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GNOSIS PAY PARTNERS VISA TO CONNECT WEB3 ECOSYSTEMS WITH TRADITIONAL PAYMENTS

Gnosis Pay has partnered with Visa to connect Safe self-custody smart accounts to Visa debit cards. This card will allow users to spend an onchain account at any merchant that accepts Visa. The feature will be available first in European markets.

EU THREATENS TO REGULATE MEV AS ‘MARKET ABUSE'

A draft of the EU's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations describes MEV as a type of market abuse as it allows a validator to front-run transactions to make a profit. If passed, EU-based crypto organizations would be required to detect and report MEV. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Justice appeared to distinguish between acceptable MEV and market abuse in an indictment over MEV bot fraud.

MAPLE FINANCE UNVEILS SYRUP YIELD PLATFORM

Maple Finance has introduced a new DeFi platform called Syrup that offers a 15% yield on USDC deposits. Maple is also introducing a rewards token called SYRUP that aims to improve yield by supplying additional "Drips" for loyalty. Maple's goal is to merge institutional-grade yields with DeFi to make these yields more accessible.

INTRODUCING THE ENS L2

ENS Labs is proposing expanding to a Layer 2 network and renaming itself ENSv2. This proposal promises to further decentralize and enhance ENS' utility and flexibility beyond Ethereum mainnet's limitations. ENSv2 will reduce gas costs, increase transaction speeds, and introduce a hierarchical registry for .eth names, offering more customization and better multi-chain interoperability.

ZERO KNOWLEDGE VS. OPTIMISTIC ROLLUPS

This discussion explains the evolution of L2 solutions, emphasizing zkSync's approach, which uses zk proofs for scalability and security. It contrasts zkSync's potential with the limitations of optimistic rollups, arguing that zkSync's ability to provide seamless, trustless interactions between different systems makes it superior for scaling horizontally without compromises.

ADVICE FOR BUILDERS SEEKING GRANTS

There are various types of grants, each aiming for a unique objective, and builders should know the difference. Each grant provider has a need they want to fulfill, such as the Ethereum Foundation's focus on public goods or an L2 emphasizing ecosystem growth. When writing the grant, explain the ‘why' behind your need for money, make it easy for the reviewer, showcase value, and get feedback.

MODULAR THESIS COMEBACK

Despite recent negative sentiment, the Celestia ecosystem is gaining renewed momentum, with significant incoming developments including high-profile project launches, the implementation of ZK accounts for secure bridging, and growing adoption among Ethereum and Bitcoin L2s all signaling a strong comeback for the modular thesis.

HIGH FDV IS NOT INHERENTLY BAD

High Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) is criticized in crypto projects when they launch to retail investors at prices significantly higher than those offered in private rounds, often leading to dissatisfaction and sell-offs. CoinList contrasts this by offering retail investors terms comparable to or better than those available to VCs, resulting in lower premiums and potentially more stable post-launch performance, exemplifying a more equitable approach for retail investors in token launches.

MT.GOX MOVES AT LEAST $2.9B IN BITCOIN FOR FIRST TIME IN 5 YEARS

Mt. Gox, a defunct bitcoin exchange, has transferred at least 42,830 BTC valued at approximately $2.9 billion to an unknown address, marking its first asset movement in five years.

GRAYSCALE ETH ETF COULD LOSE ~110M DAILY IN FIRST MONTH

Grayscale's new Ethereum ETF might see large outflows (~$110 million daily in its first month) if its Ethereum ETF mimics its Bitcoin ETF's performance.

AAVE TO LAUNCH OWN BLOCKCHAIN AFTER V4 UPGRADE

Aave Founder Stani Kulechov hinted at the launch of the Aave Network, a new Layer 2, after the launch of Aave V4.

ARGENTINA'S CRYPTO FOUNDERS BAND TOGETHER TO BUILD BLOCKCHAIN VALLEY IN BUENOS AIRES

Argentina's grassroots crypto community, led by prominent local figures, is collaborating to establish a "Blockchain Valley" in Buenos Aires, leveraging President Javier Milei's pro-cryptocurrency stance.

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_*The equivalent USD value of the campaign pool of 10,000,000 NEXO Tokens is indicative, based on the market price as of May 23, 2024. Please be aware that the market price of NEXO Token may differ on the claim date._

VANGUARD FILES FOR SPECIALIZED FUNDS TRUST, DEFINES DIFFERENT CRYPTO ASSET TYPES

Vanguard's Specialized Funds Trust registration statement defines various types of crypto assets. It labels digital currencies as assets that are a store of value, medium of exchange, or unit of account that is blockchain-based and not issued by a central authority. A digital security token invokes some type of ownership over a separate asset. A digital utility token derives value from providing access to a particular product or network.

FTX BANKRUPTCY HEADLINES MISLEAD THE PUBLIC

Despite mainstream media headlines suggesting FTX creditors will recover over 100% of their funds, the actual value users will receive is significantly less than what the assets could/would have been worth. Creditors will receive ~118% of their funds fixed to the fiat value of their assets on FTX's bankruptcy filing date. Many of the lost currencies (e.g., BTC, SOL, and ETH) have appreciated significantly since then.

