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HASHKEY CAPITAL LAUNCHES THREE CRYPTO INDICES WITH FTSE RUSSELL

Crypto investment firm HashKey Capital has partnered with London Stock Exchange subsidiary FTSE Russell to introduce three indices that track the performance of crypto assets. These are meant to guide investors seeking to gain exposure to cryptocurrency. The indices include the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, infrastructure-focused tokens, and tokens for crypto apps.

TELEFÓNICA AND NOVA LABS LAUNCH HELIUM MOBILE HOTSPOTS IN MEXICO

Telefónica is partnering with Nova Labs to extend mobile coverage in Mexico City and Oaxaca using Helium Mobile Hotspots. The technology, based on the OpenWifi standard, allows select Movistar customers access to the Helium Mobile Network using their existing SIM cards. The solution is expected to reduce infrastructure costs and environmental impact while maintaining high-quality service and expanding coverage.

SOLANA TOKEN EXTENSIONS FOR NATIVE SUPPORT FOR ENTERPRISE-GRADE USE CASES

Solana has introduced a concept called token extensions, a development allowing for specialized functions at the token level. Created in partnership with regulated institutions, these plug-and-play tools are designed to reduce engineering efforts in tokenizing assets on Solana. Extensions already used by Paxos and GMO Trust include permanent delegation and metadata pointers for their stablecoin launches. Tools like these enable streamlined KYC verification, transferring hooks, transaction fees, and more, boosting Solana's appeal to developers and businesses alike.

NOBLE TEAMS UP WITH HASHNOTE TO ROLL OUT TOKENIZED SECURITIES ON COSMOS

Blockchain project Noble has joined forces with asset manager Hashnote to roll out a tokenized real-world asset product on Cosmos. The initiative's first product is the USYC token, a short-duration yield fund product from Hashnote that provides exposure to short-duration securities, including US Treasury bills. This marks Noble's move into the real-world asset niche on Cosmos.

EXPLAINING RSICS: A NEW TOKEN STANDARD ON BITCOIN

This thread provides some tips for staying ahead in the crypto market. The tips include regularly checking crypto price charts to identify trends, journaling trade rationale and outcomes, understanding market trends and structures, tracking smart money, looking into pre-launch projects, monitoring relevant data changes, and staying up-to-date through trusted curators. The author also recommends going through governance proposals daily to keep up-to-speed with potential catalysts for coins.

MINTING IS THE NATIVE BUSINESS MODEL FOR WEB3 (AND MAYBE AI TOO)

This post explains how web3 offers an alternative to Big Tech data dominance, allowing users to own their data. Platforms like Zora let users mint digital artwork, paying a small fee to creators. The collector owns a copy of the work in their portfolio, which in a sense creates a dataset that they have full control over. This could open up the potential for those in the space to leverage AI/ML on top of these open datasets to monetize them further or allow for better discovery of art and artists.

INDEXING CRYPTO TWITTER NARRATIVE MINDSHARE IN 2023

This post breaks down what the most popular narratives were on Crypto Twitter last year. The dominant narrative of 2023 was AI, with almost a third of the ‘mindshare’ throughout the year. Ordinals, GameFi, and Layer 2s were all also notable themes last year, with mindshares in the high single digits. New narratives like ETFs and DePIN gained momentum in late 2023, while SocialFi had a short surge in August. As of this month, ETFs remain a focal point, with AI and DePIN also gaining momentum. On the other hand, GameFi and SocialFi have lost some mindshare.

BITWISE PUBLISHED ITS BITCOIN ETF ADDRESS

The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) is the first US ETF to publicly reveal its Bitcoin addresses, aiming to enhance transparency and align with Bitcoin's ethos.

ON WALLETS AND NEW BUSINESS MODELS

This post explains how for most of crypto’s history, builders have been infrastructure-focused, but there's been a shift towards app development as of late, with value increasingly captured at this layer.

CRYPTO CUSTODIAN BITGO RECEIVES INVESTMENT FROM ICONIC CASH HANDLING FIRM BRINK’S

Brink's, a 164-year-old security and cash handling firm, has invested in BitGo, one of the largest cryptocurrency custody specialist firms in the space.

ALL ABOUT PARALLELIZATION

This post explains how parallel transaction processing, a type of transaction processing that has gained popularity with increased user adoption, enhances scalability and user experience, overcoming the limitations of sequential execution models.

