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Wormhole $617M Airdrop Ignites Valuation Surge To $3B, But W Price Stumbles 23%

Wormhole, a cross-chain communication protocol enabling the transfer of assets between blockchains, recently launched an airdrop campaign for its newly issued governance token, W. Early users were rewarded with 617 million W tokens, and the protocol also released a roadmap outlining its plans.

Wormhole Protocol Unveils Roadmap

According to the protocol’s roadmap, W aims to become a native multi-chain token, leveraging the advantages of both the Solana and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains. 

Initially launched as a native SPL token on Solana, W will reportedly leverage Solana’s performance, offering increased performance, scalability, low transaction costs, and fast settlement times.

After the Solana debut, W will be extended to all Wormhole-connected EVM chains using Wormhole Native Token Transfers (NTT). This framework allows W to continuously roll out across Solana, the Ethereum mainnet, and Layer 2 (L2s) without liquidity fragmentation.

The open-source NTT framework allows projects to control token behavior on each chain, including token standards, metadata, ownership/upgradability, and custom features.

Cross-Chain Governance System

Wormhole also introduces a governance system where token holders on any supported chain can create, vote on, and implement governance proposals. This approach allows maximum participation in the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) by providing a frictionless user experience for token holders distributed across multiple chains. 

As announced, W holders can lock and delegate their tokens on Solana and EVM chains, allowing them to participate in governance decisions. The Wormhole DAO, composed of W token holders, will oversee the Solana, Ethereum mainnet, and EVM L2s governance system.

Wormhole, developed by Jump Crypto, a division of Jump Trading Group, has been under development for several years. Despite encountering challenges, including a significant hack in February 2022 resulting in a loss of approximately $320 million, the protocol has continued to evolve. 

Furthermore, the recent listing of the W token on major exchanges such as Crypto.com and the future support planned by Coinbase on April 4 further validate its progress.

W’s Debut On OpenBook

The W token debuted on the Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) OpenBook at $1.66, with a market capitalization of $2.98 billion and a fully diluted value of $16.5 billion. 

However, the token’s market capitalization and fully diluted value have since fallen to $2.2 billion and $12.5 billion, respectively, according to updated data from CoinGecko. Trading volume for W has remarkably increased, reaching $555,937,593 in the last 24 hours, representing a staggering 25,732,359.60% surge.

Following the airdrop, some users openly shared their sell-offs of the W token on social media platforms, resulting in a 23% price drop. At the time of writing, the token is trading at $1.32.

Wormhole

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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INJ Price Soars 13% As Injective Unveils ‘inEVM,’ Ethereum And Solana Integration Expected

In a recent announcement, Layer 2 (L2) protocol Injective (INJ) has reached a major milestone with the launch of its inEVM Layer 2 rollup solution on the mainnet. This technology introduces an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) environment to the Injective ecosystem, opening up new prospects for developers and blockchain interoperability.

By integrating with Ethereum (ETH), Cosmos (ATOM), and Solana (SOL), inEVM establishes a multi-chain ecosystem that combines the advantages of different virtual machine environments.

inEVM For Ethereum, Cosmos, And Solana

According to the March 7 announcement, InEVM, which stands for inEVM Layer 2 rollup solution, allows developers to build applications using the Ethereum programming language Solidity within Injective’s platform.

This technology connects different blockchain networks by achieving composability across Cosmos and Solana. InEVM leverages Caldera as the rollup provider, Hyperlane as the messaging layer, LayerZero for data and asset transfer, Celestia as the Data Availability (DA) layer, and Pyth as the Oracle provider.

These collaborations were reportedly designed to ensure a “secure and robust” environment for developers to deploy their projects.

Furthermore, by incorporating inEVM, Injective will enable Ethereum developers to onboard onto its platform while retaining compatibility with the broader blockchain space. 

As announced, developers can now take advantage of Injective’s benefits, including the protocol’s transaction speeds, near-zero fees, and access to the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) network.

The protocol also claims that InEVM will serve as a sandbox for developers to become familiar with the broader Injective ecosystem, providing a bridge between Ethereum’s EVM world and Injective’s WebAssembly (WASM) backbone.

