American venture capital investor and entrepreneur Tim Draper took the master stage at Paris Blockchain Week 2023 to give his keynote speech on The Decentralization of Everything, which he ended with a self-composed Bitcoin song.

The speech opened by touching on the general distrust of cryptocurrencies primarily Bitcoin (BTC) from centralized governments. I think they are absolutely panicking right now, he said.

Draper particularly angled his thoughts through the lens of the recent Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) crisis, which he called a crisis of trust.

However, according to the investor, a smooth transition out of these latest bank failures will not be likely under the current leadership in the United States. He signaled the recent remarks against cryptocurrencies stemming from the White House.

His whole speech boiled down to his belief that an inevitable change is coming stemming from decentralized financial tools like Bitcoin, calling it a drumbeat that keeps coming and coming.

He continued by saying that weak leaders will be revealed by those who resist it. Whereas strong leaders embrace it and are looking for this change. He concluded his speech with a three-minute song, which he wrote and performed.

According to Draper, the song was written four years ago but is more relevant than ever today. It touched on Satoshi, Bitcoin, banks, governments and the want for a new world order.

Related:Paris Blockchain Week 2023: First day of the Summit kicks off

Before he began, he dedicated the song to SVB and all the banks that have failed and will fail.

The song got a round of applause from the audience, as well as the panelists who followed Draper on the master stage.

He concluded his time by saying blockchain, Bitcoin and smart contracts are making up one of the greatest transitions in the history of the world, and it should be embraced.

The rest is here:

Tim Draper sings a Bitcoin song dedicated to SVB and world governments: PBW 2023 - Cointelegraph

The United States commodities regulator received a crash course on decentralized finance (DeFi) on March 22. Crypto executives briefed the regulator on key issues affecting the space, including exploits, decentralization and digital identities.

As part of a scheduled first meeting of the CFTCs Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) in Washington D.C., members from the crypto space gave presentations to the regular intending to cover critical issues currently impacting DeFi.

CFTC commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero opened the meeting with prepared remarks, saying understanding how DeFi works is important as policy decisions related to DeFi are currently being made by regulators and lawmakers.

The panel began with an explainer on DeFi and blockchain technology by Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs.

He outlined the claimed benefits of blockchains, namely transparency, immutability and privacy, saying it could allow regulators to balance the right to privacy with the need for security.

Redbord and Nikos Andrikogiannopoulos, the founder of analytics firm Metrika, jointly outlined the benefits and issues currently facing decentralization, concluding that the benefits far outweigh the challenges, which they believe will self-resolve.

Weve reached a point in time where we can no longer ignore decentralization, Andrikogiannopoulos said. Not only do we have to embrace it, but I think its our duty to lead it in the right direction.

Redbord highlighted the total value that entered DeFi in the last two years, saying it was stress tested during FTX [...] and did not fail. DeFi is absolutely here to stay.

DeFis total value locked is around $49.1 billion, according to DefiLlama, rising from around $15 billion at the beginning of January 2021.

Carole House, executive in residence of venture firm Terranet Ventures, and Jill Gunter, chief strategy officer of blockchain infrastructure company Espresso Systems, then provided an overview of the current solutions for digital identity and noncustodial wallets, using the examples of the Ethereum Name Service and MetaMask wallet.

Related: CFTC continues to explore digital asset policy considerations in MRAC meeting

Fireblocks founder Michael Shaulov and Trail of Bits founder Dan Guido then presented the exploits and vulnerabilities that have, and continue to, take place in the market.

All the hacks, they are extraordinarily public, and its usually your users and other outside firms that find out about them before you do, Guido remarked, which he said instills a need for perfection in crypto firms.

Throughout 2022, the top 10 exploits in crypto alonesaw over $2 billion lost, with DeFi on the receiving end of 113 exploits out of the 167 carried out across the year.

Shaulov then briefly explained the exploits carried out against the Ronin Bridge, BadgerDAO and the recent Euler Finance exploit.

The DeFi portion of the meeting ended with members unanimously voting for creating a Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology Subcommittee.

The subcommittee will focus on the why of DeFi, what problems it solves, use cases, vulnerabilities, and proposed legal and policy frameworks.

Magazine: Best and worst countries for crypto taxes Plus crypto tax tips

Go here to see the original:

CFTC's tech committee gathered in DC to talk DeFi Here's what ... - Cointelegraph

There was a period, back in the euphoria of cryptos 2021 bull market period, when Solana was the blockchain name of the moment, spoken about as the next big thing, and with, according to its advocates, the potential even to outdo Ethereum in the race to become the foundational network of choice for web3 developers.

There were multiple reasons for this optimism, not least the fact that it had backing from VCs keen to promote its virtues. And, on balance, it should be noted that Solana does have significant characteristics in its favor. Most advantageously, its fast and cheap, two critical factors in attracting developers, who should in turn attract further users.

Remember that this was prior to the Ethereum Merge, a time when there were significant doubts as to whether Ethereum would ever make its long-promised transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. Constant delays in the execution of Ethereums protocol change were beginning to foster a sense that scaling would, in turn, be delayed, and that sky-high fees and network congestion would never be resolved.

Additionally, Ethereum Layer 2s were not as prominent as they are now, and, although it was known that The Merge would not solve scaling issues on its own (such issues still exist), execution would at least indicate that development was proceeding in the right direction.

Keep Reading

Against this backdrop, alternative Layer 1 blockchains, including not only Solana, but also Cardano, Avalanche and others, provided a compelling alternative. From here, Solana picked up in activity, thanks to its simplicity (no friction-adding Layer 2s required) and, at a time when blockchain-based digital art was making headlines for some huge sales, its NFTs. In fact, Solana would quickly become the second most-well known network for NFTs (after Ethereum) and evolved into an active community of NFT creators, traders and collectors, who were optimistic about the future of the network.

Amidst the bullishness around Solana, the blockchain also ran into some problems, which would, over time, become increasingly conspicuous.

A recurring fault was the issue of network outages when the entire blockchain would effectively stop working. The most recent of these occurred last month and lasted for almost twenty hours, and after that came a total of fourteen outages throughout 2022. The first breakdown in Solanas history was in December 2020, the same year as its launch, and when the blockchain was still serving only a relatively small number of users.

