Forbes Blockchain; TassatPay $1T; Revolut crypto staking; Turkey earthquake; Binance & USD transfers; StarkWare & Chainlink; Carbonplace raises $45M; Crypto-assets SEC priority; Big Ideas 2023 TLDR.
9 February 2023
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Table of Content
🗞️The 20 news you should be aware of
💸PE/VC funding
⚖️Policies and laws
📚Reports, here is the TLDR
📈Charts of the week
💡Metaverse and NFT news, trends, and insights
🔦Company spotlight
📅Blockchain, Crypto, and Web3 events calendar
👩💻The job fair
📚The term of the week
📎Miscellaneous resources
🗞️ The 20 news you should be aware of
Despite 2022’s crypto market collapse, dozens of enterprises around the world are still investing in blockchain, the distributed-database technology that underpins the entire sector because it helps their businesses operate better, faster, or cheaper.
2. Blockchain bank payment solution TassatPay logs $1 trillion in transactions
The solution launched in 2019 enables bank balances to be tokenized, supporting 24/7 real-time payments between customers of the same bank.
3. BNY Mellon names Digital Assets CEO
BNY Mellon seeks to “accelerate” its efforts in the sector after launching a digital custody and administration platform in October and named Caroline Butler as its CEO of digital assets Thursday.
4. The Ordinals Protocol has caused a resurgence in Bitcoin development
The Ordinals protocol has triggered a revival of interest in Bitcoin (BTC) development and has led to an increase in average block size as more users join the network, research firm FSInsight said in a report Friday. Ordinals is a new protocol that allows non-fungible-tokens (NFT) to be stored on the Bitcoin blockchain.
5. Commerzbank, T-Systems partner for supply chain finance using blockchain, IoT
The new solution uses a combination of technologies such as AI, IoT, 5G and blockchain. Logistics firm Nagel Group is the pilot customer.
6. Digital bank Revolut to offer crypto staking
Revolut is rolling out a crypto staking service in the UK and European Economic Area. It will initially support the staking of Polkadot, Tezos, Cardano, and Ethereum tokens with variable yields ranging between 2.99% to 11.65%. Revolut has been offering crypto services since 2017. It added a feature in October allowing customers to spend crypto on everyday purchases using a debit card.
7. BIS Innovation Hub unveils new stablecoin, DeFi, CBDC projects
The BIS Innovation Hub has announced projects on stablecoins, Defi, and CBDC in its 2023 work program. To date, the BIS Innovation Hub launched 26 projects, of which 21 are still active. Two CBDC ongoing projects out of the Nordic center and Titus in Switzerland have been fairly under the radar so far.
8. Millions in crypto donations pour into Turkey following devastating earthquakes
Several cryptocurrency companies—including Binance, Tether, Bitfinex, OKX, and Kucoin—have pledged over $9 million in donations to aid the victims of the massive earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria. The collective effort demonstrates that the crypto community is again ready to step up to support humanitarian efforts.
9. Tokenise Europe 2025 initiative launched by EU, German banking association
It was founded by the European Commission in conjunction with the Association of German Banks, with consultancy Roland Berger providing support. 20 firms have joined the association. Four global banks are involved plus a handful of large industrial companies such as Daimler Trucks, Renault and Repsol.
10. StarkWare to open source its Ethereum scaling system
Starkware has announced plans to open source its core cryptographic software tool. The company's software tackles scalability issues for Ethereum. StarkWare plans to open source the STARK Prover technology that drives its StarkEx scaling engine and StarkNet projects. The open sourcing process will take some time to complete, but StarkWare is committed to making its entire tech stack transparent for developers.
11. Dell joins governing council of Hedera’s public DLT
Dell Joins Hedera governing council, which includes brands like Google, IBM and LG increasing council members to 28. Dell is interested in leveraging DLT for cases such as edge computing, data trust, contract automation, and ESG reporting Meanwhile, Dell has previously used the VMware permissioned blockchain to track recycled packaging.
12. Blockchain for Energy launches its own network
The Blockchain for Energy, launched in 2019 announced its own platform and permissioned blockchain network. For many of the projects, the consortium has used other platforms, from the likes of Data Gumbo, BlockApps, and GuildOne. The first solution to go live on the new platform is the B4E Commodity Transport Program.
