TLDR CRYPTO 2023-07-19

Bankrupt crypto firm Celsius has reached an agreement with creditors and Series B investors for a $25 million settlement to be drawn from the sale of self-custody platform GK8 to Galaxy Digital. The deal may not cover all legal expenses and unfairly provides an advantage to a specific group. Celsius filed for bankruptcy after troubles following its Series B, which was led by growth equity firm Westcap and a Quebec pension fund. Former CEO, Alex Mashinsky, was recently arrested as part of an investigation into the company's collapse.

VC FUNDING IN WEB3 PLUMMETS 76%

Crunchbase reported a 76% year-over-year decrease in web3 VC funding in Q2 of this year. The downtrend looks slightly worse when looking at the full first half of 2023, where funding dropped by 78% year-over-year, with companies raising only $3.6 billion compared to last year's nearly $16 billion. This sharp decline, attributed to the crypto winter, sits in contrast to the vast amounts AI startups have raised in the same timeframe - $25 billion. Despite the decline, companies like a16z remain positive about web3's future, highlighting especially strong areas like web3 gaming.

FUTUREVERSE RAISES $54M TO MARRY AI AND THE METAVERSE

Metaverse and AI company FutureVerse recently raised $54 million in a funding round led by 10T Holdings, with Ripple in on the round as well. FutureVerse plans to continue developing its AI content generation tools that will set the base layer for the company’s metaverse with the new funding. FutureVerse, which has acquired 11 companies since its inception, recently launched the AI-powered game AI League in collaboration with FIFA and an AI-powered boxing game in partnership with Muhammad Ali Enterprises.

SYNTHETIX IS TARGETING A Q4 LAUNCH FOR PERPS V3 AND INFINEX

Synthetix, a protocol for trading synthetic assets and crypto derivatives, is planning to launch v3 of its decentralized perpetual futures exchange and its new front end, Infinex, in Q4. The upgrade aims to improve the UX by mimicking a CEX’s usability but retaining the self-custody principle of DEXs. Infinex will facilitate access to decentralized perpetuals trading without requiring an on-chain transaction for every trade. Founder Kain Warwick envisions this as another step in user migration from CEXs, given the history of such platforms facing theft and mismanagement issues.

WHY UNISWAPX COULD BE A GAME CHANGER

This Twitter thread lays out why UniswapX's new architecture could be transformative due to its efficiency and flexibility. The upgrade paves the way for better order flow auctions, returning MEV to users. While the update is seen as a crucial step towards improving off-chain order matching, more improvements are needed to enhance decentralization, competitiveness and privacy. UniswapX could pave the way for seamless cross-chain and roll-up exchanges. The new platform complements Uniswap v4, which is aimed at improving sustainable passive liquidity provision.

WHAT ARE META-TRANSACTIONS?

Coinbase Wallet recently introduced gasless sends on Polygon for USDC without relying on smart contracts or account abstraction, instead using a standard known as "meta-transactions." Defined by EIP-3009, meta-transactions offer enhanced security and usability through randomized nonces and avoid the "transferFrom/approve" pattern. Importantly, the person executing the method is not necessarily the sender, exemplifying how gasless sends work. The process illustrates how EIP-4337 is not the only standard capable of implementing gasless sends.

COINBASE CEO BRIAN ARMSTRONG SET TO MEET WITH HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong will engage in a private discussion with the New Democrat Coalition to discuss digital-asset legislation and other issues such as tax, national security, and privacy. The meeting comes amidst a lawsuit against Coinbase, one of the globe's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, by the SEC. Armstrong has been pushing for clearer rules around digital assets in Washington. Additionally, Coinbase is promoting two bills offering clearer guidance on crypto exchange registration with regulators. This gathering follows a favorable court ruling in the XRP case that dealt a significant blow to the SEC’s claims that most crypto tokens are securities.

SCAM SUPER CYCLE

This article discusses how the nature of online interactions, driven by anonymity and lack of repercussions, fosters scams and toxicity. Online scams have sadly been prominent in the crypto sector. The lack of a sense of 'presence' in digital spaces limits feelings of empathy and often enables unethical behavior. Digital information overload also hampers the ability to discern quality information from falsehoods. The article suggests that a potential solution could be introduced through the Metaverse, proposing an environment where repercussions exist and a sense of identity or 'presence' is restored, potentially reducing fraud.

MARKETPLACE 'UNLICENSED CASINO’

OpenSea halted Ether.Fi's staked-ether NFT trading, citing financial activity regulation. In return, Ether.Fi's CEO criticized OpenSea for being an 'unlicensed casino' and stressed Ether.Fi's non-custodial approach.

VC FIRM COINFUND RAISES $158 MILLION TO BACK CRYPTO STARTUPS

CoinFund has raised a $158 million fund to support early-stage crypto startups, exceeding its initial $125 million target. The firm plans to focus on the intersection of crypto and AI.

STAFF

Polychain Capital has raised $200 million for the initial close of its fourth fund. It aims to raise about $400 million total. Three research team members have been let go amid changing investment priorities.

SIMPLE AS EMAIL

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin says that modern account abstraction could simplify crypto wallets, making them as easy as email accounts. The EIP-4337 upgrade may enhance features like wallet recovery, lower transaction fees, and multisig wallets, potentially driving wider web3 adoption.