Solana has also been criticized for a perceived lack of decentralization, a factor which is vitally important in the crypto world. One reason for this is the networks initial token allocation when, according to data from research platform Messari, almost 50% percent of the blockchains native token, SOL, went to project insiders, with very little allocated to a public presale. Since staked SOL enables the operation of network validators, we can infer that a small number of holders exercise outsized control over the validation of transactions.

Criticism of Solana as a VC-centered project became even more of an issue towards the end of 2022 when FTX collapsed. The wreckage around this catastrophe was of particular relevance to Solana due to the networks links with Sam Bankman-Fried. The disgraced CEO of FTX had invested $314.2 million in Solana Labs, through the FTX-linked Alameda Research, and had lauded Solana in interviews, creating a perception, once the post-downfall reality about FTX had come to public light, of a disreputable connection.

Solana was certainly looking worse for wear towards the end of last year, but 2023 has, lately, seen hints that a comeback may be in the works. Notably, there has been recent news about the Worldline payment services provider entering into a partnership with Solana.

This integration means web3 projects operating on Solana will gain access to the Payment Orchestration platform run by Worldline, which removes the need for projects to create multiple payment integrations since Worldlines platform directly connects with over 300 payment providers and methods, including fiat on/off ramps.

This development follows Worldline announced plans to provide services within the Decentraland metaverse project, indicating that web3 and crypto-oriented development are on its radar as areas to expand into.

There has also been growing anticipation about the in-development Solana phone, called the Solana Saga. This product was announced back in the summer of 2022 and has been expected to ship in early 2023. Its an Android device augmented for web3 applications and payments, and, if it arrives soon, will come at a time when crypto urgently needs to go mobile in order to demonstrate that practical integration and daily use cases are a reality.

Additionally, there is speculation about Render Network migrating to Solana. Render is specialized in decentralized hardware solutions (specifically, GPU rendering), and in a proposal about the potential move, its Founder, Jules Urbach, stated that: Solana has the right mix of speed without compromising security (vs side-chain approaches). No decision has yet been made, and there is a 21 day community feedback period, which began on March 20th.

The Foundation released a primer on RNP-002 today.

The post details RNP-002: Layer 1 Network Expansion.

In accordance with RNP-000 there is up to a 21 day community feedback period that begins today! We would love your feedback. https://t.co/90j0gmhCOw

As with much of web3 and crypto, Solanas future is unclear, but, while issues around network reliability are ongoing, and there may continue to be criticism about a perceived lack of decentralization, it appears that there are some potentially constructive developments lining up.

There was a period, back in the euphoria of cryptos 2021 bull market period, when Solana was the blockchain name of the moment, spoken about as the next big thing, and with, according to its advocates, the potential even to outdo Ethereum in the race to become the foundational network of choice for web3 developers.

There were multiple reasons for this optimism, not least the fact that it had backing from VCs keen to promote its virtues. And, on balance, it should be noted that Solana does have significant characteristics in its favor. Most advantageously, its fast and cheap, two critical factors in attracting developers, who should in turn attract further users.

Remember that this was prior to the Ethereum Merge, a time when there were significant doubts as to whether Ethereum would ever make its long-promised transition from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. Constant delays in the execution of Ethereums protocol change were beginning to foster a sense that scaling would, in turn, be delayed, and that sky-high fees and network congestion would never be resolved.

Additionally, Ethereum Layer 2s were not as prominent as they are now, and, although it was known that The Merge would not solve scaling issues on its own (such issues still exist), execution would at least indicate that development was proceeding in the right direction.

Keep Reading

Against this backdrop, alternative Layer 1 blockchains, including not only Solana, but also Cardano, Avalanche and others, provided a compelling alternative. From here, Solana picked up in activity, thanks to its simplicity (no friction-adding Layer 2s required) and, at a time when blockchain-based digital art was making headlines for some huge sales, its NFTs. In fact, Solana would quickly become the second most-well known network for NFTs (after Ethereum) and evolved into an active community of NFT creators, traders and collectors, who were optimistic about the future of the network.

Amidst the bullishness around Solana, the blockchain also ran into some problems, which would, over time, become increasingly conspicuous.

A recurring fault was the issue of network outages when the entire blockchain would effectively stop working. The most recent of these occurred last month and lasted for almost twenty hours, and after that came a total of fourteen outages throughout 2022. The first breakdown in Solanas history was in December 2020, the same year as its launch, and when the blockchain was still serving only a relatively small number of users.

Solana has also been criticized for a perceived lack of decentralization, a factor which is vitally important in the crypto world. One reason for this is the networks initial token allocation when, according to data from research platform Messari, almost 50% percent of the blockchains native token, SOL, went to project insiders, with very little allocated to a public presale. Since staked SOL enables the operation of network validators, we can infer that a small number of holders exercise outsized control over the validation of transactions.

Criticism of Solana as a VC-centered project became even more of an issue towards the end of 2022 when FTX collapsed. The wreckage around this catastrophe was of particular relevance to Solana due to the networks links with Sam Bankman-Fried. The disgraced CEO of FTX had invested $314.2 million in Solana Labs, through the FTX-linked Alameda Research, and had lauded Solana in interviews, creating a perception, once the post-downfall reality about FTX had come to public light, of a disreputable connection.

Solana was certainly looking worse for wear towards the end of last year, but 2023 has, lately, seen hints that a comeback may be in the works. Notably, there has been recent news about the Worldline payment services provider entering into a partnership with Solana.

This integration means web3 projects operating on Solana will gain access to the Payment Orchestration platform run by Worldline, which removes the need for projects to create multiple payment integrations since Worldlines platform directly connects with over 300 payment providers and methods, including fiat on/off ramps.

This development follows Worldline announced plans to provide services within the Decentraland metaverse project, indicating that web3 and crypto-oriented development are on its radar as areas to expand into.

There has also been growing anticipation about the in-development Solana phone, called the Solana Saga. This product was announced back in the summer of 2022 and has been expected to ship in early 2023. Its an Android device augmented for web3 applications and payments, and, if it arrives soon, will come at a time when crypto urgently needs to go mobile in order to demonstrate that practical integration and daily use cases are a reality.

