Today in Crypto: opBNB Becomes 2nd Most Popular L2 per DAU, Ripple Reveals Upgraded Ripple Payments, Bitwala Relaunches With Striga’s Help
Last updated:
Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of crypto and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s news.
__________
Blockchain news
- BNB Chain’s Layer 2, opBNB, has experienced on-chain growth and became the second most popular L2 in terms of daily active users (DAU) in under two months of the mainnet going live, according to an announcement, citing each chain’s respective explorer. In addition, Binance announced it will support opBNB deposits and withdrawals. As for key highlights, the team noted a surge in DAU, peaking at 92,761 on September 15; opBNB’s market share surged from 13% to 22% in a month; more than 13.6 million transactions have been executed on opBNB since mainnet went live; the official mainnet announcement fueled a 23% surge in opBNB’s TVL, with net inflows reaching $4.7 million by the end of Q3; and opBNB has seen 143,502 total deployed contracts to date.
- The Ethereum research and development firm =nil; Foundation introduced zkSharding, described as “the first Ethereum zkRollup with sharding.” According to the press release, “this unique combination enables secure and parallel transaction execution across dedicated shards while maintaining Ethereum’s economic security and providing application developers with full composability and transparent Ethereum data access.” This will empower developers to build scalable, secure, and composable applications with transparent access to Ethereum data, it said, while =nil; aims to scale Ethereum to 60,000+ TPS. The zkSharding mechanism’s main shard leverages zero-knowledge proofs to validate transactions across all shards before submitting proofs to Ethereum. As the number of these dedicated sub-shards increases, so does the maximum Ethereum throughput linearly, it said.
Payments news
- Crypto payments company Ripple “debuted the evolution” of its crypto-enabled cross-border payments solution, Ripple Payments, formerly known as RippleNet. According to the press release, the key updates include expanded access to Ripple’s full global network of more than 70 crypto and traditional payout markets. The Ripple Payments network now provides near-global payout coverage through single onboarding, the company said. It provides the enterprise-grade infrastructure required for businesses to “leverage blockchain easily for faster, cheaper, more efficient cross-border payments without needing to be an expert,” it added.
Banking news
- European cryptocurrency banking platform Bitwala has relaunched to “reclaim its status as a pioneer of cryptocurrency” in Europe, focusing on returning to its core offering, which centers around buying and selling crypto, according to the press release. Late last year, Nuri, as it was formerly known, ceased operations and returned customer funds. Now, with the support of Striga, a compliant banking infrastructure company for fintechs and digital asset services, the platform relaunched under its original name, Bitwala. Striga solved one of the key challenges Bitwala was facing by providing compliant digital assets and banking infrastructure without the need to handle any regulatory burden. “This partnership allowed them to concentrate on creating a product that resonates with their user base,” the announcement said.
Career news
- Crypto exchange Bybit announced the appointment of Sebastian Gawenda as its new options business leader. Per the press release, Gawenda is a seasoned professional with a rich background in institutional sales, having previously led the Institutional Sales teams for Crypto.com‘s spot and derivatives exchanges. Prior to that role, he worked in the Institutional Relationships and Solutions division for the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) region at Kraken.
Mining news
- Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer Technologies Group announced its unaudited mining and operations updates for October 2023, reporting self-mined BTC 462 compared to BTC 482 in September 2023, and 169 in October 2022. Bitcoin mined in October 2023 increased by 173.4% compared to October 2022, while bitcoin mined in October 2023 decreased by 4.1% compared to September 2023, primarily caused by an increase in the Bitcoin network’s total hash rate, it said. The company generally does not hold cryptocurrencies obtained through its self-mining business and promptly converts them into fiat, it added.
- How Tether Co-Founder William Quigley Views Crypto Regulations in Trump’s Second Term
- Trump Appoints PayPal Veteran David Sacks as ‘White House AI and Crypto Czar’
- New Meme Coin Wall Street Pepe Price Surges 58% at Launch, $WEPE Next 10x Frog Coin?
- New King of Meme Coins Wall Street Pepe Ready to Launch in 3 Days – Could it Reach $1?
- Solana Price Slips – Could Upcoming Unlocks Send SOL Below $50?
Recommended Articles

Upbit Faces Billions in Fines for 700,000 Rule Violations Amid South Korea’s Crypto Crackdown
2025-02-18 11:43:02

Ethereum Shows Signs of Rebound as Exchange Supply Hits Record Low: Santiment
2025-02-18 10:17:00

Linea Updates Sybil List After Reviewing Appeals, Removes 3.5K False Positives
2025-02-18 09:03:47

EU Watchdog ESMA Proposes Mandatory Knowledge Checks for Crypto Firms
2025-02-18 08:34:44

Meteora Co-Founder Ben Chow Resigns Amid Libra Meme Coin Controversy
2025-02-18 07:17:06

Argentina President Admits Meeting Libra Team, Denies Endorsement Allegations
2025-02-18 05:58:27

HK Asia Holdings' Stock Surges Over 90% as Firm Discloses Bitcoin Purchase
2025-02-18 05:32:14
More Articles
Authors List
+ 66 More
2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors