full decentralization considered Stage 2. Base has tapped into Optimism’s Fault Proof System to achieve this, which allows for permissionless proposals and challenges to the state of the chain, meaning there is no longer a requirement for a centralized entity to prove the state of the chain. The next step is to have a larger variety and number of people making decisions about the network.

Learn more here.

Thanks for reading and I hope you learned something!

- Theodore