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BlackRock has reportedly started setting up an Ethereum ETF, as indicated by a recent registration for an iShares Ethereum Trust. This caused Ethereum’s price to spike along with the rest of the crypto market. Although the SEC has not yet approved a Bitcoin ETF, market participants seem to think BlackRock is confident it will be approved if they are already preparing an Ethereum ETF as well.
Lightspeed Venture Partners has launched Lightspeed Faction Fund I, a $285m fund focused on early-stage blockchain tech. The fund is specifically designed to back entrepreneurs in the blockchain industry with the belief that the next big tech breakthroughs will happen in this space. As market sentiment has shifted over the past few months, there have been several new funds like this either announced as planned or raised.
Coinbase has launched a set of on-chain verifications called "Coinbase Verifications," which utilize Ethereum's Attestation Service. These verifications allow Coinbase users to access on-chain apps and benefits. Developers interested in integrating them into their services can use this repo to better understand how to implement them and what use cases they are suited for. Coinbase warns that the attestations, reflecting a user's account status at issuance time, are for informational purposes and should not be relied upon for legal or compliance purposes.
Stephane Gosselin, co-founder of Flashbots and now CEO of Frontier Research, has launched "Alfred", a Telegram bot developed in partnership with Kolibrio. Designed to execute token swaps on the Ethereum network, Alfred aims to provide users with advanced trading tools and protections against MEV profits. It’s entering a competitive market with real user security concerns, but unlike other Telegram bots, it currently has no plans for a dedicated token.
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This timeless thread discusses the four stages of price momentum in Bitcoin’s cycles. There's an accumulation range (no media/max opportunity), directional trend (where trading tends to be most profitable), huge volatility (media frenzy/minimal opportunity), and the final markdown/crash. Too much activity in stages 1, 3, and 4 can lead to significant losses. Traders should focus on directional trends in stage 2 to maximize profits.
Bitwise Invest has launched a new public transparency dashboard to identify vertically integrated searcher-builders, like Wintermute, rsync, and others. The investigation was triggered by a curiosity to identify such builders and to examine their likelihood of censoring transactions. The finding reveals no significant correlation, meaning that censorship pressures are common among both integrated and non-integrated builders.
This blog post from Variant’s Li Jin discusses the balance between 'love' versus 'fame' on social networks. 'Love' networks center on deepening personal connections, exemplified by platforms like iMessage, WhatsApp, and early Facebook. Conversely, 'fame' networks like TikTok and Instagram aim to help users gain wider reach and focus on content discovery. The post discusses how crypto social networks provide new business models for these established love vs fame frameworks.
The future of cryptography may involve programmable solutions that allow for greater flexibility and accessibility for developers. This includes methods like Multi-Party Computation, Fully Homomorphic Encryption, and Indistinguishable Obfuscation. Unlike traditional cryptography, programmable solutions could adapt to nearly any functionality. These techniques might be more theoretical at present, but as they become more practical, they could greatly expand the applications and scope of cryptography, including in the realm of artificial intelligence.
As a part of its bankruptcy plan, Celsius is vying to transition to becoming a creditor-owned bitcoin mining company. This plan was approved by a New York Judge and now has to get the SEC’s approval to become a reality.
Amsterdam-based Maven 11 is aiming to raise $100 million for a new crypto fund, with a third of the funds already committed, focusing on consumer applications in the blockchain space.
In an interview on CNBC yesterday, Roblox’s CEO mentioned that NFTs on Roblox are a real possibility at some point and that he sees valid use cases for the company creating NFTs that can be moved off-platform.
This post from Archetype discusses the burgeoning trend of merging AI with blockchain tech and how that may spur innovation. It proposes blockchains as key platforms for AI development due to their collaborative potential.