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| | Hello,
In a landmark moment for the blockchain, crypto, and Web3 sector, the Ethereum blockchain successfully completed the long-awaited 'The Merge' - a transition from a Proof of Work (PoW) system to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network.
With this move, Ethereum—the dominant platform for building and running decentralised applications—cuts its carbon footprint by 99%, according to the Ethereum Foundation.
The Merge also sets the stage to make Ethereum faster, more scalable, and more decentralised and paves the way for further upgrades. Ethereum Co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes the Merge will also help "crypto payments make sense again".
|  | Impact of the Merge: The Merge will not immediately reduce transaction speeds and gas fees in the short term. The Merge is a change of consensus mechanism, not an expansion of network capacity, and will not result in a lower gas fee. Layer-2 (L2) solutions built on Ethereum—which leverage the primary chain's infrastructure and security— are set to become more energy efficient. Some examples are Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Loopring, and Boba Network. | | Read More | | | | |
Starbucks teams up with Polygon for NFTs | | | Global coffee chain Starbucks announced a partnership with Ethereum scaling solution Polygon to build its Web3 experience titled 'Starbucks Odyssey'.
This will combine the existing Starbucks Rewards loyalty programme with an NFT platform. Sandeep Nailwal, Co-founder, Polygon, announced the partnership on Twitter and said that this was possible because of the Ethereum Merge.
|  | What is the partnership about?
The company's blog post stated, "This programme will enable its US customers to purchase digital collectible stamps in NFT form that offer rewards and immersive experiences."
The rewards could range from virtual espresso martini-making classes and unique merchandise to exclusive events invites at Starbucks Reserve Roasteries and possibly trips to the Starbucks Hacienda Alsacia coffee farm in Costa Rica.
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Building an Indian metaverse | | | During COVID-19, the odds of having a chance encounter were scarce. Socially distanced meetups and other online options became par over time. Naturally, the pandemic also pushed the metaverse to the forefront–people found love, friendships, and other important relationships within these universes.
A second-time entrepreneur, Krishnan Sunderarajan of Shark Tank India fame, knows what it takes to build a startup from scratch. His observation of existing trends online led him to build the all-inclusive metaverse — Loka.
|  | What Loka is about:
In the simplest form, Loka can be considered a metaverse multiplayer game, where users can interact with game replicas of Indian cities and visit its iconic destinations.
Loka has nearly two lakh users and is expanding on its existing B2B business of hosting events on its metaverse.
It recently partnered with electronics maker boAt Lifestyle to host a K-pop concert on its metaverse.
| | Read More | | | | |
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