Vitalik Buterin at EthCC Paris 2022: The Upcoming ‘Merge’ and ‘Surge’ 

Vitalik Buterin at EthCC Paris 2022: The Upcoming ‘Merge’ and ‘Surge’ 

by | Jul 22, 2022 | Ethereum, News

Ethereum’s co-founder presented the future of Ethereum at the EthCC Paris 2022 conference. 

In July 2022, took place the 5th Paris Community Conference, during which Vitalk Buterin presented the long-term road map for Ethereum. 

At the developer-focused conference, Buterin spoke about the “Merge,” in which Ethereum will undergo a complete transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). 

What’s next to come for Ethereum?

Buterin spoke about the Merge’s short-term and long-term outcomes. He stated that the network’s roadmap also includes the “Surge”, which will increase the scalability of rollups through sharding.

According to Buterin’s statements, Ethereum would be much more scalable after the completion of the road map. When everything is complete, Ethereum will be capable of processing 100,000 transactions per minute.

Ethereum’s overall network development will be at 55% completion once the Merge is completed. That means that there is still much work ahead for developers.

Buterin stated that the network’s deep changes would include an update to its monetary policies and token issuance, as well as its security model, transaction inclusion, and its security model.

It is hard to pursue these decentralized goals due to the network’s complexity and rapid changes. He said that everyone had been anticipating these network upgrades for a while.

When Vitalik asked the crowd, “Who wants to cancel proof-of-stake?” – he did not raise a hand.

He joked, “Even though you want to, it’s not going to be canceled.”

Ether has been trading at around $1,500 and up 34% in the last month.

Buterin spoke at last year’s EthCC and stated that Ethereum needed to go beyond decentralized finance (DeFi).

The conference was busiest on Thursday (July 21st), according to many conference attendees. Many said that Buterin’s talk would make Thursday the most memorable day.

What is the “Merge” for Ethereum?

It’s a known fact that the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains use the proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm to secure their networks. This allows miners to compete to secure it by solving complicated computational puzzles. However, it has been criticized for its high energy consumption.

But there’s an alternative to that, and it’s called proof-of-stake (PoS). This is a version of the protocol that has been adopted by chains such as Solana or Tezos, and it replaces miners with validators. In the case of Ethereum, the PoS Eth will have validators stake 32 ETH on the Ethereum network, and each one can be randomly selected to add blocks to the chain.

In both of these mechanisms, PoW and PoS, adding blocks to a chain usually grant rewards to the block issuer.

The Ethereum roadmap has been hinting on this upgrade from PoW since 2015, but engineering complexities have caused this shift (Ethereum 2.0) to drag out for several years.

Although the Merge will not reduce Ethereum’s high fees or improve the transaction speeds, it will have an immediate impact on Ethereum’s energy consumption.

As of July 2022, Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet switched to PoS. Goerli will be the third and final public testnet to go through the Merge process. It will take place on Aug. 11. The next Ethereum Foundation All-Core Developers conference will determine the parameters that will trigger the test. These testnet mergers were used as a kind of dress rehearsal for the real thing, and each moved developers one step closer to Ethereum’s mainnet PoS update.

When is the Ethereum merge going to happen?

Tim Beiko, from the Ethereum Foundation, predicted that the Merge could take place around September 19th 2022.

The Merge will see Ethereum move from an energy-intensive proof of work (POW), a consensus mechanism that was brought forward by Bitcoin, to a more efficient proof-of-stake system (PoS). Some PoS proponents believe that switching to other mechanisms will bring security and scaling benefits, in addition to cutting down the network’s energy consumption by 99.95%.

Beiko, an Ethereum protocol engineer, gave his September estimate during a PoS implementers call. Beiko provided a timeline and a date for the Merge, as well as a possible date.

Although he did not offer a hard date for the Merge, but Beiko repeatedly pointed out – on Discord and Twitter – that it is very likely that things will change.

The DeFi and NFT Markets Are in a Downtrend, but Users Feel Hopeful

The DeFi and NFT Markets Are in a Downtrend, but Users Feel Hopeful

by | Jul 15, 2022 | News

According to a report, the on-chain for DeFi apps has slowed down, but the industry has managed to retain most of its daily active users.

