Stacked Insights Newsletter, 08.26.21
🧐 After DeFi & NFTs, what’s next?
✈️ DAG into top 100 on USAF partnership
🔒 BTC locked in $43K to $50K range
🧐 Are DAOs the Next Big Thing in crypto?🧐
Former BitMex CEO and all-around chad Arthur Hayes once said the exceptional investor invest in heretical themes, and sells once those themes become orthodox.
In the last two years, DeFi stole the limelight from ICO-era utility tokens. Then, NFTs stole the show from DeFi.
When they first appeared, both DeFi and NFTs were heretical themes. Who would deposit liquidity in a decentralized protocol? Who would spend valuable ETH on a JPEG?
But now, DeFi is so orthodox that TradFi institutions embrace it. Ditto NFTs, with Sotheby’s, Visa, Budweiser, and even Arizona Ice Tea jumping onboard.
It’s at this moment the exceptional investor asks themselves: what’s the next heretical theme? The answer is DAOs.
Short for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, DAOs are poised to take the hype mantle over from NFTs. As NFT floors continue rising to levels that price out everyone but whales, fractionalized ownership via DAO-organized collective purchasing power becomes an obvious high IQ move.
However, DAOs aren’t just about fractionalizing shares of CryptoPunks. They’re humanity’s most powerful-ever tool for aligning economically empowered communities around shared interests.
It’s easy to imagine a near-future in which DAOs bootstrap liquidity for funding long-term strategies, such as pro-crypto legislation, climate defense, or anything else the community finds valuable.
As a DAOs treasury grows, the members governing it become increasingly powerful, which in turn propels the value of DAO-issued assets, like NFTs with governance rights attached.
Are you more of a visual learner? Check out Nouns DAO for a great example of how DAOs are shaping the future.
✈️ $DAG flying under the radar despite military contract✈️
Constellation (DAG) is a horizontally scaled blockchain platform geared toward enterprises interested in building blockchains and/or crypto assets. It uses a technology called Hypergraph to make transactions infinitely scalable yet nearly free.
After a rough couple of years, DAG has started printing in earnest and has just reached the top 100 tokens by market cap. While the rest of the market is busy playing hot potato between SOL, LUNA, and AVAX, DAG has flown completely under the radar.
Clearly, layer one blockchains and NFTs are notable trends throughout this market cycle. But it looks like DAG’s status as an L1 chain is going unrecognized, though not for much longer.
Earlier today, the Constellation team let slip that they’ve earned a contract with the US Air Force to provide blockchain security for sensitive military data. Essentially, Constellation will secure data between the Department of Defense and aircraft during live missions.
If the US military believes Constellation & blockchains at large are secure enough to handle such sensitive data, then it’s a reaffirmation at the highest levels that blockchain is the future infrastructure for all the world’s data.
🔒 BTC stuck ranging between $43K & $50K🔒
BTC put bears on notice after running to $51K last weekend. But a change of fortune has BTC on the backfoot & struggling to reclaim the all-important $48K level.
As such, BTC has re-entered the chop zone — a price range with extreme magnetism between several potential supports and resistances. Without a significant break to the upside soon, the likelihood that BTC crabs sideways within the range before plummeting grows.
An important level to watch is $43K should BTC get that low. Earlier this year, BTC tapped $57K before falling to $43K. Then, it bounced hard before going on to a high of $63K.
🧐 After DeFi & NFTs, what’s next?
✈️ DAG into top 100 on USAF partnership
🔒 BTC locked in $43K to $50K range
🧐 Are DAOs the Next Big Thing in crypto?🧐
Former BitMex CEO and all-around chad Arthur Hayes once said the exceptional investor invest in heretical themes, and sells once those themes become orthodox.
In the last two years, DeFi stole the limelight from ICO-era utility tokens. Then, NFTs stole the show from DeFi.
When they first appeared, both DeFi and NFTs were heretical themes. Who would deposit liquidity in a decentralized protocol? Who would spend valuable ETH on a JPEG?
But now, DeFi is so orthodox that TradFi institutions embrace it. Ditto NFTs, with Sotheby’s, Visa, Budweiser, and even Arizona Ice Tea jumping onboard.
It’s at this moment the exceptional investor asks themselves: what’s the next heretical theme? The answer is DAOs.
Short for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, DAOs are poised to take the hype mantle over from NFTs. As NFT floors continue rising to levels that price out everyone but whales, fractionalized ownership via DAO-organized collective purchasing power becomes an obvious high IQ move.
However, DAOs aren’t just about fractionalizing shares of CryptoPunks. They’re humanity’s most powerful-ever tool for aligning economically empowered communities around shared interests.
It’s easy to imagine a near-future in which DAOs bootstrap liquidity for funding long-term strategies, such as pro-crypto legislation, climate defense, or anything else the community finds valuable.
As a DAOs treasury grows, the members governing it become increasingly powerful, which in turn propels the value of DAO-issued assets, like NFTs with governance rights attached.
Are you more of a visual learner? Check out Nouns DAO for a great example of how DAOs are shaping the future.
✈️ $DAG flying under the radar despite military contract✈️
Constellation (DAG) is a horizontally scaled blockchain platform geared toward enterprises interested in building blockchains and/or crypto assets. It uses a technology called Hypergraph to make transactions infinitely scalable yet nearly free.
After a rough couple of years, DAG has started printing in earnest and has just reached the top 100 tokens by market cap. While the rest of the market is busy playing hot potato between SOL, LUNA, and AVAX, DAG has flown completely under the radar.
Clearly, layer one blockchains and NFTs are notable trends throughout this market cycle. But it looks like DAG’s status as an L1 chain is going unrecognized, though not for much longer.
Earlier today, the Constellation team let slip that they’ve earned a contract with the US Air Force to provide blockchain security for sensitive military data. Essentially, Constellation will secure data between the Department of Defense and aircraft during live missions.
If the US military believes Constellation & blockchains at large are secure enough to handle such sensitive data, then it’s a reaffirmation at the highest levels that blockchain is the future infrastructure for all the world’s data.
🔒 BTC stuck ranging between $43K & $50K🔒
BTC put bears on notice after running to $51K last weekend. But a change of fortune has BTC on the backfoot & struggling to reclaim the all-important $48K level.
As such, BTC has re-entered the chop zone — a price range with extreme magnetism between several potential supports and resistances. Without a significant break to the upside soon, the likelihood that BTC crabs sideways within the range before plummeting grows.
An important level to watch is $43K should BTC get that low. Earlier this year, BTC tapped $57K before falling to $43K. Then, it bounced hard before going on to a high of $63K.
nouns.wtf
Nouns DAO
One Noun, every day, forever. Nouns DAO is an experiment on the Ethereum blockchain.
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 08.31.21
🔥 L1 chains keep mooning, DOT & KSM next?
⚔️ NFT price floors correct slightly
🎨 Why hype for 1/1 NFTs is building
🎲 L1 chains keep mooning — are DOT & KSM next in line?
Layer 1 blockchains Solana, Terra, Cardano, and Avalanche have pumped for weeks, only hitting the brakes temporarily before launching again.
What’s driving the bullishness behind the ongoing L1 chain renaissance?
During the earlier phase of this year’s bull market, layer two scaling solutions like Polygon, Optimistic, and Arbitrum were the main focus of a community seeking cheaper fees and faster transactions.
But now, L1 chains themselves are back in the spotlight as traders bet on every chain not called Ethereum in hopes that they can produce the developer/end-user experiences we’ve all been waiting for.
Solana’s ecosystem is growing, Avalanche launched a $180M incentives program, and Cardano promises to finally switch on smart contracts.
Polkadot (DOT) and Kusama (KSM) were notably silent through the rush on L1 tokens until today. Both are seeing double-digit % gains as Kusama’s next round of parachain auctions goes live, giving speculators the impression that Polkadot’s parachain launch is imminent.
Should expectations about Polkadot parachains continue building, a large wave of profits from SOL, LUNA, ADA, and AVAX trades might flow toward DOT & KSM.
📉 NFT market corrects amidst signs of froth
So far in August, NFT collections and projects have gone up in a more or less vertical line. Anyone who bought even a semi-respectable drop over the last few months is likely in heavy profit.
It comes as no surprise, then, that an NFT price floor correction is not a matter of if, but when. After all, CryptoPunks floor went from ~30 ETH to ~137 ETH in a matter of 10 days.
Today, trading volumes for Art Blocks, Bored Apes, Mutant Apes, CryptoPunks, Meebits, and newcomer Creature World are all down significantly, with Meebits taking the cake at -77%.
If you subscribe to the view that CryptoPunks = BTC for the NFT market, the current floor at 115 ETH is hovering near the psychological 100 ETH hurdle. However, given that many NFT collections are in the hands of diamond-handed DAOs, NFTs might face limited downside compared to utility tokens.
🎨 Why hype for 1/1 NFTs is building
Even if 10,000 series NFT projects are seeing a slowdown in trading volume, that doesn’t tell the whole story for the blazing NFT market.
1 of 1 NFTs found primarily on Foundation, SuperRare, and Zora are seeing increased interest as NFT collectors look to original works limited to single editions.
Foundation, in particular, crossed the $100M sales mark while SuperRare monthly sales went from $4M in July to $22M in August. Their sales volume still pales in comparison to OpenSea, which recently crossed $1 billion — but still, it’s a start.
Collecting NFTs has much to do with acquiring rarity, just as collecting anything always has. A 10,000 CryptoPunk collection is scarce compared with the demand for them, but nothing says rare quite like 1 of 1 does.
The switch toward 1 of 1 collecting might have started with a generative artist from Panama.
Itzel Yard, who goes by @ix_shells on foundation, became the highest-selling female NFT artist when her piece Dreaming At Dusk sold for a cool $2 million.
Now, demand for her art is visibly growing, evidenced by the steady increase in asking prices for her secondary market-listed work.
🔥 L1 chains keep mooning, DOT & KSM next?
⚔️ NFT price floors correct slightly
🎨 Why hype for 1/1 NFTs is building
🎲 L1 chains keep mooning — are DOT & KSM next in line?
Layer 1 blockchains Solana, Terra, Cardano, and Avalanche have pumped for weeks, only hitting the brakes temporarily before launching again.
What’s driving the bullishness behind the ongoing L1 chain renaissance?
During the earlier phase of this year’s bull market, layer two scaling solutions like Polygon, Optimistic, and Arbitrum were the main focus of a community seeking cheaper fees and faster transactions.
But now, L1 chains themselves are back in the spotlight as traders bet on every chain not called Ethereum in hopes that they can produce the developer/end-user experiences we’ve all been waiting for.
Solana’s ecosystem is growing, Avalanche launched a $180M incentives program, and Cardano promises to finally switch on smart contracts.
Polkadot (DOT) and Kusama (KSM) were notably silent through the rush on L1 tokens until today. Both are seeing double-digit % gains as Kusama’s next round of parachain auctions goes live, giving speculators the impression that Polkadot’s parachain launch is imminent.
Should expectations about Polkadot parachains continue building, a large wave of profits from SOL, LUNA, ADA, and AVAX trades might flow toward DOT & KSM.
📉 NFT market corrects amidst signs of froth
So far in August, NFT collections and projects have gone up in a more or less vertical line. Anyone who bought even a semi-respectable drop over the last few months is likely in heavy profit.
It comes as no surprise, then, that an NFT price floor correction is not a matter of if, but when. After all, CryptoPunks floor went from ~30 ETH to ~137 ETH in a matter of 10 days.
