Crypto Weekly Issue 47

CRYPTO

CEO Nathan Hill nathan@cryptoweeklymag.com

Publisher Colin Woolley colin@cryptoweeklymag.com

Editor Robert Stone editor@cryptoweeklymag.com

Welcome to Crypto Weekly

Advertising Kryptochik kryptochik@cryptomag.finance

Design

Dilin Divan dilin@cryptoweeklymag.com

Another week has gone by, and this is our 47th issue of Crypto Weekly I am Rob Stone, the Editor and along with the guys at CMC hope to bring you another weekly read about significant happenings in the world of crypto.

We live world of increasing complexity, competition, and alienation but also a world of unfolding possibilities, fulfilling experiences, and human connections. Here in Crypto Weekly, you will find news and rumblings of the wider cryptosphere, and you will find personal reflections, stories, and ideas that cut through the posturing, the commercializing, and the dehumanization we have all experienced In my own writing, I aspire to the authenticity that William Carlos Williams said people "die miserably every day for lack of" My personal writing also displays the vibrant energy of the creative unconscious, what has been called "a voice from the wilderness" as I have often lived and worked from the wilds over the last decade with my laptop connected to a satellite broadcasting my musings to those who will hear� Humanity is desperately in need of revising its own soul We all know this is true I only hope to contribute to the conversation

As it has been another smashing week with crypto, and a lot has happened in the last week because the music never stops in the cryptosphere, and the time keeps rolling on I hope you all enjoy what we have brought together for you this week� Please let us know your thoughts, and if you would like to see something featured, please do get in touch

Crypto

Robert Stone

Editor

FTX Contagion grips crypto markets as exchanges scramble for 'Proof-of-Reserves'

After yesterday's events involving FTX and Binance, Binance founder Changpeng "CZ" Zhao called on industry players to provide "proofof-reserves " In another view, Justin Sun, a Huobi advisor and stakeholder, said "a third" Merkle tree reserve test would take place

There was controversy surrounding FTX after Alameda Research, owned by Bankman-Fried, who owns FTX, is found to hold FTX's native FTT tokens on its balance sheet, according to a CoinDesk report last week The Alameda Company relied largely on a coin invented by a sister company rather than an independent asset like fiat currency or cryptocurrency

As insolvency fears grip crypto investors following FTX liquidity issues, crypto exchanges are scrambling to disclose their fund reserves To increase transparency, nine exchanges - Binance, Gate io, KuCoin, Poloniex, Bitget, Huobi, OKX, Deribit, and Bybit - have issued separate statements announcing they will

publish their Merkle tree reserve certificates�

Computer science applications use Merkle trees as data structures

Merkle trees encode blockchain data more efficiently and securely in bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies� Binary hash trees are also known as "binary hash trees "

The ledger of a centralized database records

every user's assets in a centralized crypto exchange Users' assets are recorded as a total in the database� Users' assets are recorded as a total in the database

Exchanges can store the hash values of assets in user accounts' leaf nodes using Merkle trees In the second step, the users' holdings are audited by a third party and verified in the leaf node of the Merkle tree

FTX-linked coins were sold to protect industry players' downside after the report sparked rumors of FTX becoming insolvent Binance, which held over $500 million of FTT, began to liquidate its holdings due to a disagreement with Sam-Bankman Fried, CEO of FTX over his bending to the will of the SEC over crypto regulation - resulting in a 24-hour drama that ended with Binance signing an acquisition agreement with FTX

—Crypto Weekly

Robert Stone

Crypto boosters fear LBRY's loss against the SEC could make ether a security.

As a result of a federal judge's ruling, LBRY Inc was found to have illegally sold its native token to U S investors, which could pave the way for other, more popular digital assets to be categorized as securities and regulated similarly to stocks and

to regulate digital assets the same way it does traditional financial instruments after federal judge Paul Barbadaro ruled that LBC tokens are securities Federal courts use a set of rules called the Howey test to determine whether a tradeable asset must be registered with

Delphi Labs, indicated to Barbardaro that it was motivated to do what it could to improve the value of its blockchain, both for itself and for outside buyers According to Kauffman, founder of LBRY, the standard in Barbadaro's ruling applies to "almost all

bonds in the future With LBRY, users can stream or download video and other content and pay for it, utilizing the blockchain technology underlying bitcoin LBC, awarded to miners for maintaining the system, is advertised as a decentralized alternative to Alphabet's YouTube

The SEC has gained more ground in its fight

the SECvestor expects to profit from the work of others on a "common enterprise," and it becomes an investment contract� Some observers considered the decision to be a major blow to the industry�

"LBRY's decision to "premine" a number of LBC tokens, Gabriel Shapiro, general counsel at

cryptocurrencies," including ether and Dogecoin�

"Every blockchain that is actively developed is at risk under the logic advanced by the SEC," Kaufmann wrote after the SEC filed suit last year "As long as Ethereum developers are working together in some way while they hold the token, they are at risk "

In addition, this decision could affect a lawsuit filed by the SEC against Ripple Labs and its token, XRP, which is one of the most high-profile crypto cases. Former SEC chairman Jay Clayton filed the lawsuit in the last weeks of the administration of Donald Trump Gary Gensler, the current chairman of the SEC, filed the lawsuit in the final weeks of the Trump administration By selling XRP tokens without registering with the SEC, Ripple raised $1 4 billion illegally According to Ripple, XRP tokens are used for international payments, so they are not securities, so the SEC is discriminating by pursuing XRP tokens while allowing Ethereum to thrive

XRP holder and attorney John Deaton tweeted Friday that the LBRY decision represents a "total win for the SEC" and that "Gary Gensler and the SEC will use this case as an example of how to move forward against crypto "

Growing Hashrate Shows Bitcoin Mining Coming Back in Style

I t has been a difficult year for cryptocurrency mining companies in 2022 There has been a slight shift over the last week or so Earlier last week, Barclays began covering Core Scientific (CORZ), issuing an "overweight" rating suggesting it will perform well against its peers "CORZ won't fall as much as the others if mining stocks don't all rise "

This isn't exactly an endorsement that mining is on the rise, but it's certainly better than saying, "Everything is going to zero, and our best days are over " However, the tide against mining is turning despite a positive

stock performance and one positive stock rating over the last two weeks

Research teams at banks write about companies because they believe the companies involved operate in an important industry� If the covered companies need to raise capital someday, then that bank may be able to raise capital on their behalf if the bank provides a nice write-up for them So that's the crux of the matter, and it is definitely a positive�

It's not too far-fetched for Barclays to initiate coverage of Core Scientific itself However, I was surprised to read in the report that "we remain positive about

the long-term viability of bitcoin" and that "our long-term bullish view of bitcoin leads us to view CORZ positively "

When more and more banks realize that bitcoin has long-term viability, they will be excited about the opportunity to offer services to bitcoin mining companies� But I think mining is on the way up It was just found recently that in China, where mining was outlawed that one year later, in August 2022, reports stated that as much as 22% of Bitcoin's hashrate (the total computational power being used to mine bitcoin) still comes from there That means Cina is second in the world after the United States'

phenomenal 36% of the hashrate as reported last week, which is up from 32% in August

Luxor Technologies' head of research, Colin Harper, wrote on Oct 2: "Bitcoin's hashrate is increasing rapidly, about 8% over the week to a new all-time high " That marks a 24% increase in the past three months The Bitcoin network is set to become harder to mine due to the increase in hashrate Because it's a relatively aggressive upward adjustment, there is pessimism around the short-term prospects for mining during this socalled "Mining Difficulty Adjustment" performed automatically by Bitcoin's code roughly every two weeks

Robert Stone

Silk Road Hacker Stole 50K Bitcoin in 2012 Pleads Guilty

significantly, now worth about $1 billion

Talk about dogged law enforcement officers who won't quit following a trail A Georgia man just plead guilty to stealing cryptocurrency from Silk Road in 2012

The Justice Department tracked him down by following the Bitcoin public ledger and found bitcoin worth 1 billion dollars today on a circuit board in the bottom of a popcorn tin

Among the largest seizure in Justice Department history, this one occurred in November 2021 without being publicly announced Since the seizure, bitcoin's value has declined

A 32-year-old Georgian man, James Zhong, pled guilty to wire fraud on Friday for stealing more than 50,000 bitcoins from Silk Road, a now-defunct online marketplace that sold illicit drugs, goods, and services in 2012, in connection with the seizure Mr Zhong is set to be sentenced in February

Damian Williams, the prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, said the whereabouts of this missing bitcoin had been a mystery for over ten years "It shows that we won't give up until we find the money, no matter how

well it's hidden, even to a circuit board in the bottom of a popcorn tin," he said

Attorney Michael Bachner said his client regrets his conduct at 22 years old According to Bachner, he returned nearly all of the bitcoin he improperly acquired As bitcoin's value has increased exponentially over the last decade, the value of the bitcoin he returned has exponentially exceeded the value of the bitcoin he took "

