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Active open source crypto developers have nearly halved since January 2022, reaching a low since 2020, per data from Andreessen Horowitz and Electric Capital, but this may not be an accurate depiction of real activity in the space.
A scammer stole $385,000 in Ether within 24 hours via SIM-swap hacks targeting Friend.tech users, highlighting security vulnerabilities and prompting calls for enhanced safety measures.
Hasu made a proposal for Lido’s governance DAO to lay out short and long-term goals and considerations for decentralization that should be incorporated into those goals.
FTX co-founder Gary Wang revealed that Alameda had access to a $65B credit line, which allowed it to easily misuse FTX customer funds.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced it would be rolling out new blockchain-enabled features to improve operational efficiency on Stock Connect, an arm of HKEX that gives international investors access to mainland China equities. The product HKEX is rolling out to accomplish this is called “Synapse”. Synapse will be used to track and record the settlement of trades on Stock Connect, which should help make the process of recording trade settlement, a slow and complicated process, much more efficient.
Anchorage Digital has partnered with cryptocurrency SMA platform Eaglebrook Advisors to streamline financial advisors' access to regulated crypto investments. The collaboration fulfills the SEC’s definition of a “qualified custodian” for safeguarding client assets, which enables asset managers to launch their SMA strategies on Anchorage Digital. The move is timely following the SEC's custody proposal and the industry’s exploration of spot crypto ETFs.
OpenSea, once the largest NFT marketplace in the crypto ecosystem, has faced challenging times after being unseated by rival marketplace Blur last year. In addition to dwindling secondary trading volume, the company has also seen diminished usage of its minting feature over time. In response to this and the success of other minting platforms like Zora, OpenSea has launched a “no-code” studio, enabling creators to set up and drop an NFT collection on their choice of supported chains without any technical experience or third-party assistance.
Former Resy and Eater Co-Founder Ben Leventhal is looking to revolutionize loyalty programs with his new restaurant loyalty platform, Blackbird. Blackbird, fresh off a $24m Series A funding round led by a16z, offers restaurateurs creative ways to reward their most loyal patrons via paid memberships, merch, and earned perks. The company is incorporating crypto into the platform with its own cryptocurrency that can be used to buy items from participating restaurants. Only a few months in, Blackbird is off to a hot start: it has raised a total of $35m, put together a team of 20 employees, and has signed 80 restaurants onto the platform.
NFTs as we know them have mostly been static collectors’ items, but developers are beginning to experiment with NFTs whose properties can change. Called Dynamic NFTs, they rely on algorithmic or user-based input to change. Their potential uses range from gaming and art to avatar creation and brand engagement. However, questions of practical implementation remain.
Synthetix's Perps V3 Testnet Competition, currently underway, is not only testing features of the perpetual futures market but also a new pattern for consuming oracle data, ERC-7412. This pattern creates a pull oracle system that allows secure, signed, off-chain data to be consumed on-demand for time-sensitive operations like trade prices. Some technical considerations are still being ironed out. This blog post walks through what price oracles are, some of the precursors to this new standard, and how this new standard works.
Hong Kong-based crypto venture firm, CMCC Global, has raised $100 million for a new venture, Titan Fund, that targets Asian crypto startups. More than 30 investors, including Winklevoss Capital, Jebsen Capital, and Block.one participated. The fund will provide equity investment in early-stage crypto startups, prioritizing the Hong Kong market. It has already made five investments, including in Hong Kong companies Mocaverse and Terminal 3.
This article explores the ongoing debate on monolithic versus modular blockchain technologies. Both technologies will likely find success, offering different benefits for various uses. Monolithic chains will be suitable for universal applications and attract users with in-built features and cheaper costs. On the other hand, modular chains provide more control and customization, likely attracting 'superapps'. This could mean there could be one dominant monolithic chain for general use and an interoperable ecosystem of modular chains for specific use cases.
This thread offers practical advice for struggling founders to navigate financial challenges by either attempting to sell the company or raise a round of funding.
This article goes into deep detail about some of the fraudulent activity occurring in Eastern European countries by “crypto” companies.
This thread explains how NFTs as we know them are like 90s websites but are evolving to resemble modern apps with enhanced functionality. In the future, NFTs will interlink on-chain objects, which could enhance the overall blockchain experience.
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A US federal judge rejected the SEC appeal against a judgment that favored crypto firm Ripple Labs. According to the judge, the SEC failed to prove that there was a problem with the initial decision in the case. For context, the court had previously ruled against the categorization of Ripple's cryptocurrency token sale as an illegally unregistered securities offering. The SEC can still appeal following the case's formal conclusion next April.
Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius has laid out revised plans to exit bankruptcy with $450 million in fresh funding from Fahrenheit LLC to kick off the restart. The relaunched company could then work as a "user-owned Bitcoin miner", aiming to begin repayments to users by the end of 2023. The recovery plan still needs approval from securities regulators and the bankruptcy judge. It could face opposition from some creditors who believe the new firm is overvalued.
Nova Labs, the team behind the Helium wireless network, is releasing at-home hotspots in Miami with a price tag of $250. The new hotspot rigs are part of Helium's strategy to increase data usage on Helium hotspots in the place of regular cellular data usage from providers like T-Mobile.
The OP Stack has launched its first fault proof system on the OP Goerli Testnet. The system is made up of a Fault Proof Program, a Fault Proof Virtual Machine, and a dispute game protocol, all designed to secure the network and ensure trust. The hope is that a robust fault proof system will enhance security across all OP Chains and OP Stack chains.
Longtime crypto Investor Ben Jacobs reveals his five main lessons from crypto fund investing. He emphasizes that managing risk is crucial due to liquid tokens, warns about alpha decay due to crypto's relatively small market cap, and points out that many funds fail. He highlights that fund structure plays a key role and ends on a positive note indicating that the possible returns in the current climate have never been better.
This post goes over Arbitrum grant proposals and discusses the merits of 7 different projects that applied. Four categories of grants were listed, with each category having different requirements. These applications came on the heels of Arbitrum’s announcement that it would be funding projects in the ecosystem with 50 million ARB.
This blog post discusses FriendTech and describes it as a platform that seems to transform the concept of social signaling by showcasing personal value and reputation in a quantifiable manner. Users are encouraged to engage in genuine positive behavior and discourage fraud, with implications of a reputational game. Overall, FriendTech could become a significant social layer and leaderboard, evolving into a protocol for online reputation management.
Crypto-friendly congressman, Patrick T. McHenry, is temporarily taking over as Speaker of the House following the removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy from his leadership role. McHenry, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, has previously helped advance bills to regulate cryptocurrency. This development could be a positive for crypto regulation while McHenry maintains it, but it is uncertain how long he will remain in the position.
The SEC opposed Coinbase's motion to dismiss its case, repeating old, unsupported claims that Coinbase listed unregistered securities, a claim that Coinbase continues to refute.
Anthropic, one of the companies FTX/Alameda invested in, recently announced it was seeking a $20-$30 billion valuation, which would raise FTX/Alameda’s stake from a $500 million valuation to $3-$4.5 billion.
Take-Two's Zynga, who developed blockchain game "Sugartown," launched its first NFT collection in September and generated over $5 million in trading volume from these NFTs in the first month.
Jump Trading lost nearly $300 million with FTX's collapse, according to Michael Lewis’ new book, ‘Going Infinite’. This is just one of the many interesting details coming to light in the book about FTX and those who worked with FTX.
UBS has initiated a live pilot of a tokenized money market fund on Ethereum through Project Guardian, an industry initiative led by Singapore's Monetary Authority. As part of UBS's exploration of tokenizing funds, this pilot will allow the testing of on-chain fund activities. It is aimed at improving market liquidity and access for clients. Following the pilot, UBS plans to explore various investment strategies with a wider set of partners.
Several previously announced Ether futures ETFs went live yesterday. The ETFs give institutions a way to have exposure to Ethereum, similar to how the Bitcoin futures ETFs pioneered this for Bitcoin. The Ether futures products include offerings from BitWise and ProShares with varying expense ratios. The launches generated some excitement but were ultimately lackluster, garnering about as much volume as any new ETF does.
Chainlink's new product, Data Streams, is now available on Arbitrum. Data Streams enhance speed and improve the user experience of derivative products by using low-latency market data and automated execution. With its 'pull-based' data oracle solution, this product aims to reduce network delay issues common in distributed networks.
ZeroSync has built the first client system for Bitcoin using Stark’s proof-based technology, Starkware. Employing zero-knowledge proofs, a cryptographic method enabling truth verification without revealing extra data, ZeroSync obviates the need for Bitcoin users to download the entire blockchain or rely on a third party. This development could help address Bitcoin's slow transaction speeds and network congestion challenges while increasing privacy and scalability.
This thread highlights a three-phase method for profit-taking in crypto, using the example of FET coin. The steps include identifying the market structure, applying Fibonacci retracement, and executing a strict selling plan. The method is designed to help traders lock in profits, reduce risk, and promote disciplined trading.