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MT. GOX MOVES SEEMINGLY CLOSER TO BITCOIN REPAYMENTS FOR 2014 HACK VICTIMS

The infamous defunct crypto exchange, Mt. Gox, is reportedly moving forward with customer repayments following its 2014 hack which resulted in a loss of 850,000 BTC. Some former clients have reported receiving emails requesting verification of identity and account details. Bitcoin has been faltering in recent weeks due to sell pressure from GBTC. This provides another potential overhang for the market to digest.

ETHEREUM VALIDATORS’ RELIANCE ON GETH SPARKS CLIENT DIVERSITY PUSH BY COINBASE

Coinbase has unveiled plans to diversify Ethereum execution clients due to increasing concerns over the dominance of Geth. Geth's overwhelming dominance has raised security issues, as a bug could potentially disrupt a large portion of the Ethereum network. This announcement comes after a recent incident where provider Nethermind's validators went offline due to a bug issue. An official update from Coinbase is expected by the end of February.

MAGIC EDEN REWARDS

Magic Eden is rolling out a long-term cross-chain NFT rewards program. Starting with Solana, from February 2, Magic Eden will give out Retroactive Diamond Drops for past activities since 2021. Magic Ticket owners will also be included in the reward system. The rewards program will extend to Solana, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon, honoring all past, present, and future activity on those chains.

THE GAMECHANGER: UNLEASHING WEB3 GAMING'S EPIC JOURNEY INTO 2024 AND BEYOND

The gaming industry, with a $282 billion market value, is entering the web3 era. Blockchain technology enables web3 gaming, bringing blockchain-driven ownership, programmability, and composability to games. The technology is maturing and numerous AA studios are intensifying their web3 gaming endeavors. There are exciting investment opportunities in both horizontal gaming platforms and individual games across various genres.

HOW TO FARM AIRDROPS LIKE A PRO

In the world of DeFi, spotting airdrop opportunities can be one of the best returns on investment and time for crypto participants. This blog walks through some of the best ways to approach airdrop farming. Users can utilize a free airdrop dashboard on platforms like DeFillama to locate potentially profitable airdrops. The value of airdrops can be determined by analyzing the project's community support, funding, and age. Some key metrics to look for in this analysis are high TVLs and solid VC backing.

ON GETTING A JOB IN CRYPTO

In this thread, Punk6529 gives tips on how to get a job in crypto. He discourages individuals from jumping into full-time trading as their “job” and instead encourages longer-term investments in the space. He advocates for the “Read, Write, Do” approach to landing a gig in crypto. This allows individuals to dive into the space, understand it, and showcase their understanding, all while maintaining whatever current employment they have.

YELLEN OR TALKIN'?

Janet Yellen may take measures to boost liquidity through issuing short-term Treasury bills, potentially providing a $1 trillion injection to markets. Simultaneously, the Federal Reserve is suggesting rate cuts might occur this year. Stock markets have been rallying, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 reaching new highs. However, Bitcoin's price decline might hint at a possible mini financial crisis if the liquidity provided by the Bank Term Funding Program isn't renewed.

INVESTING AT THE EDGE OF LARGE MARKETS UNDER TRANSFORMATIVE PRESSURE

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Nick Grossman from Union Square Ventures, one of the premier VC funds in crypto, reflects on the firm’s journey from the time of the dot-com bubble to what the internet has become today. Having invested in 14 funds with more than 230 investments across multiple sectors, USV has consistently embraced changes brought on by technology and societal factors.

VALIDATOR CONSOLIDATION IN EIP-7251

EIP-7251, a proposal for Ethereum, aims to increase the max effective balance for validators to 2048 ETH.

CRYPTO’S IDENTITY CRISIS

2023's consumer crypto surge highlighted the unresolved challenge of establishing reliable digital identities as a key bottleneck for the industry's growth.

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FTX SOLD ABOUT $1B OF GRAYSCALE'S BITCOIN ETF, EXPLAINING MUCH OF OUTFLOW

Since converting to an ETF, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust has had over $2 billion in outflows, with the FTX bankruptcy estate accounting for a significant portion of that. Additional outflows have partly been attributed to investors moving to lower-fee alternatives like BlackRock and Fidelity, which have attracted significant inflows. Many were calling for the ETFs to be a “sell the news” event, and it has turned out that way in the short term. However, the downward pressure could ease up now that the FTX estate has fully exited its GBTC positions.

