The DeGen Bible to Financial Freedom - Vol. 30

Week 1 May-  15 May 2023

Acknowledge your limits, no shame, no guilt, no regrets- Mars Captain

🧠 Observations

• BRC-20, BRC-21, BRC-this, BRC-that, please be reminded that you can't do smart contract on any of these standards, so you shouldn't be comparing them with ERC-20. Plus, Unisat Wallet's launch had immediately multiple bugs. Why would you speculate on a wallet for the storage of a few lines of code a unicorn? (You can launch standards, but it doesn't mean it will become a market or drive adoption, there is no adoption, sorry. Good luck to those who do Unisat wallet or DIY other superior standards. The memory of $BCH and $BSV is still fresh.)
• Memeconomy's best signification is its relevancy to the principles of permissionlessness, on-chain transparency, and David against Goliah type of small winning big legends. Oh, where are advocates saying more regulation is good? Are they busy aping in $PEPE and pause their advocacy? Has Linkedin crypto gurus caught up with the meme rave, or your corporate friends start to pivot to alternative meme investment yet? If not, there is still some time to ride this hype.
• There seems to have no coming-backs of NFTs, poor JPEGs, RIP 2021-2023 Spring. Except DeFi and stablecoins, not yet a super sound business models in crypto. Buidlers have to DYOR more relentlessly and tirelessly.  

💵 Stablecoin & Market Landscape

• Stablecoin market share remains high in reference to the total crypto market capitalization. 11.17% of stablecoin (131B) on 1.17T crypto market.

Reminder: Mid-NOV 2021, this percentage was around 4ish% with a 3T total MC. Now we are at 11ish% with a 1ishT total MC.

• Now at 1.17T.  Still hanging around on the 1T level. Going steady.

Reminder, June and Nov 2022 witnessed a bottom of 800ish B MC vis-a-vis the market’s top in NOV 2021 at 3T.

Infographics

• These NFTs need immediate innovation or else they are going to ashes behind the next bull run.
• Founders and teams and whale holders, please think of running a proper project, you don't need to travel on private jets or throw big lavish parties to show that you are important.

• Nothing to comment on, but voilà!

• Someone farming addresses after the Arbitrum saga? What's gonna launch on BNB then?

• BTC magazine has always held crystal clear eyes towards the market. Quote, "It took the last two bitcoin cycles around three years each to return to their previous all-time high. Currently, we’re halfway through that period. Both previous cycles also saw price action that retested market bottoms. It’s best to prepare for a similar scenario playing out, especially considering current macro headwinds. At the least, history would show us that it’s a good time to have patience at this part in the cycle." 💎✋

• UAE is the interesting country in this ranking, anyone knows why?

• If $BTC is digital gold, $LTC is digitial silver. MBWB + the highest payment method adoption available makes this legacy coin a solid one, in a way. And its halving is coming soon.

🔢 Index

• Has been sideways for around 1 month now. There should have room to drop further, even though price actions might not move. Binance's liquidity depth has been halved and halved in the last month, how bullish are you?

• CBBI has been stagnant as well. Boring but looks healthy.

📰 Current affairs

Starfish Finance:

Prediction Market — The First Game of Starfish’s Entertainment-Fi

Play to earn?

MediumStarfish Finance

Starfish Finance II - Attack of the (Dapp) Clones

Far beyond Earth and millions of miles past the moon, there’s a planet where Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and NFT-Fi meet on an interoperable network. First observed in 2022, the world known as “Starfish Planet” is home to degens, hodlers, frens and a starfish named Sean.

CoinDeskCoinDesk Staff

Starfish Finance: A cross-chain DeFi, NFT-finance platform on Astar Network, a Polkadot parachain

Starfish Finance is a pioneer project in the Astar incubation project and the first decentralized finance (DeFi) and nonfungible token (NFT) finance platform on Astar Network.

CointelegraphCointelegraph

BTC

Bitcoin transactions reach record high as Inscriptions surge

The number of transactions on the Bitcoin network reached a new all-time high yesterday when tracked daily using a seven-day moving average.

The BlockAdam James

Bitcoin Ordinals faces new challenge after developer inserts bug to throw out numbering

A transaction has caused issues for Bitcoin collectibles project Ordinals, as it faces difficulty with its inscription numbering system.

The BlockTim Copeland

ETH

Ethereum Developers In ‘Final Stages Of Planning’ Next Major Upgrade

‘Dencun’ Will Focus On Scaling To Reduce Transaction Costs

The DefiantSamuel Haig

Elon Musk Tweets Miladys NFT Meme—Price Predictably Pumps - Decrypt

As it has for Dogecoin, Twitter owner Elon Musk’s tweet has sent the price of Milady Maker NFTs flying, now up 57% over the past day.

DecryptAndrew Hayward

Layer 1s/ Major DeFi

Why Everyone Is Keeping a Close Eye on Mt. Gox, US Gov Bitcoin Wallets - Decrypt

Investors are keeping a close eye on $10B worth of Bitcoin held by the U.S. government and the trustee for failed crypto exchange Mt. Gox .

DecryptMat Di Salvo

DeFi Powerhouse Curve Finance Deploys Decentralized Stablecoin on Ethereum - Decrypt

Though the Curve team has deployed the smart contract for crvUSD, users are still waiting on a web interface.

