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Seemingly out of nowhere, 2023 has turned into a banner year for the crypto market. It's not just Bitcoin, either. Bitcoin's 125% gain has propelled the entire market higher, with a growing number of crypto tokens now up triple digits for the year.

Three of these tokens are Avalanche (AVAX -2.40%), Chainlink (LINK -0.60%), and Lido DAO (LDO -2.87%). All three have market capitalizations north of $2 billion, are up more than 100% for the year, and are currently trading for less than $25. Let's take a closer look at each.

First up is Avalanche, which is up 144% over the past 30 days and 108% year to date. Avalanche, much like Ethereum (ETH -1.32%) and Solana (SOL -3.28%), is a Layer 1 blockchain network. What this means in simple terms is that it's the base layer (i.e. the Layer 1) for just about everything important that happens in the blockchain world, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized finance (DeFi), the metaverse, and gaming.

There's a lot to like about Avalanche's growth prospects, which were bolstered by a partnership deal with the cloud computing unit of Amazon in January. The hope at the beginning of the year was that Avalanche would eventually sell blockchain services to enterprises and large government clients, much like Amazon Web Services sells cloud computing services.

But what really seems to have jump-started Avalanche's rapid ascent is the breathtaking performance of Solana, which has gone absolutely stratospheric this year. Solana is up an eye-popping 500% in 2023, and it now looks like investors are trying to capture some of this performance by piling into Avalanche, which is arguably Solana's closest rival.

Next up is Chainlink, which is up 98% over the past 30 days and 170% year to date. Chainlink is a decentralized blockchain oracle network, which means that it provides real-time data to smart contracts running on the blockchain. These smart contracts, which are tiny bits of executable computer code, require data as inputs. When they can't find this data on their native blockchains, theyneed to turn to a third party like Chainlink.

There's a strong story to be told about Chainlink and the brave new world of blockchain data, especially when it comes to decentralized finance and the need for real-time financial data. During the last crypto bull market rally, the thinking was that decentralized finance would eventually replace traditional finance (i.e. the world of banks and financial intermediaries), and that would imply a huge role for smart contracts. But now there's a new twist on this story involving artificial intelligence (AI).

In May, Chainlink started to develop a new strategy based around the integration of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. Given the nearly limitless upside potential of AI, it's easy to see why this could be a very compelling growth strategy.

While Chainlink is not an "AI token," it could be an indirect play on the AI boom. It's up to you to decide whether Chainlink's strategy is just an attempt to capitalize on the newfound popularity of ChatGPT and all things AI or whether this strategy has legs.

Image source: Getty Images.

Finally, there's Lido DAO, which is up 65% over the past 30 days and 163% for the year. Lido DAO is a third-party staking platform for Ethereum. Its position as a key player in the world of crypto staking is what makes it so valuable.

Staking is a way of "locking up" your crypto for financial rewards, and Lido DAO appears to be capitalizing on the newfound popularity of staking Ethereum as a form of passive income. Basically, if you are looking to generate a 3%-4% annual percentage rate return on your Ethereum tokens, you can do so with Lido DAO.

In many ways, Lido DAO is a play on the future growth and stability of the Ethereum blockchain. If you think that Ethereum will continue to maintain its dominant market position and that staking will remain popular, then Lido DAO could be a great way to participate in any future upside.

Be aware, however, that Lido DAO doesn't have a monopoly when it comes to its unique form of staking (known as "liquid staking"). There's always a risk that a competitor could come along and chip away at Lido DAO's market lead.

Of these crypto tokens, which is the best long-term investment? If you had asked me that question 12 months ago, I would have said Avalanche. Avalanche was an "Ethereum killer" and seemed poised for a big comeback this year after a disastrous 2022 when it lost more than 90% of its value.

But now, 12 months later, I'm leaning toward Chainlink as the best long-term investment. Investing in Chainlink could be a long-term play on the importance of data in the blockchain world and the growth of decentralized finance.

In a best-case scenario, Chainlink might find a new strategic application for AI that could boost its valuation significantly. If you're not risk-averse and willing to let this story play out over the course of years (and not months), this crypto might just turn out to be a fantastic long-term investment.

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Dominic Basulto has positions in Amazon, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Avalanche, Bitcoin, Chainlink, Ethereum, Lido DAO, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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3 Cryptocurrencies Under $25 That Are Up More Than 100% This ... - The Motley Fool

The total value locked (TVL) on the decentralized social finance (SocialFi) application Friend.tech fell 19% in a few days as user adoption slows down.

Friend.tech, which launched in August, is built on Base, an Ethereum (ETH) scaling solution supported by the Coinbase crypto exchange.

The application allows users to tokenize themselves by selling shares or keys to their followers.