Mr Zhong tricked the marketplace's system into releasing cryptocurrency into his account in 2012 by creating fraudulent Silk Road accounts and

triggering 140 transactions

According to prosecutors, he then transferred the bitcoin into accounts he controlled to hide its source and ownership

It was discovered that the majority of the bitcoin was contained in an underground safe and on a single circuit board from a computer hidden under blankets in a popcorn tin stored in a bathroom closet, prosecutors said They said they also found cash and silver- and gold-colored bars Authorities executed a search warrant at Mr Zhong's home in Gainesville, Ga , in November 2021 They seized more than 50,676 bitcoin, worth over $3 36 billion at the time

The technology for tracking funds on the blockchain has advanced significantly from years ago, according to Samson Enzer, a former federal prosecutor in Manhattan According to Mr Enzer, now at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, the DOJ is conducting ongoing investigations to trace back, locate, and seize tainted proceeds even from historic legacy cases

Robert Stone

1st WomenLed Blockchain Educational Summit Coming Nov 30- Dec 1 in Miami

BOK Productions founders Kimberli Bruce and Keri Kilty are hosting a world-first, exclusively women-led event for Web3 tech — Web3 Summits Taking place at the Miami Airport & Convention Center, Miami Dade County, from Nov 30 through Dec 1, 2022�

This educational program will present a diverse program of speakers to the Miami-Dade community� The conference provides business owners, entrepreneurs, educators, and students with a solid foundation for understanding emerging technologies referred to as Web3

This conference will discuss decentralization, blockchain networks, blockchain features, tokenization, token economies, metaverses, and AR and VR applications

Technology adoption and awareness is the goal of the event There will be an educational forum and a safe space to build relationships and collaborate with meaningful, lasting relationships The conference is open to community members interested in learning more about emerging technologies The program combines educational workshops, panel discussions, and lecturing keynote speakers We aim to provide beginners and intermediates with lessons and discussion for Web3 technologies

Participants will be inspired by insightful and highly accomplished leaders of the Web3 revolution Here is a sampling of educated speakers from

the over 150 attending this two-day conference� — Scarlett Arana of Bit Basel, an organization that is leading global implementation strategy and regulation for blockchain technology, Ben Armstrong (BitBoy) YouTuber, podcaster, crypto enthusiast, and creator of BitBoyCrypto, Sandy Carter, Sr VP of web3 leading domain provider, Unstoppable Domains, Daniel Moncada, Actor, Breaking Bad, Cinematography, CBO MemeNFT Community Marketplace, Yu-Kai Chou, Award-winning author and founder of MetaBlox, and Paula Dezzutti, Local Choice Founder, and CEO

To complement the theme of Miami Art Week, a Fine Art Gallery and Music Stage, including digital and physical art and

music performances of all genres, will be within the vendor exhibits and networking lounge areas providing comfortable seating, refreshments, and bar services A Web3 pitch contest will be co-hosted with Cryptan Labs Founders and entrepreneurs working with Web3 technologies are invited to enter the contest Artists from the local area are strongly encouraged to apply and submit portfolios

International audiences from North America to Asia are attending the conference with the support of worldrenowned media outlets, including Cointelegraph, Crypto Magazine, BlockTides, and Make Me Viral Media Partners, content creators, exhibitors, press, sponsors, and speakers will have access to a dedicated space for interviews, AMAs, podcasts, or marketing materials during the conference Contact web3summits io for more information if you are a journalist or content creator

As part of its mission, the Web3 Summit seeks

to spread its inherent optimism worldwide The conference founders value and honor every individual's contributions and support Every person attending the conference is assured that they have become part of a great community and have gained knowledge to become better people in business and life

As part of Art Week, this first-of-its-kind WomenLed Educational Event is working with local Miami communities, choosing a location that's easily accessible and has plenty of parking for residents and visitors The location is the DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport & Convention Center, 711 NW 72nd Ave, Miami, FL 33126�

The official website has more information and entry tickets for the event Student tickets are available, including day passes, 2-day passes, and VIP passes If you are interested in a brand marketing partnership, don't hesitate to contact Keri or Kimberli directly through the web3summits website —Crypto Weekly

WOMEN WEB3 MIAMI

Miami Airport Convention Center, Miami, Florida November 30- December 1, 2022

Women Led Web3 Educational Summit | Education and Community Building Collaboration and Networking

The Ethereum Co-Founder Unveils a New Project To Make Blockchains More Accessible

Co-founder of Ethereum, Decentral and Jaxx Liberty Anthony Di Iorio unveiled a project he's been envisioning, designing, and building for a decade� In order to bring blockchain computers to a wider audience, Andiami combines game theory with cutting-edge hardware

Crypto users can run full nodes with little or no technical expertise through the multi-year endeavor to counter blockchain centralization An entire blockchain network's transaction history is stored on a full node

The project is expected to take until 2025 to complete A game called Quest for Liberty will be promoted during the first year (2023). "The Cube" will be Andiami's focus from 2024 to 2025, a plug-and-play blockchain computer that runs full nodes on Ethereum and Bitcoin networks

Crypto users find it difficult to run full nodes due to the technical requirements With The Cube's plug-andplay nature and carefully crafted gamification, Di Iorio hopes users will be able to run their favorite network's full node easily

and fun, thereby further decentralizing blockchain infrastructure

In an interview with CoinDesk, Di Iorio said, "We want to empower people to be in control of their digital lives " "Having an intermediary between you and your money, identity, or communication is not an acceptable situation�"

An approach to problem-solving

For many years, Di Iorio has been solving difficult crypto problems In order to create such an entity,

he has pledged $1 million by applying the framework he has used in his prior endeavors� "Perfect Formula is a framework I developed to solve problems, with the goal of creating as many wins for stakeholders as possible," explained Di Iorio�

"Win-win" is a concept popularized by author Stephen Covey that focuses on mutually beneficial solutions to difficult situations Di Iorio will extend this idea to create what he calls "win-winwin" outcomes According to Di Iorio, this ecosystem

is rife with competition and division� Our goal is to support the best projects and give tools to those who aren't as good "

The concept of everyone winning together is the basis for the name Andiami Due to his Italian heritage, Di Iorio modified the word "andiamo" to reflect his vision better "In Italian and other languages, adding an "i" at the end pluralizes a word This means that instead of saying 'let's all go,' it means 'let's all go together '" Di Iorio said

Game-based learning

Initially, Andiami's project revolves around The Quest of Liberty, a game where users purchase player kits that contain puzzles that unlock Digital Life Tokens There are varying price points for player kits, Di Iorio says� "Several factors will determine what happens," he said "We are relying on the number of people on the waitlist and our fundraising targets for selling the player kits to ensure that we have enough funds to continue Ultimately, players will need to buy player kits containing "NonFungible Phygitals" (NFPs) - physical cards embedded with NFC (nearfield communication)

authentication chips

Our puzzle books, puzzle cards, and player kits are going to be called 'phygital', a term I coined To verify authenticity, a card uses public and private key cryptography

When players have their kits and "phygitals," they can unlock Digital Life Tokens, the default currency in the Andiami ecosystem, using what Di Iorio calls a "Proof of Puzzle Solve" (POPS)

This is the Cube

The Cube will be the culmination of Andiami

A variety of full nodes can run on it thanks to its specialized, plug-andplay design, according to Di Iorio Crypto users will also have blockchain computers built by Di Iorio, just as there are gaming consoles for gamers

In Di Iorio's view, "they're just like gaming consoles� They're specifically designed to be blockchain computers� They're unique depending on which chain they're on " "We have Cardano, Cosmos, Polkadot, Bitcoin, Litecoin; these are all boxes we've already created and are currently running "

His company's infrastructure runs with little to no downtime because Di Iorio has spent years perfecting the system Multiple

blockchains and dozens of tokens are supported by Jaxx Liberty's cryptocurrency wallet

The system is tentatively named "NodeX," and he plans to make it available to retail users

Our system does not require any maintenance The biggest challenge is running a node," Di Iori explained Andiami's goal is to decentralize crypto infrastructure further The majority of crypto infrastructure runs on cloud computing platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or is outsourced to infrastructure firms such as Infura.