DecryptNivesh Rustgi

Maker to Spark ‘New Explosion of DAI’ With Custom Lending Market

Adapted from Aave, Spark Protocol’s Lend product will directly connect end users to the Maker stablecoin, dai

BlockworksMacauley Peterson

Cardano Scaling Node Hydra Head Goes Live on Blockchain’s Mainnet

The tool, the first in a planned suite of products, aims to speed up transaction times on Cardano.

CoinDeskShaurya Malwa

Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs Coming to Binance in Late May

Prior to Ordinals on Bitcoin, Binance NFT, the exchange’s non-fungible token marketplace, added support for BNB chain, Ethereum and Polygon

BlockworksJames Cirrone

Tether reports $1.48 billion Q1 net profit in latest attestation report

Tether released its latest attestation report on Thursday, reporting a “net profit” of $1.48 billion in the first quarter of 2023.

The BlockYogita Khatri

Terra death spiral turns one: Searching for silver linings among the wreckage.

Crypto brought to its knees by Terra: Industry examines lessons to be learned from catastrophic event.

The BlockRT Watson

Celsius pitched bold white-label pivot as core business collapsed

Celsius approached investors about the project, branded Celsius Web Services, with former CEO Alex Mashinsky seeking $1 billion to get it started.

The BlockRyan Weeks

Memecoin floki partners with World Table Tennis

It’s the latest web3-sports deal to be announced, even as interest from teams and players has cooled following the demise of FTX.

The BlockRT Watson

Litecoin Transactions Up 500% On LTC-20 Token Hype

Speculation On Ordinals Has Moved Beyond Bitcoin

The DefiantSamuel Haig

Twitter

NFTs

NFT Project Pudgy Penguins Raises $9M

The fundraise comes after a leadership change that led to an increased focus on utilizing the intellectual property.

CoinDeskBrandy Betz

Macro econ/ Regulations

Bitcoin Payment Option ‘Is Coming’, Says Liechtenstein’s Prime Minister - Decrypt

The Principality of Liechtenstein may follow suit of several cantons in neighboring Switzerland by accepting Bitcoin for state services.

DecryptAndrew Asmakov

Terraform CEO Do Kwon to Be Released on Bail in Montenegro - Decrypt

The Basic Court in Montenegro has agreed to a $436,000 bail for Terraform Labs’ co-founder and CEO Do Kwon.

DecryptAndrew Asmakov

German Fintech Unstoppable Finance to Launch Europe’s First ‘DeFi-Native Bank’ - Decrypt

Unstoppable says reserves held with the European Central Bank will also underpin its new euro-pegged stablecoin and suite of DeFi banking services.

DecryptTim Hakki

Chinese Users of the Binance and FTX Exchanges Show Holes in Beijing’s Crypto Ban

Nineteen months after China banned crypto, more signs have emerged that its citizens continue to buy and sell digital assets.

BloombergZheping Huang

Introducing Crypto Transfers for Venmo Customers

Today, we’re introducing the ability to transfer crypto to friends and family on Venmo or PayPal, and to external wallets and exchanges in the crypto ecosystem.

PayPal Newsroom

Gemini Warns Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group of $630M Default Risk - Decrypt

DCG “risks defaulting on its obligations” if it’s unable to pay the $630 million debt made to bankrupt Genesis, said Gemini.

DecryptAndrew Asmakov

Tokens but not crypto: Nigeria SEC prepares new digital asset rules

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission is considering allowing licensed digital exchanges to list tokens backed by equity or property, not crypto.

CointelegraphHelen Partz

Circle refuses to hold longer-dated Treasurys on US default concern

Stablecoin issuer Circle is refusing to hold Treasurys that mature beyond early June, CEO Jeremy Allaire told Politico.

The BlockAndrew Rummer

Coinbase Launches International Exchange with Bitcoin and Ethereum Perpetual Futures - Decrypt

The top U.S. exchange broadens its international reach, offering perpetual futures as it battles regulators at home.

DecryptJason Nelson

Crypto’s Macro Drivers – It’s Not Just About Bitcoin

The macro outlook and why it matters for bitcoin and other crypto assets. An analysis by Noelle Acheson, CoinDesk’s former head of research.

CoinDeskNoelle Acheson

Bitcoin Decouples From Stocks As Fed Decision Looms

Daily Transactions Hit All-time High Driven By Ordinals

The DefiantOwen Fernau

Meme Coin Mania: What’s Going On and What Are the Risks? - Decrypt

Meme coins are in vogue again after the rise of Pepe, but the class of tokens comes with nuance that some say warrants caution.

DecryptAndré Beganski

US regulators seize First Republic Bank and sell it to JPMorgan Chase

San Francisco-based First Republic is the third midsize bank to fail in two months after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The bank’s 84 branches in eight states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase.

South China Morning PostAssociated Press

Meta is making life even harder for its metaverse creators

Meta is stopping creators from making events.

The Verge

Binance Announces Exit from Canada, Citing Regulatory Tensions

The world’s largest crypto exchange by volume said new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits prompted the exit.

CoinDeskTracy Wang

Research reports/videos (DYOR)

How a Digital Artist Used Chat GPT to Create a $50M Meme Coin

What began as a one-off experiment in a sluggish NFT market has turned into a $50 million $TURBO phenomenon. Here’s how.

nft nowEric James Beyer