13. Binance to temporarily suspend USD transfers on Feb. 8
Binance said Monday that it would temporarily halt U.S. dollar transfers on Feb. 8, a move the company claims would only affect a small proportion, 0.01% of monthly active users. Some setbacks were expected from last year's incidents. All other methods of buying and selling crypto remain unaffected.
14. Chorus One brings MEV protocol to Solana
The Solana blockchain may see a new open-source approach to maximal extracted value (MEV). The version of MEV for Solana by Chorus One is in the prototype stage, and not intend to deploy it as a competitive platform to other existing models. For MEV to work on Solana, Chorus One’s approach adds a step to the validation process
15. ENS DAO votes to sell $16.5M of ETH for USDC via CoW Swap
Ethereum Name Service (ENS) DAO delegates have voted to sell 10,000 ether ($16.5 million) from the DAO’s treasury to fund the project’s activities for the next 18 to 24 months. This trade will take place via CoW Swap. The bulk of the funds raised will go toward covering the daily expenses incurred by ENS Labs.
16. Crypto exchanges made up 84% of job cuts last month
January 2023 has been the second worst month for crypto layoffs as a new wave of redundancies hit the industry, with as many as 2,806 people losing their jobs, centralized crypto exchanges accounted for most of the job cuts with 84% of all layoffs according to a new CoinGecko report. Lower trading volumes and declining revenues as key reasons behind the layoffs.
17. StarkWare partners with Chainlink Labs to expand StarkNet capabilities
Ethereum scaling development firm StarkWare has teamed up with blockchain oracle tool Chainlink Labs to expand app development on its decentralized Layer 2 zk-Rollup network, StarkNet. The collaboration sees StarkWare join the Chainlink SCALE program focused on accelerating the growth of blockchain and Layer 2 ecosystems
18. Jack Dorsey-backed Web3 App aims to disrupt Twitter
Dorsey, currently chief executive at Block, donated 14 bitcoin to Nostr last year to fund its development after pointing out flaws in traditional social media. Countering the revenue model of Twitter to keep users engaged, the Nostr project is different as it doesn’t rely on any trusted central server.
19. Algorand to drive Web3 adoption in India through key partnerships
Anil Kakani, Algorand’s recently-appointed country head for India, said that the partnerships aim to build sustainable impact. The Algorand foundation also became the technology partner for a Global Climate Resilience Fund launched by the Clinton Foundation. The fund will contribute to helping local businesses connect with carbon markets and monetize carbon credits.
20. NYU to launch Web3 learning workshop in partnership with Near Protocol
The course exposes students to the technology underlying the industry, with hands-on experience working with Web3 tools. The workshop will have a specific angle looking at the intersection between Web3 and blockchain technologies and the sports industry.
💸 PE/VC funding
1. Bank backed blockchain carbon credit network Carbonplace raises $45M
The investment comes from the founding banks that include BBVA, BNP Paribas, CIBC, Itaú Unibanco, National Australia Bank, NatWest, Standard Chartered, SMBC and UBS.
2. Aptos Labs backs web3 TikTok rival Chingari
The partnership, which will take the Solana-native platform multi-chain, is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of this year. The version of the Chingari app that will launch in Aptos will boast a “more scalable experience with newer products,”
3. Crypto winter led to 91% plunge in VC and other Investments for January
CoinDesk analysis shows crypto startups only raised $548 million last month. The FTX failure’s full impact on industry fundraising likely remains to be seen.
4. VRRB Labs raises pre-seed round at $20M valuation to build its own Layer 1
Investors in the round included Jump Crypto, Big Brain Holdings and Taureon. It was an equity plus token warrant round, giving VRRB Labs a valuation of $20 million, Andrew Smith, founder of VRRB Labs, told The Block in an interview.
5. Elementus raises $10M to bring blockchain analytics to institutional clients
The Series A-2 funding round was led by Web3 VC company Parafi Capital. The raise, which values the company at $160 million, aims to allow Elementus to keep improving its processes for providing effective and sound blockchain analytics to Web3 companies and government institutions.
