$33.5 billion worth of ETH stuck in the biggest ETH contract

The largest single Ethereum contract containing 8,641,954 Ether (ETH) worth USD 33.5 billion was idle because it could not be used or sent.

A Twitter user highlighted the Beacon chain contract. They claimed that it is the largest Ethereum contract, in which billions of dollars worth of ETH are “trapped.”

This contract is an Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain pledge contract launched in November 2020 and cannot be used without a hard fork.

Even more surprising is that the terms of the hard fork have not yet been determined. Moreover, the person who sent the ETH to the contract is also aware of this. Once the Beacon chain merges with the Ethereum mainnet, the terms of the hard fork can be determined.

The Beacon chain is the first critical step in Ethereum’s transition from a proof-of-work mining consensus to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus. To become a validator in ETH 2.0, a trader must pledge at least 32 ETH. Therefore, the USD 33.5 billion worth of ETH in the largest Beacon chain contract shows high demand and trust for the upcoming ETH 2.0.

Earlier in December, Ethereum developers called on community members to test the merger with PoS-based ETH 2.0. The testing phase is divided into three stages: non-technical users, developers with limited blockchain experience, and blockchain developers with high technical content and rich experience.

The merger of the Beacon chain and the Ethereum mainnet will complete the transition to PoS ETH 2.0. The official Ethereum.org page of ETH 2.0 indicates that the merger may be completed in the first or second quarter of 2022.

Binance Collaborates With Indonesia To Build A New Crypto Exchange

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, has partnered with MDI Ventures in Indonesia to launch a cryptocurrency trading platform.

According to a joint statement on Wednesday, the agreement will also seek to expand blockchain adoption in Indonesia, with approximately 240 million people.

Binance will provide asset management infrastructure and technology. With this, the biggest exchange will help develop the new trading platform.

The agreement will also aim to increase the blockchain technology application in Indonesia more broadly.

MDI Ventures is a leading technology investment company in Indonesia. It has a global portfolio of over US$830 million in multiple industries. The statement did not disclose the identity of any other companies participating in the MDI-led consortium.

In Q2 and Q3 of 2021, Binance faced significant regulatory restrictions. Thus, currently, it is planning to expand its business in Asia. The Singapore subsidiary of cryptocurrency trading giant Binance recently bought an 18% stake in the local private stock exchange Hg Exchange.