Latest news with #WBTC
Time of India
22 minutes ago
- Time of India
Shuttle bus balm to ease commuters' auto pain
1 2 Kolkata: The WBTC on Thursday started a trial bus shuttle service between Garia crossing and New Garia station. However, it faced resistance from local auto operators as the administration scrambled to address the transportation crisis following the indefinite closure of Kavi Subhash metro station. The Kavi Subhash station will stay shut for at least next nine months for the demolition of the old complex and the construction of a new one. Passengers, especially those getting off suburban local trains, are currently being forced to pay exorbitant auto fares — Rs 30-Rs 50 to travel to Shahid Khudiram metro station. According to transport officials, efforts were underway to introduce additional bus services to alleviate the travel woes of commuters. The 1.5km stretch between Shahid Khudiram and New Garia station currently doesn't have too many transport options. The existing bus services have proven insufficient to handle the passenger load. According to local commuters like Arnab Saha and Mridula Maitra, routes 45A and 45B operate sporadically during evening hours, while Naktala-Howrah mini buses run their Garia station services only during peak office hours. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like NRIs Living In France Are Eligible For INR 2 Lakh Monthly Pension. Invest 18K/Month Get Offer Undo The AS3 (connecting New Town) service via Bypass is available but is not sufficient. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata In a meeting with local residents and bus fan groups, the owners of route 45 promised better services in the evening. "We have requested them not to terminate their services at Patuli. They have agreed in principle. However, we can only be sure when we find the resolution reflected on the ground," said Abhinava Paul of Kolkata Bus-o-pedia. The situation was further complicated by the discontinuation of routes during the pandemic, including route 206 (New Garia to Salt Lake) and mini buses S116 and S124 (Garia station to Howrah station). The transport authorities are considering whether these services can be restarted. WBTC, meanwhile, stated that it planned to operate one to two small buses during office hours. However, the resistance from auto operators threatens to impede this solution. A meeting between all stakeholders is likely soon to discuss possible steps.
Time of India
21-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Cryptocurrency Live News & Updates : Ethereum Tests Resistance at $3,877 to $3,987
21 Jul 2025 | 11:55:12 PM IST Ethereum (ETH) is encountering a crucial resistance zone between $3,877 and $3,987, with strong support at $3,434, according to on-chain data from Glassnode. Ethereum is currently navigating a significant resistance range between $3,877 and $3,987, as highlighted by on-chain analysis from Glassnode. This resistance zone could trigger selling pressure due to the concentration of ETH holders in this price range. Meanwhile, a solid support level at $3,434 may encourage buyers to step in if prices decline. In related news, a whale investor is contemplating selling 50 WBTC, potentially realizing an impressive profit of $2.404 million after a 15-month hold. Additionally, StablecoinX has emerged as a new player in the market, planning to acquire Ethena and implement a treasury strategy with a substantial $360 million capital raise. This move aims to provide public market investors with access to the Ethena ecosystem. On the NFT front, Fat Penguin NFTs have seen a surge in sales, with a notable 15.6% rise in floor price, driven by whale purchases. Lastly, Michael Saylor warns that Bitcoin availability may become extremely limited in the next decade, urging investors to act swiftly. Show more
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitlayer's BitVM Bridge Debuts Its Mainnet, Offers Trust-Minimized Bitcoin DeFi
Bitlayer's BitVM Bridge launched its mainnet on Wednesday, enabling bitcoin (BTC) liquidity for decentralized finance through a trust-minimized framework. The bridge keeps users' BTC safe by locking it in the BitVM smart contract that operates under the assumption that at least one honest market participant exists, ready to expose malicious attempts to move funds. This trust-minimized setup starkly contrasts traditional custodians that involve centralized custody or distributed custodianship. "Over the past year, we've dedicated significant resources to developing the BitVM bridge, and we're thrilled to finally deliver this milestone to the community," Bitlayer co-founder, Kevin He said in a press release shared with CoinDesk. "Post-mainnet deployment, our focus shifts to scaling asset compatibility and deepening integration with additional blockchain networks," He added. Central to Bitlayer is YBTC, a token that directly represents the user's locked bitcoin. Its value is pegged 1:1 with BTC, and it opens decentralized finance to BTC holders looking to generate additional yield by allowing them to stake, lend, borrow, trade and provide liquidity across multi-chain decentralized exchanges. The token's security stems directly from the transparent and verifiable BitVM smart contract – unlike wrapped BTC (such as WBTC), which relies on a trusted central entity to hold the actual BTC. Note that YBTC is distinct from Bitlayer's native token, BTR, which is used for governance, fees and staking within the ecosystem and is slated to be listed on major centralized exchanges. Typically, eliminating centralized custodians implies longer waiting times, especially in the case of fraud-proof systems like Bitlayer. Here, while transactions are assumed to be honest, anyone watching can step in to prove if something went wrong. To allow enough time for these crucial security checks, there's a built-in waiting period, typically seven days, during which a fraudulent transaction could be challenged. This can lead to longer withdrawal