By making it easier to run a full node, Andiami is trying to transition that infrastructure to regular users

An online "node sharing" protocol could speed up this transition, allowing Cube owners to earn rewards for sharing their infrastructure � "If AWS shuts down, more than 50% of Ethereum will disappear � We think that's nuts! Ethereum wasn't intended to be a user-controlled Internet, and Bitcoin wasn't intended to be a usercontrolled Internet " —Crypto

Cryptocurrencies are growing exponentially every day Projects are springing up and gaining traction as a result of this growth A rich array of rewarding opportunities contributes to its proliferation

The growth of millionaires in this space has attracted more users over the years Analysts agree that cryptocurrency has yet to be fully adopted despite the significant growth experienced by these projects

Dogeliens is a cryptocurrency project that will make a significant difference A large percentage of humans still have not taken advantage of its features Most people need to learn what cryptocurrencies are

There are many features and uses for the Dogeliens meme coin project� A surge in crypto adoption could result from it transforming this space� What are the features of Dogeliens? Compare this project with Binance and Bitcoin to see how it compares

Dogeliens: The Next BIG Memecoin

The goal of Dogeliens is to create a meme coin By promoting cryptocurrency features, it aims to promote the benefits of cryptocurrencies

Dogelien

Additionally, Dogeliens intends to expand its features worldwide�

By leveraging Binance Smart Chain, Dogeliens can accomplish this feat and have a far-reaching impact Dogeliens will become a fast and cheap transaction platform with

Binance, a next-generation crypto network

In addition to becoming widely used like Binance, Dogeliens can also benefit from this Binance integration Dogeliens and DOGET, its native cryptocurrency, will be widely accepted,

rewarding its members and token holders

The University Of Barkington

By leveraging the Doge meme, Dogeliens follows in the footsteps of Dogecoin Dogethemed features have

been incorporated into the project to portray itself as a Doge-themed project Incorporating its educational platform's name is one such example Barkington is the name of an online academy in the Dogeliens It comes from the word "Bark " The academy enables Dogeliens to introduce its features to the public Blockchain technology and its applications will be the focus of the academy's content DeFi, NFTs, and the metaverse

will be explained in welldesigned and informative videos�

There will be a majority of these educational materials available for free To foster a commitment to the training, some lessons will be reserved Applicants must hold some DOGET tokens to access these lessons

In addition to teaching people about cryptocurrencies, Dogeliens plans to create general educational content The videos

and classes will teach people reading, writing, mathematics, and geography

Bitcoin and Binance Next To Dogeliens

There are significant limitations to Bitcoin, even though it was the pioneer of this space There was no smart contract support in Bitcoin when it was developed Bitcoin could not be expanded beyond its peer-to-peer application because of this exception

Ethereum, however, introduced smart contracts, and subsequent blockchains adopted them Using smart contracts, Binance thrives and grows More projects are regularly welcomed into its ecosystem, allowing them to take advantage of its unique features Having this blockchain as its host is a great advantage for Dogeliens�

Despite operating on Binance, Dogeliens is interoperable with other blockchains With this interoperability, everyone can use the platform's features seamlessly

The Dogeliens Token Presale has begun

Binance Smart Chain is where DOGET tokens are available DOGET tokens can be purchased and

stored using a crypto wallet compatible with BSC The pre-sale portal can be accessed after creating and funding your crypto wallet on the Dogeliens official website.

DOGET tokens can be earned in abundance during the Dogeliens presale You need to connect your funded wallet with the pre-sale to initiate the transaction Approve the transaction after verifying the number of tokens you wish to purchase Using SOL will give you a 15% bonus while using BNB will give you a 22% bonus

Pre-sale participants now have the opportunity to earn more rewards You will need to invite others to the pre-sale to take advantage of this opportunity By referring a new participant, you can win a $50 bonus if they access and buy the pre-sale through your link When the new user spends $250, both parties receive the reward

Keep Dogeliens from passing you if you have yet to take advantage of numerous opportunities to earn money Take advantage of the presale opportunity to purchase DOGET tokens Token pre-sales are still early, and DOGET tokens are cheap and easily obtainable

19 www.cryptoweeklymag.com November 2022 | Volume 47 19 www.cryptoweeklymag.com November 2022 | Volume 45

Bitcoin is still searching for a purpose.

Why does bitcoin exist? There is a lot of conjecture about the reason for that Bitcoin was created as a means of sending money online

A digital currency was intended to provide an alternative payment system that would operate without central control but otherwise function like traditional currencies� One of the first things people grabbed onto about Bitcoin was the errant idea that it was anonymous

The story is that anonymity was just that—only a story, if not a blatant lie

It was heavily advertised and written about that mobsters worldwide were moving away from fiat.

That was never truly the case, however The consensus among

industry historians is that promoting that Bitcoin was anonymous supported those with ulterior motives in creating a coordinated smear campaign associating the so-called anonymity with a reason for tying Bitcoin to organized crime

Using Bitcoin in criminal enterprises is like leaving a clear trail of breadcrumbs pointing to the perpetrator of criminal activities; only a digital trail on the immutable and unalterable ledger of Bitcoin is a lot clearer and more damning than breadcrumbs

The tenets of crypto are still alive but struggling to

survive There is no longer any illusion that Bitcoin fights inflation. Bitcoin's price has fallen 60% over the past year due to inflation for the first time since the 1970s With Bitcoin falling just 6% this year, there is no longer a case that Bitcoin is "digital gold " While stocks, bonds, and Bitcoin have all fallen this year, gold has soared past them all

The difficulties Bitcoin is experiencing should not be interpreted as evidence that the whole industry is a mistake In recent days,

Ethereum, the world's second-largest blockchain, underwent a major upgrade that could fuel a resurection of crypto activity in the years to come Companies backing other blockchains still aim to establish new systems for financial products,

Robert Stone

payments, and digital assets�

Just as the internet survived the extinction of Pets com, the crypto crash isn't an epitaph for blockchain technology Indeed, scrape away the junk, and what remains is an industry worthy of a second look "In prior crypto cycles, you had engagement drop Here, more people are using digital assets and building on top" of blockchains

There is still a need for caution among investors

The $8 billion market value of Dogecoin, the "meme" token that started as a joke, remains intact Despite the token market losing $2 trillion, much interest remains "The durability of crypto assets is

questionable," says Cornell University professor Eswar Prasad, a leading digital-asset expert "But there does seem to be some durability to the technology "

Bitcoin's supporters have spent a decade promoting its use as a currency beyond government control, digital gold, and an inflation hedge whose restricted supply will protect its price The token still needs to live up to those promises It makes me think of the parable of the blind men standing around an elephant, experiencing its various attributes separately from their personal perspectives There is no way for any of the men to understand what an elephant really is because each can only feel a single attribute like a tusk or hide

Bitcoin is slowly becoming clearer to us, but all of its attributes have yet to be discovered, and new ones are being created over

time With the advent of second-layer blockchains that tie into the system, new uses are being created evolutionarily There also may be a time when, in an update or an added second layer or blockchain fork, bitcoin becomes anonymous in various ways, dependent upon specific use cases and the rule of law Of course, people want their privacy just like they do with real money!

The Future of Crypto as an Alternative

As alternative investments, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain-based technologies are becoming more widely accepted Bitcoin and other digital currencies were recognized by Goldman Sachs as an alternative asset class in May 2021

The role of bitcoin as an alternative asset remains dubious, however As a result of the crash, the belief that the crypto market would be able to withstand the macro pressures that have caused the Nasdaq Composite Index to fall by 30% this year was destroyed People realize that digital assets act as an internet

operating system, like high-growth segments of the economy Bitcoin and tech stocks often correlate with one another's movements

Others argue that bitcoin and other cryptos are still viable long-term investments

The fact that pension funds and venture capital firms invested in crypto before the crash was one of its biggest selling points How can these sophisticated funds invest in crypto companies with flimsy revenue and profit promises? They weren't supposed to, at the time As a result, retail investors were more likely to invest

Blockchain, as opposed to digital currencies

Blockchain technology is predicted to survive long after purely speculative digital currencies have disappeared Whether it's videogames, financial products, or art, music, and video repackaged as nonfungible tokens or NFTs, blockchains and related digital assets are expected to reach new markets We're in a crypto winter, but we're not in an infrastructure winter Everyone is still talking about building blockchain-based infrastructure and actively doing it

Regulation will make a difference.

Most banks have stayed on the sidelines, even though others are experimenting with crypto One big reason?