Additionally, there is speculation about Render Network migrating to Solana. Render is specialized in decentralized hardware solutions (specifically, GPU rendering), and in a proposal about the potential move, its Founder, Jules Urbach, stated that: Solana has the right mix of speed without compromising security (vs side-chain approaches). No decision has yet been made, and there is a 21 day community feedback period, which began on March 20th.

The Foundation released a primer on RNP-002 today.

The post details RNP-002: Layer 1 Network Expansion.

In accordance with RNP-000 there is up to a 21 day community feedback period that begins today! We would love your feedback. https://t.co/90j0gmhCOw

As with much of web3 and crypto, Solanas future is unclear, but, while issues around network reliability are ongoing, and there may continue to be criticism about a perceived lack of decentralization, it appears that there are some potentially constructive developments lining up.

See original here:

Is There a Sunny Outlook for Solana? - Finance Magnates

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called for consensus with Saudi Arabia over the presidential choice, as he reiterated that the problem is Maronite in the presidential file.

In an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper, Berri said that he is awaiting the outcome of the upcoming Christian gathering in Bkirki, when asked about who can break the presidential deadlock.

When we said yesterday that the problem is Maronite, they got dismayed. And if we say it today, they will also get dismayed, but this is the main problem, the Speaker added.

When I say that the problem is inter-Maronite, they accuse me of launching unjust accusations. Any observer can draw one conclusion: they went federalism or confederalism under the label of financial decentralization, which we reject because it was not mentioned in the Taif Accord, Berri said, in an interview with al-Liwaa newspaper.

We support broad administrative decentralization, because it involves facilitating peoples affairs and preserves the central state, the Speaker added.

Whats notable in this regard is the Free Patriotic Movements melting in the stances of the Lebanese Forces to the extent of not finding any differentiation between them, despite Dr. (Samir) Geageas rejection of meeting MP (Jebran) Bassil, Berri went on to say.

Despite competition inside the same community, Geagea has succeeded in leading the Maronite scene, and whenever he takes a stance Bassil would endorse it and try to go further, the Speaker added.

As for his recent meeting with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari, Berri said the atmosphere was positive.

We did not agree, but we did not disagree, and accordingly consensus with the kingdom over the presidential choice is necessary, Berri added.

Here is the original post:

Berri urges 'consensus with KSA', reiterates that 'the problem is ... - Naharnet

GRAND RAPIDS A startup company backed by West Michigan investors wants to reduce costs at hospitals and outpatient surgical centers by centralizing and managing their sterile processing for surgical instruments.

Sterile Processing Express, or SPDx, opens its first sterile processing center next month in Phoenix, Ariz. The Grand Rapids-based company has been scouting for locations in Dallas, Texas, and Orlando, Fla. for the next two centers with hopes to begin construction in each market in the latter half of 2023.

SPDx aims to have six sterile processing facilities within four years and then expand it from there, CEO Julius Heil told MiBiz.

We envision a model where we have as many as 30 of these around the country in major metropolitan areas to support both the hospitals and the ASCs, Heil said.

Heil joined SPDx earlier this year after serving as president and CEO of national group purchasing organization Intalere Inc. that Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare sold to supply chain management company Vizient Inc. two years ago. Heil continued with Vizient for a transition period.

Focused primarily on orthopedics, SPDx wants to handle the sterilization process for hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and instrument manufacturers and manage their inventory. In time, SPDx also could manage sterile processing departments inside hospitals as a third-party vendor and is considering a future move into sterilizing surgical instruments for dental and veterinary practices, Heil said.

The companys value proposition is predicated on driving greater efficiency and the improving cost structure for clients through centralized sterile processing centers.

Health care is spiraling out of control from a cost perspective and were all customers, Heil said. Theres a huge shift in where the customers want to get health services performed, have access and make sure that theyre safe.

SPDx plans to pursue a $15 million Series A capital round later this year to support its expansion, Heil said. The company has garnered early interest from hospitals, surgeons who have ownership interests in ASCs, and venture capital firms and other health care industry investors, Heil said.

Grand Rapids-based Genesis Innovation Group LLC formed SPDx to play into a massive shift occurring in health care where surgical procedures are increasingly moving from hospitals to lower-cost outpatient ambulatory surgical centers, Heil said. The company will sterilize and store surgical instruments for clients and deliver them almost instantaneously when needed, whether thats the surgical center up the road or the hospital down the street, he said.

The idea for SPDx came from a limited partner at Grand Rapids-based Cultivate(MD) who has significant commercial experience in orthopedics and brought the concept to our attention, said Matt Ahearn, a director at Genesis Innovation Group.

Venture capital firm Cultivate(MD) is part of Genesis Innovation Group and invests in medical technologies.

The Cultivate(MD) limited partner noted an increasing trend within his customer base of knee and hip replacement surgeries being performed in an outpatient setting, Ahearn wrote in an email to MiBiz. He also noted that the surgeons wanted to do more knee and hip replacements in an outpatient setting, but that the surgery centers didnt have the capacity to clean and sterilize the instruments required for the surgeries

Genesis Innovation Groups due diligence validated the concept with hundreds of orthopedic surgeons and ASC owners and development groups, Ahearn said. The groups due diligence also confirmed that the market demand for services in Phoenix was incredibly high, he said.

SPDx launched in 2021 with capital from Cultivate(MD) and The 4100 Group Inc., the Lansing-based investment arm of dental insurer Delta Dental of Michigan and its Ohio counterpart.

Attracted by the operating efficiencies that SPDx can generate and the growing market for ASCs around the nation, The 4100 Group invested $2 million in SPDx, said Chief Investment Officer Scott Lancaster.

Lancaster learned about SPDx last year when he was introduced to Ahearn through a professional connection. After looking into the company, The 4100 Group concluded this was intriguing enough that we decided to participate, Lancaster said.

Partners at Genesis Innovation Group found a pretty unique segment of opportunity in SPDx with the potential to drive cost and capacity efficiencies for hospitals and ASCs that can outsource an operation that typically has been a cost center, he said.

A lot of whats going on in health care is decentralization of services away from the highest expense centers, which are typically hospitals, Lancaster said. This is a complementary service that fits nicely into that whole decentralization model.