CoinGecko published a report for Q2 2022 that reveals the market trends and analysis for decentralized finance (DeFi). The most unexpected statistic is that the DeFi market experienced a 74.6% decline in Q2, but the user activity has remained relatively robust. 

Cryptocurrency market chances in Q2 2022 (statistics) 

  • Top 30 cryptos market capitalization decreased by 55.9%, losing over half its value and falling below $1 trillion.
  • The top 15 stablecoins lost almost a fifth of their market cap, -18.3% or -$33.9B
  • The top 30 crypto market cap correlation with the S&P500 was 0.92 (that’s a high correlation).
  • Bitcoin’s hash rate decreased by 1.7%
  • +17.82% of total ETH Staked in Q2 2022. (Almost 13 million ETH was staked, representing roughly 11% of the total ETH supply).
  • There was a 34.5% decrease in average daily DeFi Users compared to 1st April 2022
  • The NFT trading volume decreased by 26% from Q1 to Q2 2022

DeFi market in Q2 2022

The CoinGecko report states that the total DeFi market cap dropped from $142 million (in Q1) to $36 million (in Q2). This was primarily due to the collapse of Terra’s stablecoin UST in May 2022.

Another worrying statistic is the increase in DeFi exploits, which has contributed significantly to this fall. Some of the most notable hacking events involved Inverse Finance and Rari, and the lost funds accumulated up to $1.2 million and $11,000,000, respectively. These attacks affected the token prices’ tremendously, and investors have also lost confidence in these protocols. 

But it’s not all doom and gloom in the DeFi space. Although on-chain activity has slowed, the DeFi industry still retains most of its active users daily.

The DeFi daily active users decreased by only 34.5%, from 50,000 to 35,000 in Q2. There were also numerous instances that led to an increase in DeFi activity.

After Terra’s collapse, there was a spike in users’ on-chain activity. Of course, that could be explained by users who used Curve Finance or Uniswap to sell Terra (LUNA and USTC).

The second spike was seen in June when Celsius, a crypto lending platform, imposed withdrawal restrictions due to financial difficulties. Celsius filed for bankruptcy on July 12. 

The users’ behavior is normal in both f these cases, as they were trying to escape the dramatic consequences of these protocols. 

What’s happening to NFTs?

Also, the report found that the trading volume for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) decreased by 26.2.% reaching $7.6 billion since the same time last year. 

In June 2022, the NFT trading volumes reached $830 million. This coincided with the collapse of the floor prices of NFTs.

For the first time ever, we also witness a change in the NFT marketplaces’ arena. 

OpenSea maintained its grip on the top spot, despite being in decline. In May and June, however, Magic Eden, X2Y2, seemed to have caught up and took turns to surpass OpenSea’s daily and weekly volumes. 

Despite having a more advantageous fee structure, LooksRare & X2Y2 are still behind OpenSea. However, they are slowly gaining ground.

NFT trends in Q2 2022

It looks like the Play-to-Earn (P2E) games are gaining more popularity, and we can see it in the NFT trends. 

Some of the most traded in-game NFT assets are Stepn’s shoes (move to earn game), GoblinTown, and Art Blocks. 

It’s also important to note that Solana has been reducing Ethereum’s NFT share. It will be interesting to see if this momentum can last long-term.

Some of the rising NFT projects on Solana include OkayBears, Trippin’ Ape Tribe, and DeGods. 

Former Terra NFT Projects Are Migrating to Polygon

Former Terra NFT Projects Are Migrating to Polygon

by | Jul 9, 2022 | News

In May 2022, after UST’s collapse on the Terra blockchain, many projects operating on Terra had to decide their future. The options were to use Terra 2.0, or the new Terra blockchain as their new blockchain, or to migrate away from Terra completely. Polygon offers support to any of the projects looking to migrate, and 48 projects that were formerly launched on Terra are now part of the Polygon ecosystem.

Due to Terra‘s recent events, many projects and members of the community have suffered losses, including their treasuries and sense of community. The projects lost their platform and got thrown into chaos. But there is hope. Many believe that by migrating to Polygon, they increase their chances of success and keep on developing the future of Web3. 

Big fundamental shifts for former Terra projects

The Polygon Studios CEO, Ryan Wyatt, announced that 48 projects were already successfully migrated to Polygon. He suggested that Polygon’s Terra Developer Fund, a multimillion-dollar fund that Polygon has created to attract the talent that was suddenly thrown into limbo by Terra’s collapse in May.

