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The Top Dapps to Consider Using in 2020

Dapps have brought a significant change in the field of blockchain technology. They are a new type of software applications, which does not undergo downtime, and cannot be shut down by anybody, and are not owned by a central authority. They are open-source software, which uses smart contracts to run transactions on a blockchain. Decentralized applications are making inroads in various fields like gambling, technology, education, finance, and other domains.

MakerDao

MakerDao is a decentralized credit service that runs on the Ethereum blockchain platform. Maker consists of community governance, collateral loans, and decentralized stablecoin (Dai).

Digital assets like Ether and Bitcoin are highly volatile and cannot be used as a day-to-day currency. The Dai cryptocurrency is stablecoin whose value is attached to the US dollar.

Stablecoins such as Dai is necessary for realizing the entire potential of blockchain. Dai strengthens financial services in the cryptocurrency world with stable prices against fiat currencies.

Anybody can use MakerDAO to open a CDP (collateralized debt position), lock in Ethereum as collateral, and generate Dai as a debt against that collateral.

MetaMask

MetaMask is a type of bridge, which allows users to run Ethereum Dapps directly in the browser without running a full Ethereum node. With its secure identity wall, MetaMask provides users with a platform to manage their identities on various sites and initiate transactions in the blockchain. Any user can install the MetaMask add-on in Opera, Firefox, and Chrome.

LivePeer

LivePeer is a Dapp which was launched in 2017. Developers use it for adding on-demand or live videos for their projects. LivePeer’s main aim is to increase video streaming and minimize its scaling cost. The rising demand for live streaming amongst consumers for news and entertainment has led to LivePeer’s growth. LivePeer aims to reduce the price of transactions based on the use of crypto-economic incentive mechanisms.

Votechain

Votechain is a form of a decentralized voting system that runs on a blockchain network. The voting system aims to improve the voting procedure and reduce fraud during voting by implementing a hybrid of both digital and physical blockchain voting options.

The creators designed the app in connection with suspected voting fraud in 2018 Mexico’s elections. This application will offer users the facility to vote from their mobile phones.

MTonomy

MTonomy is a decentralized application that provides secure blockchain infrastructure to monetize, distribute, and license digital media content like books, music, and movies.

MTonomy provides rights and content management services for distributors, service providers, and content owners, including the leading cryptocurrency-based VOP application for consumers. In other words, MTonomy is a streaming platform for cryptocurrency users.

Ethlance

Ethlance is a kind of job market platform built entirely on a blockchain. Anybody can access it as its database is built on the Ethereum public blockchain network. The platform uses crypto for payments.

Ethlance doesn’t charge any fees, and the entire amount paid by the employers is passed to the freelancers. The only cost that participants have to bear is the gas for transacting on the network.

SpankChain

SpankChain is an adult entertainment platform powered by blockchain technology. It was built by using the concept of Ethereum.

The platform offers complete privacy by eliminating the need for third-party intermediaries through the use of smart contracts. The Dapp has been recognized as a revolutionary technological and economic platform for the adult industry.

Ethereum-Based Wallet MetaMask Adds Token Swaps to Its Features

MetaMask recently announced a new add-on to its browser which can facilitate decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions for Ethereum-based tokens.

Token Swaps on MetaMask

The cryptocurrency wallet announced that token swaps will now be a feature that will be available on its browser extension. This function is ready to be leveraged by Firefox users, but MetaMask developers are working on providing the token-swapping feature on other browsers as well as on MetaMask mobile.

Token swaps directly from MetaMask will enable investors to swap and trade crypto assets they hold for any ERC-20/DeFi tokens they want across different decentralized exchanges (DEX), directly from the comfort of its browser. The feature operates like an aggregator by measuring different exchange rates across various crypto exchanges to come up with the best conversion.

MetaMask User Growth Surges

MetaMask, which is owned by ConsenSys and is arguably the most popular Ethereum wallet, recently recorded over a million active monthly active users on its platform, an achievement that is partially due to the recent launch of its application MetaMask Mobile. The application has served to onboard new users worldwide and has gained popularity in the USA, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines.

With the rise in popularity of the DeFi protocol industry, Uniswap, Yearn, Curve, Maker, and Aave are among the top projects leveraged by MetaMask users to invest, sell, lend, and borrow digital assets.

The launch of the token swapping feature on MetaMask is a huge achievement, as it provides a seamless trading experience for investors. Most DeFi protocols run on Ethereum blockchain and the new addition on MetaMask goes in stride with the DeFi boom, with the largest project by market capitalization being attributed to Uniswap.