They can only join the blockchain revolution with regulatory clarity in force Such is the nature of banks There is a possibility, however,

that it will come As a result, financial institutions are now developing rules for owning and offering crypto-related services to their clients

For example, several bills in the Senate would direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to handle most of the crypto

market

A number of bills address whether the Securities and Exchange Commission should monitor exchanges and whether crypto banks should be allowed access to the Federal Reserve's core services

Unless there is regulatory certainty in crypto,

many companies will not invest in it Rules that are bipartisan in the Senate are likely to pass next year The proposals are aligned with the recently announced regulatory framework for the industry the Biden administration has recently announced

All Cryptos Should Be Understood as a Dichotomy and Regulated As Such

In the policy debate, a basic dichotomy explains where regulation stands today and how we move forward� We could improve our internal and external regulatory debates by considering crypto as two ecosystems instead of one That should change

because people would be better educated about why blanket crypto regulations cant work But we never talk about it� I will tell you what I mean

There is a side of crypto that is primarily about currency It is about

investing in tokens, holding them, lending them, and trading them Currency crypto aims to attract large institutions and retirement funds and create a spot exchange-traded product for retail investors "It's still early" means that most people haven't

bought yet, according to currency crypto� This has the attention of regulators because governments are uneasy about what will happen

On the other side of crypto, it is about creating peer-to-peer

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computer networks where participants can do business by interacting with widely adopted software Call it "computer crypto " Computer crypto is concerned that these new computer ecosystems will work and provide users with utility When computer crypto exclaims, "it's still early," this means that much of the key technology that will define the long term has not yet been developed Increasing prices is not directly related to innovation, but the fact that prices are going up does not make them irrelevant, partly because it impacts their security Regulators are generally unfamiliar with this side of the market, but some are learning rapidly

Currency crypto relies on centralized Finance (CeFi) The currency landscape is defined and driven by intermediaries� By contrast, computer crypto is distinguished by software acting as an intermediary or counterparty in transactions Computer crypto is much more DeFi than CeFi For the novices out there, Decentralised and Centralised Finance,

There are different risks associated with currency crypto and computer crypto that could be addressed by public policy if we get regulators to understand this point

The risks associated with currency crypto are similar to those in traditional finance: third-party custody, third-party-facilitated payments, investor protection, illicit finance, and market manipulation Besides these categories, computer crypto risk encompasses entirely new ones, too: dangerous self-custody, vulnerable smart contracts, public, pseudonymous, irreversible transactions, and good and bad actors who have equal access Traditional Finance (TradFi) looks much like CeFi Public policy and regulators need to familiarize themselves with the problem set presented by DeFi

Recently, the line between currency crypto and computer crypto has become clearer In a recent discussion about regulatory policy, crypto OG Erik Voorhees and FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried discussed this distinction frequently� Voorhees typically advanced the banner of currency crypto, while SBF presented the perspective of currency crypto From a computer crypto perspective, Vitalik Buterin said on Twitter he would prefer slower currency mass adoption to allow the technology to improve Recently, Bloomberg contributor Matt Levine noted a distinction between

money and technology when discussing cryptocurrencies

We are faced with this distinction The time has come for us to acknowledge it during regulatory debates Things have been muddled for some time due to the failure to do just that�

Currency crypto has dominated the regulatory debate so far There are a variety of policy issues that need immediate resolution It captures much more widespread attention, contributes more to political campaigns, spends more on policymakers and lobbyists, and generally has a better understanding of how federal, state, and international policy is formulated

and implemented As a result, currency crypto has led the agenda and defined the issues. There has been a lot of talk about "regulatory clarity" because regulations are likely to open up broader investor markets, not because developers seek to write smart contracts� They seem more willing, capable, and ready to compromise on regulations to open up new markets for their camp, even if they do so at the cost of uncapped regulatory risk

Regulators overemphasize cryptocurrency's currency aspect because it has driven the regulatory discussion According to them, it's just a matter of buying low and selling high when it comes to digital assets

Computer crypto has been pushed to the back burner Computer crypto has a much lower profile because it has less capital to invest in lobbying and policymaking, is less sophisticated with Washington, D C 's ways, and does not have to deal with as many existential regulatory questions

The meteoric price rise of ether has caught the attention of most legislators The Ethereum platform is a computing platform, and only some people understand that conceptually Its protocols are almost unknown to most people

Nevertheless, advocacy is shifting greatly, making the discussion more intelligent There is a reason for this shift Peer-topeer networks, unhosted wallets, smart contracts, and other aspects of computer cryptography are now being scrutinized by regulators With peerto-peer (P2P) regulation looming, computer crypto is committing more resources to policy development and advocacy

The DACCP Act (Digital Asset Commodity Consumer Protection) is currently being considered by U S House and Senate committees Computer crypto has been howling that vague and ambiguous provisions could permit the

CFTC to have full authority to regulate P2P protocols, while currency crypto has been pushing for its passage The bill sponsors and some in the currency crypto industry have been adversely affected by these criticisms That is a good sign

It's important to embrace both sides of the conversation as computer crypto begins to play a greater role in the conversation Their relationship is symbiotic, not good or bad A thoughtful debate of the issues is hampered by acting as if they are one and the same Many people only care about computer crypto since currency crypto has contributed to the price increase, and the price rises because computer crypto is making something that some people believe may actually change the world�

It also confuses regulators The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a rhetorical basis for prescribing the same regulations for currency crypto and computer crypto if there is no gap between them

"Since we regulate the currency side, we should also regulate the tech side," is the logic behind the argument Ideally, agencies should act more like FinCEN

than they do now if the two sides are properly framed When they saw a rushed rule looking to hobble unhosted wallets in 2020, they correctly resisted (to the extent they were able) their Treasury Department superiors Their congressional mandate could be extended to currency crypto, which often engages in currency services, but their supervision could not be extended to computer crypto

It is logical to start with currency crypto regulation and then move on to computer crypto Regulating currency crypto is much easier than regulating fiat currency Even though we may not be great at regulating intermediated financial systems, we have experience with it The focus on regulating CeFi first would allow us to address that part of crypto dominantly associated with retail and trading The messy but important details that must be resolved in CeFi, such as custodial requirements, know-your-customer (KYC), and balance sheet transparency, could and should be prioritized

During that process, we can reach a greater consensus about risks and mitigation strategies associated with global, permissionless P2P crypto

Considering how early DeFi is in its evolution and the near certainty that it will evolve meaningfully over the coming years, this approach is logical There will be many risks we face today that some of that change will address

How we react to currency crypto should be different from how we react to computer crypto The definition of virtual asset service provider (VASP) or crypto asset service provider (CASP) should not be expanded to include technology providers or platforms by laws or regulations We should call out the flaw and incoherence in policy when we hear "same rules for DeFi and CeFi "

The differences between currency crypto and computer crypto are important, but they also need each other� Investor interest in computer crypto leads to an influx of ideas, energy, and talent in the short and medium term Keeping on the path of innovation requires these ingredients These protocols must win for these tokens to be worth anything in the long run Despite this, our engagement approach and policy goals should reflect that these two sides of crypto are different

—Crypto Weekly

GOLD MAY BE A GOOD INVESTMENT, BUT CRYPTO MAY BE BETTER.

A401(k) company specializing in retirement funds, Fidelity now has a crypto arm for institutional investors, which treats Bitcoin as a currency or a store of value "For most investors, gold makes sense as an entry point, according to Chris Kuiper, director of research at Fidelity Digital Assets

Bitcoin's price was tanking during the crypto market meltdown, so nobody wanted to hear it was digital gold Traders are again discussing Bitcoin as a safe haven asset now that the worst of the crypto market sell-off seems to be over and that the price of Bitcoin appears to have stabilized around 18 to 20k

In a tweet, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin

recently asserted that "crypto is the better bet" than gold This argument is taken a step further by Buterin's remarks, which broaden the scope of the argument to include all cryptocurrencies, not just Bitcoin It suggests that crypto might be a better investment than gold in times of market uncertainty

Why crypto is a good idea

Buterin divided his argument into three concise points In my opinion, two of these arguments do not seem very compelling Buterin argued that gold doesn't offer the same kinds of "safe storage options" as digital currencies Honestly, I don't know what you think about gold, but I think it's quite safe

In addition, Buterin said that gold is difficult to use

when doing business and "inconvenient�" There are many people who can agree that sending crypto anywhere in the world is much easier than using gold bars to make a transaction, so this seems to be a better argument

Even so, crypto doesn't mean it's as "good as gold" as an investment Buterin's third argument really knocked me out� He claimed that "gold has less adoption" than crypto More people own crypto than gold, and that gives it some security

Investing in crypto or gold just got more interesting.

Does crypto have the same value as gold?

For as long as it did, the digital gold argument worked because Bitcoin's price was uncorrelated with other assets, meaning its price did not move like other investments Bitcoin,

however, is correlated, at least loosely, with the broader market, as we saw in 2022 Therefore, Bitcoin can go down when stocks go down, which is why it has lost some of its appeal to investors Regarding volatility, look at what is happening in the financial markets right now.

Most people think Bitcoin is less volatile than it used to be Some traders are even calling it "boring " as I wrote about in an article a few weeks ago Lower volatility in Bitcoin would make it a much more attractive investment, wouldn't it? In addition, Bitcoin and gold

are much more closely correlated than in recent years� It is the highest correlation between Bitcoin and gold in 40 days� Even though this is a very small sample set, it suggests that traders worldwide are looking for answers, causing relationships between asset classes to change

At a time when many people are nervous about tech stocks and the market in general, is it really possible that crypto could become a safe haven asset? Will people worried about their money and savings trust crypto over gold?