Continued here:

Venture capital-backed SPDx eyes nationwide network of med ... - MiBiz: West Michigan Business News

The Alpha:

Web3 gaming remains one of the most prospective NFT use cases in existence. With the global gaming market size reaching over $200 billion in 2022, the industry is ripe with potential. And it seems that Nexon is hoping to capitalize on some of that potential with one of its most beloved titles.

MapleStory is a cherished and storied name in the gaming community. One of Nexons primary IP offerings, the game has generated over $4 billion in revenue and secured 180 million registered players, according to a recent earnings report.

The blockchain-based iteration, MapleStory Universe, will be built on Polygon Supernets, a blockchain development platform aimed at helping Web3 developers create their own blockchain protocols. Polygon Supernets perform a similar function to that of Avalanche Subnets, to which theyre often compared. These networks allow developers to build and utilize a blockchain sub-network for individual projects, protecting them from sluggish performance issues on the main networks theyre a part of.

Polygon Labs, which is a development and growth team for the Polygon protocol, is set to provide technical and business support for the MapleStory Universe.

We are looking forward to expanding the NFT ecosystem envisioned by MapleStory Universe by building on Polygon, the top protocol for web3 gaming. It is the perfect choice to power the ecosystem, MapleStory Universe group leader Sun-young Hwang said in the press release. We will work closely with the team at Polygon Labs to develop and market the game.

In an article explaining why Nexon decided to turn to blockchain technology, the company noted that its goal is to create an NFT-centered ecosystem that allows players to have a full view of the decision-making, participate in IP development, and have actual ownership of their assets.

While there are many benefits of blockchain technology, Nexon has focused on three in particular: (1) Transparency, with all information recorded on-chain for anyone to see. (2) An open ecosystem, where anyone can contribute to the project and earn rewards for their contributions. (3) Extended utility, through the free movement of in-game assets, they wrote.

To this end, the team noted that users will have a clearer view of the decisions and changes that are made, as the developers design and decision-making processes will now be fully visible on-chain. And since the entire process is recorded on-chain, it will be more difficult for developers to change the rules on a whim, as they are fully visible to all users. The transparent governance of the blockchain and the decentralization of power that it provides makes developers design and decision-making processes fully visible and trustworthy. In this way, users can immerse themselves more easily in the virtual world, the team explained.

Whats more, Nexon will no longer be acting as an administrator with complete control of the server. Instead, it will be a developer participating in an open ecosystem. As a result, other contributors will be on more equal footing, and it will be easier to identify these other contributors. The company explains that this allows for more proactive contributions and ensures that contributors are fairly rewarded for their work.

This increase in transparency and decentralization certainly sounds like a good thing. But unfortunately, would-be players will have to wait a bit to see exactly how this all plays out, as the game currently has no release date.

See the article here:

MapleStory's Integrating NFTs: Here's What Players Should Expect - nft now

WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today introduced legislationto prohibit the Federal Reserve from developing a direct-to-consumer central bank digital currency which could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the federal government. Sen. Cruzs bill was cosponsored by Sens. Braun (R-Ind.) and Grassley (R-Iowa).

As countries like China develop CBDCs that omit the benefits and protections of cash, as well as the control and security of many existing digital cryptocurrencies, it is more important than ever to ensure the United States digital currency policy protects financial privacy, maintains the dollars dominance, and cultivates innovation.CBDCs that fail to adhere to these three basic principles could enable an entity like the Federal Reserve to mobilize itself into a retail bank, collect personally identifiable information on users, and track their transactions indefinitely. It is important to note that while the Fed does not, and should not, have the authority to offer retail bank accounts, it is already looking into what establishing a digital currency would look like.

Unlike decentralized digital currencies like Bitcoin, CBDCs are issued and backed by a government entity and transact on a centralized, permissioned blockchain. Not only would this CBDC model centralize Americans financial information, leaving it vulnerable to attack, it could be used as direct surveillance tool into the private transactions of Americans.

Upon introducing the legislation, Sen. Cruz said:

The federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank currency. This bill goes a long way in making sure big government doesnt attempt to centralize or control cryptocurrency and instead, allows it to thrive in the United States. We should be empowering entrepreneurs, enabling innovation, and increasing individual freedomnot stifling it.

Sen. Braun said:

"Allowing the government to centralize Americans financial information and increase surveillance of Americans financial activity is simply a bad idea. The federal government should not have even more control over your own money. I support this legislation to allow entrepreneurship to prosper and keep the federal government from further encroaching on your privacy rights."

Sen. Grassley said:

The American people ought to be able to spend their money how they choose without the possibility that every transaction could be tracked by the government. Policy this impactful should be made by Congress, not government bureaucrats, and our bill would ensure that no one is snooping on the finances of hardworking Americans. Every American deserves that peace of mind.

Adam Brandon, president and CEO of FreedomWorks, said:

"The Federal Reserves exploration into Central Bank Digital Currency raises serious questions regarding the continued development of the digital economy, consumer privacy, and the eventual transition to a cashless system of payments. One of the most significant features that draw people to digital assets is decentralization, and there is no central authority that manages the supply and value of most digital assets. The United States must not follow countries like China down the path of digital authoritarianism but instead preserve a payment system that promotes consumer privacy and security."

Sen. Cruz previously introduced this bill in2022.

###

See more here:

Sen. Cruz Introduces Legislation to Prohibit the Fed From ... - Senator Ted Cruz

What are the main findings of the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment 2

The second Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA2) carried out by the World Bank in coordination with the EU and the Ukrainian Government covers a full year of the unprovoked and unjustified aggression by Russia against Ukraine, from 24 February 2022 until 24 February 2023. It finds that thepriority needs for 2023 amount to around USD 14 billionandfocus on restoration of energy, housing, critical and social infrastructure, basic services for the most vulnerable, explosive hazard management, and private sector development. It is estimated that the Ukraine's budget already covers up to USD 3 billion of USD14 billion and the funding gap of Government of Ukraine is assessed to be approximately USD 6 billion.

Looking at a 10-year perspective for the reconstruction efforts, as set out by the report, the direct damage in Ukraine has reached overUSD135billion, with housing, transport, energy, and commerce and industry identified as the most affected sectors. Damage is concentrated in the frontline oblasts, particularly Donetska, Kharkivska, Luhanska, Zaporizka, as well as those brought back under government control, such as Kyivska and Khersonska.

