United Arab Emirates to Offer Digital Payments on Pundi X 2292

Citizens and residents of Dubai will be able to make digital payments for school fees, bills and retail purchases with a stable, digital currency after a partnership between blockchain payment provider Pundi X, Ebooc Fintech & Loyalty Labs LLC (Pundi X’s exclusive partner in Middle East & priority partner in Africa) and emcredit – Dubai’s Credit Bureau.

Consumers in Dubai, UAE will be able to use digital currency to make retail payments in-store, pay for government utilities, telecommunication, and school fees in government shopfronts via emcash – Dubai’s digital currency launched by emcredit, a state-backed subsidiary of the Dubai Department of Economic Development.

The bespoke, Pundi X POS (“point of sale”) device created for ebooc fintech & loyalty labs for the exclusive use of emcredit with their branding will be dedicated to running a stable, digital equivalent of the UAE dirham (AED). Ebooc – the first Emirati fintech company is the exclusive partner of Pundi-X and providing blockchain-based NexGen technology and loyalty solutions for the financial services sector.

Today’s announcement confirms Dubai’s status as a global blockchain innovation centre and the first global capital to afford citizens the option to make essential payments on a digital currency.

XPOS devices are expected be rolled out at shopfronts the region following today’s deal with provisions for an increase in coming years.

An emcredit spokesperson said: “We are committed to continuously improving the services we offer to our customers in accordance with the directive of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

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Tidus Wallet Unleashes 3-click Cross-Chain Transfers with Mayan Swift and Wormhole Integration 3824

Tidus, the crypto everything app — a cutting-edge decentralized wallet, has announced its integration with the Mayan Swift SDK, powered by Wormhole. This new feature brings ultra-fast cross-chain transfers to Tidus users, providing a seamless and secure experience for both newcomers and decentralized finance (DeFi) power users.

With this integration, Tidus Wallet users can now access stablecoins such as USDC and USDT, as well as native tokens SOL and ETH, for bridging transfers between Ethereum and Solana blockchains. By the end of November 2024, Tidus will extend this cross-chain capability to include all EVM-compatible chains, allowing users to move assets seamlessly across multiple networks. This continued expansion reflects Tidus’ commitment to making DeFi accessible, affordable, and easy for everyone.

“Our integration with Mayan Swift and Wormhole is a major step forward in Tidus Wallet’s mission to simplify decentralized finance for everyone,” said Dan Mulligan, CEO, Founder at Tidus Wallet. “With this integration, we’re making cross-chain transfers as easy and cheap as possible, allowing users to move assets securely and seamlessly between Ethereum and Solana now—and soon across all EVM chains.”

Despite the rapid growth of decentralized finance, DeFi usage among retail users remains low due to complex processes and high transaction fees. Recent studies show that fewer than 5% of cryptocurrency holders actively use DeFi services, pointing to a significant gap in accessibility and usability. Tidus Wallet aims to close this gap by offering quick, low-cost, and user-friendly solutions that enable everyone to participate in DeFi without needing advanced technical knowledge.

Key Features of the Tidus Wallet Integration:

  • Cross-Chain Support: Transfer USDC, USDT, and ETH between Ethereum and Solana blockchains now, with support for all EVM chains by late November 2024.
  • Enhanced Security: Powered by the secure infrastructure of Wormhole and Mayan Finance, ensuring robust protection for users’ assets. Tidus allows the bridging to occur to your other wallet minimizing potential room for error. 
  • Low-Cost Transfers: Optimized for cost efficiency, minimizing gas fees for cross-chain transactions and taking no additional fees.
  • User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive design allows users to bridge assets in just three clicks, enhancing the DeFi experience for all levels of users.

Tidus Wallet is now available for download on the App Store, Google Play, and Chrome Web Store, allowing users to experience the future of decentralized finance from any device. By expanding to all EVM chains and focusing on a simplified user experience, Tidus is setting new standards in cross-chain asset management and aiming to make DeFi accessible to the masses.