As you can see, Buterin didn't say, "crypto is a better investment than gold " What he said was that "crypto is the better bet "

His argument here isn't about a casino bet but rather about game theory Despite coming to cryptocurrency from the world of multiplayer online gaming, Buterin has argued in the past that he thinks the financial markets are a vast multiplayer game in their own right Cooperation and trust are key to success in this game, but communication and trust might not exist Knowledge of game theory is necessary to win

I think Buterin is really suggesting something along the lines of the following based on this: The range of potential future outcomes is impossibly large, and since it's impossible to communicate directly with market players around the world, crypto seems to be emerging as the asset that will succeed in the future

The gold market is clearly safer than all but a few

cryptos at the moment However, that's where things get interesting since cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum might become the next safe haven for nervous investors Investing in crypto is always risky and volatile, but if asset class relationships continue to shift, consider whether it's now time to hedge your bets

—Crypto Weekly

SECOND-LAYER ETHEREUM PROJECTS STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY.

Ethereum's "The Merge" update last month lowered energy costs by over 99%� However, it must still address its biggest barriers to adoption: high fees and slow speeds�

There has been a slow transition to this new future Ethereum's user experience shortcomings are being addressed in several projects and companies, and more

updates are coming� Ethereum's winner (or winners) will determine the future of Ethereum - and will ensure its survival

Problems with Ethereum's user interface

The bummer that is gas fees may be familiar to anyone who has used Ethereum - a fee users must pay on every transaction

they make to keep the network online

Ethereum transaction fees skyrocketed during the peak of crypto's last hype cycle due to network congestion� The cost of sending tokens from one blockchain address to another was as high as $5, and complex transactions –like exchanging currencies on decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap – could be

so high as to be prohibitively expensive A single transaction could often be 40 or 60 dollars!

"Rollups" - third-party networks that provide a faster, cheaper platform for transactions - will help Ethereum expand, not upgrades to its core technology

With rollups like Arbitrum and Optimism, Ethereum's

high fees can be solved through a separate "layer 2" network that processes transactions quickly and cheaply A mechanism is in place to prove that these layer2 transactions haven't been tampered with en route to Ethereum's main network As long as the transactions are verified, they are recorded in Ethereum's ledger

It is generally considered that rollup networks will solve Ethereum's scaling issues - allowing the ecosystem to welcome new users without having to update its core software

It was hoped that Ethereum app developers would migrate to their more affordable shores rather than leaving the ecosystem completely in favor of newer blockchains (such as Solana) or less secure sidechains such as Polygon when Arbitrum and Optimism, the first of the rollups to be launched, were enthusiastically received by Ethereum users eager for a usable blockchain network )

While Ethereum's keystone rollups have been smooth, scaling has yet to be At the height of 2021's crypto mania, Arbitrum and Optimism failed to gain the traction their creators anticipated, and the emergence of more

technically advanced competitors threatens to render them obsolete

Rollup race with optimistic assumptions

Arbitrum and Optimism have competed for market share through product launches, incentive programs, and community outreach campaigns�

Comparatively, Ethereum's TVL of $60 billion is paltry compared to Arbitrum's and Optimism's combined $3 billion assets A new version of Arbitrum Nitro, a platform update with improvements across the board, was launched recently by Arbitrum For more demanding applications, such as gaming, the team developed a cheaper

and faster but slightly less secure network�

In the wake of its native OP token launch, Optimism eventually made headway despite Arbitrum's usage being orders of magnitude higher After a bungled initial launch, Optimism's token and community governance system have attracted users to the platform in recent months

The success of Optimism's version of Aave, which originally launched on Ethereum, illustrates how OP has aided network adoption� Since Aave expanded to Arbitrum and Optimism this year, Optimism offered OP tokens as an incentive to use Aave

on its network, unlike Arbitrum (which does not have a token)

Aave's lending volume on Optimism blew past that on Arbitrum, whose creators have yet to provide direct economic incentives to attract new users With its $1 9 billion TVL, Optimism recently surpassed Arbitrum's $1 5 billion TVL, a key metric of network adoption Optimism's TVL is dominated by Aave alone, which accounts for more than 60%

Optimism has yet to win Ethereum's rollup race Earlier this week, blockchain analytics company Nansen reported Aribitrum had double the number of active addresses as Optimism Furthermore, Optimism's OP handouts must be certain to maintain its TVL lead: Crypto has, in the past, been criticized for attracting disloyal, mercenary capital rather than organic growth

ZK rollups have

Optimism and Arbitrum may ultimately succeed less by competing with each other and more by adapting to new technologies emerging in rollups

become increasingly popular.

As "Optimistic" rollups, Arbitrum and Optimism are both similar These systems allow network operators to pore over transaction data after rollup transactions have been bundled up and passed down to Ethereum and reject any suspicious activity This mechanism can lead to security vulnerabilities and delays assuming transactions are correct unless disputed

The rollup game has a new player ZK rollups are similar to optimistic rollups in that they operate on a layer2 network, using fancy cryptography to prove the transactions they pass to Ethereum are trustworthyso-called zero-knowledge proofs

Several companies are already developing "zkEVMs" - ZK-rollup networks that will support virtually any Ethereumbased application, like Arbitrum and Optimism� Earlier this month, Polygon released a beta version of its zkEVM, and Matter Labs (the company that developed zkSync) and Scroll are also releasing their zkEVMs

ZK technology is generally considered more advanced and secure than optimistic, give'em-the-benefit-of-thedoubt technology used by Aribtrum and Optimism When Optimistic rollups debuted last year, ZK

rollups were considered years away, and there's a possibility that the buzz around them is partially marketing

In an interview, Princeton Computer Science professor Ed Felten, who co-founded Arbitrum builders Offchain Labs, said he is skeptical that ZK technology has the scaleability needed to run a competitive layer 2 They won't be ready for general Ethereum applications

One of these systems may be fully functional and has fully working ZK proofs in the near future, but I would bet against it However, ZK technology offers theoretical advantages, and both Arbitrum and Optimism are open to integrating it into their platforms once it matures

In terms of what we provide, we are not tied to Optimistic, but to ZK rollups, so we will switch when ZK is more appropriate for our user base needs "

It is difficult to imagine that Ethereum's rollup firstmovers will be undaunted by Ethereum's competitors nipping at their heels, whatever their long-term ZK plans might be�

Danksharding and proto-danksharding

The Ethereum community is committed to making rollups the network's primary entry point,

regardless of whether Arbitrum, Optimism, or some new contender takes the throne

Danksharding and protodanksharding will be the keys to Ethereum's rollupcentric vision - enabling rollups to communicate with the base chain of Ethereum

In sharding, activity is distributed across multiple "shards," almost like adding lanes to an overcrowded highway, to increase network transaction capacity and decrease costs As a result of the technology's complexity, in addition to the fact that rollups already addressed some of Ethereum's most pressing scaling issues, sharding was originally supposed to accompany Ethereum's move to proofof-stake consensus With the Merge out of the way and the rollup landscape starting to mature, Ethereum's roadmap again includes shardingbut with a rollup-focused emphasis

The system will allow Ethereum to process abstract blobs of data rather than more transactions, as protodanksharding and danksharding are designed to improve the network's ability to handle abstract blobs of data Originally, Ethereum's network was designed to handle one

transaction at a time, but rollups send lumps of data representing large groups of transactions down to the network Data-intensive networks can handle more layer2 transactions as they handle more data

"Danksharding and proto-danksharding are two methods designed to significantly reduce the costs associated with storing the data on Ethereum, which is one of the biggest sources of cost when operating layer 2 systems like ours," Felten said� As a result, we will reduce costs significantly and therefore lower user fees�"

Optimism and Arbitrum have yet to attract the majority of Ethereum users Still, these upgrades almost assure that they and their forthcoming competitors will play an important role in the next crypto craze

—Crypto Weekly

UNHACKABLE CRYPTO IS CLOSE TO BEING REALIZED

A s blockchain technology continues to advance, innovations like digital assets and "programmable money" are being developed, which cater to the real needs of its users and reduce systemic risks Nevertheless, cyber hackers have stolen billions of dollars, scammers have

defrauded consumers, and unregulated products don't scale Security needs to be hardwired into this new ultimate solution to fiat

By exploring legislation paving the way for stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, Congress can help envision a future that lets

us take advantage of the advantages of blockchain without increasing its risks With blockchain, banks and regulators can protect themselves against bad actors more effectively than with centralized anti-money laundering (AML) and "know your customer" (KYC) verification and compliance processes A

key to building trust is to remove impediments to securing, scalability, and usability of digital assets

Today's crypto market is a jumble of blockchains, coins, and tokens traversed by many centralized exchanges, digital wallets, and bridges between them

Because user experiences are substandard and security lapses have hindered consumer security, it's easy to lose yourself in the sea of information

Hackers exploit silos to steal customer assets, even in the most popular cryptocurrencies

For example, Bitcoin and Ethereum don't communicate: Ethereum's smart contracts are incompatible with Bitcoin's system, and bringing them together is risky and challenging� Cross-chain bridges for moving currencies around are blockchain's biggest weakness, with $2 billion stolen from customers from cyberattacks this year alone

