Base Layers

Ethereum art
Ethereum Enhancers, Not Ethereum Killers
The new competitive arena in the so-called scaling wars is between Ethereum enhancers, not Ethereum killers.
Ethereum art

(Agê Barros/Unsplash)
Polkadot Projects Will Be Able to Mint Their Own Tokens in 2021
A token minting system is coming to the Polkadot blockchain ecosystem, promising to be a leaner, meaner version of Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard.
(Agê Barros/Unsplash)

Chia pudding (Marc Mintel/Unsplash)
Chia Network Raises $5M to Rival New Crop of DeFi-Friendly Base Layers
Chia Network, led by BitTorrent creator Bram Cohen, just raised another $5 million in an equity round led by Slow Ventures.
Chia pudding (Marc Mintel/Unsplash)

Emin Gün Sirer (CoinDesk archives)
Base Layer Wars Heat Up With Another $12M Committed to AVA Labs' Avalanche Blockchain
AVA Labs has closed a $12 million private token sale. The funding round – co-led by Galaxy Digital, Bitmain, Initialized and others – comes weeks before an anticipated mainnet...
Emin Gün Sirer (CoinDesk archives)

Credit: CoinDesk archives
NEAR Protocol Enlists Bison Trails for Validator Support as It Heads Toward Full Mainnet
Bison Trails will help host the NEAR Protocol’s early validator set, currently consisting of over 150 nodes including some 40 of the project’s investors.
Credit: CoinDesk archives

Harmony is bringing in outside participants to strengthen its chain. (Credit: Pexels)
Base Layer Blockchain Harmony Adds Staking to Open Up Validator Set
Harmony announced Tuesday that its mainnet has incorporated staking, allowing users to earn ONE tokens for locking in their current holdings.
Harmony is bringing in outside participants to strengthen its chain. (Credit: Pexels)