Today in Crypto: Intel Discontinues Bitcoin Mining Chips Production, a16z Crypto Teases a New Launch, LUKSO’s Genesis Validator Deposit Smart Contract Going Live on Thursday

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Mining news

• Chipmaker Intel said on Tuesday it has discontinued production of its Bitcoin (BTC) mining chip series, just a year after its introduction, Reuters reported. Intel expects to stop taking orders for the series, called Blockscale, by October 20 this year and end shipping by April 20 next year. “As we prioritize our investments in IDM 2.0, we have end-of-lifed the Intel Blockscale 1000 Series ASIC while we continue to support our Blockscale customers,” a company spokesperson said.

Investment news

• Andreessen Horowitz‘s investment arm a16z Crypto teased a new launch on Twitter, with engineering partner Noah Citron posting a picture of an orange ball and the words “coming soon”. A16z Crypto Chief Technology Officer Eddy Lazzarin then tweeted that it’s “not an L2.” Lazzarin added that “we need more TUIs and data dense displays,” which may reference Text-based User Interfaces or Terminal User Interfaces. He further asked what the “best Rust (or Crab) TUI framework” is, referring to a programming language used by blockchain developers.
• The Unchained platform announced its $60 million Series B funding round led by Valor Equity Partners to expand Bitcoin (BTC) financial services. The initial close, completed on April 11, included participation from existing investors NYDIG, Trammell Venture Partners, Ecliptic Capital, and Highland Capital Partners, the press release said, adding that the Series B “builds further momentum following a $15 million financing led by Ten31 that was completed last fall.” Unchained plans to use the new funding to grow its client base and improve upon its core suite of financial services delivered through collaborative custody, as well as expand its product offerings.

Blockchain news

• LUKSO, founded by the Ethereum pioneer Fabian Vogelsteller, will be launching the Genesis Validator Deposit Smart Contract on April 20 at 16:20 UTC, said the announcement. The team outlined a joint proposal by the Foundation for the New Creative Economies (FNCΞ), the Swiss foundation supporting the LUKSO ecosystem, and LUKSO Blockchain GmbH (LBG), the German company that organized the Reversible ICO for LUKSO in 2020. They proposed three options for the initial total supply of the native LYX token which the Genesis Validators will choose from, adding that anyone can become a Genesis Validator, as long as they have at least 32 LYXe.
• The Bank of England and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub London Center have tested a blockchain-powered settlements system between them, according to a report published on Wednesday. The insights of the so-called Project Meridian will be used by the Bank of England in its real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. Synchronized settlements “can provide a catalyst for innovation in wholesale payments and support the emergence of new payments infrastructures that settle using central bank money,” it said.
• OpenZeppelin, a crypto cybersecurity technology and services company, announced that its smart contract security platform Defender now supports Base, an Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) network developed by crypto exchange Coinbase. Base developers can now leverage Defender, which allows Web3 builders to “automate and secure smart contract administration, build with private and secure transaction infrastructure, create automated scripts, monitor and respond to smart contract exploits, and quickly implement the best Web3 security practices,” said the press release. Meanwhile, Defender users can utilize Base’s features, such as full EVM compatibility and gasless transactions for their decentralized applications (dapps) and APIs for account abstraction and bridges, it added.
• Chainstack, a suite of services connecting developers with Web3 infrastructure, has announced the launch of the Chainstack Subgraphs, described as “the most powerful blockchain data indexing solution providing real-time on-chain data.” It allows Web3 developers and businesses to leverage Chainstack’s infrastructure to instantly query real-time on-chain, said a press release. The dedicated indexer will launch with the support of up to 13 major protocols including Ethereum, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, Optimism, Arbitrum, NEAR, Aurora, Fantom, Gnosis, Harmony, Cronos, and Fuse.

Metaverse news

• The Clinique des Champs-Élysées, a provider of surgery and aesthetic medicine, announced its second virtual open day in the metaverse to promote women’s intimate health. It partnered with virtual world creator RLTY to stream the event in RLTY WORLD. On April 20, the Clinique will focus exclusively on women’s intimate health in an attempt to break taboos and open the conversation, said the announcement, adding that “an experienced team of gynecologists, sexologists, and surgeons will explain and showcase the solutions that exist to relieve, treat and restore intimate parts.”