Discord servers are one of the most common attack vectors that hackers target when going after projects. If hackers are able to gain access to a project’s discord server, they then have access to the project’s community and can use that access to trick users into sending them funds. This post provides a guide to setting your servers up securely to protect your project and your community.
Author Michael Lewis has drawn criticism from both the TradFi and crypto communities alike for his portrayal of FTX and its infamous founder Sam Bankman-Fried ahead of his trial. The comments, made during an interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes, have been described by finance expert Sean Tuffy as potentially damaging as he saw FTX as a good business and seemed sympathetic to SBF and FTX.
Coinbase has been granted a significant regulatory license - the Major Payment Institution license - by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This authorization signifies the end of the company's licensing journey in Singapore and allows Coinbase to offer a broader range of services to customers in the country. This is yet another success abroad for Coinbase as it continues to battle with regulators in the United States.
This article lists the most active crypto venture investors across the globe ranked by deal count. Coinbase Ventures and NGC Ventures topped the list with 372 and 271 investments respectively.
Q3 2023 saw a 59% YoY increase in crypto fraud losses totaling $685.5 million, with two large hacks accounting for nearly half of that.
PayPal filed a patent for an "NFT purchase and transfer system" to facilitate off-chain transactions in NFT marketplaces. Yet another step into the crypto ecosystem for the traditional payments company.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's trial starts today. This article gives you all the context you need to keep up with the case.
VanEck is planning to launch an Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) and has committed to donating 10% of its profits to Protocol Guild for at least a decade. Protocol Guild is a funding mechanism that supports the maintenance and development of Ethereum's core protocol. The company says this donation is both a recognition of Ethereum builders' contribution and an investment in its future adoption.
The SEC has delayed decisions on proposed spot Bitcoin ETFs from WisdomTree, VanEck, and Fidelity, requesting further input. At this point, there is a 21-day public comment period with an additional 35-day rebuttal period, indicating that the approval process may extend for several more months. The SEC is also seeking fresh perspectives on a proposed surveillance-sharing agreement with crypto exchange Coinbase. This follows similar delays for proposals from BlackRock, Invesco, Valkyrie, and Bitwise.
Circle Research has released Perimeter Protocol, an open-source tool for building credit applications. The Solidity-based contracts powering this protocol enable loan management and delegation. Perimeter offers integration with open identity standards, as well as a variety of credit tools without a need for protocol tokens.
Rome Protocol plans to utilize Solana as a shared sequencer network for Ethereum rollups, offering improved speed, interoperability, and efficiency for cross-rollup transactions. Leveraging Solana's strengths will assist with atomic composability, enabling smooth bridging and arbitrage operations while maintaining identical rollup states. Using Solana should also improve MEV searching and handle the fragmented liquidity issue in the rollup ecosystem.
This post from Vitalik Buterin talks about the tradeoffs of ‘enshrining’ more features into Ethereum. While enshrining features can help avoid centralization risks, complicating the base layer can result in systemic risks. Buterin argues that developers need to consider whether the trust and governance load of a particular new feature will weaken Ethereum's credible neutrality and increase complexity.
This thread explains how some innovative solutions for gas market challenges are being developed to address challenges in the space. Finite blockspace limits smart contract and transaction execution on blockchains, and gas fees - which reflect computational resource usage - are being addressed with solutions such as gas fees/blockspace trading, new futures and swap markets, fixed-price transaction subscriptions, and gas price derivatives.
This blog post from Casey Rodarmor, the creator of the Ordinals Protocol, attempts to explain how he sees his role in the space. Rodarmor details how he thinks his responsibilities are to keep laying out new ideas, extend Ordinals, and propose new ways to work with bitcoin. He also explains that he does not see himself having the final say in new development as that is up to the Ordinals community.
This blog addresses blockchain scalability issues, walking through challenges like transaction replication, execution, and consensus protocols which traditionally increase with the number of validators, hampering scalability. The author suggests these issues can be mitigated through the use of batching and modern cryptography. However, there's no blockchain currently using an all-batching model. Furthermore, batching adds latency, posing potential benefits for latency-sensitive transactions.
Su Zhu was arrested in Singapore for not complying with liquidation processes. Orders were also issued for Kyle Davies, Zhu’s co-founder, to be arrested as well, though he is still at large.
Valkyrie reversed its ether futures holdings product, a quick aboutface after announcing its ETF would hold ether futures positions only a day prior.