times. However, Bitlayer employs an innovative "front-and-reclaim" model, transferring the waiting period to specialized brokers or third-party liquidity providers. These entities provide the withdrawn BTC from their own funds to users within approximately one hour. Meanwhile, they wait for their original seven-day security period to end before getting their funds back from the smart contract. This approach offers both trustless security and a fast, convenient user experience. "There is a front mechanism in BitVM bridge design, the pegout user will get their BTC back at bitcoin block time," He told CoinDesk. "The waiting time will be left to the broker(operator)." Bitlayer is prioritizing integration with the Ethereum mainnet and major layer 2 solutions, as well as exploring Solana and Bitcoin-native layer 2s, such as Lightning Network applications. It has already secured integration with other leading ecosystems, including Sui, Base, Starknet, and Arbitrum, Sonic, Plume Network and Sundial. "Our goal is to make YBTC universally accessible wherever significant DeFi liquidity exists, enabling bitcoin to flow securely and seamlessly into diverse ecosystems," BitLayer's team told CoinDesk. The team added that it plans to establish a security committee, release audit reports and conduct bug bounties and open-source their code, creating a roadmap that positions BitLayer's BitVM Bridge as a crucial piece of infrastructure for BTC's future in in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The End of Bitcoin Maximalism
The launch of Bitcoin in 2009 created a resilient and decentralized monetary asset. Early adherents rallied around it as a singular innovation — immutable, fixed-supply, and leaderless. Over time, this coalesced into a belief system: Bitcoin maximalism. The argument was simple. Bitcoin came first. It had the most Proof-of-Work security. The most conservative monetary policy. All other assets were distractions or regressions. But that framing increasingly diverges from how Bitcoin is now being applied in practice. Today, the crypto ecosystem is no longer a collection of isolated silos or, at least, it needn't be. Interoperability is the backbone of Web3. The same technologies that maximalists once dismissed, like wrapped bitcoin and cross-chain bridges, are now exposing the limitations of that worldview. While these technologies are far from perfect, they prove that users want more than ideological purity; they want utility and functionality. This evolution is particularly significant for Bitcoin, which has historically been limited by its transaction speeds and a lack of smart contract functionality. The watershed moment came with the emergence and explosive growth of DeFi, offering yield farming, lending, and trading opportunities that Bitcoin — at least in its native form — couldn't directly participate in (most early DeFi activity was concentrated on Ethereum). To bridge this gap, solutions like wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) were conceived and launched, tokenizing BTC for use on Ethereum and other chains. While this was a step forward, wrapped tokens came with associated risks, such as centralized custodians, potential security vulnerabilities and an overall departure from Bitcoin's trustless ethos. New systems, including trust-minimized tunneling and Bitcoin-anchored consensus proofs, are enabling BTC to be integrated into smart contract environments without compromising its core properties. These architectures avoid the need for wrapping. Instead, they treat Bitcoin as a foundational, external settlement layer that can interact directly with the rest of the blockchain ecosystem — through tunneling and specialized Bitcoin-aware virtual machines. The result is simple: Bitcoin is no longer isolated. And it no longer needs to be. Bitcoin maximalism asserts that BTC alone is sufficient. But the infrastructure now being deployed across the ecosystem proves otherwise. BTC is being used in DeFi. BTC is supporting NFT standards. BTC is moving across chains. And it is doing so without compromising its consensus layer or monetary properties. The future of crypto belongs to collaboration, not isolation. Blockchain infrastructure will be shaped by interoperability and modular design. Bitcoin need not compete for dominance in such an ecosystem; rather, it can complement and secure a broader multi-chain ecosystem. As developers build bridges between chains rather than walls, they prove that Bitcoin can coexist with other networks, enhancing its utility instead of competing for dominance. In this environment, the maximalist mentality of 'one coin to rule them all' already feels out of touch. Regular crypto users want flexibility and different options to stake, lend, or trade their assets across multiple platforms, which interoperability enables — unlike Bitcoin maximalism that restricts all out-of-the-box use cases. As multi-chain ecosystems mature, users are increasingly drawn to infrastructure that supports cross-chain utility, including secure integrations of BTC. Finally, Bitcoin maximalism has always been rooted mostly in ideology — but the crypto industry is driven by innovation, and new technologies are proving that BTC can evolve without losing its importance or advantages. This way, maximalists risk being left behind if they dismiss these advancements as mere 'distractions.' Bitcoin continues to serve as the most secure and censorship-resistant settlement network in the world. That is not changing. What is changing is the environment around it. Decentralized systems are growing more interoperable. The expectation that networks will remain isolated is no longer viable. BTC is becoming a core layer in a multi-chain stack, and more integrated into systems it once stood apart from. Where once Bitcoin maximalism offered clarity during crypto's early phases of growth, the ecosystem has evolved. Today, Bitcoin can serve as a cornerstone in a broader system emphasizing security, interconnectivity, and composability. As this trend continues to gain momentum, Bitcoin maximalism may fade because the idea that one coin must dominate all others ignores the power of collaboration and innovation. Interoperability isn't a threat to Bitcoin — it's a catalyst for growth. The future of crypto isn't about choosing a single winner but rather about building a decentralized world where every chain, including Bitcoin, plays a vital role. The decentralized future will rely on systems that are secure, interoperable, and modular. Bitcoin's role as a resilient base layer ensures that it will persist as an integral component of that future, not as the only chain, but a fundamental cornerstone among others.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The End of Bitcoin Maximalism