Today, trading volumes for Art Blocks, Bored Apes, Mutant Apes, CryptoPunks, Meebits, and newcomer Creature World are all down significantly, with Meebits taking the cake at -77%.
If you subscribe to the view that CryptoPunks = BTC for the NFT market, the current floor at 115 ETH is hovering near the psychological 100 ETH hurdle. However, given that many NFT collections are in the hands of diamond-handed DAOs, NFTs might face limited downside compared to utility tokens.
🎨 Why hype for 1/1 NFTs is building
Even if 10,000 series NFT projects are seeing a slowdown in trading volume, that doesn’t tell the whole story for the blazing NFT market.
1 of 1 NFTs found primarily on Foundation, SuperRare, and Zora are seeing increased interest as NFT collectors look to original works limited to single editions.
Foundation, in particular, crossed the $100M sales mark while SuperRare monthly sales went from $4M in July to $22M in August. Their sales volume still pales in comparison to OpenSea, which recently crossed $1 billion — but still, it’s a start.
Collecting NFTs has much to do with acquiring rarity, just as collecting anything always has. A 10,000 CryptoPunk collection is scarce compared with the demand for them, but nothing says rare quite like 1 of 1 does.
The switch toward 1 of 1 collecting might have started with a generative artist from Panama.
Itzel Yard, who goes by @ix_shells on foundation, became the highest-selling female NFT artist when her piece Dreaming At Dusk sold for a cool $2 million.
Now, demand for her art is visibly growing, evidenced by the steady increase in asking prices for her secondary market-listed work.
foundation.app
Itzel Yard (@IXSHELLS) | Foundation
generative art, experimental music, quests for parallels.
based in Meta-Panama
based in Meta-Panama
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 09.03.21
🤾 Send all markets: BTC prints $51K
😧 Uniswap under SEC investigation
👉 This is why Loot NFTs are mooning
🧲 BTC tags $51K as crypto markets get SENT
It’s a rare day when everything across the board well and truly goes for it.
Well, today was one of those days.
Bitcoin printed $51K and Ethereum hit $4K in the midst of an NFT rush. At the same time, layer one blockchain tokens like SOL, DOT, KSM, AR, FTM, and ATOM continued seeing a positive re-rating by investors + traders alike.
In some respects, DeFi tokens are all that’s missing from the run. They’re in the green, to be sure, but their gains pale in comparison to L1 chains. However, Solana DeFi projects are getting time in the sun, with MNGO, REN, and RAY running the charts.
On the NFT side, NFT platforms are performing strongly as expected. While bigger projects like THETA, ENJ, AXS, and CHZ have cooled slightly, smaller-cap projects are flourishing. SAND, UOS, ILV, NFTX, and DG are all posting a minimum +20% increase.
Going back to market leaders BTC and ETH, both met heavy resistance at $51K and $4K respectively. With Labor Day weekend in the US beginning, a lull in trading action might be on the cards.
Should BTC retrace as far back as $46K this weekend, and considering BTC typically underperforms in September, expect a deeper pullback to set up a very bullish autumn.
🙀 The SEC is investigating Uniswap
Earlier this summer, SEC chief Gary Gensler made it abundantly clear he has no idea what DeFi is about. To prove the point, the SEC is now investigating Uniswap DEX.
More accurately, the SEC is investigating Uniswap Labs — in other words, the team behind Uniswap. That’s worrying on several levels, but above all, the SEC wants data on how people use Uniswap to trade/invest and how Uniswap markets its exchange.
It’s likely the UNI governance token is also making the SEC uncomfortable. The token enables holders to govern a vast multi-billion dollar cross-border exchange & might someday entitle them to revenue share.
The funny thing is, if Gensler knew the first thing about DeFi, none of this would come as a surprise, nor would it be cause for stifling American technological innovation.
However, in all likelihood, the unfriendly and unnerving environment around blockchain startups being cultivated by the US government will likely push teams abroad. The result? A net negative for American tech entrepreneurship, intellectual labor, and a lost foothold in the future of the web.
👩🏫 What are Loot NFTs? They’re weird — but definitely cool
Loot NFTs have stormed to the top of NFT sales charts but hardly anyone understands what they are. Neither did we at first — until we looked deeper.
Created by Dom Hofmann, Loot NFTs are nothing more than random text lists of future/fantasy adventure gear. Once more to be completely clear...if you buy a Loot NFT, all you’re getting is a randomly generated list describing imaginary, well, loot.
So why are they selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars each? Because Loot collectors are betting the lists will come together to describe an NFT/blockchain/metaverse game of the future built in real-time by communities.
Some have called Loot NFT Improv — a description both apt and exciting.
What will Loot become? No one really knows, but the point is collectors get to decide. Until now, NFTs/collectibles/games were premade, meaning the universe had been decided by creators ahead of time.
Loot = collectors ARE creators. Is this a paradigm in the NFT world? Probably, yes. At least Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin thinks so, saying the Loot project “has it right.”
🤾 Send all markets: BTC prints $51K
😧 Uniswap under SEC investigation
👉 This is why Loot NFTs are mooning
🧲 BTC tags $51K as crypto markets get SENT
It’s a rare day when everything across the board well and truly goes for it.
Well, today was one of those days.
Bitcoin printed $51K and Ethereum hit $4K in the midst of an NFT rush. At the same time, layer one blockchain tokens like SOL, DOT, KSM, AR, FTM, and ATOM continued seeing a positive re-rating by investors + traders alike.
In some respects, DeFi tokens are all that’s missing from the run. They’re in the green, to be sure, but their gains pale in comparison to L1 chains. However, Solana DeFi projects are getting time in the sun, with MNGO, REN, and RAY running the charts.
On the NFT side, NFT platforms are performing strongly as expected. While bigger projects like THETA, ENJ, AXS, and CHZ have cooled slightly, smaller-cap projects are flourishing. SAND, UOS, ILV, NFTX, and DG are all posting a minimum +20% increase.
Going back to market leaders BTC and ETH, both met heavy resistance at $51K and $4K respectively. With Labor Day weekend in the US beginning, a lull in trading action might be on the cards.
Should BTC retrace as far back as $46K this weekend, and considering BTC typically underperforms in September, expect a deeper pullback to set up a very bullish autumn.
🙀 The SEC is investigating Uniswap
Earlier this summer, SEC chief Gary Gensler made it abundantly clear he has no idea what DeFi is about. To prove the point, the SEC is now investigating Uniswap DEX.
More accurately, the SEC is investigating Uniswap Labs — in other words, the team behind Uniswap. That’s worrying on several levels, but above all, the SEC wants data on how people use Uniswap to trade/invest and how Uniswap markets its exchange.
It’s likely the UNI governance token is also making the SEC uncomfortable. The token enables holders to govern a vast multi-billion dollar cross-border exchange & might someday entitle them to revenue share.
The funny thing is, if Gensler knew the first thing about DeFi, none of this would come as a surprise, nor would it be cause for stifling American technological innovation.
However, in all likelihood, the unfriendly and unnerving environment around blockchain startups being cultivated by the US government will likely push teams abroad. The result? A net negative for American tech entrepreneurship, intellectual labor, and a lost foothold in the future of the web.
👩🏫 What are Loot NFTs? They’re weird — but definitely cool
Loot NFTs have stormed to the top of NFT sales charts but hardly anyone understands what they are. Neither did we at first — until we looked deeper.
Created by Dom Hofmann, Loot NFTs are nothing more than random text lists of future/fantasy adventure gear. Once more to be completely clear...if you buy a Loot NFT, all you’re getting is a randomly generated list describing imaginary, well, loot.
So why are they selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars each? Because Loot collectors are betting the lists will come together to describe an NFT/blockchain/metaverse game of the future built in real-time by communities.
Some have called Loot NFT Improv — a description both apt and exciting.
What will Loot become? No one really knows, but the point is collectors get to decide. Until now, NFTs/collectibles/games were premade, meaning the universe had been decided by creators ahead of time.
Loot = collectors ARE creators. Is this a paradigm in the NFT world? Probably, yes. At least Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin thinks so, saying the Loot project “has it right.”
Twitter
vitalik.eth
@MacaesBruno I think the @lootproject philosophy has it right: pretty much anything that anyone creates "exists", what matters is to what extent other people build upon it.
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 09.07.21
✂️ BTC gets a $10K haircut
🙅♀️ Cardano smart contract testnet fail
💥 Steph Curry is the new face of FTX
🥊 BTC loses $10K in a single candle
Every now and again, BTC is subject to what's called a flash crash.
For the uninitiated, a flash crash is an absurdly aggressive price drop usually triggered by an overleveraged market. They’re always harrowing to witness, and definitely a rush.
The lead-up to today’s flash crash saw market-wide bullishness with peak vibes going off everywhere you looked.
❌ Reese Witherspoon tweeted about buying ETH
❌ NFTs punched way above their weight on OpenSea
❌ El Salvador sat on the brink of BTC adoption
❌ Apes longing longs driving an overheated market
All of that, paired with BTC unable to convincingly pierce resistance, led us to speculate in our previous update that the market would imminently correct. Now that we’ve seen some of the froth come off, where to from here?
Analyst dave the wave impressively called this BTC top — along with the two previous ones. His view is BTC is following a fractal from earlier this year and was due for a drop. His view corresponds with that of S2F boss Plan B who earlier this summer called for $43K BTC in September.
As a reminder, Plan B’s S2F model is predicting $100K BTC at a MINIMUM before 2022. We tend to believe it 😎
😅 Cardano’s smart contracts fail in testnet
Cardano’s Alonzo testnet was supposed to be the showcase moment for the platform’s smart contract capabilities. Despite being several years late to the smart contract game, Cardano CEO Charles Hoskinson has defended the platform, saying several years were needed to make them bulletproof.
However, with the launch of Minswap, the first dApp on the Alonzo testnet, the frailty of Cardano’s smart contracts was immediately apparent. Minswap was quickly forced to shut down its testnet after a matter of hours when several users interacted with its smart contracts at once.
The Minswap teamed pointed to a “concurrency” issue that restricts the number of transactions per block to one, hence why several interactions were enough to render Minswap unusable. For reference, allowing concurrent interactions with the same smart contract (i.e., >1 txs) is a feature by design of other blockchains, like Ethereum, hosting high-volume DeFi applications.
Cardano uses a modified version of Bitcoin’s UTXO to track user funds that Satoshi likely never envisioned being used as the basis of high throughput concurrent transaction processing. In contrast, both Ethereum, Solana, and nearly all other layer one blockchain platforms use an account-based model enabling multiple users to interact with fully on-chain decentralized apps simultaneously.
At the moment, the Cardano community is calling the concurrency issue FUD. But with smart contracts going live to Cardano mainnet on Sept. 12, the world will know soon enough whether Cardano has a real issue on its hands — or not.
🎤 Steph Curry is OFFICIALLY an FTX ambassador
First, Steph Curry bought a Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT. Minds were blown 🤯
Then, Curry followed up with dropping into the BAYC Discord, asking Crypto Twitter for financial advice — and finally, becoming an FTX ambassador and equity holder.
Those are serious moves into the crypto space from an NBA legend prone to making the right calls. It also comes on the heels of FTX’s previous ambassador + equity deal with Tom Brady.
Clearly, FTX recognizes crypto has long had a marketing problem. Despite the abundant wealth within our ecosystem, getting crypto out front and center amongst the masses has been trying.
FTX’s strategy of partnering with some of the most visible athletes in the world is not only bold but seems to be working, too. Just months ago, FTX was at best a top 15 spot exchange. Now it’s entrenched in the top 5 along with Binance, Coinbase, Huobi, and Kraken 😤
✂️ BTC gets a $10K haircut
🙅♀️ Cardano smart contract testnet fail
💥 Steph Curry is the new face of FTX
🥊 BTC loses $10K in a single candle
Every now and again, BTC is subject to what's called a flash crash.
