TLDR CRYPTO 2024-07-31

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SEC MIGHT SHELVE ALLEGATION THAT SOLANA IS A SECURITY IN BINANCE LAWSUIT

The SEC plans to amend its lawsuit against Binance, delaying the decision on whether cryptocurrencies like Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Polygon (MATIC) are considered securities. This move temporarily postpones a court ruling on these specific allegations but does not dismiss them outright.

CIRCLE SAID TO BE TRADING AROUND $5B VALUATION AHEAD OF PLANNED IPO

Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, is trading at a $5 billion valuation in the secondary market before its upcoming IPO. It previously attempted to go public via SPAC in 2022 at a $9 billion valuation, but the deal fell through due to a lack of SEC approval. The exact date of the IPO remains unknown.

IRYS – THE FIRST PROGRAMMABLE DATACHAIN

Irys was initially a scaling solution for Arweave, helping it process 90% of its transactions and data. The Irys L1 chain will optimize for storage and computation and support both onchain and temporary data. It aims to be the primary data infrastructure protocol for the onchain world. Irys will allow smart contracts to directly interact with onchain data in real-time, expanding the potential of dapps and making blockspace more useful.

CALIFORNIA DMV DIGITIZES 42 MILLION CAR TITLES ON AVALANCHE BLOCKCHAIN

California is building a DMV-run blockchain for storing and transferring vehicle titles built using Avalanche L1 technology. Vehicle owners will be able to claim their digital titles in the DMV's mobile wallet app, reducing unnecessary trips to the Post Office and DMV and reducing transfer times from two weeks to a few minutes. It is one of the first projects in California's vision of incorporating blockchain into government operations.

A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION ON SOLANA

Despite bullish sentiments about Solana ($SOL), closer examination reveals significant issues with the platform's transaction data, suggesting a high level of wash trading and fraudulent activities. The exaggerated transaction volumes, primarily driven by bots and rug pulls on decentralized exchanges, raise concerns about the authenticity of Solana's reported usage metrics and its long-term sustainability.

HOW TO THINK ABOUT BLACKBIRD

Blackbird is a loyalty and payments platform for restaurants that aims to make hospitality and being a “regular” a scalable experience. It uses crypto features to enhance the user experience, like to give network ownership to restaurants and reward users with $FLY tokens. Blackbird drives greater loyalty and magical dining experiences. The interconnected nature of the loyalty program means a diner can use their $FLY rewards at any restaurant, making the token restaurant social capital. Blackbird's 2% fee is below industry average. Its ability to improve customer lifetime value helps make restaurants more profitable.

UNISWAP'S COMPETITIVE POSITION ALLOWS IT TO PRICE INDIVIDUAL POOLS

Uniswap shouldn't turn on its fee switch as it could hurt liquidity providers. Instead, Uniswap could charge fees only on trading pairs where it dominates, optimizing value capture without broadly impacting all liquidity providers.

WALL ST APPRECIATING BLOCKCHAIN PROFITABILITY

JPMorgan's recent report highlights how Ethereum's Dencun upgrade boosted Layer-2 chain profitability and predicts $20 million in net fees for Base in Q2 2024. With ETH ETFs, analysts will compare blockchain protocols like ETH and SOL to traditional businesses, recognizing their high growth and profitability.

SEC CHARGES BITCLOUT FOUNDER WITH FRAUD

Nader Al-Naji was charged with orchestrating a multi-million-dollar fraudulent crypto scheme involving the social media platform BitClout and its native token.

MOVING AWAY FROM TVL AND WALLET COUNT METRICS

The market has moved beyond bloated TVL and wallet count metrics, which often reflect artificial growth.

“SONG A DAY MAN” SUES THE SEC

Jonathan Mann, known for his "Song A Day" project, is suing the SEC over allegations that his NFT sales constitute unregistered securities.

CRYPTO HAS A TOP SUPER PAC

The Fairshake PAC has raised over $100 million and is likely one of the top 4 PACs, though the exact number is hard to quantify due to reporting errors.