Crypto Scoop: Ethereum's London Fork Set To Launch August 4th

On this week's episode of Crypto Scoop, we would discuss:

• Ethereum's London Fork set to Launch August 4th
• Visa works with 50 crypto platforms to enable crypto payments
• Square set to launch a bitcoin hardware wallet
• Elon Musk emphasizes the need for maximizing Dogecoin upgrade

Ethereum’s London Fork set to Launch August 4th

The much anticipated Ethereum’s London Fork is set to launch on August 4th. The protocol update would include five Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). The London Fork is one of the significant forks important in attaining the launch of Ethereum 2.0, which would replace Ethereum’s present Proof-of-Work (PoW) with Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol.

The new protocol update would introduce a new fee structure that would make ethereum deflationary and subsequently improve the difficulty of Ethereum mining. However, this might come as a disadvantage to miners who would have their revenue reduced from the fee structure and experience more difficulty in mining. Yet, the reason for improving difficulty in mining is to limit proof of work in expectation of proof of stake.

Read also: Why Ethereum May Outperform Bitcoin in 2021

Visa works with 50 crypto platforms to enable crypto payments

Visa Inc. has announced that it is working in collaboration with 50 major crypto platforms to ease crypto payments. The company also celebrated its winnings, announcing that over $1 billion crypto-related transactions were performed on its card. The company explained that it was set to launch card programs with these crypto platforms to “make it easy to convert and spend digital currency at 70 million merchants worldwide.”

Vasant Prabhu, Visa CEO, stressed, “We see a lot of volume on our (network) of people buying cryptocurrencies at these various regulated exchanges, and as far as we see, that trend continues. We are doing a lot to create an ecosystem that makes cryptocurrencies more usable and more like any other currency. People are exploring ways in which they can use cryptocurrencies for things they would use normal currencies for.” Vasant’s remark on the trading volume of cryptocurrencies further emphasizes how cryptocurrency adoption and use increases across the globe.

Square set to launch a bitcoin hardware wallet

Square CEO, Jack Dorsey has confirmed rumours of the company creating a hardware wallet for its bitcoin. Square, Inc. is a FinTech company focused on offering financial services also founded by Twitter’s CEO. Dorsey explained, “We have decided to build a hardware wallet and service to make Bitcoin custody more mainstream.” He noted that the addition was necessary for making Square more mobile-friendly and secure for its users across the globe.

 Square’s new addition would help secure the crypto assets of its users. A hardware wallet would provide an opportunity for users to securely store crypto assets offline, away from the prying eyes of online hackers and scammers.

Elon Musk Emphasizes the need for Maximizing Dogecoin Upgrade

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, has once again voted in support of a dogecoin upgrade. Musk explained, “Bitcoin and Ethereum are pursuing a multiplayer transaction system, but base layer transaction rate is slow, and transaction cost is high. There is merit (in my opinion) to doge maximizing base layer transaction rate and minimizing transaction cost with exchanges acting as the de facto secondary layer.”

Musk’s tweet was in response to YouTuber and dogecoin investor Matt Wallace’s tweet that “the dogecoin update is coming soon,’” and it would position dogecoin perfectly to become one of the most used currencies in the world. Musk had earlier tweeted in support of a dogecoin upgrade, stressing that it was important for “dogecoin to become the currency of earth” and triumph over other cryptocurrencies.

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