For the uninitiated, a flash crash is an absurdly aggressive price drop usually triggered by an overleveraged market. They’re always harrowing to witness, and definitely a rush.
The lead-up to today’s flash crash saw market-wide bullishness with peak vibes going off everywhere you looked.
❌ Reese Witherspoon tweeted about buying ETH
❌ NFTs punched way above their weight on OpenSea
❌ El Salvador sat on the brink of BTC adoption
❌ Apes longing longs driving an overheated market
All of that, paired with BTC unable to convincingly pierce resistance, led us to speculate in our previous update that the market would imminently correct. Now that we’ve seen some of the froth come off, where to from here?
Analyst dave the wave impressively called this BTC top — along with the two previous ones. His view is BTC is following a fractal from earlier this year and was due for a drop. His view corresponds with that of S2F boss Plan B who earlier this summer called for $43K BTC in September.
As a reminder, Plan B’s S2F model is predicting $100K BTC at a MINIMUM before 2022. We tend to believe it 😎
😅 Cardano’s smart contracts fail in testnet
Cardano’s Alonzo testnet was supposed to be the showcase moment for the platform’s smart contract capabilities. Despite being several years late to the smart contract game, Cardano CEO Charles Hoskinson has defended the platform, saying several years were needed to make them bulletproof.
However, with the launch of Minswap, the first dApp on the Alonzo testnet, the frailty of Cardano’s smart contracts was immediately apparent. Minswap was quickly forced to shut down its testnet after a matter of hours when several users interacted with its smart contracts at once.
The Minswap teamed pointed to a “concurrency” issue that restricts the number of transactions per block to one, hence why several interactions were enough to render Minswap unusable. For reference, allowing concurrent interactions with the same smart contract (i.e., >1 txs) is a feature by design of other blockchains, like Ethereum, hosting high-volume DeFi applications.
Cardano uses a modified version of Bitcoin’s UTXO to track user funds that Satoshi likely never envisioned being used as the basis of high throughput concurrent transaction processing. In contrast, both Ethereum, Solana, and nearly all other layer one blockchain platforms use an account-based model enabling multiple users to interact with fully on-chain decentralized apps simultaneously.
At the moment, the Cardano community is calling the concurrency issue FUD. But with smart contracts going live to Cardano mainnet on Sept. 12, the world will know soon enough whether Cardano has a real issue on its hands — or not.
🎤 Steph Curry is OFFICIALLY an FTX ambassador
First, Steph Curry bought a Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT. Minds were blown 🤯
Then, Curry followed up with dropping into the BAYC Discord, asking Crypto Twitter for financial advice — and finally, becoming an FTX ambassador and equity holder.
Those are serious moves into the crypto space from an NBA legend prone to making the right calls. It also comes on the heels of FTX’s previous ambassador + equity deal with Tom Brady.
Clearly, FTX recognizes crypto has long had a marketing problem. Despite the abundant wealth within our ecosystem, getting crypto out front and center amongst the masses has been trying.
FTX’s strategy of partnering with some of the most visible athletes in the world is not only bold but seems to be working, too. Just months ago, FTX was at best a top 15 spot exchange. Now it’s entrenched in the top 5 along with Binance, Coinbase, Huobi, and Kraken 😤
Twitter
Reese Witherspoon
Just bought my first ETH! Let’s do this #cryptotwitter
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 09.10.21
✂️ Solana is the real deal
🙅♀️ Bored Ape NFT collection nabs $24M
💥 Mastercard takes big step toward crypto
🤴🏻 Solana gains clout and value — how high can it go?
The Solana hype has hit new levels in terms of price AND mindshare. Let’s address both.
Last night, SOL crossed the $200 barrier with absolute ease. It’s clear buyers are targeting much higher, and they’re not wrong. Looking just ahead of SOL on the charts, BNB and ADA are still billions ahead, giving Solana bulls clear targets.
If you’re looking for a parallel, look to the BNB run earlier this year. From January to May, BNB melted upwards, going from $40 to $661. Where will SOL stop? For clues, let’s turn to the mindshare aspect.
The early narrative around Solana was its connection to/support from the Sam Bankman-Fried FTX + Alameda empire. If you’re growing a new crypto ecosystem, it obviously doesn’t hurt to have staunch support from someone in possession of a money cheat code.
After all, who can forget this EPIC tweet that captures SBF’s conviction 😂
Since then, Solana matured, held hackathons, raised $300M, and started hosting DeFi apps/protocols like Mango Markets, Raydium, and Solanart. Suddenly, investors realized there’s finally a live alternative to Ethereum.
What’s more, Solana development is mostly done in Rust, a widely-used programming language. Compared to Ethereum’s esoteric Solidity lang, Rust is already part of many a dev’s skillset — especially those building on Polkadot.
The excitement surrounding Solana has led to a breakdown in blockchain maximalism as the true beginnings of a multichain future appear. If SOL bulls take aim at the #3 spot inhabited by ADA, prices will reach well north of $300.
🦍 Sotheby’s Bored Ape YC sales smashes estimates
Sotheby’s highly anticipated auction of 101 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs sold for $24M, decimating the firm’s $16M estimate. At about $250K per Bored Ape, someone out there paid a steep premium well above the going secondary market rate.
Recently, BAYC NFTs have averaged ~$160K per, but it’s doubtful the Sotheby’s buyer is overly concerned with the price discrepancy. If they part the collection out, rare apes included in the package will more than make up for the ground lost on more common ones.
But given the rapid appreciation of NFTs overall, coupled with the view that Bored Ape YC is the Ethereum to CryptoPunk’s Bitcoin, it’s likely the BAYC floor will quickly eclipse $250K anyhow.
Additionally, the auction included six vials of mutant serum and doesn’t account for the value accruing to existing apes via future NFT drops & other BAYC membership benefits. So ultimately, the purchase didn’t require too much analysis for anyone deeply embedded in the NFT game these days.
🏦 Mastercard acquires CipherTrace in bold step toward crypto
Earlier today, Mastercard announced it had acquired CipherTrace, a blockchain analysis and risk intelligence firm. The move enables Mastercard to scan and track cryptocurrencies across blockchains to ensure compliance.
Mastercard’s buy-in might come as a surprise if you haven’t followed the company’s recent statements. Earlier this year, Mastercard declared it was testing USDC stablecoin payments with an eye toward settling them for USD on its network.
Eventually, Mastercard will offer native support for stablecoins and CBDCs but doesn’t expect to do the same for cryptocurrencies like BTC & ETH. Despite those doubts, the CipherTrace acquisition points toward a broader strategy aimed at a range of cryptocurrencies.
✂️ Solana is the real deal
🙅♀️ Bored Ape NFT collection nabs $24M
💥 Mastercard takes big step toward crypto
🤴🏻 Solana gains clout and value — how high can it go?
The Solana hype has hit new levels in terms of price AND mindshare. Let’s address both.
Last night, SOL crossed the $200 barrier with absolute ease. It’s clear buyers are targeting much higher, and they’re not wrong. Looking just ahead of SOL on the charts, BNB and ADA are still billions ahead, giving Solana bulls clear targets.
If you’re looking for a parallel, look to the BNB run earlier this year. From January to May, BNB melted upwards, going from $40 to $661. Where will SOL stop? For clues, let’s turn to the mindshare aspect.
The early narrative around Solana was its connection to/support from the Sam Bankman-Fried FTX + Alameda empire. If you’re growing a new crypto ecosystem, it obviously doesn’t hurt to have staunch support from someone in possession of a money cheat code.
After all, who can forget this EPIC tweet that captures SBF’s conviction 😂
Since then, Solana matured, held hackathons, raised $300M, and started hosting DeFi apps/protocols like Mango Markets, Raydium, and Solanart. Suddenly, investors realized there’s finally a live alternative to Ethereum.
What’s more, Solana development is mostly done in Rust, a widely-used programming language. Compared to Ethereum’s esoteric Solidity lang, Rust is already part of many a dev’s skillset — especially those building on Polkadot.
The excitement surrounding Solana has led to a breakdown in blockchain maximalism as the true beginnings of a multichain future appear. If SOL bulls take aim at the #3 spot inhabited by ADA, prices will reach well north of $300.
🦍 Sotheby’s Bored Ape YC sales smashes estimates
Sotheby’s highly anticipated auction of 101 Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs sold for $24M, decimating the firm’s $16M estimate. At about $250K per Bored Ape, someone out there paid a steep premium well above the going secondary market rate.
Recently, BAYC NFTs have averaged ~$160K per, but it’s doubtful the Sotheby’s buyer is overly concerned with the price discrepancy. If they part the collection out, rare apes included in the package will more than make up for the ground lost on more common ones.
But given the rapid appreciation of NFTs overall, coupled with the view that Bored Ape YC is the Ethereum to CryptoPunk’s Bitcoin, it’s likely the BAYC floor will quickly eclipse $250K anyhow.
Additionally, the auction included six vials of mutant serum and doesn’t account for the value accruing to existing apes via future NFT drops & other BAYC membership benefits. So ultimately, the purchase didn’t require too much analysis for anyone deeply embedded in the NFT game these days.
🏦 Mastercard acquires CipherTrace in bold step toward crypto
Earlier today, Mastercard announced it had acquired CipherTrace, a blockchain analysis and risk intelligence firm. The move enables Mastercard to scan and track cryptocurrencies across blockchains to ensure compliance.
Mastercard’s buy-in might come as a surprise if you haven’t followed the company’s recent statements. Earlier this year, Mastercard declared it was testing USDC stablecoin payments with an eye toward settling them for USD on its network.
Eventually, Mastercard will offer native support for stablecoins and CBDCs but doesn’t expect to do the same for cryptocurrencies like BTC & ETH. Despite those doubts, the CipherTrace acquisition points toward a broader strategy aimed at a range of cryptocurrencies.
Twitter
SBF
@coinmamba I'll buy as much SOL has you have, right now, at $3. Sell me all you want. Then go fuck off.
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 09.14.21
🔌 Solana has been down all day
⚡️ DeFi tokens come roaring back
🙉 SEC Gensler says Coinbase is listing securities
⌛️ Solana protocol goes down amidst network issues
Just as it seemed Solana could do no wrong, the network went down early this morning and has yet to switch back on. However, it’s not exactly bad news — let us explain.
Solana went down due to what the core team calls “resource exhaustion.” In a nutshell, network validators were overwhelmed with transactions coming from decentralized exchange Raydium.
The fact is Solana failed its first true stress test owing to low decentralization but now its engineers have an invaluable case study to learn and build from. Besides, nothing says adoption like a high throughput of transactions on the network’s apps.
These are early days for Solana & the crypto ecosystem as a whole. BlockTower Capital’s Ari Paul correctly pointed out that anyone who waited for Bitcoin to achieve network stability before buying missed the first 1,000X.
So, while a network outage isn’t the best look, we must remember Solana is in BETA mainnet — a stage akin to taking the training wheels off. Remember your first bike ride without training wheels? Yeah, it wasn’t perfect.
As Solana CEO Anatoly Yakovenko clarified, better now than when it has a billion users.
⚡️ DeFi tokens come roaring back to life
DeFi tokens are surging forward with double digit gains while NFTs cool off amidst price floor drops. Unlike the previous DeFi run, a new crop of tokens are in the spotlight.
