Web3: a16z Investing in BAYC; DeepDAO Search Engine; Aave Launches Lens; Wormhole $320M Hack; MIT Research CBDCs; Grayscale Digital Economy ETF
Gm Fintech Futurists —
Welcome to our Web3 newsletter, focused on covering the overall progress in the metaverse, NFTs, and DeFi. To more closely manage which emails you receive, see this post. If you want to go deeper with our weekly long takes and develop a view on the space, check out our premium features below.
Cryptoeconomic Research
ConsenSys launched the Cryptoeconomic Research Library, focused on DeFi protocol governance, fundamental protocol research, market views and economics, token engineering, and DAO design. These are topics we contribute to and drive for the company. The plan is to cross-pollinate the most impactful deep dives into the Blueprint as well. Let us know your thoughts here, and click below to explore.
NFT, Metaverse, and Gaming
⭐ Andreessen Horowitz in Talks to Invest in Bored Ape Yacht Club - Axios, February 3
GameStop to Launch NFT Marketplace with Ethereum Layer 2 Immutable X - The Block, February 3
An IP Lawyer Explains What Counts as NFT Theft When ‘Stealing’ is as Easy as Right-click and Save - Fortune, February 5
Decoupling of NFTs and Crypto Spurs Debate About Future of New Asset Class - The Defiant, February 3
Metaverse Mortgages are Being Issued to Buy Virtual Land - Markets Insider, February 1
DAOs and Token Engineering
⭐ DeepDAO Unveils First-Ever Specialised Search Engine for DAO Ecosystem and its Users- The Coin Republic, February 2
DAOs Aren't A Fad — They're A Platform - Forbes, February 3
Solidly: Feature Updates, and Launch Date - Andre Cronje, February 5
VC-backed DAO Startups Are Racing to Define What DAOs Actually Are - Techcrunch, February 1
Ape DAO Collectors Seek to Liquidate $31M Treasury of Bored Ape NFTs - The Defiant, February 1
veBAL Tokenomics - Messari, February 3
A DAO Trying to Free Julian Assange Has Raised $4 million and Counting - The Block, February 4
DeFi and Stablecoins
⭐ Aave Launches Lens Protocol For Decentralized Social Media - Yahoo Finance, February 8
How DEXs Use Incentives and Tokenomics to Generate Revenue - The Defiant, February 2
How a Game Engine for DeFi Could Facilitate Accelerated Development - Coin Telegraph, February 1
Crypto Stakers’ IRS Tax Refund Marks Milestone for PoS Validators - The Defiant, February 2
a16z-backed TrueFi Launches DeFi Lending Market for Asset Managers - Coin Telegraph, February 3
Stablecoin-as-a-Service Project ICHI Raises $3.5M for Continued DeFi Expansion - Decrypt, February 2
Solana Pay Connects Merchants and Consumers via Stablecoin Payments - Blockworks, February 1
Public Blockchains
⭐ Wormhole Parent Company Commits $320M Ether to Replace Massive DeFi Hack Losses - Blockworks, February 3
ConsenSys Acquires Open Source Ethereum Wallet to Expand MetaMask - Blockworks, February 1
Polygon Raises $450M from Sequoia Capital India, SoftBank and Tiger Global - Techcrunch, February 7
DeFi Infrastructure Provider Qredo Raises $80M at $460M Valuation - CoinDesk, February 4
AVAX's Emin Gun Sirer Says Blockchains Should be Scalable at Their Core; Layer 2s Mean Giving Up - The Defiant, February 3
Solana Integrates Web3Auth to Lower DApp Barrier-to-Entry - Coin Telegraph, February 3
Crypto, Fintech and Institutional
⭐ Asset Management Giant Grayscale Investments is Launching an ETF that will Track the Biggest Names in the Digital Economy - Business Insider, February 3
Chainalysis Acquires DC-Based Data and Consultancy Firm Abaxx - The Block, February 3
KPMG in Canada Adds BTC and ETH to its Corporate Treasury - The Block, February 7
Tesla’s Bitcoin Strategy Is Working Annual Report Suggests - Decrypt, February 7
Veteran Blockchain VC Backer Tiger Global Moves Into Crypto Trading - Blockworks, February 3
Russian Central Bank Registers Nation’s First Digital Asset Manager - Con Telegraph, February 3
How Walmart Uses Blockchain to Manage its Supply Chain - AIM, February 6
Enterprise Chains and CBDCs
⭐ MIT Experts Test Technical Research for a Hypothetical Central Bank Digital Currency - MIT News, February 3
Central Bank of Jordan Reveals CBDC Plans - Coin Telegraph, February 1
India to Introduce 30% Crypto Tax, Digital Rupee CBDC by 2022–23 - Coin Telegraph, February 1
More? More!
If you want to go deeper in Fintech & DeFi, upgrade to a premium Blueprint subscription below. Our value prop is simple: experienced judgement, accurate vision. If you knew the shape of the tomorrow, what would you do today?
Want to discuss? Stop by our Discord and or reach out here anytime.