Disruptions to economic flows and production losses amount to aroundUSD290 billion. Ukraine's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 30.4 percent in 2022, and poverty is expected to have increased from 5.5 percent to 24.2 percent in 2022.

As of February 24, 2023, for the next decade, reconstruction and recovery needs are estimated at aboutUSD411 billion. These needs include critical steps toward becoming a modern, low-carbon, disaster- and climate-resilient country that is aligned with European Union policies and standards, and where the country's vulnerabilities are addressed.

The full report of the RDNA2 will be officially published on the 4thof April 2023.

What are the priority needs for 2023 of theRDNA2?

The priority needs for 2023 take into account strategic priorities set out by the Ukrainian government as well as existing financing and implementation capacity of Ukraine. The five key recovery and reconstruction priorities are:

Critical and social infrastructure(USD 5.7 billion), and basic service delivery to vulnerable populations. This will include renewal of housing utilities, repair and reconstruction of transport infrastructure and repair and reconstruction of schools, health facilities, and other social and administrative infrastructure.

Energy infrastructure(USD3.3 billion ), including restoration and repair of transmission and distribution lines and generation capacity, development of renewables and protecting the power grid.

Housing(USD1.9 billion), including quick repairs and capital reconstruction.

Private sector development(USD 2.7 billion), including grants, credit lines, and risk facilities to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), microenterprises, the agriculture sector and exports.

Humanitarian demining(USD 0.4 billion)- focusing on building the strategic and operational capacity for demining operations.

What is the EU doing to address the priority needs in Ukraine?

In 2022, EU provided substantial support to Ukraine's short-term recovery. This included EUR 7.2 billion MFA and more than EUR 660 million budget support. EUR 330 million of our emergency support package in grants also largely focused on emergency support for damaged infrastructure needs EU has allocated for instance EUR 100 million for the construction of new social housing for IDPsin Western Ukraine as well as EUR 50 million support to liberated cities for emergency repairs and reconstruction of social and municipal buildings in Kyiv region. In addition, EUR 100 million have also been mobilised to rehabilitate schools damaged by Russia's brutal attacks against Ukraine's education system. EU has also reoriented projects funded with IFIs, including NEF and IFC, to support refurbishment of municipal buildings and provide medium - to long-term housing for IDPs in Western Ukraine.

In 2023, the EU's priority is to support Ukraine to ensure its immediate financial needs, the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure and initial support towards sustainable post-war reconstruction, through the EUR 18 billion MFA+ package. First two instalments in the value of EUR 4.5 billion have already been made and EUR 1.5 billion monthly payments will follow until the end of the year. In addition, in 2023 as part ofthe announcement of President von der Leyen and Commissioner Varhelyi during the College to Government meeting and the EU-Ukraine Summit in Kyiv in February 2023, EUR 1 billion will be mobilisedfrom the NDICI grants and EIB loans for Ukraine's fast recovery. It will contribute to the priority needs including for example in the area of energy, as well as critical and social infrastructure. The updated RDNA will inform the ongoing discussions with Ukraine on what priority sectors this funding will support.

What assistance has the EU already been providing to Ukraine, since the beginning of the war, to support recovery and reconstruction?

In response to Russia's war of aggression, the EU's economic, humanitarian and military support pledged to Ukraine and the EU Member States supporting Ukraine is around67 billion. It is composed of 50 billion that have been made available by the EU, Member States and the European Financial Institutions as well as 17 billion that have been made available from the EU budget for Members States, which are hosting around 4 million people under temporary protection. The 50 million package includes among other 18 billion macro-financial support package for 2023 (MFA+), accompanied by reforms, to keep the Ukrainian state afloat; 12 billion of military support(3.6 billion via the European Peace Facility and EU Member States bilateral contributions) and an additional 17 billion have been made available to help cater for the needs of Ukrainians forced to flee the war in Member States.

Regardingenergy, the EU is providing vital support to Ukraine's energy sector damaged by Russia's continuous strikes on civilian infrastructure. This includes an additional 2.400 generators on top of 3.000 already delivered; EUR 157,5 million from the Energy Support Fund, as well as a total of 35 million LED light bulbs already contracted (15 million delivered) to help Ukraine significantly reduce energy consumption). Upon the invitation of the EU, Ukraine will take part in the Jointgas purchasing platformof the EU set up in April 2022 to secure gas supplies for the coming winter. In addition, the European and Ukrainian electricity grids have been synchronized in March 2022, allowing for electricity trade. The EU is committed to increase electricity exports to Ukraine to two GW (from 700 MW all hours currently).

EU also supports building back better in line with EU standards and core principles, in order to facilitate progressive integration of Ukraine into the EU single market.

What are the overall principles to guide the recovery and reconstruction process in Ukraine?

The key principles to guide the recovery and reconstruction process in Ukraine as set out by both RDNAs are:

Balancing urgent needs and medium- to long-term goals -strategic prioritization of reconstruction across all sectors and locally driven reconstruction efforts

Differentiated approaches that prioritize impact and needs and that promote decentralization. Investments should reflect the specific needs of communities, oblasts, regions, and stakeholders.

Resilience and building back better for amore sustainable future.Investments should be made to avoid stranded assets and to reduce depletion of natural resources, cut emissions and waste, and protect people and the environment. They should go hand in hand with reforms that will allow Ukraine to support harmonization of its legislation and policies with EU law and to meet European Union standards and theacquis communautaire.

Durable solutions for return of refugees and integration of displaced people, prioritizing their needs for housing, access to basic services, social protection, and livelihoods.These could include housing, access to basic services, social protection, mental health and psychosocial support, livelihoods and business financing and facilitation of return and integration of refugees and IDPs.

Continuous data collectionas it's important to receive feedback and data on damage, loss and impacts of the war as well on ongoing, completed and planned repairs and reconstruction efforts to help identify needs for future years.

These main principles build on and complement the existing principles, outlined in many documents, including the July 2022 Lugano Declaration for the Reconstruction of Ukraine and the Government's Recovery Plan. The first document includes the principle of partnership, reform focus, transparency, accountability, and rule of law; democratic participation; multi-stakeholder engagement; gender equality and inclusion; and sustainability. The latter reflect the need to start now and ramp up gradually; grow prosperity in an equitable way; integrate into the EU and be consistent with and supportive of the accession path; build back better for the future; and enable private investment and entrepreneurship.