CRV
Decentralized exchange Curve (CRV) gained TVL (Total Value Locked) ahead of Uniswap steadily at first, then parabolically as it accrued nearly 2x Uniswap’s liquidity. Despite being the DEX market leader by a vast margin, CRV remained well outside of the top 100 projects by market cap until today’s +27% move.
SUSHI
It’s been one year since the infamous Sushi debacle involving Chef Nomi. Within that time, Sushi evolved from mere Uniswap "copy pasta” to multi-chain DeFi powerhouse. Soon, Sushi’s Shoyu NFT platform goes live, adding a new source of value accruing to xSUSHI holders. Correspondingly, SUSHI is seeing a positive 17% rerating.
MLN
Enzyme Finance is a rather old DeFi project that’s experiencing something of a renaissance of late. It’s quietly been in a strong uptrend all year long while remaining firmly off the radar. However, after being added to Coinbase in June, MLN has begun picking up attention. Today’s 24% move up is confirmation.
🙉 SEC Chief Gensler thinks Coinbase may be listing securities
Before Gary Gensler took on the role of SEC chief, there were high hopes. He’d taught courses on blockchain/crypto at MIT and grasped Bitcoin well.
However, the Gensler honeymoon has quickly ended. In its most aggressive move, the SEC threatened to sue Coinbase if it offers users 4% yields on stablecoin deposits. They also demanded Coinbase hand over the names + data on everyone who signed up for the yield product waitlist.
The threat prompted Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to publish a statement accusing the SEC of stifling innovation without clear crypto regulatory guidelines.
Now, Gensler is doubling down on claims that Coinbase is selling “dozens” of unregistered securities. He also believes stablecoins somehow fit into this scope despite their 1:1 asset-backed value.
During the hearing in which Gensler made the above comments, Sen. Mark Warner also chimed in about crypto, saying "Some of the things I see from intel side scare the dickens out of me."
🔌 Solana has been down all day
⚡️ DeFi tokens come roaring back
🙉 SEC Gensler says Coinbase is listing securities
⌛️ Solana protocol goes down amidst network issues
Just as it seemed Solana could do no wrong, the network went down early this morning and has yet to switch back on. However, it’s not exactly bad news — let us explain.
Solana went down due to what the core team calls “resource exhaustion.” In a nutshell, network validators were overwhelmed with transactions coming from decentralized exchange Raydium.
The fact is Solana failed its first true stress test owing to low decentralization but now its engineers have an invaluable case study to learn and build from. Besides, nothing says adoption like a high throughput of transactions on the network’s apps.
These are early days for Solana & the crypto ecosystem as a whole. BlockTower Capital’s Ari Paul correctly pointed out that anyone who waited for Bitcoin to achieve network stability before buying missed the first 1,000X.
So, while a network outage isn’t the best look, we must remember Solana is in BETA mainnet — a stage akin to taking the training wheels off. Remember your first bike ride without training wheels? Yeah, it wasn’t perfect.
As Solana CEO Anatoly Yakovenko clarified, better now than when it has a billion users.
⚡️ DeFi tokens come roaring back to life
DeFi tokens are surging forward with double digit gains while NFTs cool off amidst price floor drops. Unlike the previous DeFi run, a new crop of tokens are in the spotlight.
CRV
Decentralized exchange Curve (CRV) gained TVL (Total Value Locked) ahead of Uniswap steadily at first, then parabolically as it accrued nearly 2x Uniswap’s liquidity. Despite being the DEX market leader by a vast margin, CRV remained well outside of the top 100 projects by market cap until today’s +27% move.
SUSHI
It’s been one year since the infamous Sushi debacle involving Chef Nomi. Within that time, Sushi evolved from mere Uniswap "copy pasta” to multi-chain DeFi powerhouse. Soon, Sushi’s Shoyu NFT platform goes live, adding a new source of value accruing to xSUSHI holders. Correspondingly, SUSHI is seeing a positive 17% rerating.
MLN
Enzyme Finance is a rather old DeFi project that’s experiencing something of a renaissance of late. It’s quietly been in a strong uptrend all year long while remaining firmly off the radar. However, after being added to Coinbase in June, MLN has begun picking up attention. Today’s 24% move up is confirmation.
🙉 SEC Chief Gensler thinks Coinbase may be listing securities
Before Gary Gensler took on the role of SEC chief, there were high hopes. He’d taught courses on blockchain/crypto at MIT and grasped Bitcoin well.
However, the Gensler honeymoon has quickly ended. In its most aggressive move, the SEC threatened to sue Coinbase if it offers users 4% yields on stablecoin deposits. They also demanded Coinbase hand over the names + data on everyone who signed up for the yield product waitlist.
The threat prompted Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to publish a statement accusing the SEC of stifling innovation without clear crypto regulatory guidelines.
Now, Gensler is doubling down on claims that Coinbase is selling “dozens” of unregistered securities. He also believes stablecoins somehow fit into this scope despite their 1:1 asset-backed value.
During the hearing in which Gensler made the above comments, Sen. Mark Warner also chimed in about crypto, saying "Some of the things I see from intel side scare the dickens out of me."
Twitter
Ari Paul ⛓️
Solana protocol went down entirely this morning, arbitrum L2 stopped working more briefly (seems to be back and operational). Everything in crypto is an early stage experiment. Some earlier stage than others.
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 09.23.21
🧛♂️ Gary Gensler is uniting crypto like never before
🚀 Markets bounce as S&P recovers
🐋 Turns out Snoop Dogg is an NFT whale
🧛♂️ Gary Gensler is uniting crypto like never before
We might look back on this week as a watershed moment in the history of cryptocurrencies. Why? Because SEC chief Gary Gensler has finally given crypto a common villain.
In wildly daft, confused remarks about crypto, Gensler went on the record equating stablecoins to poker chips and stating cryptocurrencies “won’t last long.” And to think such views are coming from someone who taught an MIT course on cryptocurrencies is, well, mind-blowing 🤯
The upshot to Gensler’s apparent heavy hand is there is absolutely no way his agency can regulate as fast as crypto can innovate. This is an industry testing in production 24/7 with no geopolitical center or off switch. As such, any hopes Gensler has of becoming the sheriff of Cryptoville are simply wishful thinking.
Besides, if you take stock of the Gensler memeing happening, there’s something beautiful going on. Maximalists of all different stripes & communities — Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, Avalanche, and more — have all united against the threat posed by over-zealous and ill-informed boomers.
Hands-off regulation is one thing (and protects new investors) but what Gensler pitches is stifling, smothering, and will potentially push crypto innovators out of the US for good.
🎢 Evergrande who? Markets rally during a substantial bounce
The sensationalized Evergrande FUD appears to be subsiding, causing markets to finally get a grip and do the thing we love — bounce.
BTC barely hung on to the $40K mark as the S&P slid on Evergrande worries but has hit back out hard — it’s now battling back to $45K. Altcoins as led by Ethereum have seen a similar recovery with a select few simply outperforming.
AVAX
Avalanche is showing supreme strength in the face of adverse conditions. After announcing a $180M ecosystem fund and a $230M investment from leading VCs, AVAX has plied its way up the market cap leaderboard and now looks set to enter the top 10.
DOT
Parachain launch looks primed to begin any day now. Kusama, Polkadot’s wild cousin, has already launched wildly successful parachains like Moonriver (MOVR) and Shiden (SDN). Seeing their price action & the sheer excitement shown for Kusama parachains bodes extremely well for DOT.
OHM
Olympus has a community that’s truly second to none. The Ohmies have turned Synthetix founder Kain Warwick into a fan as projects like KlimaDAO adopt Olympus’ (3,3) tokenomics model. OHM excitement brought the asset into the top 100 but it appears to just be getting started.
🐳 Turns out Snoop Dogg is an NFT whale
Some stories, like this one, feel too crazy to be true. But as it turns out, Snoop Dogg is behind the über-famous NFT Twitter account Cozomo de’ Medici.
Even crazier — he owns close to $20M worth of NFTs, including CryptoPunks, Chromie Squiggles, and Meebits. How did this come to be?
A few days ago, Medici, who has ~50K Twitter followers, announced their intentions to doxx themselves. The reasoning was Medici’s IRL fame might help bring people into the NFT world.
Soon after, Snoop revealed himself as Medici from his Twitter account :mind blown: All of this explains how Medici brought Jason Derulo into the NFT realm by advising him on his CryptoPunk purchase.
🧛♂️ Gary Gensler is uniting crypto like never before
🚀 Markets bounce as S&P recovers
🐋 Turns out Snoop Dogg is an NFT whale
🧛♂️ Gary Gensler is uniting crypto like never before
We might look back on this week as a watershed moment in the history of cryptocurrencies. Why? Because SEC chief Gary Gensler has finally given crypto a common villain.
In wildly daft, confused remarks about crypto, Gensler went on the record equating stablecoins to poker chips and stating cryptocurrencies “won’t last long.” And to think such views are coming from someone who taught an MIT course on cryptocurrencies is, well, mind-blowing 🤯
The upshot to Gensler’s apparent heavy hand is there is absolutely no way his agency can regulate as fast as crypto can innovate. This is an industry testing in production 24/7 with no geopolitical center or off switch. As such, any hopes Gensler has of becoming the sheriff of Cryptoville are simply wishful thinking.
Besides, if you take stock of the Gensler memeing happening, there’s something beautiful going on. Maximalists of all different stripes & communities — Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, Avalanche, and more — have all united against the threat posed by over-zealous and ill-informed boomers.
Hands-off regulation is one thing (and protects new investors) but what Gensler pitches is stifling, smothering, and will potentially push crypto innovators out of the US for good.
🎢 Evergrande who? Markets rally during a substantial bounce
The sensationalized Evergrande FUD appears to be subsiding, causing markets to finally get a grip and do the thing we love — bounce.
BTC barely hung on to the $40K mark as the S&P slid on Evergrande worries but has hit back out hard — it’s now battling back to $45K. Altcoins as led by Ethereum have seen a similar recovery with a select few simply outperforming.
AVAX
Avalanche is showing supreme strength in the face of adverse conditions. After announcing a $180M ecosystem fund and a $230M investment from leading VCs, AVAX has plied its way up the market cap leaderboard and now looks set to enter the top 10.
DOT
Parachain launch looks primed to begin any day now. Kusama, Polkadot’s wild cousin, has already launched wildly successful parachains like Moonriver (MOVR) and Shiden (SDN). Seeing their price action & the sheer excitement shown for Kusama parachains bodes extremely well for DOT.
OHM
Olympus has a community that’s truly second to none. The Ohmies have turned Synthetix founder Kain Warwick into a fan as projects like KlimaDAO adopt Olympus’ (3,3) tokenomics model. OHM excitement brought the asset into the top 100 but it appears to just be getting started.
🐳 Turns out Snoop Dogg is an NFT whale
Some stories, like this one, feel too crazy to be true. But as it turns out, Snoop Dogg is behind the über-famous NFT Twitter account Cozomo de’ Medici.
Even crazier — he owns close to $20M worth of NFTs, including CryptoPunks, Chromie Squiggles, and Meebits. How did this come to be?
A few days ago, Medici, who has ~50K Twitter followers, announced their intentions to doxx themselves. The reasoning was Medici’s IRL fame might help bring people into the NFT world.
Soon after, Snoop revealed himself as Medici from his Twitter account :mind blown: All of this explains how Medici brought Jason Derulo into the NFT realm by advising him on his CryptoPunk purchase.