The launch of Bitcoin in 2009 created a resilient and decentralized monetary asset. Early adherents rallied around it as a singular innovation — immutable, fixed-supply, and leaderless. Over time, this coalesced into a belief system: Bitcoin maximalism. The argument was simple. Bitcoin came first. It had the most Proof-of-Work security. The most conservative monetary policy. All other assets were distractions or regressions. But that framing increasingly diverges from how Bitcoin is now being applied in practice. Today, the crypto ecosystem is no longer a collection of isolated silos or, at least, it needn't be. Interoperability is the backbone of Web3. The same technologies that maximalists once dismissed, like wrapped bitcoin and cross-chain bridges, are now exposing the limitations of that worldview. While these technologies are far from perfect, they prove that users want more than ideological purity; they want utility and functionality. This evolution is particularly significant for Bitcoin, which has historically been limited by its transaction speeds and a lack of smart contract functionality. The watershed moment came with the emergence and explosive growth of DeFi, offering yield farming, lending, and trading opportunities that Bitcoin — at least in its native form — couldn't directly participate in (most early DeFi activity was concentrated on Ethereum). To bridge this gap, solutions like wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) were conceived and launched, tokenizing BTC for use on Ethereum and other chains. While this was a step forward, wrapped tokens came with associated risks, such as centralized custodians, potential security vulnerabilities and an overall departure from Bitcoin's trustless ethos. New systems, including trust-minimized tunneling and Bitcoin-anchored consensus proofs, are enabling BTC to be integrated into smart contract environments without compromising its core properties. These architectures avoid the need for wrapping. Instead, they treat Bitcoin as a foundational, external settlement layer that can interact directly with the rest of the blockchain ecosystem — through tunneling and specialized Bitcoin-aware virtual machines. The result is simple: Bitcoin is no longer isolated. And it no longer needs to be. Bitcoin maximalism asserts that BTC alone is sufficient. But the infrastructure now being deployed across the ecosystem proves otherwise. BTC is being used in DeFi. BTC is supporting NFT standards. BTC is moving across chains. And it is doing so without compromising its consensus layer or monetary properties. The future of crypto belongs to collaboration, not isolation. Blockchain infrastructure will be shaped by interoperability and modular design. Bitcoin need not compete for dominance in such an ecosystem; rather, it can complement and secure a broader multi-chain ecosystem. As developers build bridges between chains rather than walls, they prove that Bitcoin can coexist with other networks, enhancing its utility instead of competing for dominance. In this environment, the maximalist mentality of 'one coin to rule them all' already feels out of touch. Regular crypto users want flexibility and different options to stake, lend, or trade their assets across multiple platforms, which interoperability enables — unlike Bitcoin maximalism that restricts all out-of-the-box use cases. As multi-chain ecosystems mature, users are increasingly drawn to infrastructure that supports cross-chain utility, including secure integrations of BTC. Finally, Bitcoin maximalism has always been rooted mostly in ideology — but the crypto industry is driven by innovation, and new technologies are proving that BTC can evolve without losing its importance or advantages. This way, maximalists risk being left behind if they dismiss these advancements as mere 'distractions.' Bitcoin continues to serve as the most secure and censorship-resistant settlement network in the world. That is not changing. What is changing is the environment around it. Decentralized systems are growing more interoperable. The expectation that networks will remain isolated is no longer viable. BTC is becoming a core layer in a multi-chain stack, and more integrated into systems it once stood apart from. Where once Bitcoin maximalism offered clarity during crypto's early phases of growth, the ecosystem has evolved. Today, Bitcoin can serve as a cornerstone in a broader system emphasizing security, interconnectivity, and composability. As this trend continues to gain momentum, Bitcoin maximalism may fade because the idea that one coin must dominate all others ignores the power of collaboration and innovation. Interoperability isn't a threat to Bitcoin — it's a catalyst for growth. The future of crypto isn't about choosing a single winner but rather about building a decentralized world where every chain, including Bitcoin, plays a vital role. The decentralized future will rely on systems that are secure, interoperable, and modular. Bitcoin's role as a resilient base layer ensures that it will persist as an integral component of that future, not as the only chain, but a fundamental cornerstone among others. Sign in to access your portfolio