Is it possible to start reconstruction while the war is ongoing?

The reconstruction process of Ukraine needs to commence now, to help restarting the country's economy and help the people of Ukraine. It will build on the five priority areas: critical and social infrastructure, energy infrastructure, housing, support to private sector and humanitarian demining.

The EU and other key Ukraine's international partners are already helping to both keep the country running and support Ukrainian economy, while preparing for rebuilding the country. To address Ukraine's most urgent needs, the EU is providing regular and predictable financing under the new macro-financial assistance plus (MFA+) programme.

The EU is also providing emergency and humanitarian support, focusing its economic assistance on rapid rehabilitation and recovery. The main focus is on housing solutions and measures for integration of Internally Displaced Persons, support to the host communities, rehabilitation of some critical infrastructure, including energy, social infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, and hospitals), cybersecurity and media. This fast recovery measures are already being implemented, including in liberated areas. The EU is working with partners such as the G7, international financial institutions and in close coordination with Ukraine itself.

The Multi-agency Donor Coordination Platform for Ukraine launched on 26 January coordinates the support for Ukraine's immediate financing needs and future economic recovery and reconstruction. Its Steering Committee is co-chaired by the European Commission, the United States and Ukraine. The Platform can help channel the effort of supporting Ukraine in addressing its immediate financing needs, including the 2023 priority needs, and those of the future economic recovery and reconstruction, as identified by the WB RDNA in collaboration with Ukraine.

How does Ukraine's reconstruction relate to the EU enlargement process?

Ukraine was granted the status of an EU candidate country in June 2022. This is a recognition of Ukraine's reform efforts over many years. At the same time, as a candidate country, Ukraine needs to pursue further significant reforms on its EU path. This will likely work as an essential leverage for Ukraine to attract support and investments for its reconstruction It will also ensure that investments do not create stranded assets but are converging towards climate, environmental and digital EU policies and standards, which will help Ukraine emerge stronger and more resilient from the devastation of the Russian invasion.

The reconstruction of Ukraine is to be guided and framed by the EU enlargement process. This means investments need to go hand in hand with the reforms supporting Ukraine in pursuing its European path. They should also be implemented in line with the EU rules including rule of law reforms and fight against corruption as well as core standards and principles, based on the European Green Deal and supporting digital transformation.

Scope of the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment

The first Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, launched by the World Bank together with the Government of Ukraine and the European Commission was published in September 2022 The It assessed the war damage sustained between February 24, 2022 and June 1, 2022, analysing short, medium and long-term reconstruction and recovery needs of Ukraine and covered the following sectors: social, productive, infrastructure and cross cutting. It was prepared jointly by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank, the European Commission, and the United Nations and supported by other partners including Kyiv School of Economics, civil society organizations, and the private sector.

RDNA follows a methodology jointly developed by the European Commission, the World Bank and the United Nations based on the globally accepted UN standard Damage and Loss Assessment (DaLA) that is tailored to the war in Ukraine. The (DaLA) methodology was initially developed by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in 1972. It was used so far in many countries like Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Albania. Following this methodology, RDNA 2 quantifies and validates physical damage to infrastructure, buildings as well as losses such as disrupted services and economic impacts, clearance of debris, mines and support to Internally Displaced People. It will also identify and quantify corresponding recovery and reconstruction needs: overall, by sector, and by oblast, based on the damage and losses.

The goals and scope of RDNA2

RDNA 2 was prepared in a similar way and with similar goals in mind to the first RDNA but with a much longer time span as it takes stock of Ukraine's damage and losses borne over one year until 24 February 2023. It assesses the scale of damage, losses and economic and social needs for Ukraine's survival during the war and after. RDNA2 report is divided into following sectors: 1. social including housing, education, health; 2. productive including agriculture, irrigation, commerce and industry; 3.infrastructure - including energy transport, digital and 4. cross-cutting including environment, emergency response, justice and public administration. Complementary to the standard methodology used for the first report and the estimation of short- and long-term needs, this RDNA 2 report also includes priorities for recovery and reconstruction investments for 2023. The RDNA 2 is based on the same set of concepts and their definitions as the first RDNA, namely:

Damagesare defined as direct costs of destroyed or damaged physical assets and infrastructure valued in monetary terms with costs estimated based on replacing or repairing physical assets and infrastructure, considering the replacement price prevailing before the war.

Lossesreflect changes in economic flows resulting from the war; valued in monetary terms, for example increased operating cost or loss of revenue for authorities/private sector.

Needscorrespond with value associated with the resumption of pre - war normality through activities such as repair and restoration, including a surcharge linked to building back better principles (e.g. improved energy efficiency, modernization efforts and sustainability standards), as well as factors such as global inflation and higher insurance. Needs are expressed in monetary value according to market prices prevailing as of February 24, 2023. Needs do not equal the sum of damage and losses.

Comparison of results between RDNA and RDNA 2

The RDNA2 assesses the impact between damage and losses borne over one year until 24th of February 2023. In doing so, it builds on the foundations and analytics provided during RDNA1 which covered a slightly shorter period, namely the period between February 24 and June 1, 2022, which estimated USD 97 billion in direct damage, USD252 billion in losses, and USD 349 billion for Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction needs.

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The launch of the DAO Governance marks a significant milestone in the decentralization of the Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks, becoming the first EVM rollup technology to achieve Stage 1 decentralization

NEW YORK, March 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arbitrum Foundation today announced the launch of DAO governance for the Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks, a massive leap forward in the decentralization of the two networks. Alongside the DAO governance structure, The Arbitrum Foundation also announced an upcoming drop of $ARB to users of the Arbitrum ecosystem on Thursday, March 23.

Arbitrum Foundation (PRNewsfoto/Arbitrum Foundation)

Late last year, Vitalik Buterin proposed a 3 stage schema for decentralizing rollups, and with today's announcement Arbitrum has now become the first EVM rollup ever to achieve Stage 1. The milestone signifies an important achievement for both Arbitrum networks and for the state of Ethereum scaling more broadly.