Twitter
Jason Derulo
New profile pic, I joined the #cryptopunks gang! Thanks to @CozomoMedici for the help #crypto
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 09.25.21
🇨🇳 Load the China FUD
👩🏼⚖️ Senators push the SEC for crypto clarity
🔥 Andre Cronje launches free NFT platform
🇨🇳 China echoes 2017 with new crypto ban
In early September 2017, crypto markets were staging a comeback after plunging over the summer. However, midway through the month, the Chinese government announced a sweeping Bitcoin ban that sent markets tumbling back down.
Now, under almost the exact same conditions, China has put forward yet another crypto ban. The difference, insiders say, is this one is the most severe. Dealing with cryptocurrencies in any way, including mining or transacting, is now punishable by law.
Whether that’s true or even unique to this particular ban is up for debate, but one thing is for sure, we remember what happened a few short months later — Bitcoin hit all-time highs.
It’s fair to wonder if this time it’s different, but given how closely 2021 has followed the 2017 blueprint, the ball is in crypto’s court.
🏛 Senators push SEC for great clarity on crypto
Senators Pat Toomey and Cynthia Lummis are crypto bulls with mighty amounts of clout within the hallowed halls of Capitol Hill. Moreover, they’re fresh off a battle over better crypto provisions within last month’s $1T spending bill.
Now, they’re calling for greater clarity from the SEC surrounding crypto regulations. Toomey has accused the SEC of bullying the crypto sector with “regulation by enforcement” versus providing the industry a clear roadmap.
The losers in this tug of war between the SEC and crypto? The American public. According to Toomey and Lummis, without clear regulations, investors won’t get a fair and competitive marketplace.
And with the latest Chinese crypto ban, both senators believe this is a crucial opportunity for the US to make itself the home of blockchain innovation. Sen. Toomey’s original tweet on the matter has garnered just shy of 30K Twitter likes, showing broad public support for bringing Bitcoin home.
👨💻 Andre Cronje launches free & fast NFT platform
Does Andre Cronje sleep? It’s pretty obvious he most definitely doesn’t.
His prodigious output has led to yet another masterstroke with Artion, a decentralized alternative to OpenSea. Artion doesn’t charge minting or platform fees and transactions are super cheap + very fast thanks to the platform living on Fantom.
The push to create a decentralized version of OpenSea got a massive tailwind when OpenSea exec Nate Chastain was found insider trading. Chastain was quickly fired but doubts about the world’s largest NFT platform persist.
Artion isn’t the only decentralized NFT platform competing with OpenSea. DeFi protocol Sushi has entered the fray with Shoyu, a place for creating and trading a broad range of NFTs.
🇨🇳 Load the China FUD
👩🏼⚖️ Senators push the SEC for crypto clarity
🔥 Andre Cronje launches free NFT platform
🇨🇳 China echoes 2017 with new crypto ban
In early September 2017, crypto markets were staging a comeback after plunging over the summer. However, midway through the month, the Chinese government announced a sweeping Bitcoin ban that sent markets tumbling back down.
Now, under almost the exact same conditions, China has put forward yet another crypto ban. The difference, insiders say, is this one is the most severe. Dealing with cryptocurrencies in any way, including mining or transacting, is now punishable by law.
Whether that’s true or even unique to this particular ban is up for debate, but one thing is for sure, we remember what happened a few short months later — Bitcoin hit all-time highs.
It’s fair to wonder if this time it’s different, but given how closely 2021 has followed the 2017 blueprint, the ball is in crypto’s court.
🏛 Senators push SEC for great clarity on crypto
Senators Pat Toomey and Cynthia Lummis are crypto bulls with mighty amounts of clout within the hallowed halls of Capitol Hill. Moreover, they’re fresh off a battle over better crypto provisions within last month’s $1T spending bill.
Now, they’re calling for greater clarity from the SEC surrounding crypto regulations. Toomey has accused the SEC of bullying the crypto sector with “regulation by enforcement” versus providing the industry a clear roadmap.
The losers in this tug of war between the SEC and crypto? The American public. According to Toomey and Lummis, without clear regulations, investors won’t get a fair and competitive marketplace.
And with the latest Chinese crypto ban, both senators believe this is a crucial opportunity for the US to make itself the home of blockchain innovation. Sen. Toomey’s original tweet on the matter has garnered just shy of 30K Twitter likes, showing broad public support for bringing Bitcoin home.
👨💻 Andre Cronje launches free & fast NFT platform
Does Andre Cronje sleep? It’s pretty obvious he most definitely doesn’t.
His prodigious output has led to yet another masterstroke with Artion, a decentralized alternative to OpenSea. Artion doesn’t charge minting or platform fees and transactions are super cheap + very fast thanks to the platform living on Fantom.
The push to create a decentralized version of OpenSea got a massive tailwind when OpenSea exec Nate Chastain was found insider trading. Chastain was quickly fired but doubts about the world’s largest NFT platform persist.
Artion isn’t the only decentralized NFT platform competing with OpenSea. DeFi protocol Sushi has entered the fray with Shoyu, a place for creating and trading a broad range of NFTs.
Twitter
Senator Pat Toomey
China’s authoritarian crackdown on crypto, including #Bitcoin, is a big opportunity for the U.S. It’s also a reminder of our huge structural advantage over China.
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 09.27.21
🙀 Chinese crypto ban expands
😅 Bitfinex accidentally paid $23.7M in gas
👏 dYdX leads DeFi token rally
🥊 Chinese crypto ban expands
SparkPool is the second-largest Ethereum mining pool in the world. What’s more — they’re based in China, instantly putting them afoul of that nation’s harsh anti-crypto regulations.
In response to the Chinese gov’s crypto clampdown, SparkPool has suspended its ETH staking services for Chinese AND international customers. The Ethereum hashrate (power needed to mine ETH) has plummeted 8% in SparkPool’s absence.
Elsewhere, marketplace giant Alibaba is banning the sale of crypto mining equipment, citing the PBOC’s recent proclamations regarding digital assets. The ban comes into place October 1st — and interestingly calls out Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Quarkcoin.
🥲 Bitfinex accidentally paid $23.7M in gas fees
In an apparent fumble of grand proportions, Bitfinex appears to have fat-fingered a $100,000 Ethereum transaction to the tune of $23.7 million in gas fees.
Ordinarily, Ethereum transaction fees are low for large and small transactions alike. However, in this case, Bitfinex significantly overspent on gas fees when sending funds to DeversiFI, a decentralized exchange.
As of now, the transaction marks the single largest amount spent on Ethereum gas fees to date. The second most expensive gas fee paid to Ethereum comes in a distant second place at $5 million.
✅ dYdX leads DeFi token as CEX tokens dump
dydX, the decentralized perpetuals exchange, is leading the current DeFi token surge as it collects both hype and trading volume.
The significant traction gained by dYdX in recent days is astounding by any measure.
🏅 dYdX trading volume surpassed Coinbase
🏅It also topped all other DEXes combined
China’s ban on crypto trading is also giving decentralized exchanges like dYdX a significant tailwind. In the wake of both Binance and Huobi barring mainland Chinese users, DEX tokens like UNI, SUSHI, and CRV rallied.
Meanwhile, in Huobi Token (HT) and Binance Coin (BNB) have plummeted out of favor, losing 46% and 19% respectively.
🙀 Chinese crypto ban expands
😅 Bitfinex accidentally paid $23.7M in gas
👏 dYdX leads DeFi token rally
🥊 Chinese crypto ban expands
SparkPool is the second-largest Ethereum mining pool in the world. What’s more — they’re based in China, instantly putting them afoul of that nation’s harsh anti-crypto regulations.
In response to the Chinese gov’s crypto clampdown, SparkPool has suspended its ETH staking services for Chinese AND international customers. The Ethereum hashrate (power needed to mine ETH) has plummeted 8% in SparkPool’s absence.
Elsewhere, marketplace giant Alibaba is banning the sale of crypto mining equipment, citing the PBOC’s recent proclamations regarding digital assets. The ban comes into place October 1st — and interestingly calls out Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Quarkcoin.
🥲 Bitfinex accidentally paid $23.7M in gas fees
In an apparent fumble of grand proportions, Bitfinex appears to have fat-fingered a $100,000 Ethereum transaction to the tune of $23.7 million in gas fees.
Ordinarily, Ethereum transaction fees are low for large and small transactions alike. However, in this case, Bitfinex significantly overspent on gas fees when sending funds to DeversiFI, a decentralized exchange.
As of now, the transaction marks the single largest amount spent on Ethereum gas fees to date. The second most expensive gas fee paid to Ethereum comes in a distant second place at $5 million.
✅ dYdX leads DeFi token as CEX tokens dump
dydX, the decentralized perpetuals exchange, is leading the current DeFi token surge as it collects both hype and trading volume.
The significant traction gained by dYdX in recent days is astounding by any measure.
🏅 dYdX trading volume surpassed Coinbase
🏅It also topped all other DEXes combined
China’s ban on crypto trading is also giving decentralized exchanges like dYdX a significant tailwind. In the wake of both Binance and Huobi barring mainland Chinese users, DEX tokens like UNI, SUSHI, and CRV rallied.
Meanwhile, in Huobi Token (HT) and Binance Coin (BNB) have plummeted out of favor, losing 46% and 19% respectively.
Bloomberg.com
Crypto Rebounds as Investors Look Past China Bombshell
China’s fiercest shot yet across the bows of the cryptocurrency world appears to have left investors mostly unruffled.
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 09.28.21
👑 Why Avalanche is taking over
⚒ Bitmain the latest to stop miner sales
🔥 Stacked SBF Basket up 1,200% YTD
👑 Why Avalanche (AVAX) is taking over
Avalanche is the blockchain that few saw coming. After all, AVAX spent months dangling outside of the top 100 crypto projects by market cap.
Founded by Emin Gun Sirer of Cornell University, Avalanche had strong academia vibes akin to other big brain projects like Algorand and Hedera. But if the project’s complexity kept you from digging deeper into the project, its success today might have you feeling some type of way.
The key to understanding Avalanche is that it solves the decentralization/security/scaling trilemma with a unique triple blockchain approach:
X-Chain: Responsible for asset creation and exchange
C-Chain: Runs EVM compatible smart contracts
P-Chain: Allows you to create blockchains called subnets
The three-in-one approach to building a blockchain platform enables Avalanche to run complex smart contracts and host infinite blockchains at a seemingly infinite scale.
For financial applications like decentralized exchanges, Avalanche is powerful stuff. If your DEX runs out of transaction space because of high volume, you can spawn unlimited subnets to increase capacity and keep transactions flowing.
Moreover, the Avalanche Bridge makes sending digital assets between Ethereum and Avalanche a cinch using Metamask. That gives Avalanche easy access to the big billions worth of liquidity on Ethereum — something Aave, Curve, and Sushi understand, which is why they’ve launched on Avalanche.
⚒ Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain stops sales in China
Bitmain is the world’s largest producer of Bitcoin mining equipment. It’s also based in Southern China and does brisk business within the country.
But owing to China’s intense crypto crackdown of late, Bitmain is being forced to do last-minute damage control. The company is halting sales of mining equipment to Chinese customers — and it’s moving production operations out of China entirely.
Where the bulk of Bitmain’s production will take place from here on is a big question mark. Taiwan is a likely candidate given the company’s ties to semiconductor producers there, but only time will tell.
🔥 Stacked SBF Basket up 1,200% YTD
To make it in 2021, you didn’t have to develop a taste for artfully illiquid jpegs. No — all you had to do was hold Stacked Invest’s SBF Basket.
Right now, the SBF Basket is up 1,232% — and that’s after a pullback from the +1,700% highs. SBF stands for none other than Sam Bankman-Fried, magnanimous founder of FTX and billionaire wunderkind.
