TLDR CRYPTO 2024-01-31

SEC LIKELY TO APPROVE SPOT ETHEREUM ETFS ON MAY 23: STANDARD CHARTERED BANK

Standard Chartered Bank is anticipating that the SEC will approve spot Ethereum ETFs by the final deadline of May 23, following the same path the regulators took with the Bitcoin ETFs. It is predicting a runup in ETH’s price leading up to the anticipated approval, emulating Bitcoin’s performance prior to its ETF approval. Experts believe there is a strong argument for approval since Ethereum has already been listed as a regulated futures contract on the CME.

TRANSAK JOINS VISA DIRECT FOR SIMPLER CRYPTO-TO-FIAT PAYMENTS

Visa Direct and Transak have partnered to enable easy and quick crypto-to-fiat conversions across 145 countries. Transak claims that while many platforms can handle fiat-to-crypto conversions, the reverse is often challenging. With this partnership, Transak aims to deliver expeditious, secure, and compliant crypto-to-fiat conversion, which is particularly crucial for users needing to completely exit the crypto markets.

STARKNET COLLABORATES WITH CELESTIA ON DATA AVAILABILITY FOR LAYER 3 ECOSYSTEM

Ethereum scaling solution Starknet is partnering with blockchain network Celestia to enhance data availability for L3 chains. Starknet will employ Blobstream, a feature from Celestia, to securely store large amounts of off-chain data and effectively reduce transaction costs. Starknet developers will then adapt Blobstream to Cairo, Starknet's main programming language, to facilitate the development of L3 app chains.

BITCOIN-BASED DEX PORTAL RAISES $34 MILLION IN SEED FUNDING FROM COINBASE VENTURES AND OTHERS

Bitcoin-based startup Portal raised $34 million in a recent seed funding round as it gears up to launch on mainnet in March. Portal, which enables cryptocurrency swaps across various blockchains through atomic swaps, plans to cement its position by supporting as many wallets and decentralized exchanges as possible to remove the risks of centralized bridges from the ecosystem and introduce the security of its fully non-custodial solution. The funding round will be used to launch an AI-driven investment application aimed at assisting users in making informed investment choices.

STATE OF BRIDGING

The crypto ecosystem faces complexity as the number of assets and chains increases. Bridges play an increasingly vital role in reducing this complexity by helping users with asset transfers and swaps. Distinguishing features of bridges include distribution, product offerings, and security profiles. Coinciding with the rapid proliferation of new chains and the increasing demand for better user experiences, bridges have become a crucial service provider in the crypto landscape. However, they also are one of the main attack vectors in the space.

5 LESSER-KNOWN CRYPTO TOOLS YOU NEED TO TRY

This article highlights five lesser-known free crypto tools that can be helpful for crypto enthusiasts. These include "Spot On Chain," an AI-driven platform for on-chain insights, "Hercules," an upcoming DEX part of the Metis Ecosystem, "Lore," a multi-chain explorer that simplifies transaction analysis, "Arkham," a tool that tracks on-chain activities and provides brief explainers, and "Velo Data," an AI-powered data app for crypto market structure. All of these tools aim to provide new horizons of opportunity and ease for crypto users.

THE PROMISE AND CHALLENGES OF CRYPTO + AI APPLICATIONS

This post from Vitalik Buterin on the intersection of AI and cryptocurrencies discusses how the rise of more powerful AI models and sophisticated cryptocurrencies is giving rise to several promising applications. Buterin outlines four possible categories for these applications and the challenges involved in taking them on. He warns that the most challenging use cases involve using blockchains and cryptographic techniques to create a single, decentralized, trusted AI, a process that contains many potential pitfalls and would require extremely careful implementation.

FRAMING THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET

Farcaster has introduced Frames, components that are similar to traditional iFrames, but that are dynamic and interactive. The launch of Frames has sparked a wave of experimentation, as developers take advantage of the network's decentralized and permissionless nature to create interactive frames offering a myriad of functions, heralding exciting potential for this concept and for the broader Farcaster network.

SIM-SWAPPING RING STOLE $400M IN CRYPTO FROM A US COMPANY, OFFICIALS ALLEGE

A Chicago man and accomplices have been charged in a $400 million SIM-swapping scheme targeting Apple, AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile stores across 13 states.

MAKING $32K PER DAY TRAINING LLMS ON BITTENSOR?

This post discusses the new evaluation system for open source models on Bittensor which uses fresh GPT-4 generated data to fairly assess and reward genuine model performance.

BINANCE NOW ALLOWS LARGER TRADERS TO KEEP THEIR ASSETS ELSEWHERE

Binance's move to allow large traders to bank independently, possibly due to its recent $4.3 billion fine and regulatory issues in the US, aims to ease some of the user concerns and complaints about its limitations before this move.

THE DISCOMBOBULATION OF TIMEFRAMES & MISINTERPRETATION OF IDEAS ON CT

This thread highlights the need for open, clear communication on social media in regards to trading. Social media posts about trades can be misleading if not explained thoroughly.

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