For more information, visit tiduswallet.com and tidusdao.com.

About Tidus Wallet

Tidus Wallet is a decentralized wallet dedicated to providing a seamless, user-friendly experience for DeFi enthusiasts and newcomers alike. With a focus on security, innovation, and ease of use, Tidus Wallet aims to revolutionize how users manage and transfer assets in the decentralized finance ecosystem.

Draper Associates Backs Torram to Propel Decentralized Finance on Bitcoin 4975

Torram, pioneering institutional-grade decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure on Bitcoin, today announced a strategic investment from Draper Associates, the venture firm led by legendary crypto investor Tim Draper. Selected from over 200 applicants for the highly exclusive BitcoinFi Accelerator, Torram is now better positioned to capture the rapidly expanding institutional DeFi market as Bitcoin emerges as the leading blockchain for traditional finance.

The investment, led by Draper Associates with participation from Boost VC and Thesis, comes as institutional demand for Bitcoin-native DeFi solutions surges, with the DeFi market set to soar to $50 billion by 2025. Torram’s institutional-grade infrastructure enables banks, asset managers, and financial institutions to tap into Bitcoin’s security and $880 billion market cap through compliant DeFi solutions.

“We believe in Bitcoin and there’s now a gravitational pull towards Bitcoin,” said Tim Draper, Founder of Draper Associates. “It’s a critical time in global history, and we’re excited about these applications that are being built on the most important blockchain.”

Torram emerged as one of the top performers from Bitcoin Startup Labs’ pre-accelerator program and has now earned one of only eight spots in BitcoinFi Accelerator’s inaugural cohort. The exclusive 6-week program, backed by leading Bitcoin investors, provides $150,000 in initial funding alongside technical resources and strategic partnerships essential for scaling Bitcoin-native applications.

“Securing backing from visionaries like Tim Draper and Adam Draper validates our approach to bridging traditional finance (TradFi) with Bitcoin’s powerful capabilities,” said Vakeesan Mahalingam, CEO of Torram. “Their strategic guidance and deep network in both TradFi and crypto will be instrumental as we roll out our institutional DeFi infrastructure.”

Torram’s technology stack includes:

  • An institutional-grade decentralized oracle network
  • Advanced on-chain data indexing for real-time analytics
  • Proprietary security framework meeting institutional compliance requirements
  • Cross-chain infrastructure enabling seamless integration with existing systems

The company will launch its testnet in Q1 2025, with tier-1 banks and leading asset managers already committed to pilot programs. Early access to the testnet is in high demand and is limited to qualified institutions and partners.

For early investment opportunities or to learn more about how Torram is positioning itself to lead the Bitcoin DeFi revolution, visit torram.xyz.

Early-stage investors include:

  • Draper Associates
  • Blockchain Founders Fund
  • Boost VC
  • Side Door Ventures
  • Deep Ventures
  • Silvermine Capital
  • MH Ventures
  • Bitcoin Startup Lab

About Torram

Torram is building the foundational infrastructure that enables institutional-grade DeFi and real-world asset tokenization natively on Bitcoin. Torram empowers financial institutions to leverage Bitcoin’s unmatched security, transparency, and $880 billion of global liquidity through its decentralized oracle network, on-chain data indexing, and institutional-grade solutions.

zkVerify Introduces Decentralized SQL Verifier for Space and Time’s SXT Chain 5024

zkVerify delivers faster, cost-effective SQL data verification with enhanced security and privacy for data-intensive applications.

zkVerify, the modular blockchain for ZK-proof verification, has launched a decentralized proof verifier for Space and Time‘s Proof of SQL ZK coprocessor on SXT Chain. By leveraging zkVerify’s verification of SXT proofs, organizations can verify their ZK-proven SQL queries faster and more efficiently compared to Ethereum verification.