Early in the year, Stacked understood Sam Coins were on the brink of greatness, so we created a basket giving our users exposure to the best of them. Included are FTT, SOL, SRM, and SUSHI in equal 25% weights.
SOL has done the impossible after going from $3 to $203, but everything in the basket has pulled weight. Are Sam Coins done? Not by a long shot — and neither is the SBF Basket.
👉 Try Stacked for free and jump straight into the SBF Basket right here, right now 👈
👑 Why Avalanche is taking over
⚒ Bitmain the latest to stop miner sales
🔥 Stacked SBF Basket up 1,200% YTD
👑 Why Avalanche (AVAX) is taking over
Avalanche is the blockchain that few saw coming. After all, AVAX spent months dangling outside of the top 100 crypto projects by market cap.
Founded by Emin Gun Sirer of Cornell University, Avalanche had strong academia vibes akin to other big brain projects like Algorand and Hedera. But if the project’s complexity kept you from digging deeper into the project, its success today might have you feeling some type of way.
The key to understanding Avalanche is that it solves the decentralization/security/scaling trilemma with a unique triple blockchain approach:
X-Chain: Responsible for asset creation and exchange
C-Chain: Runs EVM compatible smart contracts
P-Chain: Allows you to create blockchains called subnets
The three-in-one approach to building a blockchain platform enables Avalanche to run complex smart contracts and host infinite blockchains at a seemingly infinite scale.
For financial applications like decentralized exchanges, Avalanche is powerful stuff. If your DEX runs out of transaction space because of high volume, you can spawn unlimited subnets to increase capacity and keep transactions flowing.
Moreover, the Avalanche Bridge makes sending digital assets between Ethereum and Avalanche a cinch using Metamask. That gives Avalanche easy access to the big billions worth of liquidity on Ethereum — something Aave, Curve, and Sushi understand, which is why they’ve launched on Avalanche.
⚒ Bitcoin mining giant Bitmain stops sales in China
Bitmain is the world’s largest producer of Bitcoin mining equipment. It’s also based in Southern China and does brisk business within the country.
But owing to China’s intense crypto crackdown of late, Bitmain is being forced to do last-minute damage control. The company is halting sales of mining equipment to Chinese customers — and it’s moving production operations out of China entirely.
Where the bulk of Bitmain’s production will take place from here on is a big question mark. Taiwan is a likely candidate given the company’s ties to semiconductor producers there, but only time will tell.
🔥 Stacked SBF Basket up 1,200% YTD
To make it in 2021, you didn’t have to develop a taste for artfully illiquid jpegs. No — all you had to do was hold Stacked Invest’s SBF Basket.
Right now, the SBF Basket is up 1,232% — and that’s after a pullback from the +1,700% highs. SBF stands for none other than Sam Bankman-Fried, magnanimous founder of FTX and billionaire wunderkind.
Early in the year, Stacked understood Sam Coins were on the brink of greatness, so we created a basket giving our users exposure to the best of them. Included are FTT, SOL, SRM, and SUSHI in equal 25% weights.
SOL has done the impossible after going from $3 to $203, but everything in the basket has pulled weight. Are Sam Coins done? Not by a long shot — and neither is the SBF Basket.
👉 Try Stacked for free and jump straight into the SBF Basket right here, right now 👈
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 10.01.21
😎 The US is NOT banning crypto
💳 Visa deploys smart contract on Ethereum
🤟 Crypto markets engage UP ONLY mode
😎 The US Fed is not banning crypto
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has unequivocally stated that the US has “no intention” to ban crypto. Not that it’s possible to ban crypto in the first place.
His admission came in response to Rep. Ted Budd’s question about whether the US planned to follow China in banning cryptocurrencies. However, Powell was clear in delineating the difference between how the Fed views stablecoins versus BTC and other tokens.
The agency believes stablecoins resemble money market funds and should be similarly regulated. His stated concern has to do with ensuring stablecoins are always fully backed by cash + cash equivalents so they remain liquid even during market downturns.
So, why is it important for the Fed to state it won’t ban crypto even if it doesn’t have the power to? Because it creates a broader atmosphere of crypto acceptance amongst US financial regulators and walks back some of SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s harsh comments.
⚡️ Visa officially deploys smart contracts to Ethereum Ropsten
One of the key takeaways of 2021 is that memes are fundamentals. Case in point: The longstanding Visa meme has come full circle as the multinational TradFi network officially enters the crypto space.
For years, crypto investors have used Visa as the gold standard for various networking metrics like throughput, scalability, and global brand recognition. Can Ethereum flip Visa in terms of transactions per second or financial activity? These are the questions long wondered by HODLers.
Now, Visa is deploying smart contracts on Ropsten, the Ethereum test network, as it prepares a solution for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) payments called Universal Payments Channel.
Visa sees the UPC becoming the world’s interoperable backbone network for CBDC payments across blockchains.
🚀 Crypto markets engage UP ONLY mode
After a summer of mixed fortunes, cryptocurrency markets have chosen up only mode as we officially enter Q4.
Last quarter saw drastic pullbacks and a steady recovery, but a string of regulatory woes in China and the US appeared to set the market back. However, on the heels of the Fed appearing to take a hands-off approach to crypto and the SEC’s reiteration that it supports a Bitcoin ETF, enthusiasm has come back in a big way.
BTC is up a staggering 10% as it looks to take back the $50K mark while altcoins do their thing in tandem. Some, like AXS and ICX, are up over 30%.
If there’s an apparent trend, it’s that Layer 1 blockchains and NFT platforms are continuing their hot streak of late. DeFi tokens are continuing to lag behind with the notable exceptions of OHM, OMG, DYDX, and UNI.
😎 The US is NOT banning crypto
💳 Visa deploys smart contract on Ethereum
🤟 Crypto markets engage UP ONLY mode
😎 The US Fed is not banning crypto
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has unequivocally stated that the US has “no intention” to ban crypto. Not that it’s possible to ban crypto in the first place.
His admission came in response to Rep. Ted Budd’s question about whether the US planned to follow China in banning cryptocurrencies. However, Powell was clear in delineating the difference between how the Fed views stablecoins versus BTC and other tokens.
The agency believes stablecoins resemble money market funds and should be similarly regulated. His stated concern has to do with ensuring stablecoins are always fully backed by cash + cash equivalents so they remain liquid even during market downturns.
So, why is it important for the Fed to state it won’t ban crypto even if it doesn’t have the power to? Because it creates a broader atmosphere of crypto acceptance amongst US financial regulators and walks back some of SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s harsh comments.
⚡️ Visa officially deploys smart contracts to Ethereum Ropsten
One of the key takeaways of 2021 is that memes are fundamentals. Case in point: The longstanding Visa meme has come full circle as the multinational TradFi network officially enters the crypto space.
For years, crypto investors have used Visa as the gold standard for various networking metrics like throughput, scalability, and global brand recognition. Can Ethereum flip Visa in terms of transactions per second or financial activity? These are the questions long wondered by HODLers.
Now, Visa is deploying smart contracts on Ropsten, the Ethereum test network, as it prepares a solution for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) payments called Universal Payments Channel.
Visa sees the UPC becoming the world’s interoperable backbone network for CBDC payments across blockchains.
🚀 Crypto markets engage UP ONLY mode
After a summer of mixed fortunes, cryptocurrency markets have chosen up only mode as we officially enter Q4.
Last quarter saw drastic pullbacks and a steady recovery, but a string of regulatory woes in China and the US appeared to set the market back. However, on the heels of the Fed appearing to take a hands-off approach to crypto and the SEC’s reiteration that it supports a Bitcoin ETF, enthusiasm has come back in a big way.
BTC is up a staggering 10% as it looks to take back the $50K mark while altcoins do their thing in tandem. Some, like AXS and ICX, are up over 30%.
If there’s an apparent trend, it’s that Layer 1 blockchains and NFT platforms are continuing their hot streak of late. DeFi tokens are continuing to lag behind with the notable exceptions of OHM, OMG, DYDX, and UNI.
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 10.06.21
💥 BOOM...Bitcoin nails $55K
🧲 George Soros is buying crypto
🤝 Brazil, Colombia, & Texas warming to crypto
🤴🏻 BTC runs to $55K, takes aim at new highs
For the first time since, well, just a few months ago, BTC is trading in the $55K region. BTC is now up a staggering 33% this week, making it the biggest gainer amongst the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
Perhaps even more bullish than price is how that price is developing. Rather than ascending on diminishing volume, BTC trading is gaining significant steam. The added volume shows increased trader/investor conviction about price direction, helping justify a probable attempt to equal or best the previous ATH at $63K.
What’s driving the current rally? BTC spent the summer cooling off and consolidating, leading many to believe the bull run was dead and momentum lost. However, Chinese and American crypto regulation has helped push the digital asset market into the spotlight. Regulation is also giving clarity to investors who have long been on the fence.
Additionally, during SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s testimony at the HFSC hearing today, he called BTC a ‘store of value’ — comparing it to gold in the process. He also stated the SEC would not pursue a ban on cryptocurrencies in part because, technically speaking, no one can 😂
🏦 Legendary investor George Soros is buying BTC
Soros Fund, the family office fund belonging to billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, has finally confirmed it’s actively buying & trading BTC. That Soros is bullish on Bitcoin has long been rumored, but this marks the first time his family office has made it clear.
The news comes by way of Dawn Fitzpatrick, the fund’s CEO + CIO. She stated the fund owns ‘some coins’ but went on to clarify they’re not holding tokens related to DeFi and NFTs — yet.
Earlier this year, Fitzpatrick also stated the fund’s belief that CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) are arriving quickly and might compete with Bitcoin. In that sense, the fund’s active investment in BTC indicates a view of Bitcoin as at least on par with national currencies.
🎯 Brazil, Colombia, & Texas warming to crypto
In the beginning, there was Zug, Switzerland. The small town has long been renowned for its beauty but in recent years is better known as the capital of crypto.
In the years since Zug first opened its arms to crypto developers, other regions have followed suit: Malta, Singapore, and the Bahamas.
Now, a new round of countries & states is warming to crypto like never before. El Salvador, the first country to officially adopt BTC as legal tender, certainly led the influx & now both mines and buys BTC.
Following in El Salvador’s footsteps are, potentially, other Latin American countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. In all three countries, lawmakers are now voicing support for increased BTC + cryptocurrency adoption, doing everything from mining BTC using waterfalls to adopting it as legal tender.
In the US, Texas is looking to become the capital of crypto. Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently stated that “Texas will be the crypto leader. Cryptocurrency is now coming to Texas grocery stores.”
💥 BOOM...Bitcoin nails $55K
🧲 George Soros is buying crypto
🤝 Brazil, Colombia, & Texas warming to crypto
🤴🏻 BTC runs to $55K, takes aim at new highs
For the first time since, well, just a few months ago, BTC is trading in the $55K region. BTC is now up a staggering 33% this week, making it the biggest gainer amongst the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
Perhaps even more bullish than price is how that price is developing. Rather than ascending on diminishing volume, BTC trading is gaining significant steam. The added volume shows increased trader/investor conviction about price direction, helping justify a probable attempt to equal or best the previous ATH at $63K.
What’s driving the current rally? BTC spent the summer cooling off and consolidating, leading many to believe the bull run was dead and momentum lost. However, Chinese and American crypto regulation has helped push the digital asset market into the spotlight. Regulation is also giving clarity to investors who have long been on the fence.