OSL EXECUTIVE SAYS HONG KONG COULD DEBUT SPOT CRYPTO ETF BY MID-YEAR

Hong Kong could see the launch of its first spot crypto ETF by mid-year, according to local crypto exchange OSL. OSL is reportedly in discussions with multiple fund companies, with five firms leading the pack. OSL views this as a way to make it easier for the average person to gain exposure to crypto and to put protections in place to safeguard investors.

NON-FUNGIBLE DAO

Magic Eden is launching Non-Fungible DAO, which aims to facilitate the adoption of NFT commerce protocols. It will own and manage various open-source technologies for NFTs including smart contracts on Solana, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon. The DAO's development and protocols will be governed by the token holders, who will also earn most of the token supply.

RSIC: A PEER-TO-PEER RUNE ALLOCATION SYSTEM

A new project called Rune Coin launched yesterday. Utilizing a peer-to-peer rune allocation system known as RSICs, 21,000 circuits were airdropped to the Ordinals community. RSIC holders can use them to mine runes, sell them on the market, or keep them. RSICs must be activated to begin mining. Rune allocations vary with flat, random, boosted, and halvening distributions. Game rules and updates can be found on Rune Coin's website and Twitter channel.

THE BOOM-BUST SEQUENCE & THE COMPARISON OF NARRATIVE MOMENTUM & PRICE

This thread attempts to explain some important concepts about market cycles using examples from George Soros's "Alchemy of Finance" and Brent Donnelly's "Alpha Trader". The thread goes over Reflexivity, Boom-Bust Sequences, and Narrative Cycles, highlighting their relevance in understanding market trends and behaviors. It also provides tips on how to better interpret market narratives.

DEEP-DIVE ON BTC ETF VOLUME AND FLOWS

This thread aims to debunk current Bitcoin ETF volume and flow narratives. The author points out discrepancies in reported flows due to the settlement mismatch between spot Bitcoin and ETFs. He encourages followers to take a look at the data themselves to understand the actual situation, suggesting that actual Bitcoin ETF inflows are around $1 billion, rather than the figures touted by some news sources and influencers.

OEV: THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN DEFI ORACLES

The use of DeFi Oracles, data providers for decentralized platforms, has been criticized due to high latency periods leading to capital exploitation. Node operators have a window to manipulate price feeds, creating a problem known as Oracle Extractable Value (OEV). Companies like AAVE have experienced ongoing attacks because of OEV. Solutions such as API3's implementation of fair system OEV extraction through order flow auctions offer hope. Decentralized oracles like UMA and API3 are also exploring similar strategies to preserve data integrity.

NEW DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT SEC’S X ACCOUNT HACK, INCLUDING SIM SWAP

The SEC experienced a breach on its X account due to a SIM swap attack where an unauthorized party gained access to the account and published a false post about bitcoin ETFs. The SEC, which had disabled two-factor authentication, regained control of the account and has since re-enabled the security measure. The breach did not impact the SEC's systems or data, but it did cause hundreds of millions of dollars of liquidations across the crypto markets.

DOGECOIN, FLOKI BULLISH BETS RISE ON X PAYMENTS SPECULATION

Dogecoin and Floki saw a 12% surge after rumors of payment integrations into X surfaced. Dogecoin enthusiasts began speculating that their fellow Dogecoin fan, Elon Musk, might include Dogecoin as an option in the future.

8 CURATED LISTS TO CATCH EARLY GEMS

X offers plenty of hidden alpha when used correctly. This post provides eight curated lists of resources and experts in various areas of crypto that can help you stay up to speed in the space.

GLOBAL CRYPTO OWNERS INCREASED 34% TO 580 MILLION BY END OF 2023

In 2023, global crypto ownership rose by 34% to 580 million, with Bitcoin and Ethereum seeing significant growth due in part to developments like Bitcoin ETFs, Ordinals, and Ethereum's Shanghai Upgrade.

TERRAFORM LABS FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY

Terraform Labs, creator of TerraUSD and Luna, officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware, aiming to continue operations and resolve legal issues.

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SEC OPENS COMMENT PERIOD ON PROPOSAL THAT WOULD ALLOW OPTIONS TRADING ON BLACKROCK'S SPOT BITCOIN ETF

The SEC is reportedly seeking public input on a Nasdaq initiative enabling options trading on BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF. Public feedback on the matter is expected within 21 days. The move follows the approval and subsequent launch of several spot Bitcoin ETFs from BlackRock and others.