The $ARB token will facilitate the decentralization of the Arbirum network, and the $ARB airdrop will place the governance token in the hands of the users who are actively participating in the Arbitrum ecosystem. Users can visit gov.arbitrum.foundation and follow the prompts for eligibility details and to claim their share in governance. The majority of the $ARB supply will be under the control of the Arbitrum community via The Arbitrum Foundation, accelerating growth of the ecosystem organically. $ARB token holders will govern The Arbitrum Foundation through the Arbitrum DAO.

Steven Goldfeder, CEO and Co-Founder of Offchain Labscommented: "We are extraordinarily excited for the official launch of The Arbitrum Foundation and DAO governance and to see Arbitrum One become the first EVM rollup to advance to Stage 1 decentralization, a tremendous milestone for both Arbitrum and Ethereum. Through the community airdrop, the delegation process, and the introduction of the Security Council, community participation and control is at the forefront of today's announcement, and the requirements for receiving a share of Arbitrum governance have been crafted meticulously, optimizing for the longevity of the ecosystem and community. Looking ahead, we're moving closer and closer toward a decentralized financial system, with the Arbitrum technology at the very forefront of that.."

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To facilitate effective community governance, users will be able to delegate voting power to individuals they view as effective stewards of their values. Delegates will be expected to vote on proposals that pass through the Arbitrum DAO in a way that represents the token-holders who have assigned their voting power to them. The Arbitrum DAO will have the power to control key decisions at the core protocol level, from how the chain's technology is upgraded to how the revenue from the chain can be used to support the ecosystem. Those interested in becoming a delegate are encouraged to visit the governance forum and apply.

Crucially, Arbitrum's governance will be self-executing, meaning that the DAO's votes will directly have the power to effect and execute its on-chain decisions, and not rely on an intermediary to carry out those decisions. Self-executing governance is a critical milestone for decentralization and giving the community the power to govern the chain, and Arbitrum is leading the way as the first L2 to launch self-executing governance.

The Arbitrum Foundation also announced the creation of the Arbitrum Security Council, a 12-member multisig of highly regarded community members designed to ensure the security of the chains and be able to act quickly in the event of a security vulnerability. The decision-making powers of the Security Council are determined by a smart contract that will require multiple secure signatures by its members in order to implement any changes to the protocol. In case of emergency, the Arbitrum Security Council will be able to act quickly but this will require participation from 9 of the 12 members. The Arbitrum DAO will be the ultimate governing body over the Arbitrum Security Council, with elections for the Council being held twice annually.

The introduction further reinforces Arbitrum's focus on decentralization by giving the community the ability to play a more active role in Arbitrum governance and have a say over what occurs within the ecosystem.

Arbitrum is the leading Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution for Ethereum, boasting the highest Total Value Locked (TVL) across all L2 networks with approximately $3.61B, 55% market share across all rollups, and the Arbitrum One network recently surpassed Ethereum daily transactions on two occasions.

For more information, please visit the Arbitrum blog: http://arbitrumfoundation.medium.com/

About Offchain LabsOffchain Labs is a venture-backed and Princeton-founded company that was the initial developers of Arbitrum, a suite of secure scaling solutions for Ethereum. Arbitrum's technologies instantly scale dApps, significantly reducing costs and increasing speed, without sacrificing Ethereum's security. Porting contracts to Arbitrum requires no code changes or downloads as Arbitrum is fully EVM compatible. Offchain Labs also maintains Prsym, the leading Ethereum consensus client.

About The Arbitrum FoundationThe Arbitrum Foundation has a mission to help support and grow the Arbitrum network and its community while remaining at the forefront of blockchain adoption. The Foundation oversees the $ARB token and governance structure as well as the Arbitrum Security Council, a 12-member multisig of well regarded community members designed to ensure the security of the chains.

Media contact: Dillon Arace, arbitrumpr@mgroupsc.com

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Kyiv, Ukraine --News Direct-- Blaize Technology

By Jad Malaeb, Benzinga

Every few years, a form of technology arises that reshapes how humans view and interact with the world. In 1983, that technology was the internet; today, many say its the blockchain.

A blockchain is a distributed ledger that stores data and validates transfers across an interconnected network. All information placed into a blockchain is first formulated into a block.

Blocks are added to the blockchain only after theyve been validated by network nodes. The requirement for a consensus between the nodes before a block is placed ensures that the information is accurate and trustworthy. Additionally, any modification to an existing block would trigger a change in all the blocks preceding it, making all information on the blockchain immutable.

With the advent of complementary technologies like smart contracts and cryptocurrencies, blockchain became the foundation of a $3 trillion cryptocurrency value and the cornerstone of the broader decentralization movement. According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the blockchain market is expected to be worth $67.4 billion by 2026. The question on the minds of investors, entrepreneurs and spectators now is: What will blockchain look like in that time?

Currently, blockchains are divided into three domains and four types.

Public blockchains, like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Litecoin (CRYPTO: LTC), belong to the permissionless domain, a class of blockchains that has no central authority and is dependent on the cooperation of independent nodes for consensus.

Public blockchains are the main propagators of the decentralized movement, and theyre by far the most well-known blockchains. Permissionless blockchains typically sacrifice transaction speed for security, as more nodes mean safer but slower data transfer.

Private and consortium blockchains, like Ripple and Hyperledger respectively, belong to the permissioned domain, a class of blockchains that has one or more central authorities dictating node accessibility and functionality within a blockchain network. Private blockchains control who is allowed to be a node, and what functions these nodes have.

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Private blockchains represent the individualization of blockchain. These blockchains tend to be specific to the central authoritys purpose. For example, private blockchains are popular for supply management functions and insurance claims, two industries where the networks function is improved by the restriction, rather than popularization, of information.

Hybrid blockchains reside in the middle of these two classes and represent the third domain of blockchains. As more Web3 projects aim to improve security while keeping decentralization an option, hybrid blockchains are quickly becoming one of the most popular forms of blockchain technology, and they could very likely be the next evolution of blockchains.

Most of the blockchains discussed above are layer-1 blockchains.

Layer-1 blockchains set the groundwork for the way users can expect the network to operate. They not only provide the base on which all data transfer is made but also define the rules, outlining how consensus is achieved, how nodes operate and other essential requirements.