Additionally, during SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s testimony at the HFSC hearing today, he called BTC a ‘store of value’ — comparing it to gold in the process. He also stated the SEC would not pursue a ban on cryptocurrencies in part because, technically speaking, no one can 😂
🏦 Legendary investor George Soros is buying BTC
Soros Fund, the family office fund belonging to billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, has finally confirmed it’s actively buying & trading BTC. That Soros is bullish on Bitcoin has long been rumored, but this marks the first time his family office has made it clear.
The news comes by way of Dawn Fitzpatrick, the fund’s CEO + CIO. She stated the fund owns ‘some coins’ but went on to clarify they’re not holding tokens related to DeFi and NFTs — yet.
Earlier this year, Fitzpatrick also stated the fund’s belief that CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) are arriving quickly and might compete with Bitcoin. In that sense, the fund’s active investment in BTC indicates a view of Bitcoin as at least on par with national currencies.
🎯 Brazil, Colombia, & Texas warming to crypto
In the beginning, there was Zug, Switzerland. The small town has long been renowned for its beauty but in recent years is better known as the capital of crypto.
In the years since Zug first opened its arms to crypto developers, other regions have followed suit: Malta, Singapore, and the Bahamas.
Now, a new round of countries & states is warming to crypto like never before. El Salvador, the first country to officially adopt BTC as legal tender, certainly led the influx & now both mines and buys BTC.
Following in El Salvador’s footsteps are, potentially, other Latin American countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. In all three countries, lawmakers are now voicing support for increased BTC + cryptocurrency adoption, doing everything from mining BTC using waterfalls to adopting it as legal tender.
In the US, Texas is looking to become the capital of crypto. Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently stated that “Texas will be the crypto leader. Cryptocurrency is now coming to Texas grocery stores.”
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 10.11.21
📈 BTC stair-stepping to Valhalla
🎨 FTX launches NFT market
🧵 Threads you NEED to read
👆 BTC chugging higher, ready for $60K
Bitcoin has been grinding its way higher in what seems like complete silence. But now, after months of NFT/DeFi/L1 token hype, BTC is gladly reminding everyone of its eminence.
Lest you forget, Bitcoin’s all-time high is $64K. At the current $57K level, we’re only $7K away from matching. The moment we touch above $64K, price discovery is back on the table.
One trader who hasn’t missed a mark all year is PlanB. According to his S2F model, BTC will close the month at or above $63K — a mere ~15% from where we stand today. From there, his model projects November at >$98K and December at a staggering >$135K.
It looks like Uptober is more than just a meme.
🎨 FTX NFTs platform is built different
FTX is always a step ahead. If you have any doubts about that, check the latest Forbes magazine, the cover of which is graced by Sam Bankman-Fried himself.
In keeping with their visionary flow, FTX has launched FTX NFTs, a marketplace designed to compete with OpenSea. However, FTX NFTs is primarily focused on Solana NFTs — a key difference considering OpenSea doesn’t do Solana.
Soon, Ethereum support will be added to the platform, giving FTX NFTs true multichain support yet to be offered by competitors. And while it might be difficult to applaud another centralized NFT platform entering the space, FTX has historically been generous regarding ETH gas fees and customer support.
Besides, FTX NFTs is a launch specific to the exchange’s US arm. That’s significant because American crypto traders & investors have been getting stiff-armed by stifling regulators. Now, American NFT enthusiasts have the greenlight to flip JPEGS in peace.
🧵 Threads you NEED to read
The amount of alpha dropped over Crypto Twitter threads 🧵 on a given day is enormous. Unless you have a personal assistant digging non-stop every day, there’s just no getting it all.
But wait, you have us here at Stacked HQ — and we’ll give you shortcuts to the best alpha of late. Here are the best CT threads you NEED to read.
👉 6529’s Pathway To An Open Metaverse — Cryptopunk #6529 describes in glorious detail why NFTS are a defining moment for future freedom.
👉 6529’s On NFTs 2030 — 6529 with the heat again. This time, they explore why you are insufficiently bullish on NFTs.
👉 Cobie calls all of 2021 BTC price action — In this must-read thread, Cobie goes ahead and casually nails all of 2021 price action from way back in January.
👉 Arthur B defines Web3 — The Web3 moniker gets thrown around a lot. This is a short and concise take on the definition of Web3.
📈 BTC stair-stepping to Valhalla
🎨 FTX launches NFT market
🧵 Threads you NEED to read
👆 BTC chugging higher, ready for $60K
Bitcoin has been grinding its way higher in what seems like complete silence. But now, after months of NFT/DeFi/L1 token hype, BTC is gladly reminding everyone of its eminence.
Lest you forget, Bitcoin’s all-time high is $64K. At the current $57K level, we’re only $7K away from matching. The moment we touch above $64K, price discovery is back on the table.
One trader who hasn’t missed a mark all year is PlanB. According to his S2F model, BTC will close the month at or above $63K — a mere ~15% from where we stand today. From there, his model projects November at >$98K and December at a staggering >$135K.
It looks like Uptober is more than just a meme.
🎨 FTX NFTs platform is built different
FTX is always a step ahead. If you have any doubts about that, check the latest Forbes magazine, the cover of which is graced by Sam Bankman-Fried himself.
In keeping with their visionary flow, FTX has launched FTX NFTs, a marketplace designed to compete with OpenSea. However, FTX NFTs is primarily focused on Solana NFTs — a key difference considering OpenSea doesn’t do Solana.
Soon, Ethereum support will be added to the platform, giving FTX NFTs true multichain support yet to be offered by competitors. And while it might be difficult to applaud another centralized NFT platform entering the space, FTX has historically been generous regarding ETH gas fees and customer support.
Besides, FTX NFTs is a launch specific to the exchange’s US arm. That’s significant because American crypto traders & investors have been getting stiff-armed by stifling regulators. Now, American NFT enthusiasts have the greenlight to flip JPEGS in peace.
🧵 Threads you NEED to read
The amount of alpha dropped over Crypto Twitter threads 🧵 on a given day is enormous. Unless you have a personal assistant digging non-stop every day, there’s just no getting it all.
But wait, you have us here at Stacked HQ — and we’ll give you shortcuts to the best alpha of late. Here are the best CT threads you NEED to read.
👉 6529’s Pathway To An Open Metaverse — Cryptopunk #6529 describes in glorious detail why NFTS are a defining moment for future freedom.
👉 6529’s On NFTs 2030 — 6529 with the heat again. This time, they explore why you are insufficiently bullish on NFTs.
👉 Cobie calls all of 2021 BTC price action — In this must-read thread, Cobie goes ahead and casually nails all of 2021 price action from way back in January.
👉 Arthur B defines Web3 — The Web3 moniker gets thrown around a lot. This is a short and concise take on the definition of Web3.
X (formerly Twitter)
PlanB (@100trillionUSD) on X
All models are wrong, some are useful. All my tweets are my opinion. DYOR!
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 10.12.21
🖼 Coinbase launching NFT marketplace
💰 Binance announces $1B crypto fund
🤑 Celsius crypto lending raises $400M
👨🎨 Coinbase is launching an NFT marketplace
Well, that escalated quickly.
Just yesterday FTX announced the launch of FTX NFTs, its marketplace aimed at competing with OpenSea. Before FTX, decentralized NFT marketplaces like Sushi’s Shoyu and Fantom’s Artion came to market with the same intention.
Now, centralized crypto kingmakers Coinbase are launching Coinbase NFT to...compete with OpenSea. If you’re into NFTs, then Coinbase’s move bodes extremely well for the space because of a few assumptions:
1️⃣ Coinbase will make it easy to buy NFTs with cash/credit
2️⃣ A Coinbase NFT app is accessible for loads of people
3️⃣ The mainstream Coinbase brand blessing NFTs
Coinbase was also the first crypto exchange to make buying crypto feel easy, uncomplicated, and similar to using PayPal or Venmo. If you’ve used OpenSea lately, especially from a hardware wallet like Ledger, then you know the UX is poor.
If Coinbase can bring their renowned ability for simplifying UX to NFTs they’ll quickly develop a following from people tired of buggy MetaMask issues. The move also puts the heat on OpenSea to innovate and, perhaps, launch a token 👀
💸 Binance announces largest ever crypto fund at $1B
Once again, Binance proves that actions, not words, bring value to the crypto ecosystem. But what comes as a surprise is just how much value Binance is willing to put on the line.
Today, Binance announced a giant $1 billion fund for boosting Binance Smart Chain adoption and the adoption + acceleration of all blockchain tech. The move comes after global regulators have hounded Binance in numerous jurisdictions.
Some $300M of the funds will go directly to blockchain developers while a whopping $100M is allocated to DeFi liquidity incentives.
🤩 Celsius crypto lending raises $400M
Money has literally been pouring down on the red-hot crypto sector. However, you might say the endless flow of VC money into the ecosystem is long overdue.
Case in point — Celsius, the giant crypto lending service, has raised $400 million at a $3+ billion valuation. That comes after Celsius has found itself in regulators’ crosshairs throughout the US. Texas, Vermont, New Jersey, and Kentucky have all tried to halt Celsius from operating in their states.
Celsius will allocate significant portions of the raise toward building a bridge with traditional financial regulators, helping them understand the future of finance.
🖼 Coinbase launching NFT marketplace
💰 Binance announces $1B crypto fund
🤑 Celsius crypto lending raises $400M
👨🎨 Coinbase is launching an NFT marketplace
Well, that escalated quickly.
Just yesterday FTX announced the launch of FTX NFTs, its marketplace aimed at competing with OpenSea. Before FTX, decentralized NFT marketplaces like Sushi’s Shoyu and Fantom’s Artion came to market with the same intention.
Now, centralized crypto kingmakers Coinbase are launching Coinbase NFT to...compete with OpenSea. If you’re into NFTs, then Coinbase’s move bodes extremely well for the space because of a few assumptions:
1️⃣ Coinbase will make it easy to buy NFTs with cash/credit
2️⃣ A Coinbase NFT app is accessible for loads of people
3️⃣ The mainstream Coinbase brand blessing NFTs
Coinbase was also the first crypto exchange to make buying crypto feel easy, uncomplicated, and similar to using PayPal or Venmo. If you’ve used OpenSea lately, especially from a hardware wallet like Ledger, then you know the UX is poor.
If Coinbase can bring their renowned ability for simplifying UX to NFTs they’ll quickly develop a following from people tired of buggy MetaMask issues. The move also puts the heat on OpenSea to innovate and, perhaps, launch a token 👀
💸 Binance announces largest ever crypto fund at $1B
Once again, Binance proves that actions, not words, bring value to the crypto ecosystem. But what comes as a surprise is just how much value Binance is willing to put on the line.
Today, Binance announced a giant $1 billion fund for boosting Binance Smart Chain adoption and the adoption + acceleration of all blockchain tech. The move comes after global regulators have hounded Binance in numerous jurisdictions.
Some $300M of the funds will go directly to blockchain developers while a whopping $100M is allocated to DeFi liquidity incentives.
🤩 Celsius crypto lending raises $400M
Money has literally been pouring down on the red-hot crypto sector. However, you might say the endless flow of VC money into the ecosystem is long overdue.
Case in point — Celsius, the giant crypto lending service, has raised $400 million at a $3+ billion valuation. That comes after Celsius has found itself in regulators’ crosshairs throughout the US. Texas, Vermont, New Jersey, and Kentucky have all tried to halt Celsius from operating in their states.
Celsius will allocate significant portions of the raise toward building a bridge with traditional financial regulators, helping them understand the future of finance.