Why is Polygon so attractive? Polygon is a network that serves as a layer-2 scaling solution for the Ethereum network. 

Some of the projects mentioned are NFT marketplaces and metaverses. Some of the high-profile names mentioned by Ryan Wyatt were the OnePlanet NFT marketplace, the Lunaverse (LUV), and the Derby Stars P2E game. 

OnePlanet was instrumental in helping other NFT projects migrate to Polygon. It has evolved into a platform devoted to the assistance of NFT projects from Terra through its Ark*One initiative.

Why Polygon?

Polygon Technology, Polygon Studios, and Polygon Technology have made significant strides in developing their NFT ecosystem over the past year. There are partnerships with major players such as Meta, E-Bay, Animoca Brands, Stripe, and Meta. Polygon Studios also assists celebrities and large commercial and consumer brands in launching their own NFT models and marketplaces. 

The projects claim that they have done extensive research before deciding to migrate to Polygon. OnePlanet said that they had many meetings with representatives of other blockchains and foundations before choosing Polygon as the new home for OnePlanet’s Terra NFT projects. 

Polygon has the highest number of onboarding entities and projects, taking into account key factors like stability, mass adoption, and market opportunities.

Also, Polygon houses some of the most prominent brands in Web2 or Web3, including Adidas, Sandbox, and Decentraland. These partnerships have made Polygon a leader in mass adoption from crypto and non-crypto native lands. Polygon’s low average gas fee and its high throughput (it can process up to 7k transactions per second) are two other advantages that make it a great choice to attract a wider audience.

Why Polygon and not Ethereum?

Another key advantage is the EVM environment that provides a much-needed scaling solution for NFT projects. Ethereum layer 1 remains the dominant space, with the highest liquidity, but gas fees make it unaffordable for many.

Polygon, originally known as Matic, has been added to many centralized exchanges since its inception in 2017. A robust ecosystem of DeFi and DAO, developer tools, as well as stablecoins is available.

Polygon’s TVL is $2.7 billion (Polygon Bridge TVL, Ethereum $5.6 billion) and a monthly MAU of 1 million. This provides ample liquidity and exposure for users.

OnePlanet NFT and Terra NFT will play a significant role in diversifying NFT ecosystems, as well as these large brands inviting mass audiences to the world NFTs.

OnePlant’s Saturday blog highlights how Ark*One helped 48 NFT projects migrate to Polygon.

Can projects still migrate to Polygon?

The migration was enabled by the OnePlannet platform through Ark*One. However, applications closed officially on June 15, including financial support from our partners Polygon Studios.

Projects who wish to migrate to Terra will continue to receive technical support. OnePlanet said it would use its regular launchpad to help new projects launch on Polygon.

The mass salvage operation helped 48 NFT projects. This includes 90 NFT collections. This is a significant proportion of Terra projects, even those that were not launched on One Planet prior to the cataclysmic re-peg event.

These include the P2E metaverse Lunaverse and the A.I. Terra’s most successful PFP collections Hellcats, Babybulls, and the NFT universe DystopAI.

What other blockchains are considered for migrations? 

Polygon seems to be more successful in attracting Terra projects than the VeChain ecosystem. It appears that not many Terra projects have moved to the layer-1 ecosystem, despite VeChain openly inviting Terra developers to apply for grants.

How to Survive the Crypto Winter? 5 Tips From Financial Experts

How to Survive the Crypto Winter? 5 Tips From Financial Experts

by | Jun 29, 2022 | Cryptocurrency

The crypto winter has already affected most cryptocurrency investors and holders as the prices of digital assets continue to fall. What’s even worst, many projects have been tumbling, and a few have almost disappeared in a matter of hours. 

After the huge collapse of UST and the Terra ecosystem, others have been faced with liquidations. After several weeks of difficulty, Three Arrows Capital, a crypto hedge fund based in Singapore, was ordered to liquidate. BlockFi and Voyager Digital, both crypto exchanges, took out large lines of credit in order to survive the crisis. Voyager Digital had also been involved in funding Three Arrows. Their creditor was Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, who stated that he believes that many crypto exchanges are “secretly insolvent.”

