Earlier this month, Ethereum network participants upgraded and implemented the Arrow Glacier upgrade, which delayed the network’s transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm. The network’s hashrate has since grown to a record high of 1 petahash.

Decentralized finance (DeFi) money market platform Aave has added a new market using real world assets instead of cryptocurrencies. Aave users are able to lend and borrow using cryptocurrencies, with rates adjusting based on market demand.

The South Korean government has moved to block the release of play-to-earn (P2E) games and asked both Apple and Google to remove existing ones from their app stores. P2E games have been seeing their popularity explode over the last few months.

NFTs have taken the world by storm this year. From the recent involvement of brands like Adidas and Nike, the cultural storm surrounding Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, growing volumes and much, much more. This week, we examine the biggest NFT collections and artists of 2021, in partnership with NFT data and discovery platform Masterpiece.

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Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Ethereum’s Hashrate Hits Record High of 1 Petahash
• Aave Launches Market for Real-World Assets
• Korean Government Orders App Stores to Drop P2E Games
• NFT Spotlight Biggest NFT Collections and Artists of 2021
• Sponsored: Crypto.com - The World’s Fastest Growing Crypto App

Ethereum’s Hashrate Hits Record High of 1 Petahash

Earlier this month, Ethereum network participants upgraded and implemented the Arrow Glacier upgrade, which delayed the network’s transition to a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm. The network’s hashrate has since grown to a record high of 1 petahash.

The figure is equivalent to around 1,000 TH/s, and shows the network’s hashrate has increased 66,125% since March 2016, when hashrate started being recorded on the network. Ethereum’s biggest miner is ethermine.org with 2826 TH/s of hashrate. It’s followed by F2Pool’s 134.8 TH/s and Poolin’s 103.5 TH/s.

There are around 61 mining pools working on the Ethereum network. Once the network moves to a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm, what’s known as the Ethereum Ice Age will occur, as mining difficulty will grow exponentially, to the point miners won’t be able to remain profitable.

Aave Launches Market for Real-World Assets

Decentralized finance (DeFi) money market platform Aave has added a new market using real world assets instead of cryptocurrencies. Aave users are able to lend and borrow using cryptocurrencies, with rates adjusting based on market demand.

Through a new partnership with Centrifuge, a firm that lets businesses tokenize aspects of their operations, Aave has now launched its real world assets market. The move created seven new markets that users must complete know-your-customer checks before joining.

These markets offer lenders more options to earn interest on their holdings, while allowing businesses to access liquidity they may have previously not had access to. Aave’s real world assets market works through pools containing tokenized assets like real estate. Currently, the only eligible cryptocurrency in the real world assets market is USDC.

South Korean Government Orders App Stores to Drop P2E Games

The South Korean government has moved to block the release of play-to-earn (P2E) games and asked both Apple and Google to remove existing ones from their app stores. P2E games have been seeing their popularity explode over the last few months.

In P2E games, players often have to first acquire assets to play in the form of non-fungible tokens, in a bid to later on receive in-game rewards. In South Korea, gaming prizes above a few dollars are banned.

The Game Management Committee (GMC) in the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has, as a result, asked mobile app marketplaces to block games that requires players to make purchases before actually playing.

The GMC has made it clear it sees these games as speculative money-making schemes. Notably, P2E game developers in the country have faced court battles this year to keep their games on domestic app stores.

NFT Spotlight: Biggest NFT Collections and Artists of 2021

CryptoPunks hold the reputation of being one of the first NFT collections. For this reason, they have become a widely sought-after asset, for both cultural and historical reasons. In 2021 both the price and volume of CryptoPunks surged, with $400 million spent on the CryptoPunks collection in August.

Notable sales include an alien CryptoPunk that sold at auction at Sotheby’s for $11.75 million in June and Visa’s acquisition of a CryptoPunk for $150,000 in August.

Mile Winkelmann, AKA Beeple, is an artist who holds the record for the largest sale of a digital art piece at auction. Back in March 2021,  British auction house Christie’s successfully facilitated the sale of Beeple’s “Everdays: The First 5000 Days” for $69.3 million.This salearguably brought mainstream attention to the world of NFTs.

Everydays: The First 5000 Days is a collage of 5000 digital images created by Winkelmann for his “Everydays” series.

Axie Infinity was created in 2018 and currently stands at the forefront of play-to-earn gaming (P2E) for its NFT creatures - Axies - that can be used to duel other players, battle enemies and complete daily quests. Axies can be minted, traded, bought and sold - with their value being derived from the in-game advantages they offer.

According to Axie, over $3.6bn has now been traded on their in house marketplace and nearly 3,000,000 players log in each day to play the game following a monumental year for the Axie Infinity token - $AXS - which has increased over 17,500% from $0.45 to a high of $160.

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