Achieving a high level of decentralization and security while maintaining efficiency is one of the great challenges of layer-1 networks. In May 2021, for example, the average transaction fee rose to $69 on the Ethereum network as a result of an overload of transaction requests. Bitcoin transaction speed, which reached a low of 4.6 transactions per second compared to Visas 1,700 transactions per second, is another template of layer-1s scalability issues.

Layer-2 blockchains help take the workload off of layer-1s. If the crypto industry were a kitchen, layer-1 blockchains are the chefs and layer-2s are the sous-chefs. The primary function of layer-2 blockchain is to improve the transaction speed and reduce gas fees of layer-1 blockchains while layer-1 maintains the security and integrity of the overall system.

The popular layer-2 project Bitcoin Lighting Network, for example, makes Bitcoin transactions faster and less costly by executing Bitcoin orders through their network. This helps Bitcoin achieve its promise as a medium of exchange. Similar layer 2s are available for Ethereum, including Loopring, Optimism and Ethereum Plasma. While many see the necessity of layer-2 blockchains for scalability as a shortcoming of layer-1 blockchains, others argue that theyre a necessary ingredient in the recipe for global decentralization.

A layer-1 blockchain that can fulfill scalability, security and decentralization functions without a layer-2 could have a huge competitive advantage; it ranks highly in the category of the next best thing.

The importance of blockchain software developers like Blaize.Tech cannot be overstated in the pursuit of the next evolution of blockchain technology.

Behind Ethereum, Avalanche and Cardano is an army of talented blockchain developers working together with a singular purpose. Nothing large in blockchain happens without developers. Blaize has already had a head start on its competitors, deploying over 400+ smart contracts and completing over 70+ successful blockchain projects.

Developers like Blaize help companies create blockchain systems, decentralized applications, smart contracts and enterprise solutions. Blaize specifically has all these capabilities and even provides developer tools like software development kits, allows non-blockchain projects to integrate the technology into their business and provides blockchain-specific services like security audits and technical due diligence.

If youre interested in any form of blockchain technology integration, Blaize.Tech is a go-to destination.

In many ways, decentralized finance (DeFi) is the reason for blockchains popularization.

Blockchains first public triumph was Bitcoin, a DeFi solution that allowed regular people to send and receive currency without the need for central authorities. The current examples of DeFi projects all reflect the financial decentralization concept, but express it in different ways.

Aave (CRYPTO: AAVE), for example, is a DeFi project that allows the lending and borrowing of currency without the need for a central authority. Aave achieves this by using smart contracts, which are programs that automatically run on the blockchain when certain conditions are met. The automatic execution of smart contracts is what enables all DeFi services, including trading, investing, lending and borrowing.

Smart contracts have been central in the creation of decentralized exchanges like Uniswap (CRYPTO: UNI), decentralized oracle services like Chainlink (CRYPTO: LINK) and inter-blockchain communication platforms like Polkadot (CRYPTO: DOT). As a result of smart contracts and blockchains, the DeFi industry is expected to be worth $231 billion by 2030 according to a report by Grand View Research, but hacking, safety and trust issues must be addressed before the industry can advance.

Similarly, NFTs are currently awaiting a renaissance of their own after their fall from grace in 2022. Last year, it became clear that the majority of the value perceived by NFT traders was a result of one of the greatest bull markets of all time. As soon as the curtains receded, NFT valuations reverted to sane valuations, leading many to believe they had no value to begin with.

The conversation around NFTs is now changing. A growing number of NFT advocates contend that NFTs value can extend beyond speculation, and advocates have begun to test this idea with the launch of utility NFTs. Utility NFTs grant their purchasers something more than just an ownership stamp; they grant owners access to perks and rewards. Utility NFTs have been embraced by some of the biggest brands from Nike and Dolce and Gabanna to Adidas and the Premier League. Many posit that NFTs will play a major role in broader-themed movements like Web3 and the metaverse.

Safe, secure and user-optimized DeFi services and utility-based NFTs have a strong argument for a place in the future of blockchain.

One exciting domain of exploration for the future of blockchain is in on-chain analytics.

In traditional markets, investors have access to very limited information, and they must make predictive assumptions with a lot of missing variables. In an environment as complicated as the financial markets, acting on limited information only makes the process of investing harder.

The breadth and availability of information that crypto investors can glean from on-chain analytics is changing the investing landscape. In essence, on-chain analysis is the process of monitoring the flow of money into and out of crypto assets. Because of the sheer quantity of available information, many crypto investors are capable of making decisions with a much larger set of facts and information than their traditional counterparts.

On-chain analysis can involve a number of different ratios, calculations and observations. Some of these include monitoring central exchange flows, which could depict large-scale entry or exit from certain assets by examining exchange-based information. Others could include whale watching (i.e. monitoring large-scale orders), while others could take a more granular approach and record active addresses, supply distribution, miner revenue and realized profit or losses.

The use of on-chain analytics is considered by many the rise of blockchains own fundamental analysis. Despite all of blockchains potentially life-changing qualities, investing and trading remain two of the largest areas of interest in this industry. On-chain analytics represent the first clues of the emergence of educated speculation, and it, too, can play a large role in the future.

As discussed, there are many potential avenues blockchain technology could take, and none are mutually exclusive.

On the private scale, blockchains have already been implemented in governments and corporations, but this avenue has the lowest potential to influence the world. Public blockchains, while the most problematic of the bunch, bring about a whole new ecosystem of products that are independent of central authorities.

There are suspicions that blockchain, as a peer-to-peer network, may have too many faults, and that these decentralized approaches could be better achieved through alternative systems like Urbit or Hedera. Nonetheless, thousands of entrepreneurs are pushing to improve blockchains trust and automation issues in order to take it to the next level, and there are plenty of promising avenues of exploration.

This article was originally published on Benzinga here.

Blaize is a software company providing blockchain development outsourcing solutions for different types of businesses. Blockchain ecosystem creation and decentralized application development are our core specializations. We have vast expertise in building DeFi applications, decentralized exchanges, DAO, smart contract development&deployment, blockchain nodes development, and creation of staking platforms.

This post contains sponsored advertising content. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.

Pasha Bergman CBDO

pasha@blaize.tech

Blockchain development company

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The Next Big Thing In Blockchain And Crypto? (Hint: Its Not NFTs) - Yahoo Finance