Recently, Voyager Digital’s shares were temporarily halted from trading on Toronto Stock Exchange after they filed for bankruptcy. The shares were also halted in U.S. over-the-counter exchanges.

These problems were caused by Coinbase’s announcement (COIN) that crypto brokerage investors don’t have the same insurance and liability protections as traditional banks or brokerages.

More investors in the crypto space

More individuals and institutions want to access crypto, and investment funds are slowly incorporating digital asset management and investing into their practices. However, these trends cannot be reversed, regardless of how asset prices fall.

While financial advisors have very different opinions on the topic of digital assets, they all seem to agree that they don’t need to like crypto to be able to offer it to their clients. Crypto is trading more like a technology stock because institutions are increasingly involved in it. They buy and sell according to the volatility. However, investors who wish to reap the benefits of crypto’s growth must be able to endure the swings. They will miss the growth if they wait for crypto to become a safe investment.

Since we are all experiencing the crypto winter and the effects of a highly volatile asset have been shifting financial trends, it might be a good idea to stop and carefully consider every trade. Here’s a list of methods that financial advisors recommend applying when you find yourself in utter panic and fear.

1. Don’t panic

Don’t forget that we’re talking about highly risky digital assets that present much greater volatility than any other financial assets. The global economy was expected to enter a new recession as a decade passed from the last one. For this reason, many analysts were expecting a “crypto winter.”

Investors should be well-diversified and prudently positioned to weather any downturn in crypto asset values. If you have the cash and a healthy appetite for risk, you might consider buying more crypto at lower prices.

2. Be aware of the risks

We are used to hearing financial advisors comfortably talking about risk in equities and real estate. But we must talk about cryptocurrencies and digital assets in the same way. There is a low risk involved whenever you decide to invest in volatile assets, and cryptocurrencies are top of the list. Another risk of crypto that all investors should be aware of is the custody of the assets.

Some platforms allow you to buy it with a simple account, and they also offer custody of it. But in this case, you are not really the owner of the digital assets, as they are not exactly in your wallet. If the platform goes down, your assets go down with it. If you want to invest long-term in crypto, consider learning more about self-custody crypto wallets and transferring your digital assets to such a wallet. There are many options available out there, from browser wallets to hardware wallets. 

3. Know your risk tolerance

Some people have a higher risk tolerance than others. That’s why some investors are more interested in crypto in the first palace, while others prefer to stay away from volatile assets. 

All financial advisors suggest that you should invest according to what you’re willing to lose. If you find that your risk tolerance is small, then consider diversifying your investments. Yes, the most direct way to invest in a crypto is by buying the assets directly from an exchange and then holding it in your crypto wallet. But there are other ways that might leave you with less exposure to the market. 

You might want to consider crypto ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds), crypto trusts, hedge funds, and even invest indirectly in crypto by choosing mining and blockchain stocks. 

4. Wait for the dust to settle (or don’t)

Investors who are more comfortable taking on risks may choose to follow Warren Buffett’s advice to “buy when the blood is in the streets.” However, you will need to conduct further research to learn how to allocate your funds and what assets to choose. However, during a “crypto winter,” nobody can tell you when prices have hit bottom or if they can further drop. That’s a risk you’ll have to accept or wait until the trend changes to start investing. 

5. Wait for the “crypto spring”

Again, nobody can tell you when the trend will change. However, there is a lot of innovation happing in the crypto space, even in this “crypto winter.” Following projects that build useful services during a bear market is always a good idea. The future is reserved for those who create utility and value. 

The metaverse is still being built. NFTs are still a very valuable idea, and those projects (e.g., FootballCoin) that bring utility will survive the bear market. The rails for institutional participation in crypto and digital assets remain under construction despite the downturn.

Smart money expects a “crypto spring.” Investors who practice patience will reap the benefits of a possible future rebound in the crypto space.

Small Investors Can Now Own 1 Full BTC

Small Investors Can Now Own 1 Full BTC

by | Jun 22, 2022 | Bitcoin, News

Small-time investors have the opportunity to realize their dreams of owning at minimum 1 Bitcoin, with BTC trading in the $20,000 area for the first time since 2020.

