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BITCOIN STAGES

This timeless thread discusses the four stages of price momentum in Bitcoin’s cycles. There's an accumulation range (no media/max opportunity), directional trend (where trading tends to be most profitable), huge volatility (media frenzy/minimal opportunity), and the final markdown/crash. Too much activity in stages 1, 3, and 4 can lead to significant losses. Traders should focus on directional trends in stage 2 to maximize profits.

SEARCHER-BUILDER RELATIONSHIP DASHBOARD

Bitwise Invest has launched a new public transparency dashboard to identify vertically integrated searcher-builders, like Wintermute, rsync, and others. The investigation was triggered by a curiosity to identify such builders and to examine their likelihood of censoring transactions. The finding reveals no significant correlation, meaning that censorship pressures are common among both integrated and non-integrated builders.

LOVE VS. FAME: A FRAMEWORK FOR SOCIAL APPLICATIONS

This blog post from Variant’s Li Jin discusses the balance between 'love' versus 'fame' on social networks. 'Love' networks center on deepening personal connections, exemplified by platforms like iMessage, WhatsApp, and early Facebook. Conversely, 'fame' networks like TikTok and Instagram aim to help users gain wider reach and focus on content discovery. The post discusses how crypto social networks provide new business models for these established love vs fame frameworks.

BEYOND ZERO-KNOWLEDGE: WHAT’S NEXT IN PROGRAMMABLE CRYPTOGRAPHY?

The future of cryptography may involve programmable solutions that allow for greater flexibility and accessibility for developers. This includes methods like Multi-Party Computation, Fully Homomorphic Encryption, and Indistinguishable Obfuscation. Unlike traditional cryptography, programmable solutions could adapt to nearly any functionality. These techniques might be more theoretical at present, but as they become more practical, they could greatly expand the applications and scope of cryptography, including in the realm of artificial intelligence.

CELSIUS NETWORK PAYMENT PLAN APPROVED BY NEW YORK JUDGE, NOW IT’S UP TO THE SEC

As a part of its bankruptcy plan, Celsius is vying to transition to becoming a creditor-owned bitcoin mining company. This plan was approved by a New York Judge and now has to get the SEC’s approval to become a reality.

CRYPTO VC MAVEN 11 TARGETS $100 MILLION FOR THIRD FUND

Amsterdam-based Maven 11 is aiming to raise $100 million for a new crypto fund, with a third of the funds already committed, focusing on consumer applications in the blockchain space.

ROBLOX CEO HINTS AT NFTS COMING TO THE PLATFORM AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE (1 MINUTE VIDEO)

In an interview on CNBC yesterday, Roblox’s CEO mentioned that NFTs on Roblox are a real possibility at some point and that he sees valid use cases for the company creating NFTs that can be moved off-platform.

BLOCKCHAINS AND THE FUTURE OF AI

This post from Archetype discusses the burgeoning trend of merging AI with blockchain tech and how that may spur innovation. It proposes blockchains as key platforms for AI development due to their collaborative potential.

THE SEC HAS OPENED TALKS WITH GRAYSCALE OVER ITS BID FOR A SPOT BITCOIN ETF CONVERSION

The SEC has reportedly restarted discussions with Grayscale Investments regarding its proposed conversion of its flagship fund into a spot bitcoin ETF. This follows a court ruling requiring the SEC to reconsider Grayscale's application, which is now being reviewed by the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets and the Division of Corporation Finance. The outcome could potentially impact similar applications by BlackRock and Fidelity.

U.S. BILL PROPOSES OUTLAWING GOVERNMENT USE OF CHINA-MADE BLOCKCHAINS AND TETHER'S USDT

US lawmakers have proposed a law preventing federal government officials from transacting with Chinese blockchain companies. This is due to concerns about China's influence in the crypto industry and potential implications for national security and data privacy. The proposal also mandates three key government departments to form a strategy to counteract the risks associated with foreign countries developing blockchain technologies.

NEAR FOUNDATION JOINS CELESTIA IN RACE TO PROVIDE 'DATA AVAILABILITY' FOR ETHEREUM ROLLUPS

The Near Foundation is developing a data availability solution, NEAR DA, designed to ease the data storage load on the Ethereum blockchain. NEAR DA promises to lower costs of posting data on the network, making it significantly cheaper than Ethereum. It functions as an alternative venue for data produced by rapidly growing networks or auxiliary blockchains. Initial users of NEAR DA include Madara by Starknet, Caldera and Movement Labs.

RITUAL: THE CONFLUENCE OF CRYPTO AND AI

Ritual is an innovative platform combining AI and cryptography. The platform, which addresses issues related to current AI infrastructure such as privacy, computational integrity, and censorship resistance, aims to democratize the creation, distribution, and improvement of AI models. The company's overall vision is to become the focal point of AI within the web3 space. In conjunction with this launch, Ritual announced a raise of $25 million led by Archetype.