ETHEREUM LAYER 2 TAIKO GOES LIVE ON MAINNET

After two years and seven testnets, ZK rollup Taiko has launched its mainnet. Taiko is a based rollup, meaning Ethereum validators are responsible for sequencing transactions instead of foundation-controlled entities. Vitalik Buterin proposed the inaugural block.

WHY ARBITRUM STYLUS IS A BIG DEAL

Arbitrum Stylus is reducing the barrier of entry for developers by allowing EVM-compatible smart contracts programmed in C, C++, and Rust. Stylus improves execution by 10x and scales memory by 50-100x. Since Solana programs are written in Rust, Stylus applications can be interoperable with the Solana ecosystem. It's expected to go live on mainnet in the coming months.

FARCASTER VS. LENS PROTOCOL

Decentralized social media protocols aim to give users ownership and power over their data. Farcaster is known for its engaging content and Frames – mini-apps allowing unique interactions with onchain content. Lens Protocol has been creator-focused, with customization around following and post collection. It has a similar albeit less-used Frames competitor called Open Actions. Farcaster's memecoin DEGEN and Lens' BONSAI act as a tipping and quality content incentivization mechanism, though DEGEN has grown much larger and has its own L3.

ANALYZING THE PERFORMANCE OF CELEBRITY-PROMOTED CRYPTO PROJECTS

Historically, celebrity-owned or promoted cryptocurrency projects have generally failed, often due to a lack of genuine interest and commitment from the celebrities themselves, who typically engage more for immediate financial gain than for long-term project development. The trend suggests minimal effort in project execution, with many using low-quality art and lacking substantial backing, casting doubt on the potential success of Caitlyn Jenner's new coin venture.

12 EXAMPLES OF CHAINLINK POWERING RWA TOKENIZATION

Chainlink provides data, interoperability, and security to various RWA projects, including verifying the ARKB BTC ETF reserves. It supports the digitization of gold reserves, provides tamper-proof data about PayPal's PYUSD, and secures the minting and moving of tokenized T-bills. Based on the number of GitHub commits in the past month, Chainlink has been the most active RWA-related protocol.

UNISWAP TO GO THROUGH WITH FEE SWITCH VOTE ON 5/31

Uniswap plans to go through with its vote to implement fee collection and distribution to UNI token holders on May 31. This comes after Uniswap Labs was served a Wells Notice by the SEC for operating as an unlicensed brokerage.

ANSEM ON CELEB TOKEN LAUNCHES

Celebrities interested in crypto do not have accessible platforms to launch or get advice on their projects, which leads to missed opportunities for higher-quality initiatives and broader retail engagement in the crypto industry.

ARGENTINA MEETS WITH EL SALVADOR TO DISCUSS BITCOIN

As countries around the world recognize the growing importance of crypto, some, like Argentina, are increasingly considering adopting Bitcoin as a reserve asset or legal tender to improve their economic positions and avoid falling behind in the global financial landscape.

PHANTOM FLIPS TELEGRAM, BECOMES 8TH RANKED APP ON GOOGLE PLAY

Solana mobile wallet Phantom is now the 8th ranked app overall and the number 1 finance app on the Google Play store.

AUSD: YIELD- BEARING STABLECOINS (STABLECOINS 3.0)

The AgoraDollar (AUSD), self-coined as Stablecoin 3.0, aims to reshape how businesses interact with stablecoins by directly compensating them for services like liquidity provision and token listing.

UNISWAP FOUNDATION DISCLOSES $41.41 MILLION

These funds have been allocated for grant commitments, operating expenses, and employee token awards (all through 2025).

THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF FIT21'S CRYPTO MARKET STRUCTURE BILL

Though FIT21 is a momentous step forward for legitimizing the crypto industry, issues with its current form must be addressed in Senate negotiations. The bill's bifurcation of cryptocurrencies into “restricted digital assets” and “digital commodities” ignores tokens' global and fungible nature, leading to fragmentation and regulatory arbitrage. Lawmakers should refine the bill to unify spot markets for tokens that are not otherwise securities.

TRUMP - "I WILL SUPPORT THE RIGHT TO SELF CUSTODY TO THE NATION'S 50 MILLION CRYPTO HOLDERS"

Donald Trump has declared his commitment to the future of cryptocurrency in the USA, emphasizing support for the rights of the nation's 50 million crypto holders to self-custody their assets and opposing the creation of a central bank digital currency.

FANTOM FOUNDATION CREATES SONIC FOUNDATION LABS

Fantom has announced it will create the Sonic Foundation and Sonic Labs to support "Sonic", a new blockchain that will connect to the Ethereum ecosystem via a layer-2 bridge. The Fantom Foundation has successfully raised $10 million to bolster Sonic's ecosystem growth. It expects Fantom users to completely migrate from the Fantom chain to the Sonic chain (due to higher security and speed).