Bitcoin trading in the $20k range

Investors around the world have been chasing one of the total 21 million BTC since the early days of Bitcoin (BTC). This massive hysteria has been caused by the phenomenal interest in the cryptocurrency and the widespread acceptance of the internet in the last few years.

After hitting another all-time high in November 2021, when bitcoin’s price reached almost $69,000, the leading cryptocurrency has been declining in value ever since. In May 2022, the bear market has been confirmed, and it involves not only the cryptocurrency market, but the most important financial markets. The crypto market is now more tied to the stock market than ever, as more institutional investors have joined in 2021. 

While many online celebrities have been raising concerns and painting a gloomy future for bitcoin, some see it as an opportunity to become a bitcoin owner. 

BTC trading in the $20,000 area for the first time since 2020 gives small-time investors the opportunity to realize their goal of owning a minimum of 1 BTC. According to Glassnode, there has been a significant increase in the total number of Bitcoin addresses containing 1 BTC or more. These have increased by over 13,000 in June. 

Small Investors Can Now Own 1 Full BTC

The total number of addresses that hold 1 BTC has seen an immediate decrease in the days ahead, but the Reddit crypto community continues to welcome new crypto investors who have worked hard to become wholecoiners.

New investors become wholecoiners

Some Reddit users even share their stories about how they saved enough to accumulate 1BTC and share screenshots of their achievements. 

This Reddit user, arbalest_22 said that he spent approximately $35,000 to accumulate 1 BTC. He continues to support the Bitcoin ecosystem by pledging to procure Satoshis and sats until his total of 2 BTC. The ultimate goal of this user, and those who contributed to the discussion is to have tax-free income. 

Other users say that they were able to become wholesalers by using the dollar-cost-average strategy. This dollar-cost-averaging (DCA) requires investors to regularly buy smaller amounts of BTC over a longer time.

According to Glassnode data, the total number of Bitcoin wallet addresses that hold more than 1 BTC increased is around 800,000.

Although falling BTC prices can be seen as an opportunity for investment, Google search trends highlight the tendency of other investors to speculate about its future.

Is it time to buy the Bitcoin dip?

After weeks of unrelenting selloffs, the Google search results show that cryptocurrency markets are experiencing peak anxiety.

After the comments of the United States Federal Reserve on the inflation outlook, nerves were high in crypto markets. The sell-off began at the beginning of June 2022. 

Bitcoin lost the $20,000 psychologically significant mark. It also crosses another negative milestone, as it kept falling below the previous halving cycle’s highest for the first time ever in its history.

BTC/USD suffered 37% losses in the first two weeks, making June 2022 the worst month for Bitcoin.

The pair has traded almost 60% lower year-to-date. This is 70% less than the record high of $69,000 set in November last year.

According to cryptocurrency analysts, Bitcoin needs a higher volume and volatility to match volume levels from previous bear market bottoms, at the 200 MA (200-week moving average), a key lifelong support line.

The US stock market seems to recover and the S&P had its second-best week of 2022, which indicates a modest relief across risk assets. Everyone is looking at Bitcoin’s 200-week MA, which is the major indicator that gives the average price of Bitcoin over the last 200 weeks, hoping to surpass this support lever soon. 

JPMorgan Is Tokenizing Assets and Brings Trillions to DeFi

JPMorgan Is Tokenizing Assets and Brings Trillions to DeFi

by | Jun 13, 2022 | News

JPMorgan plans to develop a way for decentralized finance (DeFi) developers to harness the yield-generating potential non-crypto assets.

What are tokenized assets?

Asset tokenization refers to the process where an issuer creates digital tokens of a physical asset. These digital tokens are created on the blockchain. This way, the ownership of the tokenized asset is immutable. 

Tokenization allows fractional ownership as well as proof-of-ownership. Companies worldwide are already using blockchain technology for tokenizing almost any asset. This includes traditional assets such as bonds, stocks, commodities, and real estate property, and even exotic assets such as racehorses, celebrities, and sports teams. Most tokenize-able assets fall into one of the following categories: 

  • Asset. Anything that can be converted into cash.
  • Equity: Shares can be tokenized, and can be purchased on stock exchanges.
  • Investment Funds. These tokens can be used to represent an investor’s share of the fund. Services. Tokens are a way for investors to buy goods and services from the supplier.