Though the DeFi protocol has recorded a dip on DeFi Pulse, it still dominates with a total value locked of $2.22 billion, as of press time.

Smart Contract 101: MetaMask

In this lesson, we will talk about MetaMask, a popular and easy to use cryptocurrency wallet.

To execute any transaction on the blockchain, we will need to be able to pay in cryptocurrency and for this, we will need to have our own crypto wallet.

The first step is to install MetaMask on your chrome browser. (Download Link)

Click Get Started after installing MetaMask on your chrome browser.

Create a Wallet if you are new to cryptos.

Set up your password for MetaMask on your computer—Please note this will be a different password than your Wallet password.

Then you will get a ‘Secret Backup Phrase’, you need to keep this phrase safe as it is the only key to access your wallet and will be crucial if you ever need to restore access.

After confirmation of the setup, you now have your own wallet with the first account on it.

The address that begins with 0x under the word Account 1 is your public address for this account, other people will need this address if they want to send you ether cryptocurrency.

On the right upper corner, it shows the network you are currently using, in the example above it is the Ethereum network. You will get different Asset information if you switch between networks. But the Account address will always be the same when you access it by using your “Secret Backup Phrase”.

If you need some more accounts, you could simply click Create Account, a new account will be shown immediately. Using MetaMask you can create as many accounts as you like and use the same ‘Secret Backup Phrase’ to access all of them.

Try to switch the network to Rinkeby and get your free ether here for the next tutorial!

Metamask Tops 10M Active Users as NFT Mania Continues

The massive opportunities embracing the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) metaverse is turning things around for Metamask, a wallet service provider. The firm announced that it has surpassed 10 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs), placing it on the most active wallets in use in the digital currency ecosystem.

When put into proper perspective, the news is even more significant, seeing the wallet’s parent company, ConsenSys, unveiled just three days ago that the MAUs for the wallet has topped 5 million, up from 1 million users as of October 2020. The MAU figure of 10 million unveiled implied that the wallet’s users grew by almost the same percentage in 3 days as it did from October to April.

NFT and Swaps Powering the Metamask Growth

NFTs are undoubtedly the next major force in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and are responsible for the bulk of the growth recorded by Metamask, which follows Swaps in terms of use cases.

“The recent mainstream craze over NFTs has attracted a much larger audience to the Ethereum ecosystem,” ConsenSys stated in the earlier report issued on April 27. “Google searches for “NFT” are more than four times higher than for DeFi. Furthermore, on-chain data indicates that Users across the Ethereum ecosystem widely embrace NFTs. In fact, accessing NFTs is now the second most popular use case for MetaMask, only behind swaps.

The NFT mania has caught up with retail and institutional investors, most of whom connect to decentralised NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible through Metamask. With a well-built security and wallet infrastructure to power the growth of the decentralised web, Metamask has found itself as a dominant force for most DeFi protocols.

With the latest milestone, the way up for Metamask is still very steep, and brighter days seem to be ahead for the swallet.

ConsenSys Completes $200M Funding Round at $3.2B Valuation

ConsenSys, the blockchain startup behind the Metamask wallet, has raised $200 million in new funding round, pushing its valuation up to $3.2 billion.

As is becoming prevalent in the blockchain ecosystem, the funding round was backed by several prominent hedge funds and investors, including Marshall Wace, Third Point, and Think Investments. They contributed alongside existing investors such as Dragonfly Capital, Electric Capital, Spartan Group, Coinbase Ventures, HSBC, DeFiance Capital, and Animoca Brands.

As a major yardstick to measure its current growth, ConsenSys revealed that the Metamask wallet has increased its total number of monthly users to 21 million, a growth of about 38 fold from last year and over four times from the level about four months ago. The push showcases the dominance of the Metamask wallet as a flagship wallet to gain access to the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and Non-Fungible Token (NFT) ecosystems, respectively.

“ConsenSys’ MetaMask wallet and other tools offer a unique platform for consumers, enterprises, and developers to engage, build, and create on the decentralized web,” said Third Point CEO Daniel Loeb.

Powering a gateway into the Metaverse through the development of Web3.0 remains amongst the top priorities for several blockchain-focused outfits today. In a way to prepare itself for the future to come, ConsenSys restructured itself from its diversification into consulting to focus entirely on its products. It said its current growth is a reflection of the right choices it made.