It's time to say goodbye to poorly managed,

unregulated crypto platforms like Celsius, TerraLuna's algorithmic "stablecoin," and all the other multibillion-dollar disasters Consumer protection is needed due to the lack of transparency surrounding Tether's reserves and questions about USDT's ability to maintain a fixed dollar value A moneymarket mutual fund would invest in assets without any regulatory constraints to maintain its value As we've seen with unregulated stablecoins, their volatility would be dramatic

Creating a safe environment for cryptocurrencies, respected by banks, companies, customers, and regulators, requires more than simply legislation with clear rules and guidelines

Blockchains must overcome more than compliance issues to gain acceptance In addition to having exorbitant "gas fees," some companies have large carbon footprints To create a more environmentally friendly future of money, Ethereum engineered a long and difficult merger

Here are three technologies we can use to strengthen the system now or soon:

1) An authenticator that verifies who you claim to be. Cryptocurrencies and regulated financial activities can now be conducted without sharing personal data with the entire world thanks to innovations in decentralized identity Checkmarks verifying your identity are a simple, effective solution for regulatory compliance that could contribute to economic growth for millions of people without other forms of ID

2) Environmentally friendly and unhackable bridges. Criminals are capable of stealing assets, and foreign governments are capable of creating havoc Popular cryptocurrencies can communicate securely with one another using

new IntraBlockchain communication methods As well as migrating Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and other energy-intensive cryptocurrencies to environmentally friendly blockchains, they could do so much faster and more effectively

3) No more unwieldy passwords and worries about compromising your crypto. Crypto assets worth billions of dollars have been lost to customers who lost the keys to their accounts It should be as easy as signing up for a FaceID account on a fintech platform As a result of biometric recovery, crypto holders will no longer worry about losing their crypto, and public and institutional confidence in consumer protections will increase�

It is paramount to create a better and safer system as banks, payment platforms, and digital assets become intertwined, and crypto and Web3 meet regulated financial institutions It is possible to build a financial system everyone can rely on and a crypto future that is compliant, secure, and reliable

—Crypto Weekly

THERE IS NO STOPPING THE CRYPTO REVOLUTION.

Robert Stone

One day neither governments nor central banks will control the money� With cryptocurrency, people are taking their power back� Throughout most of recorded history, religion and the state's power have been ruthlessly linked by the power of laws contrived to serve their interests and the threat they have always maintained over the people In more modern times, we all became exceedingly freer when we separated religious morals and authority from the power of governments One of the most critical developments

in history for world freedom has been the separation of church and state But the state retained an unjust, unequal level of control & limitation on freedom by monopolizing the same tool we use to express the sweat of our brow and the value that it holds The separation of money and government is the most essential evolution of civilization ever

The Separation of Money and State

Money is more important to many people than being allowed to choose a religion Separation of money and state might be as – if not more

important than – freedom of religion Money is just as fundamental to our lives as religion, and it affects how our lives are led The choices that we make about money dictate the ramifications of our lives and those of our communities And as Erik Voorhees, founder of the Shapeshift exchange, has said, "to have an institution like money so controlled by a central entity — by a monopoly — is absurd, and it is immoral " We, as free human beings, must abolish it

Globally, the idea of free markets is still somewhat popular, but this logic

does not seem to hold true for money Although many conservatives often espouse the benefits of a free market in various speeches, almost none of them mention the idea of competing currencies Politicians worldwide tend to be selective in allowing the market to function without government interference

There is an underhanded monopoly on money due to the power government thugs hold around the world There has always been a battle to convince politicians that fiat currency can compete with other forms of money

Cryptocurrency has created a situation where governments don't have a choice in the matter Long-term, governments have very little control over the decentralization cryptocurrency will Every country of the world will have to join together in partnership to stop it by turning off the We know that will never happen

ompetition in money is necessary, just as competition in finances is permitted and applies It is okay to have different churches Our children will someday look back and realize how apparent removing state control over money was when they learn the history of government power over people and

Governments are way too prone to corruption and too prone to thinking shortterm Most people are not good at managing things most efficiently. Crypto represents immutable truth by a logical consensusdriven force called the blockchain, an unhackable code for all practical purposes� We, the people, have the power to choose or not a system that overcomes the weaknesses of the human spirit and those who choose to control us It is truly up to us and not the bullies who would control us

Crypto is a tool that can solve money problems more efficiently - optimizing costs, providing additional benefits, providing better security, better speed, better flexibility. Still, it doesn't mean that everything will be replaced immediately Like all innovations, it will take time, and like all tools, will slowly be replaced by a more efficient tool as a matter of natural selection The idea of "survival of the fittest" is seriously at play here

The Will of the People

Everything comes down to the people's will – what they believe has value and what they choose to use It's only a matter of time and what people demand We all intuitively know the current system is broken, and many people opt out of the fiat system whenever they get a real chance� If enough people do that, a tipping point will be reached The new system is more efficient and uncheatable Crypto is a safety mechanism that gives people their freedom, and the people will take it because it belongs to them Freedom is ours and not for governments to take

The people have the power to shape what is coming by the choices about it we make but honestly when it comes to the movement itself,

whatever our feeling likes, or dislikes history is being made regardless� I merely report to you and everyone who reads this an inevitable future� The 19th century marked the separation of church and state� The 21st century will be defined by the separation of money and state It may be a rocky transition but ultimately governments will

become like corporations competing for talent Security will be privatized and DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) will thrive� There is nothing that can be done to stop it Bans, legislation, laws, will have the effect of slowing its progress but that is all Welcome to the Crypto revolution May it serve us well

Developed on Secret Network, Shade Protocol consists of a network of privacypreserving Dapps Due to the high speed of the Secret Network,

Shade has not only created a product that is privacy-friendly, scalable, and interoperable, but is also very easy to use

Despite their inherent security, traditional stablecoins, such as those pegged to gold or fiat, have a major weakness; they lack privacy Using a stablecoin means that the merchant knows far more about you than with a credit card or debit card, allowing them to discriminate against you

Based on the Secret Network and SNIP20 private and fungible token standard, SILK gives

holders the option to make their transactions private or public. With advanced flexibility and auditable privacy, SILK is a 4th generation stablecoin

Since inflation remains a growing concern globally, Shade Protocol offers a stablecoin that doesn't adhere to a single fiat currency or asset, but can react to global trends as they change With Shade Protocol, everything will be under one umbrella, including a decentralized exchange

As governments consider how to interact and use cryptocurrencies, and more nations adopt cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation, at the same time the world's population becomes more familiar with cryptocurrency, stablecoins will remain a major topic of discussion The answer to the question of what a stablecoin should be, can be found in SILK

A social game where you can collect, earn, win, and display your NFTs while playing and socializing with your friends

The vision of Cryptopolis is to make managing digital assets fun Cryptopolis strongly believes in the future of crypto gaming Being able to have fun and make money at the same time is not a utopian dream anymore

It is here And Cryptopolis wants to make it the most fun for any adult to do so Play-to-earn is the approach we chose because Cryptopolis believes anyone should be able to acquire Cryptopolis NFT's Cryptopolis merges the Sims-like mechanics with room decorating

and social interaction In Cryptopolis your NFT collection and in-game experience get you to the top of the tower Make real money with the $CPO tokens by winning wager matches throughout the Tower, buying and selling NFT's, and winning tournaments The future of NFT gaming is here

Cryptopolis is free-to-play & play-to-earn An online social platform with a blockchain back end and an associated cryptocurrency ($CPO) - Cryptopolis has a progression system based on acquiring resources, items (as NFTs), and prestige - Where players connect with each other and perform activities together But they also compete with each other for ingame standing (prestige) and $CPO in various minigames. Cryptopolis is the first gamified social platform whose users can earn real money by playing and trading NFTs

Cookie Sale launched in February 2022, and aims to become one of the biggest launchpads for tokens on the BSC With its sleek design and easy-to-use interface, CookieSale looks to be adaptable and adoptable for developers and a safe environment for investors CookieSale works side by side with Kodi’s marketing & advertising agency Pitch. This benefits developers and holders of Kodi as well As a developer, you will be able to use CookieSale as an “A to Z” platform

From advertising to zhooshing up your “cookie” there will be something that satisfies almost anyone’s tastes As a Kodi holder, a percentage of the revenue generated through

CookieSale will be bought back into Kodi and then airdropped to holders, holding 10 million or more Kodi tokens

Backed by powerful auditing companies such as Certik, SpyWolf, Brewlabs, Dessert Finance, Contract Checker, and HashEx developers will be able to choose between three pre-audited contracts or create their own and have it audited separately Other key features include liquidity locking, anti-bot features, custom airdrops, visual cues to aid in identifying safer investments, and more

One notable feature that stands out amongst other launchpads is that CookieSale will only charge a flat fee for listing Developers will be able to launch the right way, without the fear of a large sell from the launchpad taking profit.

