Last Week in Review: The biggest hits from crypto

by Team Luno
· 3 minute read

The highlights from last week’s news, numbers and events from the crypto industry.

  • News from the block

A warrant was issued for Do Kwon’s arrest. Norway tested its central bank digital currency on Ethereum, while the same network successfully switched from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. The world’s largest financial messenger service went searching for answers in blockchain technology.

  • Too long, Did read

South Korean police issued a warrant of arrest for Do Kwon, the embattled co-founder of failed stablecoin Terra Luna. But where did his troubles begin? 

  • Crunching the numbers

Is Ethereum on its way to becoming deflationary? 

  • The crypto time capsule

A Bitcoin wallet on your MacBook?

  • Crypto trivia

Why is Cardano’s native cryptocurrency called ADA? 

  • Worth a watch 

The Merge explained in simple terms. 

News from the block

Norwegian central bank tests CBDC running on Ethereum

Norges Bank, the central bank of Norway, released a test version of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) built on top of Ethereum. 

The bank is working with Nahmii, a company that provides technology that leverages off the Ethereum network, much in the same way that the Lightning Network uses the Bitcoin blockchain to scale.  

The project is in the process of testing basic token management use cases, including minting, burning and transferring ERC-20 tokens.

South Korean court issues arrest warrant for Terra Luna co-founder

Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, the company behind the failed Luna stablecoin, is wanted by the South Korean authorities. The arrest warrant also names five other individuals, who are all charged with violating the Capital Markets Act.

There have been rumours that Kwon is on the run, but he has since tweeted that he is cooperating with the authorities. 

SWIFT payments system looks to blockchain technology 

SWIFT, a financial messaging system that banks and companies use to send and receive money on a global scale, is looking to create efficiencies in communicating significant corporate events, including dividend payments and mergers, using blockchain technology.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), is partnering with blockchain company Symbiont to improve how information is shared on the platform. 

The Ethereum Merge finally happened

After six years of testing, the Ethereum Merge happened last week without a glitch. 

“[It] has obviously been a dream for the Ethereum ecosystem since pretty much the beginning. We started the proof-of-stake research with that blog post on Slosher back in January 2014,” Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said during the Merge watching party. 

The Merge promises improved scalability, security and sustainability for Ethereum in the long run. 

TL;Did read

A beginner’s guide to the Terra collapse and the future of stablecoins

Crunching the numbers

2,365 – The amount of ETH issued in the three days after the Merge, according to Ultrasound.money.

42,691 – How many ETH would have been issued in the same period under proof-of-work. 

106 million – A ballpark estimate of how many Bitcoin owners there are around the world.

97 – The number of countries and their central banks currently exploring central bank digital currencies, more than half of central banks around the world. 

The crypto time capsule

How times have changed 

Crypto trivia

Apa itu Cardano (ADA)?

How did ADA get its name?

ADA, Cardano’s cryptocurrency, was named after Ada Lovelace, a mathematician that lived in the 1800s. She is considered by many as the first ever computer programmer, in the sense that she imagined an algorithm that could be carried out by a machine. 

Worth a watch

The Merge in simple terms 

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