The Solana mainnet has seen the early release of the Firedancer independent validator client, known as Frankendancer, according to Kevin Bowers, the chief Science Officer at Jump Crypto. Bowers presented data showing that approximately 1% of the Solana network’s stake comes from Frankendancer. Firedancer is expected to be a crucial component in processing transactions and constructing blocks on Solana’s network, which is valued at around $70 billion. It is considered to be a more effective solution compared to “QUIC,” a data transfer protocol developed by Google that has had difficulty processing transactions during periods of high network activity on Solana. Currently, Firedancer is live on Solana’s testnet, but there is conflicting information about whether it is also live on the mainnet, with one Solana contributor claiming it is in “non-voting mode,” which means it cannot build blocks or participate in consensus.
The Pendle token experienced a significant rally of over 25% following news that Arthur Hayes’ family office fund, Maelstrom, sold over 392,000 Pendle tokens worth $1.56 million. This sale generated controversy as Hayes had previously expressed optimism about the project’s potential at the Token2049 conference. However, Hayes clarified that the sale was made to secure profits and that the proceeds would be used for a “special situation.” The price of Pendle initially surged to $4.36 but has since dropped to $4.06. Pendle is a decentralized interest rate market that allows users to hedge their staking yield, with potential returns as high as 9% with Bitcoin. However, Hayes acknowledged that the risks associated with smart contracts might not be enough to convince US Treasuries holders to abandon their 5.5% returns.
During a recent episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the talk show host made several inaccurate statements about cryptocurrencies. Maher claimed that crypto mining consumes 8% of electricity, which he likened to putting 15 million gas-powered cars back on the road and argued that crypto is primarily used by criminals seeking to evade US regulators. However, the United States Energy Information Administration estimates that crypto mining represents between 0.6% to 2.3% of US electricity consumption. Additionally, blockchain forensics firm TRM Labs found that illicit crypto funds accounted for only 0.63% in 2023. Maher’s comments also failed to acknowledge crypto’s acceptance in the institutional space, such as the launch of spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds after extensive discussions with regulators.
Infinex has raised nearly $58 million by selling Patron non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to venture capital firms, industry leaders, and community members. The purpose of the NFT sales is to generate interest in Infinex’s vision of providing a non-custodial, unified user experience layer across various blockchains and decentralized finance apps. Notable participants in the Patron NFT sale include Wintermute Ventures, Framework Ventures, Near Foundation, Synthetix, Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko, and Ethereum Foundation researcher Tim Beiko. Wave 3 of the NFT sale is currently open until September 23, followed by Wave 4, which will be the final phase. So far, 37,124 Patron NFTs have been sold. These NFTs are available in three tiers, with prices ranging from $5,000 to $1,250, and some NFTs are locked for 12 months before they can be transferred.
Infinex, founded by Kain Warwick, the creator of Synthetix, aims to replace centralized cryptocurrency exchanges as the first point of contact for new users. The company has raised funds to develop several features that will bring it on par with centralized exchanges, including custody, spot trading, margin trading, lending, perps, options, staking, NFTs, launchpads, and yield farming.
In other news, a New York resident has been fined $36 million by a US judge for allegedly defrauding crypto investors by promising high returns and using the funds to support a lavish lifestyle. The individual must pay $31 million in restitution to victims and $5 million in civil monetary penalties. The Supreme Court of India regained control of its official YouTube account after it was hijacked by crypto scammers selling fake XRP investments. The hackers rebranded the channel to resemble Ripple and deleted all previously uploaded content. Additionally, Pixels hosted what they claim to be the first-ever Web3 wedding, and Immortal Rising 2 received 400,000 registrations in the world of Web3 gaming.