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A US House of Representatives committee has unanimously approved a bill directing the Department of Commerce to support blockchain tech. Despite the bill passing through committee, approval by the House remains uncertain. Its best chance may be integration with other larger, must-pass legislation.
Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein stated that he remains optimistic about a potential bitcoin ETF approval following discussions with the SEC. Although the timeline has not been set, the firm believes that the SEC's questions suggest progress on their end. Along with apparent progress on BlackRock’s ETF application, many experts are expecting approvals to come within the next month.
Merit Circle DAO's tech stack and Sphere NFT marketplace, initially launched on Avalanche, will now also be available on Immutable's upcoming zkEVM network powered by Polygon. This expansion adheres to Merit Circle's chain-agnostic approach. The gaming-focused group is also contemplating investments in games and studios using Immutable.
Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Aevo has introduced aeUSD, the first yield-generating, stables-denominated collateral asset. aeUSD allows users to generate 4.75% APY on their exchange margin while trading with 20x leverage. aeUSD, using an ERC-4626 asset model based on Aevo, provides yield by depositing into Maker DAO's Dai Savings Rate module, providing an innovative solution for enhanced capital efficiency.
This piece from a16z provides an outline of what to look forward to in 2024, including transformations in the crypto user experience, the rise of modular tech stacks, the integration of AI with blockchain, the implications of AI developments in gaming, and formal verification for software development. It also touches on the changing financial dynamics in gaming, the evolution of NFTs in branding, and the increasing use of SNARKs in verifying computational workloads.
This post from a firm that took a large position in Solana earlier this year lays out an in-depth thesis on Solana. The blockchain platform’s potential to scale and become a dominant player in the L1 race, despite major setbacks such as the collapse of FTX, is, according to this author, still undervalued.
This post makes an argument for monetizing protocols and why builders should consider this versus free-to-use protocols. The benefits of monetization include improved governance, as it allows a broader community to influence the protocol's future, while also preventing any one party from seizing control. Monetization can also help manage harmful players or applications by incentivizing compliance and deterring non-adherence.
This article takes a look at how blockchains are revolutionizing cross-border payments. Despite challenges in creating scalable consumer platforms, the demand for cross-border payments reached $190 trillion in 2023. While smaller, geo-specific solutions exist, regulatory confines limit their reach. With grassroots adoption in lower middle income countries, crypto is showing real promise as a killer use case to break through these borders.
The DOGE-1 moon mission, funded by Dogecoin and developed by Geometric Energy Corporation, received key NTIA approval, moving closer to a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch.
DePINs, decentralized networks combining infrastructure with token incentives, address key centralized infrastructure issues, offering advantages in capital formation, immediate cash flows, and value-growing tokens.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon caused a stir yesterday as he claimed that if he were the government, he’d shut bitcoin and crypto down.
Binance founder CZ pled guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act, with sentencing scheduled for February 2023. He's been released on bond until then.