Intel Discontinues Production of Bitcoin Mining Chips, a16z Crypto Teases New Launch, LUKSO’s Genesis Validator Deposit Smart Contract Goes Live on Thursday

by James · April 19, 2023

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Table of Contents

Mining news

Chipmaker Intel said on Tuesday that it has discontinued production of its Bitcoin (BTC) mining chip series, just a year after its introduction, Reuters reported. Intel expects to stop taking orders for the series, called Blockscale, by October 20 this year and end deliveries by April 20 next year. “As we prioritize our investments in IDM 2.0, we have phased out the Intel Blockscale 1000 Series ASIC while continuing to support our Blockscale customers,” a company spokesperson said.

Investment news

Andreessen Horowitzits investment arm a16z Crypto teased a new launch on Twitter, with engineering partner Noah Citron posts an image of an orange ball and the words “coming soon”. A16z Crypto Chief Technology Officer Eddy Lazzarin then tweeted that it is “not an L2.” Lazzarin added that “we need more TUIs and data-dense screens,” which may refer to text-based user interfaces or terminal user interfaces. He further asked what the “best Rust (or Crab) TUI framework” is, referring to a programming language used by blockchain developers.
The Unchained the platform announced its $60 million Series B funding round led by Valor Equity Partners to expand Bitcoin (BTC) financial services. The first closing, completed on April 11, included participation from existing investors NICE, Trammell Venture Partners, Ecliptic capital, and Highland Capital Partnersthe press release said, adding that Series B is “building further momentum following a $15 million funding round led by Tue31 which was completed last autumn.” Unchained plans to use the new funding to expand its customer base and enhance its core suite of financial services delivered through collaborative custody, as well as expand its product offering.

Blockchain News

LUXURY, founded by Ethereum pioneer Fabian Vogelsteller, will launch the Genesis Validator Deposit Smart Contract on April 20 at 16:20 UTC, the announcement said. The team outlined a joint proposal from The Foundation for the New Creative Economies (FNCΞ), the Swiss foundation that supports the LUKSO ecosystem, and LUKSO Blockchain GmbH (LBG), the German company that organized the Reversible ICO for LUKSO in 2020. They proposed three options for the initial total supply of the original LYX token that Genesis Validators will choose from, adding that anyone can become a Genesis Validator , as long as they have at least 32 LYXe.
The Bank of England and Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub London Center has tested a blockchain-powered settlement system between them, according to a report published on Wednesday. The insights of the so-called Project Meridian will be used by the Bank of England in their real-time gross settlement system (RTGS). Synchronized settlements “can provide a catalyst for innovation in wholesale payments and support the emergence of new payment infrastructures that settle with central bank money,” it said.
OpenZeppelina crypto cybersecurity technology and services company, announced that its smart contract security platform Defender now supports Basean Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) network developed by crypto exchange Coin base. Base developers can now leverage Defender, which allows Web3 builders to “automate and secure smart contract management, build with private and secure transaction infrastructure, create automated scripts, monitor and respond to smart contract exploits, and quickly implement Web3 security best practices.” said the press release. Meanwhile, Defender users can use Base’s features, such as full EVM compatibility and gas-free transactions for their decentralized applications (dapps) and APIs for account abstraction and bridges, it added.
Chain stacka suite of services that connect developers with Web3 infrastructure, has announced the launch of Chainstack subgraphs, described as “the most powerful blockchain data indexing solution that provides real-time on-chain data.” It allows Web3 developers and enterprises to leverage Chainstack’s infrastructure to instantly query in real-time on-chain, a press release said. The dedicated indexer will launch with support for up to 13 major protocols, inclusive Ethereum, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Optimism, Arbitration, NEAR, Aurora, Phantom, Gnosis, Harmony, Cronosand Fuse.

Metaverse news

The Clinique des Champs-Élysées, a provider of surgery and aesthetic medicine, announced its second virtual open house in the metaverse to promote women’s intimate health. It collaborated with the virtual world creator RLTY to stream the event RLTY WORLD. On April 20, Clinique will focus exclusively on women’s intimate health in an effort to break taboos and open the conversation, the announcement said, adding that “an experienced team of gynecologists, sexologists and surgeons will explain and showcase the solutions that exist for to relieve, treat and restore intimate parts.”