ChainCatcher news, according to the popularity index data from the Web3 asset data platform RootData, as of December 20 at 10:18, Horizen has surged 873 places in the Top 50 ranking of rising projects, with its token ZEN experiencing a 24-hour increase of 12.2%.Horizen is a blockchain ecosystem focused on achieving privacy and scalability through sidechains. The platform enables businesses and developers to create their own public or private blockchains and decentralized applications on its distributed network. The project utilizes a verifiable cross-chain transfer protocol called Zendoo as its sidechain solution, while also incorporating a zero-knowledge proof protocol (zk-SNARK) to ensure secure communication with the sidechains.It is reported that RootData has launched the first "Web3 Popular Projects Ranking." This popularity ranking helps users capture the real pulse of attention through 4.3 million instances of real user behavior data, improving the accuracy of user investment decisions. The ranking is calculated in real-time based on weighted factors such as the frequency of searches by platform users, project click-through rates, user votes, and the popularity and influence on the X platform.

ChainCatcher message, Ripple announced key announcements this week in South Korea and Japan. The Ripple and XRP community is committed to bringing new programmability to the XRPL ecosystem by 2025 through the XRPL EVM sidechain (which is already in progress), including smart contracts, and exploring native functionalities on the XRPL mainnet. Additionally, the metaverse startup Futureverse has partnered with Ripple Custody to securely host its assets. Futureverse has adopted the XRPL NFT standard, using XRP as its gas token on the Root network, and integrated with the XRPL DEX to provide network liquidity.

ChainCatcher news, BOB co-founder Alexei Zamyatin posted on social media that Bitcoin scalability developers have released a new white paper on the second version of the Bitcoin Virtual Machine, BitVM2, and the updated BitVM Bridge. The white paper details the latest achievements in improving transaction efficiency within the Bitcoin network by enhancing transaction processing capabilities and, in some cases, updating cryptographic methods.The white paper states that the main goal of BitVM2 is to increase Bitcoin's transaction capacity without modifying the core Bitcoin code or principles of decentralization. Unlike V1, BitVM2 introduces a permissionless system that allows any user to challenge suspicious transactions.Additionally, the white paper mentions improvements to the BitVM Bridge, focusing on reducing capital requirements and shortening asset lock-up periods, which support cross-chain transactions between Bitcoin and Rollup.Previously, Robin Linus, the project lead of ZeroSync and creator of BitVM (who is also involved in the development of V2), first introduced BitVM last October.

ChainCatcher message, announced by Ripple-supported XRP Ledger, is set to launch a sidechain called "XRPL EVM sidechain," with Axelar as the exclusive cross-chain protocol. Axelar will enable users to convert XRP into wrapped XRP (eXRP), serving as the native token for gas fees on the sidechain.

ChainCatcher news, SushiSwap has launched the Bitcoin sidechain Rootstock. Rootstock was launched in 2018 with the aim of bringing DeFi to the Bitcoin network and is EVM compatible.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, Ripple has collaborated with Evmos to develop the XRP Ledger EVM sidechain, which will be built using evmOS technology. evmOS is a modular and customizable technology stack provided by Evmos, leveraging Cosmos SDK, IBC, and CometBFT to bring EVM compatibility to Web3 enterprises.

ChainCatcher news, Bitcoin Layer2 network BOB announced on platform X that it will collaborate with the sidechain development platform Anduro to develop a new Bitcoin sidechain ALYS standard, focusing on leveraging Bitcoin's proof of work for security.In previous news, BOB (Build on Bitcoin) announced at the end of March that it had completed a $10 million seed round financing, led by Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Mechanism Ventures, Bankless Ventures, CMS Ventures, UTXO Management, and several angel investors. BOB is a hybrid Layer 2 network built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain but is compatible with Ethereum.

ChainCatcher news, reported by Blockworks, crypto mining company Marathon Digital announced the launch of the Bitcoin sidechain development platform Anduro, which aims to help users create Bitcoin sidechains.At the same time, Marathon has begun building two sidechains, named Cooperative and Alys, and the company stated that open-source contributors can further develop these two sidechains.Marathon stated that the sidechain Cooperative aims to serve the Ordinals community by providing dedicated space for UTXOs.

ChainCatcher news, XRPL Foundation's Head of Analysis and Compliance Thomas Silkjær expressed concerns on the X platform regarding the emergence of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) sidechains, calling them "the largest single direct attack" on the XRPL protocol. He pointed out that sidechains offer almost no benefits to the XRPL ecosystem and fail to enhance its appeal to new developers or align with its unique development spirit.Additionally, Thomas Silkjær expressed regret over the failure to develop innovative technologies in the spirit of XRPL to attract smart contract developers to use XRPL, and he voiced concerns about the shift within XRPL management towards an XRP-centric agenda rather than a technology-driven agenda.

ChainCatcher message, the Mintlayer network is officially launched today, and the genesis block has been officially activated. It is reported that Mintlayer is a Bitcoin sidechain and L2 network.

ChainCatcher news, based on the Liquid atomic swap protocol Sideswap, stated on platform X that the number of bitcoins locked on the Bitcoin sidechain Liquid has reached a historic high of 3749.86 BTC, worth approximately 158 million USD.

ChainCatcher news, Layer-1 public chain BP-FLAC has launched a PoW sidechain called Eon. It uniquely combines mining with the aggregation of global computing power. In the future, Eon's goal is to develop into a Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin, integrating with the Bitcoin ecosystem to enhance its functionality and contribute to the blockchain landscape.It is reported that BP-FLAC (Blockchain Powered Federated Learning and AI Certification) is a generative AI EVM Layer-1 public chain aimed at democratizing and decentralizing the AI training process using blockchain technology. It is building a scalable and secure platform that allows individuals and organizations worldwide to contribute computing resources to a shared pool, enabling anyone to train AI models at any time.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the trading terminal Oku team GFX Labs has deployed the Uniswap V3 version on Rootstock.Oku will provide trading tools for Rootstock that include analytics, limit orders, and liquidity provider position management.