Using the new funding, the company said it will be hiring a new crop of talents as this is becoming a tug of war amongst blockchain entities today.

“There’s a war for talent going on,” ConsenSys Chief Strategy Officer Simon Morris said in an interview, “and we are going to make sure that we can grow our team, acquire some teams, acqui-hire some teams,” to stay competitive on the Ethereum front.

Image source: ConsenSys.com

ConsenSys Acquires MyCrypto to Strengthen MetaMask and Enhance Product Security

The Ethereum software company ConsenSys has acquired the Ethereum interface MyCrypto, aiming to integrate MyCrypto with the MetaMask wallet owned by ConsenSys and improve the security of all products.

MetaMask is an extension for accessing Ethereum enabled distributed applications or “Dapps” on your internet browser.

MetaMask supports Firefox, Google Chrome, and Chromium-based browsers.

MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay said the combination of MetaMask’s mobile app and browser extension with MyCrypto’s web product and desktop app will “connect people to the Web3 world in more ways.”

The massive opportunities embracing the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) metaverse are turning things around for Metamask, a wallet service provider. The firm announced that it has surpassed 10 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs), placing it on the most active wallets in use in the digital currency ecosystem.

ConsenSys said the MyCrypto team’s experience building smart contract integrations will make the integrations in MetaMask richer.

The founder and CEO of MyCrypto Taylor Monahan added that:

“With the rapid growth of the ecosystem and products racing to ship slick features, it is imperative that the leading wallet continues to build foundational and secure self-custody tools that empower the user. Combining our years of experience and shared values allows us to accelerate our mission of providing a way for users to fully realize their self-sovereignty,”

As reported by Blockchain.News on November 18, ConsenSys, the blockchain startup behind the Metamask wallet, has raised $200 million in new funding round, pushing its valuation up to $3.2 billion.

ConsenSys Hits $7 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round

ConsenSys, an Ethereum application and infrastructure builder based in New York, announced on Tuesday that it raised $450 million in its Series D funding round. The financing seed gives the blockchain company a valuation of $7 billion.

ConsenSys plans to use the latest funding to expand its business by increasing its headcount from 700 to over 1,000 employees by the end of 2022. The leading blockchain firm also said that it intends to use the fresh funds raised to support the expansion of its MetaMask and its flagship products.

The fundraising was led by ParaFi Capital, which also participated in the previous fundraising. Other Series C investors, including Third Point, True Capital Management, Marshall Wace, and UTA VC, United Talent Agency’s venture fund, also participated in the round. Serval new investors also joined this round of funding, including C Ventures, Sound Ventures, Anthos Capital, Microsoft, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Temasek.

ConsenSys mentioned that it would convert the raised funds into Ethereum (ETH) to build further its ‘ultrasound money’ position as a rebalance to its Ethereum to fiat ratio in line with its treasury strategy.

Joseph Lubin, the founder and CEO of ConsenSys, talked about the development and said: “I think of ConsenSys as a broad and deep capabilities machine for the decentralized protocols ecosystem, able to rapidly capitalize at scale on fundamental new constructs that emerge, such as developer tooling, wallets, security audits, DeFi, NFTs, Layer-2 scaling, DAOs, and more.”

Building Digital Infrastructure for Future Finance

In November last year, ConsenSys raised $200 million in a Series C financing round, bringing its valuation to $3.2 billion.

The firm works to fulfil its mission, which is to unlock the collective power of communities by making Web3 universally easy to access, use, and build on. Founded in 2014, the blockchain company has continued to develop tools and infrastructure being used by over 450,000 developers, including MetaMask and leading DeFi and NFT platforms.

Last month, ConsenSys acquired MyCrypto, an open-source platform that allows users to manage Ethereum (ETH) accounts securely and privately. ConsenSys integrated its Web3 wallet, MetaMask, with MyCrypto to improve security and standardize the user experience across desktop, extension, mobile, and browser wallets.

In January, ConsenSys partnered with Visa to help central bank digital currency (CBDC) networks bridge the gap with traditional financial institutions. The partnership is set to enable customers to use their CBDC-linked Visa card or digital wallet anywhere that Visa is accepted worldwide. Currently, ConsenSys’ Protocols group — developer of Hyperledger Besu and ConsenSys Quorum — is building CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) for six central banks.

In December last year, ConsenSys partnered with Mastercard to improve efficiency, scale, and speed up transactions using the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain while focusing on network integrity. ETH-based protocols are used in various industries such as decentralized finance, NFTs, Web 3.0, and metaverse platforms. Over 177 million Ethereum addresses need improved scalable applications and privacy settings on the Ethereum blockchain.