6. Crypto VC funding outlook in the Wake of FTX's collapse
SPiCE VC co-founder and managing partner Tal Elyashiv discuss the responsibility of venture capitalists and outlook on funding for crypto startups in the wake of FTX filing for bankruptcy. Plus, his outlook on investments in the AI and blockchain space as those technologies continue to evolve.
7. A16z-backed Arpeggi Labs is looking to raise $11M
A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing shows the startup has already secured $9.1 million from 21 investors.
8. Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer is raising $50M
The round looks set to give EigenLayer a $250 million post-money equity valuation and a $500 million token valuation or fully diluted valuation (FDV).
⚖️ Policies and laws
1. Crypto-assets on SEC's 2023 to-do list
The Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Examinations named "crypto-assets" and other emerging technologies as a top priority for this year. The division will conduct examinations of broker-dealers and RIAs that are using emerging financial technologies or employing new practices.
2. UK’s Treasury, central bank open consultation on digital pound CBDC
The Bank of England calls for consultation on the digital pound, following further technical research a decision will be made around 2025 with a potential launch towards the end of the decade. Given the UK has robust payment systems enabling people to make bank transfers in real-time, the need for a BritCoin is less obvious and will be a slow launch.
3. Argentina's National Securities Commission (CNV) to set requirements and rules for crypto companies
The CNV will establish and regulate requirements to be followed by crypto companies in the country. The main reason behind the new requirements for crypto companies is to comply with international standards required by the Financial Action Task Force, which will conduct an evaluation in Argentina in 2024.
4. Kazakhstan's president signs legislation to limit energy usage of crypto mining
The new law will limit the energy used by domestic crypto miners, allowing miners to consume electricity from the national grid only when there is a surplus. The government will also be approving a list of mining pools that firms can use. Kazakhstan is also looking to regulate digital assets exchanges in the wake of the FTX fiasco.
5. Unpacking India's CBDC pilots as the country prepares for digital Rupee
India launched two CBDC pilots last year. The retail CBDC (CBDC-R) pilot, launched on Dec. 1 in four cities and 4 banks. This has now extended to 15 cities with Chandigarh as new addition. More than 50,000 customers and 10,000 small and big merchants have been onboarded now including Reliance Retail, the nation's largest retail chain.
6. SEC Warns That Retirement Accounts’ Crypto Stakes May Be Unregistered Securities
SEC Cautioned that Self-directed IRAs sometimes offer crypto investments, and these may be securities that are offered without SEC registration or a valid exemption from registration, and may not be accompanied by complete or accurate information to aid investors in making informed decisions.
📚 Reports, here is the TLDR
REPORT 1 - Crypto, Web3 and the Metaverse: core concepts and policy implications
The report provides a balanced and objective overview of the core concepts of Crypto, Web3, and the Metaverse and their policy implications.
The author believes that policymakers should not be overly concerned with speculation in crypto assets by institutional and sophisticated retail investors and that the risks to overall financial stability can be managed by enforcing taxes and anti-money laundering rules.
However, there is a danger of consumers suffering serious losses from the mis-selling of crypto assets, and regulations should be put in place to regulate advertising campaigns, celebrity promotions, and due diligence on exchanges and trading apps.
The tokenization of fan loyalty programs and esports should also be investigated for materiality of consumers' exposure to market volatility.
The author believes that NFTs pose less risk to consumers, but the benefits of decentralization and disintermediation have been overemphasized and trusted central authorities will remain a feature of the web.
REPORT 2 - Big Ideas 2023
ARK began publishing the annual research report "Big Ideas" in 2017 to educate investors on the long-term impact of innovation and highlight the technological advancements shaping future growth. The company is confident in its strategies as innovation is currently booming, and they recently published "Big Ideas 2023".
The 153-page report covers: • Digital Wallets (picture below) • Public Blockchains • Bitcoin • Smart Contract Networks • Technological Convergence • Artificial Intelligence • Technological Convergence • Digital Consumers • Precision Therapies • Molecular Cancer Diagnostics • Electric Vehicles • Autonomous Ride-Hail • Autonomous Logistics Robotics and 3D Printing • Orbital Aerospace.