Kodi’s mission is to create a one-stop-shop IDO platform and provide investors with an interactive Entertainment Network that will keep users engaged, informed, and entertained while investing in the crypto space

Clear Vision

Kodi`s vision is to create an ecosystem that will be a driver in promoting a safer economic environment for crypto investors to participate in and for developers to grow their projects. Kodi is creating an industry-first Entertainment Network that will become THE place for crypto investors to socialize, have fun, win prizes, and learn about everything crypto Is there anything more about Kodi? How do you, as an investor benefit? Kodi by itself, is an entertainment project Kodi plays games post podcasts, do AMAs, have tournaments, live streams, and play plenty of music� At Kodi there are two subsidiaries� "Pitch" being the in-house advertising agency, which is a one-stop shop, all things content creation, both in crypto and fiat. Branding, websites, commercials, you name it Kodi does it The Pitch Advertising Agency and

CookieSale launchpad Cookie Sale will work in unison to become the go-to destinations for developers to build their brands and launch their projects With Cookie Sale, you can launch your project from A to Z Gone are the days of taking your token supply Kodi simply charges a flat fee, no strings attached.

So how do you benefit as a holder? Well, if you're, a holder of at least ten million KODI you receive BNB, rewards automatically deposited into your wallet You also can participate in Kodi`s weekly games where you can win, BNB for free But here's where things get really exciting Two percent of every transaction goes straight into the Kodi treasury contract The treasury buys back Kodi tokens, creating an increase in price, and stores them in the treasury Twenty percent of these tokens are burnt and 80% gets used to top up the staking pools as needed revenue generated through pitch and cookie sale also gets added to the treasury contract This creates the everincreasing price floor, whilst also removing tokens from circulation Go say hi on their telegram community, or check out their website at Kodicoin com

WILL THE MEKAVERSE RISE AGAIN?

for an NFT project� The hyped collection generated over $60 million during its first week, also enjoying coverage from traditional media firms. Before its reveal in October 2021, the 8888 digital collections traded for as high as 12 ETH ($46,000) but it was immediately plagued with controversies as fraud allegations began to rise These negativities have spiraled into the floor price of the collection drastically dropping to as low as 0 272 ETH ($445), according to OpenSea data Judging from past success, however, does that mean the low prices of the initial MekaVere NFTs mean they are an opportunity today? They may be Despite the cataclysmic drop in value, there was enough in reserve to continue to develop the project and the MekaVerseTeam has been very busy

Some NFT projects have failed to live up to the expected hype, with many of them now far below their launch value MekaVerse had one of the most successful launches for an NFT project in 2021 but failed spectacularly

with to fall of the crypto market

The general market decline has also affected interest in the broader market The non-fungible token (NFT) space has a lot of success stories, from projects like

the Bored Ape Yacht Club to CryptoPunks Bu there have also been many projects that failed to live up to their hype or to survive the crypto crash

MekaVerse had one of the most successful launches

Despite the hype and noise wrapping Mekaverse, the project has also come under a fair share of controversy from NFT enthusiasts� The project received some criticism from the community after the revelation that savvy users had manipulated the raffle system and employed bots to get assigned mints on several wallets There were also cases where the differences between the NFT images came down to slight color swaps on small details

The possibility of a copyright dispute from Gundam Genuine for using a similar artwork by Mekaverse has also allegedly raised concerns The creators responded to the accusations in a post via their public Discord channel The team claims that the reveal process featured a seed system for recreating the order if necessary and a unique Python script to help with randomization Besides, they finished the randomization process on a private server rather than a blockchain The team also addressed the allegations on the MekaVerse NFTs distribution

MekaVerse is a project that would entice both generative art collectors and loyalists of Japanese mecha fiction. The presence of a burgeoning community that fosters MekaVerse’s lore is frankly impressive The development team’s grandiose ambition and roadmap, as well as their commitment to fulfilling those promises, are noteworthy

Can the project recover to its past glory? We can expect the possibility when the NFT market recovers and the community trusts the project as it used to� For now, read on

The MekaVerse NFT collection was called one of the most hyped projects

of the year by the NFT community On August 30 2021, the project opened its Twitter and Discord accounts to the public for the first glimpse of the artwork With over 150k Discord members within 48 hours of starting the project, the #MEKAGANG community has grown from just 200 followers on Twitter Currently, MekaVerse has more than 250,000 Twitter followers Their Twitter account was created on August 28 2021 Since then, they have continuously updated their community� After two months of anticipation, the #MEKAGANG were able to get their hands on the MekaVerse NFTs The collection has yielded over

$60 million in sales from the first mint and secondary sales Buyers spent tens of thousands of dollars on something they could not even see before the event unfolded

Japanese Mecha universes inspired the team to launch this unusual project� There are 8,888 "Mekas" in the "MekaVerse" Each Meka has many different characteristics Throughout the rendering process, a random pool of elements is compiled at random to generate each image With its own color palette and creation, no two images are alike They achieved their goal of making each Meka unique Their goal was to put quality before quantity

The MekaVerse team says that it is an ongoing longterm project, and they have a lot of exciting things in the works, including realworld collectibles New ideas and questions are being explored� What if you could grow your Meka into a Super-Meka? How about combining your Mekas? Could you do battle with your Mekas?

Community members were assured that "quality comes first." In the team's words, they aimed to make the first drop "as cool as possible" to allow them to freely develop the universe MekaVerse Mania has since consumed the NFT space and attracted NFT collectors old and new to the project - causing an

unhealthy sense of FOMO and an eagerness to own one of the 8,888 MekaVerse NFTs

MekaVerse is managed by two freelance graphic and digital artists from Europe, Matt, and Mattey Julien van Dorland is the man behind their Discord channel, an NFT icon in his own right Together with Julien's brother Simon van Dorland, they drew in some of the NFT community's most enthusiastic Twitter users, including Loopify, who tweeted about the Mekaverse, which is how many people first learned about the project The video of their announcement was viewed over 800k times on Twitter

Before the historical event, even secondary market buyers were in the dark about the NFTs provided by MekaVerse In advance of the collection-wide reveal on October 10th and 11th, every image on OpenSea was an animated placeholder� It was impossible to predict whether users would get an NFT with rare attributes or something less rare

The NFT itself is a blockchain-backed deed of ownership for a digital item, proving that your one-of-a-kind avatar truly belongs to you Other types of NFTs include digital artwork, video files, and interactive video game

items The broader market has exploded in 2021, including $10 billion worth of trading volume in Q3 alone, according to DappRadar

There was an immense demand for the minting process Rather than holding an open mint, MekaVerse held a raffle to

interest in buying either one or two NFTs�

On October 6, the raffle process opened for the public, which acted as a call to every NFT collector in the world The collectible Meka NFTs can be minted by visiting the website and selecting the quantity of

website, with an estimated 172k wallets registered for the drawing The NFT community then returned to the website 24 hours later to see if they had won

secure spots The collection decided to open the 'raffle' to incentivize a fair minting process which involved users signing up with a wallet on the MekaVerse website and 'registering'

Mekas they wish to mint Next, they will be asked to register and authenticate via Discord or Twitter

The minting lottery drew 661,737 unique visitors to the

MekaVerse NFTs had a deadline for the minting time of six hours if you won one MekaVerse NFTs were then able to be viewed on OpenSea after they were minted for the lucky winners In addition to minting NFTs - each for 0 2 ETH - the winners took to Twitter to show off their loot

Almost immediately after the mint, OpenSea sales started to flood in. A floor price of around 4 ETH was established, and minters sought to earn an early profit by 'flipping' their NFTs

The NFT demand continued to rise as time went on, with many now willing to pay up to 6 4 ETH (22k) for a "secret" artwork Since its mint, the collection has dominated the volume charts on

OpenSea, reaching a trading volume of 20k ETH ($70m) in its first week.

Despite its launch, MekaVerse was not without controversy Several users complained that the raffle system demands users sign in with a Twitter or Discord account, for

such as an unverified Ethereum contract, a significant transfer of funds from the contract, and a lack of communication Furthermore, there have been claims that similar artwork from Gundam Genuine and MekaVerse has raised copyright concerns

can buy one One user on Twitter - 'Iam0xB0B', who owns 56 Mekaverse NFTs - claimed whales holding large amounts of ETH were accumulating NFTs Now, however that whales have let and the prices are at rock bottom is it time to buy?