GRAYSCALE IS SENDING BITCOIN TO COINBASE IN $500 MILLION CLIPS—HERE’S WHY

Grayscale's Bitcoin ETF has been seeing massive outflows, reaching over $2.2 billion last week, causing downward pressure on the crypto market. Analysts suggest that some Grayscale holders are just shifting to the other lower-cost providers, while others are cashing out. Other Bitcoin ETFs are instead seeing inflows, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust recording $1.2 billion in total inflows.

SAGA EXPANDS AIRDROP REWARDS TO SOLANA, POLYGON, AND AVALANCHE GAMES

Saga, an upcoming gaming-focused blockchain, has announced plans to offer play-to-airdrop rewards associated with games on other major blockchains like Solana, Avalanche, and Polygon. The 'Three Kingdoms' campaign will give players on these networks a chance at a share of SAGA tokens set for launch this spring. Games participating in the campaign include Forest Knight, MixMob, and StarHeroes, with other high-profile games set to join in the following weeks.

THE ARBITRUM EXPANSION PROGRAM AND DEVELOPER GUILD

The Arbitrum Foundation, in collaboration with Offchain Labs, is rolling out the Arbitrum Expansion Program, aimed at facilitating the launch of custom Arbitrum Orbit Chains. This initiative, which encourages projects to build their own L2s and L3s with Orbit, allows Arbitrum to accrue value through fee-sharing with its custom chains. Along with this program, the foundation is also launching the Arbitrum Developer Guild to fund Arbitrum development and attract talented dev teams to the platform.

UNDERSTANDING BITCOIN SCALING

The Bitcoin scaling debate that began nine years ago has picked up steam again over the past year. While Bitcoin's lack of complex computation support once limited its uses, the success of Ethereum and Solana have pushed some in the Bitcoin ecosystem to look for solutions that enable use cases like DeFi and NFTs on Bitcoin. However, Bitcoin's scaling attempts, such as Layer 2s, have struggled with adoption challenges. There has been a renewed interest in figuring out how to scale Bitcoin following the Taproot upgrade and the success of Ordinals.

TRADING IN THE DARK: MEASURING REORDERING SLIPPAGE IN MEV

This post dives into reordering slippage on Ethereum, a term for price differences caused by transaction ordering in a block. A study found that this slippage has potentially cost users $9m on Uniswap alone, impacting 72% of all swaps and 92% of larger transactions over $250k. The study also noted that Telegram trading bots had suffered $2m in reordering slippage, indicating a potential risk vector for crypto traders that may not be obvious to most.

DECENTRALIZED AI

The intersection of AI and crypto has come into focus as of late, with centralized AI products like ChatGPT taking the world by storm. This post explains how despite AI's propensity to centralize with more computational strength, decentralization challenges this trend. An increasingly decentralized AI ecosystem could foster collaborative data sharing and mutually beneficial creation of AI models. However, the method and degree of decentralization is a tough problem to solve, with potential downsides being disruption to performance computing and the lack of a truly production-ready decentralized AI model.

DIRECT-TO-CONTRACT INCENTIVES

This thread introduces an innovative approach to network incentives coined Direct-to-Contract Incentives. This methodology aims to address traditional program shortcomings by directly incentivizing on-chain contracts, bypassing bureaucratic inflation, and establishing a permissionless incentives marketplace. Moreover, it offers benefits including easy comparison, streamlined analysis, and accessible public data due to structurally consistent infrastructure.

MANTA NETWORK HIT BY 'DDOS' ATTACK AMID TOKEN ISSUANCE

Manta's token launch faced a DDoS attack, causing slow transactions and high gas fees. However, it still reached a $550 million market cap after the launch.

BATCH TRANSACTIONS FOR EOAS

This post explains how batch transactions for EOAs in Ethereum can enhance security, reduce state growth, and remove intermediaries, improving user experience and efficiency.

DAOS MUST CONFRONT DARK DAOS — OR FALL UNDER THEIR SHADOW

This blog discusses how Dark DAOs, private smart contracts enabling vote-buying in DAOs, pose a significant threat to their decentralization and integrity and suggests urgent countermeasures.

GITCOIN-BACKED LAYER 2 NETWORK PGN IS WINDING DOWN

Ethereum's Gitcoin-backed Public Goods Network is shutting down by mid-2024 due to challenges in user migration and operational costs exceeding its budget.