Parse notes
Larry Fink stated in an interview with CNBC that while he was originally a skeptic on Bitcoin, he now believes it is a legitimate financial instrument. Fink sees it serving a purpose for investors afraid of currency debasement and as a hedge against government financial control. Equating it to “digital gold,” he believes it is a hedge against hope with strong industrial use.
According to Bloomberg ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas, the SEC has asked issuers to return their final S-1 application on Wednesday. Next Monday, they will request effectiveness for a launch on Tuesday July 23rd, though there could be unforeseen last-minute issues.
Gwyneth is a new based rollup, meaning transactions are sequenced by L1 validators with blocks constructed by L1 builders. It is a synchronously composable “booster rollup,” allowing for seamless access to the L1's state with no fragmentation. Gwyneth was built using Taiko's prover technology and will eventually utilize zkVMs like SP1 and Risc0 for transaction execution.
Pendle has seen extreme growth driven by airdrop points programs, and boasted an ATH TVL of $6.7B. The much-anticipated V3 upgrade will help it become the centralized exchange of interest rate derivatives, being the first of its kind even among traditional finance. With the interest rate swap market being worth $500 trillion, and blockchain providing the backbone for trustless, guaranteed swap delivery, Pendle's TVL could skyrocket. In the short term, permissionless market listing, new L1 listings, and Bitcoin restaking could usher in new highs for Pendle.
The TON ecosystem has made significant strides in Web3 gaming, with highlights like $NOT's impressive fair launch and Hamster Kombat's rapid user growth. Leveraging Telegram's vast user base and privacy features, TON is well-positioned to lead Web3 adoption, aided by its native in-app currency and strong developer support.
Polkadot is a decentralized multi-chain network that uses a main Relay chain that provides security and interoperability to multiple L1 parachains, each customized for specific functions. It supports a dynamic ecosystem with a capped number of 100 parachains, enabling specialized apps like privacy, RWAs, and DeFi solutions within its architecture.
Stablecoin issuers and lending protocols have a symbiotic relationship that has been increasingly closer aligned. Stablecoin issuers like MakerDAO are lending protocols through their collateralization, and lending protocols like Aave are arguably a specific type of stablecoin issuer. The specialization of lending protocols has changed the market structure, and stablecoin lenders will become the primary users of lending platforms.
In traditional markets, the entity in the stack closest to the user captures most of the value, like Robinhood or retail stores. However, infrastructure has gotten all the attention and funding in crypto markets. There are still massive opportunities on the application layer, but they require a great idea, masterful product design, and user acquisition.
South Korea is considering delaying crypto gains taxation from 2025 to 2028 because of negative investor sentiment.
This weekend event triggered ~$170M in short liquidations, emphasizing a strong bullish sentiment among investors despite potential upcoming challenges from scheduled market events like the Mt. Gox liquidation.
Scroll's TVL has increased by ~22% over the past week to ~$1B, making it the eighth Ethereum L2 network to pass the $1BTVL mark.
Philip Gradwell, the ex-chief economist at Chainalysis, will become the head of economics at Tether.