According to blockchain data platform Dune Analytics, Friend.techs total value locked slumped from $42.26 million on November 17th to $34.03 million on November 20th a drop of around 19.5%.

TVL refers to the amount of capital deposited within a protocols smart contracts and is often used to gauge the health of a crypto ecosystem.

The decentralized social networks total value locked hit an all-time high of $51.68 million on October 2nd but the metric has since taken on a downward trend.

After weeks of attracting roughly thousands of new users daily, Friend.techs user growth has recently flattened, per Dune Analytics. In mid-October, the number of new users added on a single day on the decentralized social network hit an all-time high of slightly over 70,000.

On November 20th after the TVL fell to a two-month low, Friend.tech recorded just 140 new users. The cumulative number of users added over the past four months since the inception of Friend.tech currently stands at slightly over 839,000.

The fall in total value locked and new user growth comes amid the decentralized social networks efforts to reduce the number of bots on the platform. Friend.tech announced last week that they had removed around 600,000 accounts that were positively identified as bots.

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Friend.tech Total Value Locked Plummets 19% in One Weekend As New User Count Stays Flat: On-Chain Data - The Daily Hodl

Photo by Ales Nesetril on Unsplash

In the whirlwind of technological advancement, blockchain technology has transcended its origins in the realm of cryptocurrencies to become a transformative force with real-world applications. Beyond the buzz of speculative markets, this article explores the tangible impact of blockchain in various industries, showcasing how it is reshaping the way we conduct business, secure data, and even approach social and environmental challenges.

One of the most immediate and tangible applications of blockchain technology lies in enhancing supply chain management. Blockchains immutable ledger ensures transparency by providing a secure and unalterable record of every transaction and movement in the supply chain. This not only reduces fraud but also enables consumers to trace the origins of products, fostering trust and accountability in the production and distribution processes.

The financial industry is undergoing a radical transformation thanks to the advent of decentralized finance (DeFi). Blockchain facilitates peer-to-peer transactions, lending, and borrowing without the need for traditional financial intermediaries. This democratization of finance not only provides financial services to the unbanked but also creates a more inclusive and accessible global economy.

Smart contracts, powered by blockchain technology, are programmable contracts that automatically execute predefined actions when specific conditions are met. This feature has profound implications across industries, from automating legal processes to expediting complex business agreements. The self-executing nature of smart contracts reduces the risk of human error, streamlining workflows and increasing efficiency.

Blockchain facilitates the tokenization of assets, representing ownership of physical or digital items on the blockchain. This ranges from real estate and art to intellectual property and

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Crypto in the Real World: Practical Applications of Blockchain ... - Medium

Innovation is a funny thing. It often arrives with an excess of hype and then fades into disappointmentbefore reemerging in full bloom. A case in point is JPMorgan Chases JPM Coin, a corporate stablecoin launched shortly after the 2017 crypto bubble that seemed doomed to languish as a proof of concept that would never catch on in the real world.

In recent weeks however, the story around JPM Coin has changed dramatically as the bank announced that it is notching daily transaction volumes above $1 billion and that its big corporate clients are finally tapping into the coins promise to provide programmable money.

If youre unfamiliar with JPM Coin, its a digital dollar that the bank created on a private version of the Ethereum blockchain. This means that clients with access to the coin (or ones like it) can enjoy the benefits of crypto technologyincluding 24/7 transactions and smart contractswithin a secure corporate environment. Well, thats how its supposed to work in theory.

In reality, the past six years have been marked by a series of announcements involving banks and companies saying theyve carried out a blockchain transactioninvolving dollars or equities or commoditiesand thats been the end of the matter. While the transactions did occur, they didnt really matter since they were mostly one-off events that didnt lead to any changes in day-to-day commerce.

This has quietly begun to change, however, as companies have moved past the PR phase of blockchain and started tapping into its actual benefits. I spoke with Naveen Mallela, the head of coin systems (yes, thats a title) at JPMorgan Chasess Onyx unit, and he explained that the likes of Siemens, Cargill, and FedEx are all using these tools in daily operations.

Mallela told me that customers are viewing JPM Coin less as a stablecoin than as a tool to manage commercial deposits and take advantage of programmable money. I pushed him on that, asking what exactly he means by programmable. He explained that it means creating automated instructions for funds you control. A primitive illustration is autopay for bills but, thanks to blockchain, companies can now carry out far more sophisticated operations.

Mallela gave three persuasive examples of programmable money in action: companies using blockchain to carry out cash sweeps that used to happen once a day, but that can now occur anytime; finance firms using smart contracts to monitor and address margin calls for securities; and companies arranging for shipping payments to be released at various stages of a voyage.