📈 Charts of the week
The below chart shows that Digital wallets are gaining a share in online and offline transactions by Ark Investment LLC
The below table summarises prevailing activities in the institutional DeFi system by Blockdata
💡Metaverse and NFT news, trends, and insights
1. BAYC freezes Dookey Dash leaderboard with nearly $73 million in trading volume
After three weeks of play, BAYC Sewer Pass NFT trading volumes closed in on $73 million. Bored Apes said it would validate the leaderboard and then share the results.
2. MetaBirkins maker Rothschild blasts Hermes after NFT trademark decision
Mason Rothschild took to Twitter to express his displeasure with losing a potentially landmark NFT trademark case.
3. Meta metaverse division posts $4.3B net loss in Q4 2022
Despite the hit to the unit known as Reality Labs, the tech giant’s net income for the quarter stood at $4.65 billion, as its family of apps unit posted a gain of $10.7 billion.
4. Louis Roederer plans wine NFTs on WineChain blockchain
As a digital asset backed by the physical bottle, WineChain NFTs aim to enable the traceability and accessibility of fine wines to a new generation of connoisseurs. According to this tweet from WineChain, around 15 wine estates have registered on the WineChain platform.
5. EBay hiring for its Web3 project KnownOrigin
EBay partnered with the events platform Notable Live to provide fans with a new way to connect with players. Not only eBay but Amazon and Google are hiring actively in the web3 space. Amazon is soon expected to launch an NFT initiative, pegged to inspire customers to play crypto-based games and claim digital collectible rewards.
6. Saudi Arabia agreed to collaborate with The Sandbox on metaverse projects
Sandbox jumped 22.8% following news of an MoU signed between Saudi Arabia Digital Government Authority and Sandbox. Sandbox is a metaverse gaming platform developed on blockchain technology.
7. NFT index token launched by Cryptex Finance
The index token, JPEGz, is based on the market capitalization of 10 popular NFT collections, according to Cryptex Finance. The collections include Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, and others such as CloneX, Cool Cats, Doodles, Vee Friends, and World of Women, Cryptex said. Cryptex Finance launched its TCAP token, an index token based on over 2,000 cryptocurrencies, in 2021.
8. Roofstock sells Alabama rental property via NFT
Roofstock, a property technology company focused on selling single-family rental homes, has completed its second on-chain property sale through Roofstock onChain (ROC), its Web3 subsidiary. Buyers can also turn to DeFi lenders for cryptocurrency financing when it comes to purchasing homes
🔦Company spotlight
The company: 👉 Ecosapiens 👈 is a Web3/NFT project enabling consumers to make a positive impact on the climate, starting with the world's first perpetual carbon-capture NFT. The team aims to build a premier community of climate benefactors, ReFi leaders, and climate innovators around its primary NFT. In the long run, the company is building a full-stack tech platform that makes it "1-click" easy for consumers to make an impact on the environment.
The story: Ecosapiens raised an initial $1.5M from leading investors in crypto, climate, and consumer venture capital investors like Boost VC, Slow Ventures, Menlo Ventures, CRV, and others. The founding team is comprised of a unique background in climate tech, advertising, venture capital, engineering, and art. The CEO, Nihar Neelakanti, spent 6+ years in VC, most recently at Menlo Ventures where he helped develop the climate thesis.
Why should I care: Ecosapiens is building the first carbon-to-NFT bridge in order to bring selected carbon onto Ecosapien NFTs. They are building the bridge vs. leveraging existing bridges because they want to productize carbon in creative ways with the Ecosapien NFT - which requires full end-to-end control of carbon source-to-consumer UX. Ultimately, each owner of an Ecosapien NFT has their associated wallet has full ownership of the carbon offsets, an ecosystem that will be easily monetized once carbon trading becomes a regular activity.