Space and Time’s Proof of SQL ZK coprocessor employs zero-knowledge proofs to validate SQL queries run against data stored on SXT Chain, its recently launched blockchain for ZK-proven data. zkVerify functions as a decentralized proof verifier within this system for Space and Time’s Proof of SQL, offering fast, on-chain confirmation of query accuracy without relying on any central authority.

Traditional smart contracts face limitations in accessing external or historical transaction data, which restricts their functionality. Space and Time’s SXT Chain addresses this by acting as a decentralized database that aggregates data across major blockchains—Ethereum, ZKsync, Bitcoin, Sui, Aptos, and Polygon, and proves it back to smart contracts with Proof of SQL. This setup enables trustless, cross-chain data processing, allowing smart contracts to efficiently query, analyze, and utilize data.

As concerns about data manipulation and AI-generated content increase, Space and Time, coupled with zkVerify’s technology, allow organizations to prove the integrity of their data without exposing the underlying information. For example, financial institutions can verify transaction records, healthcare providers can ensure patient data remains accurate, and AI applications can confirm the authenticity of their outputs—all using mathematical proofs instead of relying on trust alone.

Launched in October 2024, Space and Time’s SXT Chain testnet lets developers query historical data from major blockchains like Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Polygon, generating mathematical proofs that ensure data integrity. In August 2024, Space and Time raised $20 million in Series A with funding from Microsoft’s M12 Venture, Framework Ventures, Lightspeed Faction, Arrington Capital and Hivemind Capital.

How does it work?

Using zero-knowledge proofs to create a proof of correct computation, like Proof of SQL, has three essential elements: the actual data, the creation of the proof, and the verification of that proof. These components must work together in a rapid, straightforward, decentralized, and permissionless manner to enable a seamless, trustless system.

The Proof of SQL mechanism operates by generating a mathematical hash of a SQL table’s content, which is then used to generate a ZK proof that neither the table nor the queries run against have been tampered. Space and Time’s high-speed ZK coprocessor creates these proofs, and zkVerify is used to validate them using their public, decentralized blockchain. This enables businesses and decentralized applications to share data or query results with provable SQL database integrity, verifiable by anyone without relying on centralized entities.

In its role as the proof verifier, zkVerify adds a crucial layer of trust and security, ensuring that each SQL query validated by Proof of SQL on the SXT Chain is accurate and tamper-proof. With zkVerify, data queries and results can be trusted across the network, empowering advanced decentralized applications, such as DeFi platforms, data-intensive analytics, and Solidity smart contracts deployed directly on SXT’s ZK rollup. This integration amplifies the potential for on-chain applications by enabling access to verified, cross-chain data in real-time, paving the way for more sophisticated decentralized services.

Rob Viglione, CEO of Horizen Labs, the development studio behind zkVerify, said: “Zero-knowledge proofs redefine trust in digital systems by providing mathematical assurance of data integrity without exposing sensitive information. This technology allows businesses to verify the accuracy of their data transparently and securely, without relying on third-party auditors. For sectors like finance and healthcare, it’s a paradigm shift from ‘trust us’ to ‘we can prove it,’ bringing a new level of confidence to data handling.”

About zkVerify

zkVerify is a modular blockchain dedicated to efficiently verifying ZK proofs across diverse blockchain stacks, created for Ellipsis Distributed Systems by Horizen Labs. It enables any Layer 2 projects and dApp developers that utilize zero knowledge to scale rapidly and cost-effectively by drastically reducing proof verification costs without compromising network performance.

Designed for seamless integration with existing blockchain networks, zkVerify minimizes technical overhead and provides a developer-friendly environment. By simplifying the ZK proof verification process and reducing associated costs, zkVerify enhances the performance of existing blockchain networks and unlocks new capabilities within the broader Web3 ecosystem.

For more information, users can visit https://zkverify.io

Polymer Launches Real-Time Interoperability For Ethereum Rollups 4970

Polymer Labs has officially launched Polymer Hub, a real-time interoperability protocol for connecting all Ethereum rollups. By streaming messages, states, and logs over IBC primitives (equivalent to Web2’s TCP/IP), Polymer Hub verifies and stores the headers of all connected rollups, allowing applications to prove any arbitrary state across rollups at vastly reduced overhead.