By relying on smart contracts to handle these operations, companies can deploy cash and staffing resources more efficiently. And this is likely only the beginning. Mallela notes that IFTTT (if this, then that) instructions are becoming commonplace in the corporate blockchain environment and that companies will find more and more ways to use them.

Meanwhile, programmable money is sprouting up in the investment sector as wellJPMorgan Chase and Apollo just launched tokenized funds in Singapore, while a startup called Superstate, founded by the creator of the popular DeFi protocol Compound, just raised $14 million to do the same in the U.S. All of this shows that while blockchain-based finance is still far from mainstream, it has quietly taken a giant leap forward.

Jeff John Robertsjeff.roberts@fortune.com@jeffjohnroberts

Binance is launching a new crypto exchange in Thailand alongside Gulf Energy, a giant conglomerate run by the countrys second-richest man. (Bloomberg)

Paxos is launching a new USD-pegged stablecoin in Singapore after becoming the second company to obtain a key approval from the countrys Monetary Authority. (The Block)

The SEC deferred on two more crypto ETF applications, including Grayscales bid to launch one for ETH futures, though many predict approvals in January. (Bloomberg)

Arks Cathie Wood plugged Solana on TV, helping to push the altcoins price to three times what it was in January. (CNBC)

Bitcoin soared 6%, wiping out losses from earlier this week and returning the currency to just under $38,000. (Coindesk)

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JPMorgan Chase, Siemens, and FedEx show that blockchain finance is more than a buzzword - Fortune

Moreover, audits must be ongoing because code is frequently updated or forked, rendering solitary audits inadequate for long-term security. In addition, there is the difficulty of ensuring that the deployed code is the audited code and not something else. This highlights the importance of both transparency and provenance in the deployment process, as well as the need for a broader, code-auditing-free approach to security.

Vulnerability Mitigation: In the decentralized realm of blockchain, vulnerabilities can have far-reaching consequences. Security audits enable the identification and resolution of these vulnerabilities, preventing potential breaches and unauthorized access.

Regulatory Compliance: With increased attention from regulatory bodies, adherence to security standards is crucial. Blockchain security audits help ensure compliance with regulatory guidelines, fostering a more transparent and legally compliant environment.

Investor and User Confidence: Robust security measures bolster user trust and investor confidence. By demonstrating a commitment to security through audits, projects can attract more users and investments.

Smart Contract Integrity: Blockchain applications heavily rely on smart contracts. Audits detect vulnerabilities in these self-executing contracts, reducing the risk of exploits like the infamous DAO hack.

Code Review: A thorough examination of the source code is conducted to identify coding errors, vulnerabilities, and logical flaws. This involves analyzing the codebase for potential exploits and ensuring adherence to best practices.

Penetration Testing: Also known as ethical hacking, penetration testing simulates real-world attacks to uncover vulnerabilities. This method helps assess the resilience of the system against potential threats.

Architecture Analysis: This involves scrutinizing the overall system architecture to detect design flaws that might be leveraged by attackers. Ensuring proper separation of concerns, data integrity, and network security are key aspects of this analysis.

Threat Modeling: By anticipating potential threats and attack vectors, threat modeling guides the auditing process. It helps auditors prioritize their efforts and focus on the most critical security aspects.

Network Assessment: Auditors evaluate network components, such as nodes and communication channels, to ensure encryption, data integrity, and resistance against network-based attacks.

Preparation: Define the scope of the audit, identify the assets to be audited (smart contracts, nodes, applications), and gather relevant documentation.

Code Analysis: Examine the source code for vulnerabilities like input validation issues, incorrect data handling, and unauthorized access points.

Threat Modeling: Map out potential threats and attack vectors specific to the blockchain ecosystem being audited.

Penetration Testing: Simulate attacks to evaluate the systems response and identify potential weaknesses that might not be evident through code analysis alone.

Smart Contract Assessment: Review the logic and functionality of smart contracts to ensure they operate as intended and cant be manipulated.

Architecture Review: Analyze the systems architecture for design flaws that could lead to vulnerabilities or compromises.

Documentation Review: Verify that security measures and processes are well-documented and easily understandable.

Reporting: Compile findings, vulnerabilities, and recommendations into a comprehensive report for stakeholders. Provide actionable steps to address the identified issues.

Blockchain security audits play a pivotal role in maintaining the integrity and security of blockchain ecosystems. In an era where data breaches and cyberattacks are increasingly common, these audits offer a proactive approach to identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities before they are exploited. Through methodologies like code analysis, penetration testing, and architecture review, security experts ensure that blockchain systems remain resilient, compliant, and trustworthy. As the world continues to embrace blockchain technology across sectors, prioritizing security through thorough audits will be crucial to realizing the full potential of decentralized systems while safeguarding user data and investments.

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Brief Introduction to Blockchain Security Audits - LCX