TLDR CRYPTO 2024-01-18

COINBASE AND THE SEC ARGUE CRYPTO'S KEY LEGAL QUESTION IN COURT

Coinbase is currently in its long-awaited court showdown with the SEC over whether most crypto assets should be considered securities in the US. The SEC has been arguing that people buy these assets expecting prices to go up based on the success of the creators, which could classify the assets as securities. However, Coinbase is arguing that buyers do not have the right to take action against issuers if the digital assets perform poorly, so there's no investment contract. They are also arguing that the SEC’s stance is overly broad and would even include assets like baseball cards and other collectibles.

SPOT BITCOIN ETF ISSUER VANECK TO SHUTTER BTC FUTURES FUND

VanEck has announced plans to cease trading of its Bitcoin Strategy ETF due to several considerations, including its performance and investor appetite for it. The ETF, launched in November 2021, has approximately $53 million in assets but is now being overshadowed by the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF which has over $2 billion in assets as an alternative. Other financial institutions like Ark Invest, 21Shares, and Bitwise are still offering their Bitcoin futures ETFs.

ALTLAYER’S ALT TOKEN LAUNCH

AltLayer, an open, decentralized protocol for rollups, is launching its ALT token. The protocol provides enhanced security, decentralization, interoperability, and crypto-economic fast finality for existing rollups. It has collaborated with infrastructure teams in the Ethereum ecosystem and is being used by several projects across gaming and DeFi. The ALT token will launch via Binance Launchpool on January 25 and will be used for economic stake, governance, protocol incentivization, and fees.

INSCRIBE: THE FIRST EVER CROSS-CHAIN MARKETPLACE FOR INSCRIPTIONS

Inscribe has launched the first-ever cross-chain marketplace for inscriptions, targeting users on EVM blockchains, Bitcoin, Dogechain, Injective, and non-EVM chains. The Inscribe Marketplace enables users to make token transactions across different blockchains. Additionally, the Inscribe WebApp and Bot make token minting easier on Bitcoin, EVM, and non-EVM chains. The firm is creating a multichain inscriptions indexer for developers and offering a decentralized governance model with its INS token.

WHY TIA IS GOING TO BE THIS CYCLE'S (3,3)

This thread breaks down how TIA could be this cycle’s (3,3), a meme that took hold with OHM causing the token price to skyrocket. The author posits that Celestia, which helps projects deploy new rollups and blockchains more cheaply and easily by significantly reducing the cost to post data to the chain, is a major technological leap. In addition to the promising tech, the surge in TIA’s price is partly linked to an increasing number of airdrops allocated to TIA stakers. This could eventually cause TIA’s price to enter bubble territory and encourages readers to remain cautious about this dynamic.

ELECTRIC CAPITAL’S 2023 CRYPTO DEVELOPER REPORT

The 5th annual Electric Capital Developer Report, which analyzed a record 485 million code commits across 818,000 repositories, is finally out. At a high level, the number of developers in the crypto space has declined by 24%. However, the majority of this decline can be attributed to newer developers leaving the space, as the experienced developer group continued to show growth. The report is comprehensive and covers not only this high-level data, but also breaks down developer activity by chain and many other metrics.

THE EU IS ABOUT TO OUTLAW AND RESTRICT SOME OF THE MOST PRIZED FEATURES IN CRYPTO

The EU is finalizing anti-money laundering regulations that could significantly impact the crypto industry. The planned changes include increased tracking of crypto transfers, a ban on privacy coins, and restrictions on self-custody wallet payments. Lobbied by blockchain group, Blockchain For Europe, the regulations aim to establish clear rules for crypto ventures. However, critics warn of the potential burden this could place on crypto startups. The final regulations are expected to be enforced between 2026 and 2027

LIQUID RESTAKING TOKEN RESEARCH IN ONE THREAD

This thread discusses Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRT) and their growing relevance in tackling issues like technical barriers, liquidity constraints, and the need for more yield in ETH staking. The author compares current LRT protocols, their services, and risk management. She emphasizes that LRT brings diversity due to differentiating design aspects and varying user preferences. The thread also discusses potential risks, like smart contract risks and slashing risks, and future opportunities, such as DeFi integrations and multichain LRT.

ALEX WICE MARKET UPDATE

This post breaks down what has been going on in the market following the approval and launch of the spot Bitcoin ETFs. It details how Bitcoin cooled off, with capital rotated to Ethereum, and how Solana is looking primed for another run.

SOME NARRATIVES AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THEM FOR THIS CYCLE

This post discusses four major crypto narratives to keep an eye on. It dives into the decreasing relevance of base chain loyalty, restaking, reducing bootstrapping costs, expected viral game launches with crypto elements, and more.

JAMIE DIMON SAYS HE’S DONE TALKING ABOUT BITCOIN: ‘I DON’T CARE’

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon criticized Bitcoin again at Davos, likening it to a "pet rock" and "hyped-up fraud," while acknowledging blockchain's utility and distinguishing other cryptocurrencies with functional applications.

METAMASK'S SECRET PROJECT COULD SHAKE UP HOW ETHEREUM WORKS

MetaMask is reportedly secretly testing a new transaction routing technology using third parties for optimal execution, aiming to improve user experience and avoid centralization concerns.

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