The benefits of asset tokenization are:

  • Increase liquidity
  • Fair prices
  • Reduced costs (management, operational)
  • Transparent process
  • Secure identity

How will JPMorgan tokenize real-world assets?

Tyrone Lobban, from JPMorgan’s Onyx Digital Assets, described the bank’s institutional-grade DeFi plans in detail and pointed out the value of tokenized assets.

Lobban stated that tokenizing U.S. Treasury’s money market fund shares could be used to provide collateral for DeFi pools. He stated that the overall goal was to get these trillions of assets into DeFi so we can use these new mechanisms of trading, borrowing, and lending – all at the scale of institutional assets.

However, institutional DeFi is generally imposing strict KYC (know-your-customer) restrictions on crypto’s permissionless lending pool. This is the general policy across all projects, including Aave Ark and in a newly announced project that involves SCB (Siam Commercial Bank) through the Compound treasury. Aave Ark is a permissioned liquidity pool specifically designed for institutions to maintain regulatory compliance in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.

JPMorgan plans to include the tokenization of traditional assets on a larger scale. Through Onyx Digital Assets, they aim to bring bank-grade DeFi to life. The first component is the collateral settlement system, which is blockchain-based. As of May 2022, this system was extended to include tokenized versions of BlackRock’s money-market fund shares. This mutual fund invests in cash and high-liquid short-term debt instruments. This type of application to the Onyx Digital Assets blockchain is settled using the bank’s digital token, JPM coin, which has seen $350 billion in trading volume.

The second component needed for the tokenization of traditional assets is Project Guardian. This is a recent pilot that is being led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and includes JPMorgan, DBS Bank and Marketnode. It tests institutional-friendly DeFi using permissioned liquidity pools that are made up of tokenized bonds and deposits.

DeFi’s ventures will use public blockchains. They have a permissioned structure that is similar to Fireblocks and Aave Arc. Lobban pointed out that verification of customer information in Project Guardian is done by large financial institutions rather than DeFi platforms or crypto-native protocols. For instance, a JPMorgan trader must prove that he is authorized to trade on behalf of the Wall Street bank.

How will tokenized bonds work?

They will work similarly to the way lending and borrowing work now on DeFi, but at a larger scale. Let’s say a bank has $100,000 worth of XYZ tokenized bond, but it needs to borrow money temporarily. It deposits $100,000 as collateral and locks it on the blockchain, in a smart contract. They can borrow up to $75,000 but must pay interest.

Multiple depositors may want to earn additional interest on tokenized cash. They deposit millions of dollars in a liquidity pool, and they earn interest on the $75,000 borrowed.

The algorithmic calculation of the interest rate for borrowing is based on supply/demand. The interest rate on borrowing will be lower if tokenized cash is being lent out in small amounts. However, borrowers who have significant demand for the loan will pay a higher rate. The interest rate and loan to collateral ratio should be affected by the bond’s risk rating.

W3C verifiable credentials

JPMorgan has been quietly exploring digital identity within the context of digital assets and blockchain for the past two-and-a-half years.

W3C verifiable credentials are an innovative approach to permissioned DeFi that uses digital identity building blocks.

Verifiable credentials (VCs)  can be used to represent information that may be found in physical credentials such as a passport, license, or new things like ownership of a bank card. They offer many advantages over traditional credentials, including interoperability and increased privacy.  

The head of Blockchain Launch at Onyx, Tyrone Lobban, stated that verifiable credentials are needed to prove identity. This is a different model than the Aave model. Verifiable credentials can be used to give access to these pools at scale without having to keep a whitelist of addresses. Verifiable credentials don’t need to be stored on-chain. This means that you don’t have to pay for gas prices or write this type of information to the blockchain.

Lobban stated that JPMorgan is still deciding which DeFi platforms it will use and with what counterparties, but it will be one of the most recognized offerings. They haven’t decided yet, but it will be battle-tested with high TVLs (total value locked). 

Lobban stated that “If we can put this identity layer in front of DeFi that enables KYC-based access, then each of those protocols should just naturally be able to support institutions without necessarily having to make too many changes to what they’re doing,” 

We still don’t have answers to these questions, and institutions might have to create separate permissioned pools. But maybe some of the existing protocols can be modified to suit the institution’s needs. There’s still research to be made.