Zodia Custody, a crypto storage provider backed by Standard Chartered, is joining Metaco's network, a settlement and safekeeping infrastructure provider for digital assets. The partnership aims to offer global sub-custody, where one institution uses another to hold its assets. Hailed as the "third generation of crypto custody," this move is part of an emerging trend towards improved counterparty risk management in the crypto space.
Crypto.com obtained authorization as an Electronic Money Institution from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority. The license allows the platform to issue electronic money and provide financial services, joining the ranks of other crypto firms like Coinbase and Gemini. This aligns with Crypto.com's extensive efforts to secure compliance registrations globally, aiming to expand its product offerings amid increased scrutiny on the crypto industry.
French bank Societe Generale has issued its first green bond on Ethereum valued at approximately $10.8 million with a three-year maturity. Issued by the bank's crypto team, the tokenized bond offers greater transparency and traceability of transactions, including carbon footprint data. The bank is seemingly expanding its interests in digital assets as previously seen with their plans for an Ethereum-based euro-pegged stablecoin.
Mantle, an Ethereum L2 project with a $2.3 billion treasury, has launched its new liquid staking protocol, Mantle LSP. The protocol, the second core product in the Mantle ecosystem, allows users to stake their ETH to receive $mETH tokens, which they can use to earn yield. The main Mantle Network, which was launched in July, currently holds over $220 million in deposits.
This post gives a good introduction to Celestia, a recently launched modular blockchain, making waves with its unique design and functionality. Celestia is a first-of-its-kind modular blockchain network, designed for scalability and flexibility, utilizing Cosmos SDK and Tendermint consensus. It optimizes for data availability and supports diverse applications, including DeFi, through its unique architecture and innovative use cases like rollups and decentralized sequencers.
2023.12.05·cryptopragmatist.com·10 min read·TLDR Crypto This guide breaks down zero-knowledge proofs for beginners. ZKPs allow a party to prove knowledge of a secret without sharing it. Its two key benefits in blockchain tech are offering privacy in open networks and reducing computational load on the network. Despite being relatively complex, ZKPs are being leveraged for a wide range of use cases, applications, and protocols.
This blog post explains how putting data or resources on-chain can reveal patterns of user behavior across time and applications. This aggregated metadata, or metagraph, allows for expanded consumer engagement, from identifying superusers to creating more personalized experiences. These benefits give on-chain apps advantages and use cases that off-chain apps could never have.
2023.12.05·backoftheenvelope.substack.com·8 min read·TLDR Crypto This analysis delves into the cyclicality of the crypto market, focusing on Bitcoin. The current cycle, which is the sixth, has been ongoing for just over a year. The market seems to be in the middle phase of a median-duration bull cycle, if it follows similar patterns from the past. The current Bitcoin cycle has been relatively smooth in comparison to previous cycles, though it's likely to see at least 10 more corrections before reaching the cycle's peak if the past is a guide. The post also dives into some of the other factors affecting the Bitcoin cycle and crypto cycles in general.
This post delves into how crypto is evolving towards modular architectures, with examples in Cosmos and Ethereum, where separate trust networks and middleware like oracles and indexing enhance functionality and interoperability.
Jito announced details around user eligibility for its airdrop, giving a detailed description of the different tiers and token allocations users can expect.
This thread gives a good overview of what is going on with stablecoins, often a leading indicator for the market, and even breaks the flows down by ecosystem.
Alex Masmej, CEO of Showtime Technologies, was recently given a scare when FBI agents reached him by phone. He later found out he was the target of a sophisticated cybercrime attack. Masmej provides some helpful suggestions and takeaways from the experience in this thread.
A US judge issued a warning of possible sanctions against attorneys from the SEC, accusing them of making "false and misleading" arguments to freeze the assets of a cryptocurrency firm Debt Box. The judge stated that SEC's misrepresentations caused "irreparable harm" and undermined the integrity of the case. This came after Debt Box proved it hadn't moved funds abroad.
The Starknet Foundation has addressed rumors about an upcoming airdrop following the leak of two screenshots revealing early draft plans. The foundation confirmed that the eligibility cutoff date for the airdrop is already set and further actions will not affect users’ eligibility for the airdrop. As previously announced, the airdrop is part of a community reward linked to the issuance of 10 billion STRK tokens.
Paradigm and crypto data companies partnered up to launch the Advent of Crypto Data Calendar. Throughout Advent, each participating company will roll out a new launch or feature on one of these days. Information about each day's featured project can be found on the calendar, including links to the announcement and company info.