📅 Blockchain, Crypto, and Web3 events calendar
….for the next couple of months
February 2023
The Blockchain Event | Feb 14-17, 2023 | Florida, USA
Fintech & Crypto Summit Bahrain | Feb 15-16, 2023 | Bahrain
European Blockchain Convention | Feb 15-17, 2023 | Barcelona, Spain
Blockchain Fest 2023 | Feb 16-17, 2023 | Singapore
Solana Melbourne Hacker House | Feb 20-24, 2023 | Melbourne, Australia
Global Digital Assets Investment Summit | Feb 22-23, 2023 | Hong Kong
DeFi Retreat Europe | Feb 23, 2023 | Lisbon, Portugal.
NFT Paris 2023 | Feb 24-25, 2023 | Paris, France
ETHDenver | Feb 24-Mar 5, 2023 | Denver, CO, USA
Blockchain Economy London Summit 2023 | Feb 27-28, 2023 | London, UK
Interop Summit | Feb 27-28, 2023 | Denver, CO, USA
Blockchain Life | Feb 27-28, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Miami Web3 Week | Feb 27-Mar 5, 2023 | Miami, FL, USA
March 2023
Advancing Bitcoin Conference | Mar 2-3, 2023 | London, UK
Crypto, Blockchain & Metaverse Expo | Mar 3-4, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Saudi Meta Show | Mar 8, 2023 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Empower: Energizing Bitcoin 2023 | Mar 8-9, 2023 | Houston, TX, USA
Crypto Expo Dubai | Mar 8-9, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit | Mar 8-9, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Blockchaincon Latam 2023 | Mar 9-11, 2023 | Lima, Peru
Women In Blockchain Summit | Mar 13-15, 2023 | Limassol, Cyprus
Blockchain & Fintech Week Tel Aviv | Mar 13-15, 2023 | Tel Aviv, Israel
Sustex - Blockchain for Climate | Mar 15-16, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
ETHDubai | Mar 15-16, 2023 | Dubai, UAE
Solana Hacker House | Mar 15-19, 2023 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Virtuality Web3 Summit | Mar 16-17, 2023 | Paris, France
Blockchain Africa Conference | Mar 16-17, 2023 | Johannesburg, South Africa
ETH Porto | Mar 16-18, 2023 | Porto, Portugal
5th Blockchain Int’l Scientific Conference | Mar 18, 2023 | Manchester, UK
Crypto Expo Europe | Mar 19-21, 2023 | Bucharest, Romania
NFT LA | Mar 20-23, 2023 | Los Angeles, USA
🆕 FOMO Asia Genesis Conference | Mar 20-23, 2023 | Hong Kong
Paris Blockchain Week 2023 | Mar 20-24, 2023 | Paris, France
DC Blockchain Summit | Mar 21, 2023 | Washington, DC
Art Basel | Mar 23-25, 2023 | Hong Kong, China
Nigeria Bitcoin Conference | Mar 24-25, 2023 | Lagos, Nigeria
American Metaverse Summit | Mar 29-30, 2023 | Miami, FL, USA
WOW Summit Hong Kong 2023 | Mar 29-30, 2023 | Hong Kong
Crypto Assets Conference 2023 | Mar 29-30, 2023 | Frankfurt, Germany
Miami NFT Week | Mar 30-Apr 2, 2023 | Miami, FL, USA
🆕 Pantera Blockchain Summit | Apr 3-4, 2023 | San Francisco, CA, USA
👩💻The job fair
Co:Create : Senior Backend Engineer, Remote
Co:Create : Senior FrontEnd Engineer, Remote
Austin Werner : Defi Product Manager Crypto Dex, USA
Metamask : Senior Product Manager, USA
📚The term of the week
Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) is a decentralized open-source protocol that allows the duties of a validator to be distributed among multiple nodes, as opposed to a single machine, leveraging threshold cryptography. DVT provides a decentralized staking layer on Ethereum, allowing anyone to create and share a validator over multiple fault-tolerant machines such that, if any one node is offline or faulty, the validator can continue to perform its duties.
In essence, DVT adds an additional layer of fault-tolerance for Ethereum validators removing the possibility of redundancies such as a single point of failure, centralization issues, etc.
📎 Miscellaneous Resources
The opinions are our own. The content of this newsletter is not intended to serve as financial advice and is for general informational and educational purposes only. We do not warrant, endorse, or assume responsibility for the accuracy of any information offered by the third-party websites linked above.