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BREAKING DOWN THE SUSHI TOKENOMICS

Sushi’s revised tokenomics plan is looking to provide 3 benefits: protocol sustainability, improved token utility, and treasury diversification. Highlights include incentivized long-term lockups yielding greater rewards, NFT trading, dynamic reward adjustments responding to market conditions, and a stable 1.5% APR emission rate. Tier-based rewards and an option to direct incentive distribution were also introduced.

CRYPTO-ENABLED LLMS & WEB3 AI AGENTS

A developer has created an AI using OpenAI and Syndicate's new Transaction Cloud APIs. This AI can conduct crypto/web3 transactions and be used to integrate AI with crypto/web3 in an experiential way. The developer built a game where the AI hides a secret word, and if a user guesses the word correctly, they are awarded with an on-chain NFT. He envisions AI being used for transactions, negotiating deals, creating and selling art among other possibilities. Advancements in AI, coupled with crypto/web3, could have unlimited potential.

GRAYSCALE CHAINLINK TRUST SHARES ROCKET TO 200% PREMIUM

Grayscale's Chainlink Trust shares, GLINK, are trading at a 200% premium over the actual LINK tokens amidst a broader crypto market rally. Some are speculating that this means there is institutional demand for the asset. LINK more than doubled in price over the past three weeks. Grayscale’s GBTC similarly outperformed Bitcoin in recent months.

ARE THERE ACTUAL USE CASES FOR CRYPTO?

Crypto has faced plenty of criticism, but the field holds innovative potential. Some notable achievements include: stablecoins providing stable value storage for people in hyperinflation, decentralized fundraising offering direct ownership stakes, Arweave enabling permanent file storage on the public internet, The Graph providing data query services with cryptographic verifiability, and Filecoin offering a decentralized file-storage service. These developments are just some of the use cases we’ve seen addressed so far in the early stages of this space.

12 BITCOIN ETFS HAVE 'BRIEF WINDOW' FOR SEC APPROVAL STARTING TOMORROW

This article outlines the SEC approval window and how that could mean the approval of pending Bitcoin ETFs between Nov. 8 and Nov. 17.

BINANCE UNVEILS SELF-CUSTODY WEB3 WALLET

Binance has launched a self-custody web3 wallet integrated directly into the platform, simplifying access to non-custodial web3 services for its users.

HSBC TO LAUNCH STORAGE SERVICES FOR TOKENIZED SECURITIES AS MORE BIG BANKS WARM TO BLOCKCHAIN

HSBC is launching custody services for tokenized securities, responding to growing demand for these types of assets and following other major banks in the RWA trend.

USDC ISSUER CIRCLE MULLING IPO IN EARLY 2024

Circle, the second largest stablecoin issuer, is considering an IPO in early 2024 amidst improving market conditions in the space. This comes on the heels of crypto exchange Coinbase acquiring a stake in Circle. The plans also come during debates on the need for stablecoin regulation in the US. Currently, USDC has a market cap of $24.43 billion, while Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, has a market cap of $86 billion.

KRAKEN LOOKING TO ‘SOLVE’ INDUSTRY CHALLENGES AMID LAYER-2 RUMORS

Crypto exchange Kraken is reportedly exploring introducing an L2 solution similar to the Base network developed by its rival Coinbase. This speculation came after a job listing was posted by Kraken for a senior cryptography engineer who would oversee the design and execution of cryptographic protocols and "layer-2 solutions”. The company has yet to confirm whether it is actually working on an L2 network or not.

THE GRAPH SET TO ROLL OUT NEW BLOCKCHAIN DATA SERVICES, INCLUDING AI-ASSISTED QUERYING

The Graph, a blockchain data indexing and query protocol, is launching a new suite of tools to aid in web3 development. These tools will enable advanced data streaming services, AI-assisted querying, new query languages, and verifiable data. The "New Era" aims to improve its data services, augment tooling, improve performance, and reduce costs. The Graph will also offer a solution for accessing historical data on the Ethereum blockchain once EIP-4444 is implemented.

NEW ETHEREUM ROLLUP TAKES A ZERO-KNOWLEDGE APPROACH TO SHARDING

The Nil Foundation has launched zkSharding for Ethereum, a scaling solution engineered to speed up transaction processing while enhancing the network's economic security. The technology utilizes zero-knowledge proofs to verify the validity of transactions across different layer-2 shards before their submission to the Ethereum mainnet. As stated by Nil Foundation's CEO Misha Komarov, zkSharding is expected to particularly benefit high-load and data-intensive environments.

