UK's NatWest, PaySafe Distance From Crypto as Banks Roil (3 minute read)
UK's NatWest bank has imposed restrictions on customers wiring funds to crypto exchanges, with daily and monthly limits of $1,200 and $6,000, allegedly, to protect consumers from losing significant sums of money. Additionally, online payments provider Paysafe is shutting down services to UK Binance customers. These moves follow the collapse of US banks Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank and highlight the growing trend of financial institutions distancing themselves from digital assets amid a turbulent regulatory environment. |
Bitcoin Dominance Reaches 9-Month High (2 minute read)
Bitcoin dominance (BTC.D) has reached a nine-month high of 45.5% amid volatile crypto markets and two crypto-friendly bank failures. BTC.D's increase coincides with a price surge to beyond $26,000 after favorable CPI data where alts struggled to keep up. A BTC.D run indicates reduced market euphoria as traders choose BTC over more speculative altcoins. Additionally, BTC.D has also grown amid stablecoin uncertainty, with USDC depegging over the weekend and regulators increasing scrutiny on stablecoins. |
Uniswap Version 3 Goes Live on BNB Chain (2 minute read)
Uniswap, Ethereum's largest DEX, has expanded to BNB Chain, offering user growth, lower fees, and access to new markets. The move enables Uniswap Protocol users to take advantage of BNB Chain's high-speed, low transaction fees for token trading and swapping. The integration also exposes Uniswap to BNB Chain's extensive DeFi developer community, which could help foster further innovation. This could also potentially increase awareness and adoption among retail and institutional investors and could add 1-2 million new users and Protocol stakeholders. |
A Thread on the Upcoming Aevo Launch (3 minute read)
Ribbon Finance's blockchain-settled options platform Aevo is launching soon, aiming to provide a trustless, transparent alternative to centralized exchanges like Deribit. This thread lays out an investment thesis for Aevo. Aevo's edge includes passive flow from RBN's DOV, settlement of options in USDC, and a smooth UI/UX. Ribbon Finance has a market cap of $100mn, with emissions recently reduced to 125k RBN/week. Aevo's introduction is expected to generate significant fees and boost RBN token value, with potential for further growth as new products and features are introduced. |
Thinking of Bridges as Clients: Bridges Got Hacked Because of Bad Code, not Bad Ideas (5 minute read)
This article discusses the vulnerability of blockchain bridges due to software bugs at the implementation level. To enhance security, the author proposes viewing bridges as protocol clients, implementing a standardized bridging protocol, and promoting client diversity. The Multi-Message Aggregation (MMA) design for Uniswap cross-chain governance message passing is being developed as a practical application of this approach. MMA aims to improve the resilience and trustworthiness of cross-blockchain communication by prioritizing security in bridging. |
Dune Dashboard to Assess the Strength of NFT Projects (4 minute read)
One Twitter user, @mevcollector, achieved a remarkable 7736% return by investing in strong NFT projects. To help others identify strength in NFT projects, @0xjaypeg created a dashboard that examines factors like sale prices, average holding duration, unique holders, and top sales and traders. Using Pudgy Penguins as an example in this thread, they demonstrated the dashboard's functionality. The tool can be applied to any NFT project by inputting the contract address, making it easier to discover potentially profitable investments. |
Gensler Suggests Proof-of-Stake Tokens are Securities (2 minute read)
Wednesday, SEC Chair Gary Gensler suggested that tokens leveraging staking mechanisms might be considered securities under U.S. law, as promised returns could lead to a need for registration. Gensler urged token operators and intermediaries to comply with regulations. His comments followed the CFTC Chair's reiteration that ether is a commodity. The SEC recently undertook its first staking-as-a-service enforcement action and settled with Kraken. Also, New York Attorney General Letitia James recently claimed that ether is an unregistered security in a lawsuit against KuCoin. |
In Ukraine, Crypto Finds a Purpose (6 minute read)
In the past year, over 14 million Ukrainians have been displaced, and aid organizations are looking for efficient ways to help. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation, MoneyGram, and Circle Internet Financial to pilot a crypto-based aid system. The UNHCR distributes USDC stablecoins to digital wallets accessible via smartphone, which recipients can then exchange for local currency at MoneyGram facilities. Although the pilot currently serves fewer than 100 participants, the system is prepared to scale up. |
Possible Paths Forward for DeFi (4 minute read)
This thread examines how USDC's depeg exposed DeFi's reliance on centralized components, suggesting two paths forward: rebrand to "on-chain finance" or eliminate centralized elements for full decentralization. |
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