2023.12.04·paradigmxyz.github.io·GitHub repository·TLDR Crypto The Frax Core Team is developing a trustless leveraging primitive called BAMM, a Borrow AMM. The system allows users to leverage any token, without requiring oracles. The tool enables borrowing from an LP pool securely and caters to multiple parts of The DeFi Trinity. It works by maintaining its solvency and not accruing bad debt. BAMM is launching exclusively on Fraxchain in early 2024.
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This article analyzes the need for Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation in the Ethereum network to combat centralization issues. It also explores various design proposals for implementing ePBS, including the Two-slot PBS, Payload-timeliness Committee, and protocol-enforced proposer commitments approaches. Also discussed are future proposed changes to Ethereum that ePBS needs to account for, along with general challenges and concerns for the design.
This thread provides a comprehensive guide on how to efficiently use DEX swaps for the best returns. It recommends using a DEX aggregator like 1inch or DefiLlama and recommends measures against MEV such as using a Flashbots RPC. The author also stresses the importance of finding the best pools and utilizing services like Gashawk to save on transaction fees. There are ancillary benefits to consider like using DEX aggregators that have airdrops on the horizon.
This thread discusses the inherent differences and issues in Ethereum and Solana's tech and economic models. It mentions Solana's focus on better scaling by shifting costs onto dapp teams rather than users, contrasting with Ethereum's user-centered cost model. The thread also touches on decentralization, security concerns, and the implications of Solana's smart contract model. It concludes by questioning both networks' efficacy in maintaining autonomy and resisting censorship.
This blog lays out a thesis for Celestia, a new blockchain scaling technology, promising enhanced performance via modular blockchains. Its utility token, TIA, serves multiple purposes including Proof of Stake and gas payment, driving security, and rollup creation. The model is expected to provide hundreds of rollups using Celestia, forming a scalable ecosystem. Finally, Celestia has the potential to become a leading force in data availability, which may put pressure on other rollup frameworks including Optimism, Arbitrum, and Polygon.
With the bitcoin ETF approval windows coming up and anticipation around those approvals mounting, this article lays out some of the key dates you should be looking out for over the next several weeks.
This thread provides an example of a company, EZKL, integrating Icicle GPU acceleration into their ZKML system to increase efficiency. It achieved a 98% reduction in MSM times and 35% in total proof time.
This blog focuses on improving understanding of finality in rollups, emphasizing the strongest confirmation rule against double-spend attacks, and addressing complexities in rollup confirmation rules.
In a recent interview, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong confirmed that the company had no plans to launch a token for its L2 network Base, focusing instead on its integration and growth with a variety of protocols.
Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy announced it has bought an additional 16,130 bitcoins for $593.3 million, its biggest purchase in over two years. This brings the company’s total holdings to 174,540 bitcoins. The firm has announced plans to potentially raise an extra $750 million by selling new Class A common stock to buy more bitcoin. The company's average price per bitcoin in this purchase was $36,785.
The Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association has proposed creating an ICO portal for the city. ICOs emerged as a fundraising method after Ethereum launched in 2015 but later faced a crackdown due to violations of securities rules. Given the shifting market sentiment and the competition amongst cities to become crypto hubs, some jurisdictions are reconsidering their harsh stances on ICOs.
Crypto trading platform Talos is set to offer its clients access to Uniswap, marking its first foray into sourcing liquidity from a DeFi exchange. This move also signifies the first enterprise API integration for Uniswap Labs, enabling more comprehensive liquidity access for institutional investors on Talos, even for lesser-known projects, and deeper liquidity for major assets like ETH.
Rarible's nonprofit arm, the RARI Foundation, has launched a beta for a new blockchain, RARI Chain, which is an EVM chain that has royalties directly integrated. Built on Arbitrum, RARI Chain is designed to become an NFT infrastructure solution. This development aligns with Rarible’s recent focus on royalty enforcement, which has set it apart from marketplaces that don't support or enforce royalties.
Social media platforms, traditionally based on commercial motives, have greatly dampened the expected participatory culture on the internet. However, decentralized and alternative social media platforms may offer a return to a democratic cultural production online, where data is user-controlled, community-driven, and innovation is open source. This post highlights some of the similarities and differences between existing decentralized social protocols.
While November was a mostly positive month in terms of price for crypto assets, the Flipside Crypto Economy Snapshot revealed a more mixed performance, with DEX transaction volumes showing instability due to SEC actions on Binance and Kraken and ETF-related rumors. Despite a 20% drop from the month's start, there was a 13% growth in TVL across the board. This overview of the crypto economy shows Ethereum L2s outperforming direct competitors in new smart contract deployments.