Rollup/L2 ecosystems have historically connected only within their own walled gardens; with Polymer, however, rollups can now communicate across ecosystems and coordinate as fast as they can produce blocks. The protocol offers significant improvements in cross-chain communication latency, bandwidth, and cost for all on-chain primitives compared to existing solutions.

Polymer aims to make cross-chain interoperability as fast, efficient, and affordable as blockspace itself, enabling Ethereum applications to scale to the next million users.

Increase Bandwidth Reduce Latency

Real-time, high-throughput rollups are right around the corner, but existing interoperability protocols (point-to-point and hub-and-spoke models) were not designed to support dense network traffic across hundreds of rollups. According to the team, existing solutions are too slow and expensive for the next generation of applications on Ethereum. As we enter this new era, interoperability solutions must complement their speed and efficiency. Real-time apps require real-time interoperability.

Polymer aims to build the fastest and most efficient interoperability protocol for next-generation rollups like MegaETH. The Hub passes messages in real-time via sequencer pre-confirmations, ensuring cross-chain communication latency can keep up with millisecond block times of these rollups. Polymer also leverages EigenDA to scale cross-rollup bandwidth to facilitate data-intensive use cases on-chain.

“Real-timeness, the ability to react to inputs with ultra-low latency at massive scale, will enable truly ground-breaking decentralized applications. Readying the infra stack for this revolution will be a joint effort, in which real-time interoperability from Polymer will be crucial.” – Lei Yang (Cofounder & CTO MegaETH)

Various technologies like shared sequencers and ecosystem-native interoperability intra-nets have fragmented Ethereum into rollup clusters; these clusters, however, can leverage Polymer Hub’s one-to-all architecture to become interoperable with each other within minutes, rather than months. Polymer Hub is also the first interoperability solution to offer re-org protection. This helps enable token bridges and solver networks to safely settle cross-chain transactions in milliseconds and automatically revert them if they deviate from Ethereum’s L1 history.

Looking Ahead

The next generation of on-chain applications will closely follow the architecture of cloud apps: rollups are the new microservices, AVSs are the new infrastructure services. To enable horizontal scaling on-chain, cross-chain infrastructure must be low-latency, high-bandwidth, and affordably scalable.

The Polymer team seeks to improve interoperability performance in order to enable competitive, novel categories of applications, such as high throughput e-commerce and ride-sharing, to be built on-chain.

“Building interoperable applications that don’t trade off cost or latency is a requirement to make crypto usable again. At scale, this connective layer needs to be as robust and secure as the Ethereum base layer itself, and Polymer has been uncompromising in achieving this vision.” – Vikram Arun (Cofounder & CEO Superform Labs)

Starting with the OP stack, Polymer plans to bring real-time interoperability to all rollup ecosystems on Ethereum—enabling swift and cost-effective scaling for applications in the near future.

About

Polymer Labs provides real-time, high-throughput interoperability for Ethereum rollups. Polymer lays foundational network infrastructure enabling the next generation of internet-scale apps like Uber to be built on-chain.

Antarctic Exchange to launch testnet, ushering in a new era for decentralized perpetual futures trading 5544

Antarctic Exchange (AX), a leading decentralized perpetual futures exchange, announces the launch of its testnet on November 1st. This milestone represents a key advancement in AX’s mission to redefine decentralized trading with a fair, transparent, and user-centric platform that rivals traditional exchanges like Bybit and Dydx. The testnet offers traders a first look at AX’s advanced trading features setting the stage for a transformative shift in the cryptocurrency derivatives market.

With a focus on transparency, security, and user empowerment, the AX testnet introduces a decentralized trading environment equipped with deep liquidity, minimal slippage, and real-time transaction tracking powered by zk-rollup technology. Unlike centralized exchanges, AX eliminates institutional market makers, offering all users an equitable marketplace free from predatory practices, which entails no more conflict of interest.

