Immutable and Polygon Labs Team Up to Expand the Web3 Gaming Ecosystem (2 minute read)
Web3 gaming developer platform Immutable announced its partnership with Polygon Labs to accelerate the space. Utilizing Polygon's zero-knowledge technology, Immutable aims to streamline onboarding for game studios and developers. The goal of the collaboration is to create an Ethereum-centric gaming ecosystem offering digital ownership and faster time-to-market for businesses. Both companies have been focusing on expanding the web3 gaming industry through partnerships, venture funds, and technological advancements. Polygon has an impressive list of partners, while Immutable has collaborated with companies like GameStop, DC Comics, and Marvel. |
FTX Sues for Control of Bahamas Assets, Calls FTX Digital Markets 'A Front' to Defraud Customers (3 minute read)
FTX, the defunct crypto exchange, is suing the liquidators of its Bahamian entity, FTX Digital Markets, claiming it wrongly asserts ownership of the exchange and was part of a conspiracy to defraud customers. FTX's new management team's aim is for FTX Digital Markets to claim it has no ownership in any assets held by FTX debtors. The lawsuit argues that the liquidators inherited a "corporate shell" and that FTX Digital Market's ownership claims could harm customers and creditors. |
The Espresso Sequencer (32 minute read)
Espresso Systems is developing the Espresso Sequencer to help L2 rollups achieve decentralization without compromising scalability on the Ethereum network. The Espresso Sequencer aims to provide credible neutrality, improved interoperability, minimization of negative effects of MEV, and long-term economic incentive alignment with L1 validators. By employing a decentralized shared sequencing layer, the Espresso Sequencer intends to enhance security, throughput, and transaction latency. This shared public good will benefit both optimistic and zk-rollups, promoting interoperability and decentralization while maintaining performance. |
NFT Marketplaces Battle for Bitcoin Ordinals Mindshare (3 minute read)
Gamma.io launched an Ordinals marketplace yesterday, enabling users to trade inscribed satoshis on the Bitcoin blockchain. This new platform, with similar functionality to Ethereum-based NFT marketplace OpenSea, is an extension of the Company's Stacks NFT marketplace and its 18-month journey building on Bitcoin. Soon after Ordinals started gaining steam, Gamma also released a user-friendly inscription tool, that has facilitated more than 30,000 inscriptions. Other players like ORDX and Ordswap had already launched Ordinal marketplaces, and there are sure to be other competitors that crop up in the space. |
Make Bitcoin Fun Again: An introduction to Ordinals (18 minute read)
If you're still wondering what Ordinals are and how they work, this article provides a great breakdown of the theory and developments in the space.Casey Rodarmor's Ordinals theory introduces a ranking system for satoshis based on their position within a block, essentially adding rarity to individual units of Bitcoin. This system enables digital assets similar to NFTs to be created on the Bitcoin blockchain, with Ordinals-identified assets called "digital artefacts." These assets are permissionless, uncensorable, and immutable, resonating with Bitcoin's core principles. Although still in its early days, Ordinals could significantly impact Bitcoin's fee markets and open up new use cases. However, some concerns have arisen around potential threats to fungibility and increased data storage requirements for nodes. |
How this Point in the Cycle Compares to 2020 (4 minute read)
This Twitter thread provides insights into the current market cycle in the context of where Bitcoin and Ethereum were in 2020. The author points out that if this point in the cycle is similar to that point in 2020 and Bitcoin continues to hold up, altcoins will eventually perform strongly. However, it's worth noting that this current point in the cycle is unlikely to be as robust as its corollary in 2020 as that was the beginning of a new bull market. The thread points out how BTC dominance tends to lead in strong, new uptrends, while alts tend to follow later. |
The Blur Blitzkrieg (10 minute read)
This article highlights how Blur outmaneuvered OpenSea to become the highest-volume NFT marketplace in crypto in a span of just four months, thanks to a strategic rewards program. By incentivizing both creators and bidders, Blur rapidly gained market share and retained users. Further, users that received the Blur airdrop have actually shown strong retention metrics, counter to how many airdrops play out. While the strategy has been successful in the short term, the long-term effects and the sustainability of the reward system remain uncertain. As Blur competes with OpenSea, both platforms will need to develop sustainable business models beyond these retention tactics to ultimately come out on top. |
DeSantis Touts Bill that Would Ban Use of CBDCs in Florida (2 minute read)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed legislation to ban the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC) within the state, aiming to protect residents from potential financial surveillance and control by the Biden administration. The move follows South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's veto of a bill that would have allowed a CBDC to be considered legal currency. While DeSantis opposes centrally-controlled digital currencies, he has shown support for decentralized tokens like bitcoin and has even been exploring ways for Floridians to pay taxes using cryptocurrency. |
Arbitrum Surpasses 1 Million ETH Bridged (1 minute read)
After surpassing Ethereum in daily transactions settled just last month, Arbitrum is now hitting another milestone - 1 million ETH bridged to the L2. This comes just a few days before the much-anticipated ARB airdrop claim starts. |
If your company is interested in reaching a crypto-savvy audience, you may want to advertise with us.
If you have any comments or feedback, just respond to this email! Thanks for reading, Daniel Fritsche |
|
| |
