The middle of October 2022 has seen a large increase in updates to different blockchain networks around the web. While crypto prices are still reeling from the crash during the summer, it is obvious that many blockchain teams are still working hard to keep their networks efficient and effective as web3 looks to its next steps in development. 

Polygon partners with Luganode

Polygon made a new announcement on October 14th when they tweeted about their new partnership with Luganode which is an institutional-grade staking provider which means they are helping large companies stake significant amounts of liquidity onto the Polygon network. 

This provides larger businesses with a safe route of entrance into the web3 ecosystem by also helping the network expand in a decentralized manner. 

With Luganode’s partnership, it appears that Polygon will continue to be one of the most successful layer 2 networks on the Ethereum blockchain, which will help small sum transfers for everyday purchases. 

Chainlink 1.9.0 Update

Chainlink’s recent update to version 1.9.0 is a big one because it is easing the ability for developers to manage nodes. In turn, oracle jobs will become more flexible, allowing for a larger capacity. Unlike most other networks that offer staking, Chainlink’s purpose is to stake in order to improve oracle reports.

According to their documentation, this update will help improve the oracle reports in a variety of ways. First, new admin commands are being made which allow transactions to be abandoned which is a helpful feature because things tend to stall when transactions are unresponsive.

Features involving keys have also been updated. Now it is easier to enable or disable certain keys from specific chains, allowing more nuanced control over the network. Nonces are also being improved so that developers can set the nonce for each key as well, allowing for debugging to become more simplified. 

Avalanche Bitcoin Bridge

One of the most interesting updates to come out in October is Avalanche’s inclusion of btc.b which allows bitcoin to be bridged onto the Avalanche network where it can interact with their smart contracts. By doing so, bitcoin can be opened up to a new environment that features significant advantages such as DeFi and Dapp protocols to help bolster the value of bitcoin itself. 

One of the major criticisms of bitcoin in the last few years has been its lack of utilities. Networks like Etheruem and Tezos saw this discrepancy and built their blockchain around the concept of functionality; but now that bitcoin is finding its way into the web3 ecosystem unlike before, we can assume a variety of new projects focused on bridging bitcoin with smart contract capabilities to begin.  

Is the Crash Over?

While prices still remain low between cryptocurrencies and the global economy, it is safe to say that some of the largest names in web3 are still producing high-quality material for developers to use on their networks. 

While the major bull run from last year is long gone, we can safely assume that many of these projects are still going to be around in the next few years when it is more likely that crypto prices will begin to rebound from a more diverse web3 ecosystem.