TimeSwap And Thetanauts Make Waves In Injective Platform

Another key feature of Injective’s inEVM is its stated integration with Caldera, Hyperlane, LayerZero, Celestia, and Pyth, ensuring compatibility with existing smart contract standards, infrastructure, and oracles. 

This integration aims to facilitate interoperability and collaboration across virtual machine environments, paving the way for a “unified blockchain ecosystem.” 

The release states that developers will also benefit from the ability to create synergies and leverage the strengths of Ethereum, Cosmos, and Solana while maintaining true composability and interoperability.

Lastly, the protocol has announced that several projects have already adopted inEVM and deployed on the Injective platform. Notable among them is the TimeSwap lending protocol, which has raised significant funding of over $200 million from investors, including Polychain Capital, Delphi Digital, and Bain Capital Crypto. In addition, Thetanauts, an on-chain options protocol, has also chosen to build on the inEVM.

Injective

Currently, Injective’s native token INJ has seen a notable uptick in price after stagnating and dropping 3% over the past seven days. Currently, INJ is trading at $43.20, up over 13% on announcing the launch of Injective’s inEVM. 

This marks the continuation of the token’s upward trend registered over the rest of the time frames. The token recorded a tremendous surge of over 1240% year-to-date, 37% in the past 30 days, and 23% in the past fourteen days, which led the token to reach its current all-time high (ATH) of $46 on March 2nd.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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RippleX Announces Major Update For XRP Ledger EVM Sidechain, Can This Trigger A Price Recovery

The XRP Ledger ecosystem is currently buzzing with new exciting developments that could potentially propel the price of XRP to new heights. RippleX, an extension of Ripple and an open developer platform has announced new updates for the upcoming XRP Ledger Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechain. 

XRPL EVM Sidechain Signals Hope For XRP Price Resurgence

On Tuesday, RippleX released the latest developments and progress on the XRPL EVM Sidechain via an X (formerly Twitter) post. This significant update was shared by Peersyst Technology, a blockchain technology firm and an XRPL EVM developer. 

Peersyst revealed on its official X handle that the XRPL ecosystem is getting closer to launching its highly anticipated sidechain. This advanced EVM sidechain is designed to bridge Web3 applications to XRPL and improve the functionality and scalability capabilities of the ledger. 

Various XRP enthusiasts, including Patrick L. Riley, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reaper Financial, remain optimistic about the launch and integration of the EVM sidechain into the XRP Ledger. In a December 2023 interview with crypto market analyst Zach Rector, Riley predicted that “XRP will surpass Bitcoin as the number one cryptocurrency.” 

According to Peersyst, the RippleX developer team has officially published the XChainBridge public amendment. This revision is currently open for voting and has already garnered seven validator votes out of 28, marking a crucial step in the launch of the XRPL EVM sidechain. 

The blockchain company also announced a second update on the XRPL EVM, stating that the sidechain has successfully undergone stringent audit procedures by Bishop Fox, a leading provider of security solutions. Another audit has also been conducted with a prominent supplier, with details disclosed soon. 

In addition, the blockchain firm has shared updates on the EVM sidechain’s progress to Cosmos, a blockchain network utilizing the support of Evmos, a scalable high throughput Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain. Peersyst disclosed that a new version of the bridge is set to launch, allowing users to automatically connect any existing token in the EVM sidechain to the XRP Ledger. 

Other updates on the EVM sidechain include the introduction of a new User Interface (UI) and the implementation of a Software Development Kit (SDK) for developers. Additionally, a better version of the Blockscout explorer is being developed, promising quicker inspections and explorations of transactions within the XRPL EVM blockchain. 

XRP price chart from Tradingview.com (RippleX XRP Ledger EVM Sidechain)

Can This Trigger A Price Recovery?

The XRPL EVM emerges as a potential game changer for the price of XRP, introducing new updates that will enhance transparency, security, and speed within the XRP Ledger. Since this is a positive development, it could lead to renewed interest in the underlying XRP token.

If this interest is sustained and eventually leads to more demand for the token, it could trigger a price rally. At this point, the bulls will be looking to break the resistance, which bears have mounted at $0.55 to signal a resumption of the rally.

While other altcoins have been witnessing price surges, XRP has been struggling to rally. It is currently trading at $0.51, with a 9.63% loss in the last seven days, according to data from Coinmarketcap.