Emerson Trung, a concept artist who has worked on the "Transformers" and "Doom" franchises, claims he was not fully compensated for his work on the project Trung tweeted, however, that the team would honor its original agreement, which included one MekaVerse NFT, following Twitter exchanges, including purportedly deleted tweets in which Braccini called Trung's behavior "disgusting "

It is only the very beginning of what is possible with MekaVerse A few projects have long-term plans, as in the second roadmap for Bored Apes As of now, the MekaVerse team is keeping the rest of the details under wraps

example, alleging that their data would be harvested The project is being accused of being a rip-off, citing allegations

The project has also been criticized for becoming a 'whale's playground' - where only those with large amounts of ETH

As a Metkaver spokesperson stated, "the end goal is to deliver a quality product to the world of collectibles and a fresh perspective to the NFT market We will be actively pursuing this goal and make MekaVerse more than just an online platform "

PART ONE: LAYER 2 CONSENSUS MECHANISMS: WHAT ARE THEY AND HOW DO THEY WORK?

Layer 2 blockchains, which are built on top of blockchains such as Ethereum, assist with scalability and speed but first, lets talk about what a layer 1 is:

Layer 1 networks are the underlying structure or "base layer" of a blockchain Known as the core network, or “mainnet,” it defines the core rules of the ecosystem, as well as validates and finalizes transactions, as seen with Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana�

As with any good network, layer 1 blockchains tend to emphasize decentralization and

security - both of which need to be maintained by a diverse, global community of developers and participants

Since these platforms lack any central authority or oversight, they require the technology to be innately secure to protect users from scams and attacks� Their scalability has often been hampered by this priority in design, as well as the immense resources required to maintain a fully functional ecosystem�

Despite some developers' belief that the technology is inherently flawed (called the Blockchain Trilemma) because it is unable to achieve a balance between security,

decentralization and scalability, solutions on layer 2 such as "rollups" on Ethereum, and "lightning networks" on Bitcoin, have been used to address these issues

What are layer 2 consensus mechanisms?

Off-chain solutions (separate blockchains) work on top of layer 1 to reduce scaling and data bottlenecks Think of it like a home buildr – if every home was built by one person from start to finish a long process would inevitably take forever But layer 2s are like skilled union carpenters –everyone on the job site has a skill they specialize in

and they all work together to get the job done post haste This is what layer 2 solutions do

Similar systems are used by payment platforms like Visa As opposed to managing thousands of micro-transactions from vendors such as gas stations, which would clog the network within minutes, Visa groups the transactions into batches that are settled regularly in the banking system A settlement layer is then used by the banks to store and sort transactions A layer 2 would be Visa, while a layer 1 would be the companies that keep records of transactions and define the rules of the financial industry.

Robert Stone

Through features like Optimistic rollups and zeroknowledge (ZK) rollups, Ethereum delivers a higher transaction inclusion rate and throughput in part by offloading transaction management to the secondary network As a result, the user experience is seamless and practical Optimism, Loopring, Arbitrum, and zkSync are examples of layer 2s on Ethereum

What are the benefits of layer 2s?

Layer 1, or the mainnet, of Ethereum emphasizes decentralization and security, but its market popularity over the years has led to the network reaching nearly 1 5 million transactions per day Data congestion is often caused by periods of high network activity, since only 15 transactions can be processed per second on the mainnet� Consequently, gas fees (transaction fees) rise, slowing the performance of applications, as most notably during the Yuga Labs Otherside virtual land sale of 2021

Ethereum's layer 2 network extends the layer 1 network over a separate blockchain in order to combat these issues Through smart contracts that leverage Ethereum's robust decentralized security model, it communicates

and offloads the heavy burden of transactions from the mainnet

Essentially, Layer 1 is responsible for security, data availability, and decentralization, while Layer 2 is responsible for scaling

Layer 1 blockchains typically have the following features:

ƒ

The network is secured and validated by a network of nodes

ƒ There are a number of block producers in a network

ƒ Blockchain data and main transactions

ƒ There is an associated consensus mechanism

In contrast, Layer 2 offers:

ƒ Data load is reduced because layer 2s bundle multiple offchain transactions into one layer 1 transaction By settling transactions on the mainnet, they also maintain security and decentralization

ƒ Enhanced utility: Layer 2 projects can improve user experience and expand application scope through the combination of higher transaction rates and lower fees

Scalability issues are largely related to decentralization, as mentioned above As opposed to traditional banks, which have a closed and efficient payment regulation system, blockchainbased transactions and data management require a series of systematic steps, including acceptance, verification, and distribution across a network (with thousands of participants), all the while maintaining integrity and security

Ethereum, for example, is expected to have a layered and scalable design that will be able to compete with and ultimately replace the streamlined, yet restricted channels of Visa and MasterCard In order to make the network faster and more userfriendly, layer 1s and layer 2s work together

How does layer 2 work?

A layer 2 protocol provides a separate framework for layer 1 and layer 2 transactions As a result, the second layer can perform many tasks that would normally be performed by the main chain� After layer 2 applications post transaction data to layer 1, the ledger and history are secured by the blockchain

It is important to note that layer 2s are also accessible differently than other open or closed platforms While some can be used by a wide range of applications, others are tailored to the needs of a single project only In addition to rollups and sidechains, layer 2s utilize a number of important components

Layer 2 rollups defined

Essentially, a rollup executes hundreds of transactions outside of layer 1, compiles them into a single piece of compressed data, and then posts it back to the mainnet so anyone can review and dispute it As a result, rollups take advantage of Ethereum's security while reducing gas fees by 10 to 100 times It is true that rollups all help with deposits, withdrawals, and verification proofs, but there are subtle differences in the way rollups, like Optimism and ZK, update layer 1 data�

Optimistic rollups defined

In essence, an optimistic rollup is a layer 2 or L2 scaling protocol for extending Ethereum's base layer's throughput� Optimistic rollups reduce Ethereum's main blockchain's computation load An Opptimistic rollup runs all the transactions

in parallel with the main Ethereum chain and then posts the data back to the main Ethereum chain As a result of the competitively low fees on these layer 2s, users are incentivized to transact on them

It is possible to challenge and assess fraud proofs if it is suspected that a transaction is fraudulent When this scenario occurs, the rollup will use the available state data to compute the transaction This means that exiting the rollup and withdrawing funds back to layer 1 will take a little longer than ZK rollups (explained below) Users "inside" the rollup will still receive fast confirmation of their transactions

Solidity and Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) are compatible with optimistic rollups, so anything possible on layer 1 can be replicated on layer 2 Arbitrum, Optimism, and Boba are all examples of

optimistic rollups

ZK rollups

Cryptographic proofs are generated by ZK rollups in contrast to optimistic rollups Validity proofs are SNARKs (succinct noninteractive arguments of knowledge) or STARKs (scalable transparent arguments of knowledge) posted to layer 1

Keeping track of all transfers on layer 2 and updating them only through validity proofs, ZK rollups are more efficient. It's easier to validate blocks and transfer Ethereum's main token, ether (ETH), to layer 1 thanks to ZK rollups, since they don't require the entire transaction data

Transaction authenticity has already been verified by the validity proof (as confirmed by the ZK rollup contract) However, they lack full EVM support and are more expensive to run computations for applications with little

on-chain activity dYdX, Loopring, and zkSync are examples of ZK rollups

Sidechains

A sidechain is a standalone, EVM-compatible blockchain that runs side by side or parallel to the mainnet and interacts with it via bridges, as demonstrated by XDai and Polygon PoS Since they are not secured by layer 1 and use a separate consensus mechanism, they cannot technically be considered layer 2 As a result of its model of the Ethereum Virtual Machine, the chain functions similarly to Ethereum

For a little bit of history The sidechain concept has been around since December 2014, although a precursor to the idea has existed for several years before that It worked as follows: "Pegging" was theoretically used to manage the transition from Bitcoin 1 0 to Bitcoin 2�0� The distribution model for BTC2 0 would release 8 million units through mining, on the same timetable as BTC1 0 after that point, while the remaining 13 million would be distributed through a mechanism known as “proof-of-burn”�

Validiums defined

StarkWare, for instance, uses validity proofs

(similar to ZK rollups) but does not store data on layer 1 It is possible to run multiple validity chains simultaneously and each can process approximately 10,000 transactions per second The general support for smart contracts is limited, due to the need for more specialized languages

Validiums and sidechains are blockchains that run side by side in parallel with Ethereum and connect to assets through bridges Due to the fact that they don't gain security from Ethereum itself, they are not considered a layer 2 like Optimistic or ZK rollups

The potential for security and trust implications make this more important than ever Although both offer low transaction fees and high throughput, they scale similarly to layer 2s

What is the reason for so many layer 2s?

To prevent overdependency or a collapse of a single part of the network, different layer 2 channels have been created After covering the main layer 2s, such as Optimistic rollups, ZK rollups, and the sidechains, the ecosystem is continuously shifting, and some applications, such as Plasma and State Channels, end up abandoned

of the week

Is The Bitcoin Bottom Finally In?

by James Sides

James Sides is an experienced and well-respected trader who has been a friend of Crypto Weekly`s Editor for many years He has a free-to-enter Facebook group if you would like to learn more from him called Crypto Common Sense I highly recommend it If you are interested in trading, anything that comes from James Sides is well thought out and will contain the nuances and richness that flow from a brilliant mind.