ETHERFI UNVEILS PLANS FOR CREDIT CARD TIED TO RESTAKING HOLDINGS

Leading restaking protocol EtherFi has announced EtherFi Cash, a new credit card associated with an onchain account. Users can pay using USDC holdings or borrowing USDC against their EtherFi portfolio. Any interest accrued can be paid off using eETH staking rewards. Card pre-orders will be available in July and shipped in September.

ETHEREUM'S NEXT UPGRADE: PECTRA

Ethereum's next hard fork, Pectra, consists of updates to the Prague execution layer and Electra consensus layer. It will be released in Q1 2025 and feature PeerDAS data availability sampling to improve rollup scaling and upgrades to the EVM Object Format (EOF) to support a better UX. It should help to alleviate pressure on the networking layer and support increased blob demand.

USE CASES FOR ZK

Thus far, ZK is used for efficient signature verification, storage proofs, proving transactions, and bridging – all parts of the modern modular stack. Going forward, ZK could solve open problems around avoiding redundant compute and preserving privacy.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST FIT21

The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) fails to adequately protect DeFi developers and DAOs from the CFTC's expansive authority, despite appearing to offer exemptions for "decentralized governance systems." The act contains numerous contradictions and ambiguities, particularly around its definitions and the registration requirements for commodity pool operators and decentralized systems, leading to concerns that it will not resolve the ongoing regulatory uncertainty in the crypto sector.

USING TORI FOR HIGH APYS

Aave's high APY of over 17% for lending USDC is driven by strong demand to borrow USDC. Using Aave requires depositing collateral (like ETH), borrowing against it, and paying interest, which is distributed to lenders. Aave is managed by blockchain smart contracts for transparency and reduced risk.

DEVELOP A TOKEN WITH LONG-TERM HOLDING VALUE

Traction is crucial for startups to succeed and retain investor interest. Founders who strictly focus on initial liquidity without building longer-term value will see their token's price plummet because market dynamics will favor established leaders. Efficient markets quickly reprice assets based on real value, and crypto regulatory pressures will require exchanges to push for more rigorous metrics before listing tokens. This paradigm shift emphasizes the importance of genuine user engagement and practical utility in the crypto sector.

MEMECOIN NORMIE GETS EXPLOITED, MARKET CAP FALLS BY $40M INSTANTLY

NORMIE went from $41m to $35k market cap in minutes last night.

CRYPTO PLAYING LARGER FACTOR IN U.S. POLITICS

Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin described recent SEC approvals of spot Ethereum ETFs and bipartisan support for a crypto regulation bill as big shifts in U.S. crypto policy, largely influenced by political dynamics.

INDIAN MAN STOLE $37 MILLION IN CRYPTO USING FAKE COINBASE PRO SITE

An Indian man, Chirag Tomar, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for stealing over $37 million in cryptocurrency through a phishing scam using a fake Coinbase website.

ETH ETF APPROVAL SUMMARY

With the 19B-4 forms approved for 8 issuers, it could be weeks to months until the S-1s are approved and the ETFs start trading.

VITALIK PROPOSES FIRST TAIKO MAINNET BLOCK

Vitalik Buterin proposed the first block in preparation of Taiko's mainnet and expressed his excitement around Ethereum L2s taking different rollup approaches.

TRUMP PLEDGES TO FREE SILK ROAD CREATOR ROSS ULBRICHT IF RE-ELECTED

At the Libertarian National Convention, presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would commute the sentence of Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht if elected.

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BIDEN ADMINISTRATION STATEMENT ON FIT21

Though Biden's administration opposes the passage of FIT21, it says it is willing to work with Congress to create a balanced regulatory framework for digital assets. Its goal is to reinforce United States leadership in the global financial system. This statement comes at a time when crypto is becoming an increasingly politicized issue with the 2024 election looming.

SEC APPROVES 8 ETHEREUM ETFS INCLUDING BLACKROCK AND FIDELITY

The SEC has approved eight spot Ethereum ETFs from issuers, including BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, months after approving spot Bitcoin ETFs. While the approval of the 19b-4 forms marks a significant step, trading will only start after the S-1 statements have been registered, which may take weeks.

INTERNET COMPUTER SMART CONTRACTS WORK WITH ANY EVM

The Dfinity Foundation has released a new API that enables Internet Computer smart contracts to be compatible with any EVM (improves cross-chain interaction and app potential). This move is part of Dfinity's broader Chain Fusion initiative, which looks to increase blockchain interoperability.

EVM NATIVE SEQUENCING RULES

Ethereum has been criticized for block builders' increasing dominance over their chain control, which is a consequence of how time-discrete systems create varied value in their storage slots. This author proposes a specification for native transaction bundling for onchain applications, which gives more control over sequencing.

DEEP DIVE INTO FIT21

FIT21 divides digital assets into three categories: digital commodities (regulated by the CFTC), restricted digital assets (regulated by the SEC), and permitted stablecoins. Classification depends on factors such as the level of decentralization and functionality of the blockchain, how the asset is acquired, and who holds the asset. While the bill is a thoughtful approach to bridging the gap between traditional finance and crypto, it could be improved by expressly discarding the Howey and Reves tests for digital asset categorization to prevent SEC jurisdiction backdoors.