MetaMask Adds Apple Pay Integration, Expands Options for Buying Cryptos

ConsenSys-owned crypto wallet MetaMask announced Tuesday the addition of Apple Pay integration, increasing options for buying cryptocurrencies.

MetaMask is a crypto wallet & gateway to blockchain apps. It is also a tool for interacting with decentralized applications (DAPP).

The app supports Firefox, Google Chrome, and Chromium-based browsers.

The company said it now supports iPhone or Apple Pay users to buy cryptocurrencies with debit or credit cards through the mobile app without transferring cryptocurrencies from cryptocurrency exchanges.

MetaMask uses two payment gateways, Wyre and Transak, to support transactions. Users can now buy ETH with credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) stored in Apple Pay and deposit up to $400 in their wallets through the Wyre API.

“We wanted to expand how users can convert crypto within the app itself and not have to leave it,” James Beck, Director of Communications and Content at ConsenSys, said.

The Ethereum software company ConsenSys has acquired the Ethereum interface MyCrypto last month, aiming to integrate MyCrypto with the MetaMask wallet owned by ConsenSys and improve the security of all products.

MetaMask's New Beta Portfolio dApp to Provide All-In-One Access to Cryptos, NFTs

MetaMask has launched a beta portfolio dApp that allows users to have an overview of their cryptos and non-fungible token (NFT) in one place. To do so, the app connects their accounts and crypto assets across multiple chains in one interface.

The portfolio dApp is available to extension and mobile users. Users must click the “portfolio” link on their browser’s extension home screen to connect multiple accounts to access it.

Self-custodial wallet MetaMask is a crypto wallet & gateway to blockchain apps. It is also a tool for interacting with decentralized applications (dApps).

The dApp’s “watch any wallet” feature allows users to add their offline or hardware wallet.

MetMask is also currently developing a feature that will show NFT value and pricing estimate information along with an integrated view of the NFT collection.

Portfolio dApp currently supports assets from seven different networks: Ethereum, Optimism, BNB Smart Chain, Polygon, Fantom, Abritrum and Avalanche. Users can also add their friend’s ENS domain or public address to their watchlist through the dApp, and several tokens can also be added to the watchlist.

However, according to the wallet firm, non-MetaMask users can use portfolio view by using the “watch any account” feature.

Per Metamask developer Consensys, as of March 15, 2022, the Ethereum-based wallet had reached 30 million monthly average users (MAUs).

MetaMask has also said that they plan to add more features to their dApp.

MetaMask added Apple Pay integration early this year, increasing options for buying cryptocurrencies.

The integration has allowed users to buy cryptocurrencies with debit or credit cards through the mobile app without transferring cryptocurrencies from crypto exchanges.

MetaMask to Offer its Users NFT Price Tracking in Collaboration With NFTBank

Non-custodial wallet provider MetaMask has launched a new Non-Fungible Token (NFT) portfolio tracking service, a move that will be powered by NFTBank, an NFT portfolio management tool, and valuation engine.

Despite the growth of the NFT ecosystem, this offshoot of blockchain technology has generally lacked tools and infrastructures that can help collectors track their transaction history and get pricing estimates when compared to the other offshoots of blockchain.

NFTBank has committed its resources to changing the narrative and it has developed a high-powered Machine Learning-based algorithm that can offer price estimates for up to 5000 collections with a high degree of accuracy.

The robust nature of the NFTBank solution can merge well with the scale and diversity of the MetaMask wallet, thus making it a perfect alignment for all protocols involved.

“MetaMask continues to provide a rich NFT Experience, and enabling pricing information for our users within the portfolio dapp is another step forward; beginning today, our users can get real-time price updates and values about the NFTs they’ve acquired across all accounts to enable them to make informed decisions,” said Kai Huang, Product Manager, MetaMask Portfolio dApp, “NFTBank has proven itself as the ideal partner to enable this feature because of its sophisticated machine-learning models and strong infrastructure capabilities that can support MetaMask’s scale in order to provide a consistent experience for millions of MetaMask users.”

The attempt by MetaMask to broaden the utility of its NFT support has been tagged as an attempt to soften the landing pad for new users entering the space to understand what to expect in terms of pricing. With NFTBank topping the chart as one of the most used NFT price trackers, the collaboration between the duo has been tagged as one of the most strategic for the digital collectible space this year.