Key Features and Benefits of AX Testnet

Antarctic Exchange is more than a trading platform; it’s a community-driven ecosystem with a business model designed to benefit every participant while ensuring long-term sustainability:

  • Enhanced User Experience (UX): By providing fully customizable user preferences, AX’s intuitive interface caters to all users, from DeFi enthusiasts to traditional CEX traders. Both beginners and experts can navigate and use the platform efficiently, providing a full range of advanced trading functions, significantly lower fees, minimal slippage, and greater savings.
  • User-Aligned Ecosystem: AX is structured to align the platform’s success with that of its users. Unlike traditional exchanges where the interests of institutions may dominate, AX offers diverse products and tokenomics designed to ensure users benefit alongside the platform’s growth. Through one-click participation, all capital is maximized with zero gas fee trading.
  • Innovative Liquidity Pool (LP) Structure: The platform’s Comprehensive Liquidity Pool (LP) structure like AHLP, AMLP, or Treasury Buffe includes controlled risk measures and innovative mechanisms to fairly balance and redistribute rewards among participants. This setup is ideal for both CEX and DeFi users, providing a structured earn product suited to varying risk profiles.
  • Tokenomics with Built-in Stability Measures: The AX native token, $ATTX, is designed to support the ecosystem with strategies like buybacks and burns, ensuring its long-term relevance and demand. By holding a 2% supply buffer for liquidity pools, AX provides a stable environment that benefits all stakeholders without requiring manipulation.
  • Business Model and Revenue Sharing: AX’s revenue model allows the platform to operate sustainably while redistributing profits to the community. With only 40% of trading fees retained by the platform, the remaining fees are redirected to benefit traders, liquidity providers, and token stakers.
  • Security Architecture: Antarctic Exchange (AX) offers the highest security protocol through a robust risk management system covering from users to tech framework, cross-audited smart contracts, and immutable front-end code. In addition to that, it offers full self-custody of funds through direct smart contract interactions.

User Benefits and Participation Opportunities

  • Traders: AX offers advanced trading features such as merge/split positions, in a Zero gas fee trading environment with minimal slippage, providing a fairer trading experience that eliminates unnecessary costs with onchain fund management. It offers the full CEX Experience and more but on a DEX.
  • Autonomy: AX offers self-custody of funds, No KYC required, crossed-audited Smart contract and white hat bounties. It is fully permissionless by validating transactions onchain. Let’s say the Best of both worlds: “CEX experience on-DEX”
  • Liquidity Providers: Controlled-risk LP products and liquidity protection mechanisms create upside potential while managing risk exposure, which increases utility and demand for token enabling token price stability.
  • Affiliate Partners: AX’s revenue-sharing model enables affiliates to share in the platform’s growth, earning commissions on referrals and accessing exclusive affiliate NFTs that offer profit-sharing opportunities. Users will have aligned incentives.
  • Stakers: As a core aspect of our ecosystem, our tokens are designed to accrue value. By staking the ATTX token, it enables any stakeholder to be a part of Antarctic exchange with relevant utility instead of just sharing fees or a simple APR.

Vision for Industry Transformation

The launch of the Antarctic Exchange testnet signals a major leap forward in AX’s broader vision to set new standards in decentralized trading. As the derivatives industry moves toward user-aligned, secure trading solutions, AX aims to meet the evolving needs of crypto traders by providing a fair market trading environment and enhanced reward distribution platform that is transparent.

By leveraging ecosystem partnerships, AX ensures efficient, cost-effective transactions, strategic revenue allocation, and the ability to capture cash flow that caters to the growing demand for decentralized financial solutions.

Global Impact and Market Potential

The introduction of AX’s testnet is expected to accelerate the adoption of decentralized perpetual futures trading globally. As regulatory scrutiny and user demand push for self-custody and transparency, Antarctic Exchange provides a viable alternative for traders seeking security without sacrificing performance. With the ultimate user experience, coupled with readily available users from both DeFi and CEX, kickstart the snowball.