SLOWMIST LEARNING ROADMAP FOR BECOMING A SMART CONTRACT AUDITOR

SlowMist, a blockchain security company, has published a detailed roadmap for training smart contract security auditors. The roadmap covers topics from blockchain basics to complex DeFi protocol analysis and includes advanced skills like EVM research. It also presents some of the non-technical skills that are necessary to become a successful auditor.

REMOVING WEB3’S FRICTION: PT.1 PROGRESSIVE ONBOARDING AND GAMES

This article dives into the ideal User Experience for web3 and crypto games, drawing upon practices in mainstream games for pointers. The author shares lessons from the mobile game 'Marvel Snap', such as letting users try your product first, simplifying gameplay, focusing on progression, and only introducing administrative tasks once user buy-in is achieved for a highly efficient onboarding process.

ZKPS, SIGINT, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE

In the context of warfare, allegations of treaty breaches can escalate conflicts. Intelligence that could clarify these situations is often too sensitive to publicize. Zero Knowledge Proofs could potentially solve this issue by allowing intelligence to be proven without giving away sensitive information. Utilizing this technology on the battlefield could help minimize conflict expansion by providing evidence without exposing important details.

REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST AND FUTURE OF REAL-WORLD ASSETS FROM MAKERDAO

Centrifuge and MakerDAO have focused on bringing real-world assets as collateral for its decentralized stablecoin, Dai. They have established a system to connect smart contracts with regulated financial assets after facing significant legal hurdles. Centrifuge built legal structures to execute DAO's on-chain resolutions, orchestrated a transparent and real-time financial overview, and broadened public oversight. Despite some progress, significant challenges remain in the development of RWAs.

LARGE FIAT-BACKED STABLECOINS DEPEGGED 600+ TIMES IN 2023

Moody's Analytics has launched an AI tool, Digital Asset Monitor, to assess risks in DeFi by tracking stablecoin volatility. It reported 609 large cap depegs in the past year.

SK TELECOM TO INTRODUCE NEW WEB3 WALLET IN COLLABORATION WITH APTOS AND ATOMRIGS LAB

SK Telecom is partnering with Aptos and Atomrigs Lab to launch 'T Wallet,' aiming to boost crypto and NFT adoption in South Korea.

THE POST-MINT PROBLEM

Consumer NFT projects often neglect post-mint utility, focusing instead on scarcity. NFT projects need scalable, utility-focused models to enhance user engagement and value.

ROBINHOOD TO EXPAND CRYPTO TRADING INTO EU, PLANS TO START UK BROKERAGE

Robinhood is expanding its crypto trading arm in the EU and UK, despite regulatory changes and a significant drop in its crypto revenue.

CELSIUS WINNER PROOF GROUP IS IN RUNNING TO RELAUNCH FTX, SOURCES SAY

Proof Group, a firm that was involved in the successful Celsius bid, is also bidding to relaunch FTX, which collapsed almost a year ago. The defunct exchange has received several bids, now down to a shortlist of three. The final decision is anticipated by mid-December, with options including selling the entire exchange or partnering with another exchange to utilize existing user accounts. Restructuring FTX has been a meticulous process, involving the addressing of issues such as claims, token lockups, and compliance matters.

FCA DISCUSSION PAPER ADVANCES UK STABLECOIN FRAMEWORK

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has continued to work on regulations for fiat-backed stablecoins, including those issued outside the UK. In a recent paper, the FCA highlighted the potential of stablecoins for efficient payments, but also noted previous crypto custody failures such as Celsius and FTX. The regulator proposed requirements for issuing fiat-backed stablecoins and custody activities. The FCA also suggested that issuers should guarantee specific redemption timeframes for users.

THE EDGE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

This article outlines "Edge," a new programming language for the Ethereum Virtual Machine. The author describes various shortcomings in the current dominant language, Solidity, and explains how Edge could offer more developer control, clearer abstractions, and promote emergent structures over imposed ones. Edge aims to redefine the abstraction stack by combining the flexibility of low-level languages like Huff and ETK with high-level type systems, opening up new possibilities in smart contract development.

BASEFOLD: EFFICIENT FIELD-AGNOSTIC POLYNOMIAL COMMITMENT SCHEMES FROM FOLDABLE CODES (1 HOUR READ)

BaseFold is a system that leverages Foldable Linear Codes for an enhanced approach to Polynomial Commitment Schemes. Offering a more balanced tradeoff between prover time, proof size, and verifier time, BaseFold outperforms other systems like FRI and Brakedown on varying metrics based on the complexity of the polynomials. It maintains performance across a wider variety of field choices and allows for faster prover times in specific applications.