2023.12.01·data.flipsidecrypto.com·7 min read·TLDR Crypto The hacker behind the KyberSwap hack that resulted in a loss of $48 million has come back to the table and demanded complete control of the DEX. In an unusual move, the hacker demanded all company documentation, control over the KyberDAO, and forfeiture of all assets. They have also proposed structural changes, promising to double employees' salaries and refund 50% of market-making losses. The hacker has given a deadline of December 10 for these demands to be met.
Fxhash, a popular generative art platform on Tezos, is expanding to Ethereum and launching its 2.0 product. The platform advocates for openness and acceptance, allowing any generative artist to readily customize and release their works, differing from the selection process of other platforms that it will be competing with on Ethereum.
AntPool plans to refund an accidental $3 million Bitcoin transaction fee by verifying the claimant through a signing tool like Electrum or Bitcoin Core.
This blog post articulates how the success of a crypto ecosystem hinges on three key elements: technical innovation, token minting opportunities, and captivating storytelling, crucial for evaluating and sustaining a project's potential.
This report reveals that approximately 75.5% of web3 games, or 2,127 out of 2,817, have failed in the last five years, with an average annual failure rate of 80.8%.
Controversy arose yesterday as it came to light that DraftKings had received preferential treatment, being compensated millions of MATIC tokens to run a validator that allegedly did not even work.
Grayscale is updating its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, marking the first modification of the trust since 2018, in preparation for a potential transition to a spot bitcoin ETF. The changes include a daily fee payment structure and the option for assets to be blended in an account for easy share creation and redemption. Experts are suggesting that this is yet another sign that the spot bitcoin ETF applications from Grayscale and others will be approved.
The Abu Dhabi-based M2 Exchange has launched a token called MMX that is tied to M2 Global Wealth Limited, giving rise to speculations of a possible tokenized equity platform being approved in Abu Dhabi. There are questions about its business structure as it has entities regulated both in Abu Dhabi and the Bahamas. However, Abu Dhabi's new legislation reflects a desire to make the city into a crypto hub, and allowing for tokenized equity like this thread suggests would set the region apart.
Sei is planning a major upgrade to the chain, intending to create the first fully parallelized EVM. Known as Sei v2, the upgrade will allow the Sei network to maintain its rapid block finalization and transaction rate while adding support for EVM smart contracts. This means developers can implement already-audited smart contracts from EVM-compatible blockchains without changing their code. The upgrade is expected to be released on testnet in Q1 2024.
Republic has announced its plans to list its profit-sharing digital asset, the Republic Note, on INX’s US-regulated trading platform. This listing could be a transformative step towards making private market investments more accessible to investors worldwide. The Republic Note grants access to gains from Republic’s broad venture portfolio which includes over 750 private companies.
Portalcoin is aiming to revolutionize the web3 gaming space by introducing a universal gaming coin across multiple blockchains. Its initiative includes a Portal Wallet that will enable easy cross-chain gaming and it has partnered with over 200 games. You can farm Portalcoin through social media engagement. Gamers can use the coin for in-game purchases, governance, staking, buying NFTs, and purchasing nodes.
This thread analyzes and compares the performances of three crypto casino tokens: $RLB, $BCB, and $KNK. The analysis is based on the volumes/revenues of each token's respective product. According to this analysis, $RLB has been the best performer, with its current market cap sitting at $500m and an approximate 20% monthly growth rate. $BCB and $KNK have shown less promising growth rates, with $KNK recently experiencing a steep decline.
This article debates the necessity of a stablecoin for a robust monetary system, challenging the common belief that market-based cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin could fulfill this role. The author suggests a simplified monetary system, maintaining price stability with optimal interest rates, rather than attempting to create a stablecoin pegged to purchasing power. Establishing a native unit of account with a controlled monetary policy might be more beneficial than launching yet another stablecoin effort.
This older thread goes over the concept of real estate and how it isn’t actually that different from digital ownership. Punk 6529 likens the process of buying property - acquiring title deeds and registering at the county office - with owning an NFT, asserting that both are symbolic of digital or physical ownership respectively and are only a social convention. NFTs are as secure as physical property and can be enforced with math instead of just physical force.
The US Treasury Department is seeking more authority to fight digital asset misuse in illicit finance, proposing sanctions and updating anti-terrorism finance laws.
Genesis Global and DCG are nearing a settlement in a complex bankruptcy case involving payments of over $500 million in cash and Bitcoin.
The FBI and Dutch authorities seized Sinbad, a crypto mixer used by North Korean hackers and cybercriminals, following a Treasury Department sanction.
Binance is ending support for the BUSD stablecoin on Dec 15, following US authorities' order to Paxos to stop issuing the token.