With anticipated innovations in governance and community engagement, AX is poised to play a pivotal role in the future of decentralized trading within the Web3 landscape by meeting the demand for advanced trading functionality and superb liquidity.

About Antarctic Exchange

Antarctic Exchange (AX) is a community-first decentralized perpetual futures exchange (perp DEX) that combines advanced trading features with a user-aligned ecosystem. By prioritizing transparency and user experience, AX creates an equitable marketplace that empowers traders to maximize capital efficiency in a secure, transparent environment.

Website: https://www.antarctic.exchange
Telegram: https://t.me/Antarctic_EX
Twitter: https://x.com/Antarctic_EX
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/KEHrq2qpG6
Medium: https://medium.com/@Antarctic_EX

Waterfall Network Mainnet Surpasses New Record for Transactions Per Second over previous peak of 1,000 5638

Waterfall Network, the most innovative layer one (L1) decentralized and scalable ledger, today announced that it has reached a groundbreaking milestone by delivering 12,778 transactions per second (TPS) on its mainnet.

In just three tests: Test 1, Test 2, and Test 3, Waterfall Network generated over 1,000,000 transactions and measured how quickly they were added to blocks as fully confirmed on the network.This is the first significant benchmark for the Waterfall Network’s mainnet since it launched in July, and this number eclipses the previous peak of the Waterfall Network testnet, which was 11,667 TPS, by over 1,000 TPS.

Recent benchmarks highlight Waterfall Network’s exceptional scalability among both EVM-compatible and non-EVM Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks. Notably, Waterfall surpasses EVM-compatible networks like Monad and SEI, as well as non-EVM networks such as Solana, and Aptos.

This statement is supported by data from Chainspect and other verified sources. On November 1 , 2024, Waterfall Network successfully completed its integration with Chainspect, the leading independent blockchain analytics platform! https://chainspect.app/chain/waterfall

According to Chainspect (https://chainspect.app/) data, it is the most scalable EVM-based protocol available today!

The current mainnet is supported by 8,232 validators, which is nearly four times more than during the testnet phase, ensuring efficient and reliable transaction processing.

“Waterfall Network continues to push the boundaries of scalability decentralization on a consensus level, joining the ranks of a very few networks that outperform their testnet benchmarks on the mainnet,” said Sergii Grybniak, Blue Wave CTO and Waterfall Head of Research. “Waterfall Network is on its way to being among the most scalable decentralized networks in blockchain with the capability of being run on almost any type of node.”

Testing conducted with support from the Google Cloud Web3 Startup Program has shown that the Waterfall Network mainnet is the most decentralized network capable of supporting more than 1.5 million validators, which is more than any other proof-of-stake network, including Ethereum. Waterfall’s testing includes home-based computers and laptops, cloud servers provided by Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Digital Ocean, and Hetzner. Waterfall Network was also accepted into Hyperledger Labs’ prestigious GitHub space that allows open-source blockchain projects to experiment, gain credibility, and access a global community of experts to help accelerate growth and adoption. This opportunity afforded their project increased visibility, peer support, and valuable feedback contributing to the overall improvement of the network.

Waterfall’s unique protocol incorporates a next-generation “Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG)” technology that allows for potentially virtually unlimited scalability and portability of decentralized applications (dAPPs). As validators sign on the Waterfall Network, grants and rewards will also be distributed to researchers and developers who assist with community-driven security auditing activities, such as completing bug bounties. To learn more about the Waterfall network and to run your own node, please visit https://waterfall.network/.

About Waterfall

Waterfall is a leading layer one (L1) architecture aiming to provide a solution for security, scalability and decentralization to help dAPP developers change the world. Waterfall’s Directed Acyclic Graph (“DAG”) achieves and allows it to run a validator node from any device, including low-cost laptops and mobile phones in the future. Waterfall is Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible, allowing for the portability of decentralized applications (dAPPs), and has very low hardware requirements for the participants to become validators.