10 GREAT CRYPTO CHART/DATA POSTERS YOU SHOULD BE FOLLOWING

This thread lists 10 crypto-chart and data accounts you should be following. The recommendations cover different areas of crypto, from trading to trend analysis to macro outlooks. Following these accounts can help you get a better picture of all the different factors affecting the crypto landscape. The thread even includes a bonus account for you to follow.

HOT NARRATIVES: OTC CRYPTO TRADING WITH OT SEA

OT Sea, a platform facilitating P2P OTC trading within the crypto market, is becoming a popular alternative for traders seeking to avoid the pitfalls of liquidity pools. It offers solutions for issues such as token taxes, whale tracking, and low liquidity risks. It also has features such as Mini-Markets and MEV Protection that are aimed at enhancing trading capabilities and user safety. OT Sea has gained traction lately, growing 10x in the past week.

ON PFP NFTS

This thread provides an interesting viewpoint on PFP NFTs and how they have fared throughout the bear market and this recent uptrend. To this user’s surprise, PFP NFTs have rebounded more than expected as the broader crypto market has seen an upturn. He lays out some reasons why established PFPs seem to be showing strength: no viable alternatives were launched during the bear market, the liquidity within existing collections acts as a moat, and collection holders have built personal brands on top of existing PFP NFTs and are hesitant to make changes if they have gained traction with that brand.

EYES AND ORDERS: ON CRYPTO FRONT-ENDS

This article discusses the potential for web3 front-ends to become highly valuable businesses, particularly over the next few years. It emphasizes the significance of proprietary AI, orderflow auctions, and branding in building a strong front-end presence. Frontend businesses that can successfully leverage these elements, specifically those targeted at the retail market, will be able to monetize both their user traffic and their orderflows effectively, potentially making them some of the most valuable entities in web3.

SEC HAVING TROUBLE RECRUITING CRYPTO TALENT

The biggest challenges facing the SEC were analyzed in a recent report from the Office of the Inspector General of the SEC. These include issues around recruiting crypto talent due to SEC employees not being able to hold any cryptocurrencies.

THIS ALL FEELS LIKE NOVEMBER 2019

This post outlines some thoughts on how the market conditions right now in crypto seem to mirror those that existed in November 2019. It explains how asset declines are expected to spark rate cuts and stimulus leading to a subsequent bull run.

EXPLORING PATHS TO A DECENTRALIZED, CENSORSHIP-RESISTANT, AND NON-PREDATORY MEV ECOSYSTEM

This post outlines proposed changes to FastLane on Polygon, which currently mitigates MEV issues like sandwich attacks and centralizes profits to validators but risks stake centralization.

FTX WANTS TO SELL ITS GBTC

FTX is seeking court approval to sell $744 million in trust assets to aid in creditor repayments and streamline the sale process amidst bankruptcy proceedings.

HONG KONG MULLS ALLOWING SPOT CRYPTO ETFS IN PURSUIT OF ASIA HUB

Hong Kong is considering the possibility of permitting ETFs that invest directly into cryptocurrencies. This move, which would be aimed at retail investors, comes as officials aim to make the city the main digital-asset hub in the Asia-Pacific region. Securities and Futures Commission CEO, Julia Leung, stated that proposals that utilize innovative tech to enhance efficiency and customer experience are welcome, provided new risks are adequately addressed.

OPENSEA SLASHES NFT MARKETPLACE STAFF BY 50%

OpenSea confirmed a reduction of 50% of its total workforce as part of structural and operational changes. The goal of this move is to establish a more streamlined version of the OpenSea platform. CEO Devin Finzer shared the company's revised goal to lead and innovate in the space while launching an upgraded version of its platform.

BORED APE CREATOR YUGA LABS AND MAGIC EDEN LAUNCHING ETHEREUM NFT MARKETPLACE THAT ENFORCES ROYALTIES

Magic Eden announced plans to launch a new Ethereum-based marketplace with Yuga Labs by the end of the year. The platform will use smart contracts to ensure creator royalties are honored during secondary market sales. This development comes in response to some platforms failing to honor creator fees as NFT sales took a major hit over the past year. With this move, Magic Eden reaffirmed its commitment to supporting creators and addressing potential loopholes in their new solution.

BUTTER FINANCE: THE PREMIER DECENTRALIZED META-GOVERNANCE AND YIELD-BOOSTING PLATFORM FOR PANCAKESWAP’S UPCOMING VECAKE MODEL

DeFi platform Butter Finance is set to enhance yield and governance for PancakeSwap’s upcoming veCAKE model. Butter Finance aims to serve a large, diverse international user base, facilitating sophisticated liquidity strategies and lucrative protocol access. Its function is to aggregate veCAKE and democratize the reward boost across liquidity providers, which will result in more CAKE being locked and optimally allocated. Butter will launch with support from multiple well-known DeFi stakeholders.