Stacked Insights Newsletter,10.13.21
⛓ Polkadot is launching parachains
🏟 1M users on Coinbase NFT waitlist
😺 Mutant Cat NFTs hit afterburners
🔗 Polkadot is ready to launch parachains
In what might be the biggest fundamental development in crypto this year, Polkadot has announced the impending parachain launch. The Polkadot Council approved a November 11 launch date, meaning the first parachain crowdloan takes place in under a month.
Polkadot founder Gavin Wood also co-founded Ethereum and was chiefly responsible for its technical development. He invented the Solidity programming language used for writing Ethereum smart contracts and is the founder of both Parity and Web3 Foundation.
In other words, Gavin is second to only Satoshi in terms of crypto innovation. So, when the Layer 0 blockchain protocol he’s been developing for four years finally says it’s ready to launch, it’s best to pay attention.
Polkadot is Layer 0 means something different than Ethereum is a Layer 1. A Layer 0 like Polkadot sits below Layer 1 chains like Ethereum and Solana, allowing them to connect and become interoperable protocols with transferable assets and data.
With the way things stand now, Acala, the flagship DeFi protocol building on Polkadot, is probably a shoo-in for the first parachain slot. But it’ll have stiff competition from Moonbeam, the interoperable smart contract platform responsible for last month’s successful Moonriver (MOVR) launch.
💪 1 million people join Coinbase NFT waitlist on day 1
Coinbase has about 70 million users — not including its more than 9,000 institutional + 160K ecosystem partners. So when the exchange announced Coinbase NFT yesterday and launched a corresponding waitlist, it created quite an uproar.
Now we know that just shy of 1 million people joined the waitlist less than 24 hours after it opened. Those users hope to be amongst the first to mint, buy, and sell NFTs on Coinbase when its NFT platform launches sometime in December.
In a bullish twist, Coinbase will allow users to self-custody their NFTs rather than require them held in a Coinbase Wallet. By allowing users to retain ownership of their NFTs, Coinbase is opening its platform up to more potential customers in a market known for privacy-first politics.
😼 Mutant Cat NFTs are #2 on OpenSea
It’s pretty evident that right now, nobody is overtaking MekaVerse for the #1 sales volume rank on OpenSea. But Mutant Cats NFTs are giving everyone else a run for their money.
Mutant Cats have vaulted from seemingly nowhere to the #2 sales spot on the strength of their NFT derivatives DAO concept.
In a nutshell, Mutant Cats sales royalties go into the Mutant Cats DAO, which buys Cool Cats and other blue-chip NFT collections. Those NFTs are then fractionalized and given back to Mutant Cat NFT owners in the form of another token called FISH.
To earn FISH, Mutant Cats NFT owners must stake their cats, entitling them to 10 FISH per cat per day. With FISH currently trading on Sushi for $15, that amounts to $150/day for each staked Mutant Cat.
Additionally, FISH will be used to mint new NFTs within the Mutant Cats ecosystem, explaining why an astounding 86% of 10,000 Mutant Cats NFTs are currently staked. The impressive number of staked cats has left a tiny amount on the open market (less than 150 cats for sale on OpenSea).
⛓ Polkadot is launching parachains
🏟 1M users on Coinbase NFT waitlist
😺 Mutant Cat NFTs hit afterburners
🔗 Polkadot is ready to launch parachains
In what might be the biggest fundamental development in crypto this year, Polkadot has announced the impending parachain launch. The Polkadot Council approved a November 11 launch date, meaning the first parachain crowdloan takes place in under a month.
Polkadot founder Gavin Wood also co-founded Ethereum and was chiefly responsible for its technical development. He invented the Solidity programming language used for writing Ethereum smart contracts and is the founder of both Parity and Web3 Foundation.
In other words, Gavin is second to only Satoshi in terms of crypto innovation. So, when the Layer 0 blockchain protocol he’s been developing for four years finally says it’s ready to launch, it’s best to pay attention.
Polkadot is Layer 0 means something different than Ethereum is a Layer 1. A Layer 0 like Polkadot sits below Layer 1 chains like Ethereum and Solana, allowing them to connect and become interoperable protocols with transferable assets and data.
With the way things stand now, Acala, the flagship DeFi protocol building on Polkadot, is probably a shoo-in for the first parachain slot. But it’ll have stiff competition from Moonbeam, the interoperable smart contract platform responsible for last month’s successful Moonriver (MOVR) launch.
💪 1 million people join Coinbase NFT waitlist on day 1
Coinbase has about 70 million users — not including its more than 9,000 institutional + 160K ecosystem partners. So when the exchange announced Coinbase NFT yesterday and launched a corresponding waitlist, it created quite an uproar.
Now we know that just shy of 1 million people joined the waitlist less than 24 hours after it opened. Those users hope to be amongst the first to mint, buy, and sell NFTs on Coinbase when its NFT platform launches sometime in December.
In a bullish twist, Coinbase will allow users to self-custody their NFTs rather than require them held in a Coinbase Wallet. By allowing users to retain ownership of their NFTs, Coinbase is opening its platform up to more potential customers in a market known for privacy-first politics.
😼 Mutant Cat NFTs are #2 on OpenSea
It’s pretty evident that right now, nobody is overtaking MekaVerse for the #1 sales volume rank on OpenSea. But Mutant Cats NFTs are giving everyone else a run for their money.
Mutant Cats have vaulted from seemingly nowhere to the #2 sales spot on the strength of their NFT derivatives DAO concept.
In a nutshell, Mutant Cats sales royalties go into the Mutant Cats DAO, which buys Cool Cats and other blue-chip NFT collections. Those NFTs are then fractionalized and given back to Mutant Cat NFT owners in the form of another token called FISH.
To earn FISH, Mutant Cats NFT owners must stake their cats, entitling them to 10 FISH per cat per day. With FISH currently trading on Sushi for $15, that amounts to $150/day for each staked Mutant Cat.
Additionally, FISH will be used to mint new NFTs within the Mutant Cats ecosystem, explaining why an astounding 86% of 10,000 Mutant Cats NFTs are currently staked. The impressive number of staked cats has left a tiny amount on the open market (less than 150 cats for sale on OpenSea).
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 10.20.21
👑 The Bitcoin Edition👑
Satoshi was a genius.
Today, diamond hands around the world confirmed that genius by pushing BTC to new highs above $66,000. Let that sink in for a moment 🤯
The China bans, aging regulators who don’t understand crypto, black swan crashes, double digit drawdowns, the countless times BTC has been declared dead…
Despite it all, Bitcoin’s crown remains fixed in place. The significance of today’s ATH is stronger than usual because when we last tagged $64K, it was a fleeting moment before a precipitous decline. This time around, BTC is standing on two firmly planted feet and clearly feels warmed up.
Bitcoin is now in an entirely different league. The Proshares BTC ETF had its first full day of trading this week. Exchange volume soared above $1 billion before the day’s close, setting records for ETF debutantes along the way.
For years, the crypto collective mutually dreamed of the moment BTC would find itself enshrined in an ETF. Along the way, some gave up hope while others, like Van Eck and Grayscale, pursued the idea full gas.
Eventually, American senators, epochal investors, and even an SEC chairman would all agree that Bitcoin is a game-changing asset — and in any case, it’s one that can’t be stopped. The Proshares BTC ETF marks the day crypto went for real mainstream, and the day the boomer resistance crumbled.
Where do we go from here? As always, what comes next is the question on everyone’s mind. Is this the last cycle — the supercycle? Theories on Crypto Twitter abound about where we are relative to the internet tech stock cycle. If you subscribe to that comparison, there’s a big difference between whether this is 1998 or 1999.
However, seeing a directly analogous relationship between the internet boom and the current crypto boom is likely misguided. Bitcoin is money, and it’s in the process of being capitalized. What’s the ceiling on a global digital currency? Until people stop believing in Bitcoin, we aren’t likely to find out.
And as things look from here, Bitcoin is forever😤
👑 The Bitcoin Edition👑
Satoshi was a genius.
Today, diamond hands around the world confirmed that genius by pushing BTC to new highs above $66,000. Let that sink in for a moment 🤯
The China bans, aging regulators who don’t understand crypto, black swan crashes, double digit drawdowns, the countless times BTC has been declared dead…
Despite it all, Bitcoin’s crown remains fixed in place. The significance of today’s ATH is stronger than usual because when we last tagged $64K, it was a fleeting moment before a precipitous decline. This time around, BTC is standing on two firmly planted feet and clearly feels warmed up.
Bitcoin is now in an entirely different league. The Proshares BTC ETF had its first full day of trading this week. Exchange volume soared above $1 billion before the day’s close, setting records for ETF debutantes along the way.
For years, the crypto collective mutually dreamed of the moment BTC would find itself enshrined in an ETF. Along the way, some gave up hope while others, like Van Eck and Grayscale, pursued the idea full gas.
Eventually, American senators, epochal investors, and even an SEC chairman would all agree that Bitcoin is a game-changing asset — and in any case, it’s one that can’t be stopped. The Proshares BTC ETF marks the day crypto went for real mainstream, and the day the boomer resistance crumbled.
Where do we go from here? As always, what comes next is the question on everyone’s mind. Is this the last cycle — the supercycle? Theories on Crypto Twitter abound about where we are relative to the internet tech stock cycle. If you subscribe to that comparison, there’s a big difference between whether this is 1998 or 1999.
However, seeing a directly analogous relationship between the internet boom and the current crypto boom is likely misguided. Bitcoin is money, and it’s in the process of being capitalized. What’s the ceiling on a global digital currency? Until people stop believing in Bitcoin, we aren’t likely to find out.
And as things look from here, Bitcoin is forever😤
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 10.22.21
🥲 Bitcoin & Ethereum reject highs
🥋 The fight for the metaverse is ON
♋️ FTX raises $420 from 69 investors
⬇️ Bitcoin & Ethereum reject highs
BTC cemented new all time highs above $64K, giving everyone a chance to celebrate and circulate new ATH memes, before fading to $60K.
ETH, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. By some measures it did momentarily reach a new all-time high. For a few seconds, Bitstamp recorded ETH at $4,380. But just moments later bears were able to recapture momentum, pushing ETH back below $4K with apparent ease.
With both BTC and ETH trending the wrong way, how far will they correct? Yesterday, BTC closed below the 1D trendline in play since early October. With that inertia temporarily lost, BTC will need to spike well above $66K if we want to quell any talk of ‘double tops’.
In Ethereum land, it’s a different story. With the spotlight on BTC slightly dimmed, ETH is giving entrants an opportunity just below $4K. It’s well known that ETH tends to echo BTC’s moves, albeit with a little lag.
Given that, this quick move under $4K has the makings of an excellent entry before a true breakout into new highs occurs.
👊 The fight for the metaverse is ON
In the coming days, Facebook will rebrand itself as a metaverse company. The largest social media company in the world rebranding is already big in itself, but once you understand the ‘metaversal’ implications, it gets crazier.
The metaverse is the future internet we’re all going to share. It’s multi-dimensional, experiential, and will allow users to seamlessly transition between virtual worlds using AR and VR technology.
But well before we get to that point, the metaverse-in-progress will more closely resemble games with high interactivity and user-owned elements, like Axie Infinity. As blockchain technology evolves, it’s increasingly viewed as the fabric of the metaverse.
So it should come as no surprise that Mark Zuckerberg wants to control the metaverse. That’s a frightening proposition given how much deeper the metaversal experience will be. The question is, then, what kind of metaverse do we want? An open or closed one?
Decentralization has been the rallying point for cryptocurrencies since day one. But now that we’re moving beyond mere digital currencies and into digital universes, the fight for keeping decentralization front and center is more important than ever.
♋️ FTX raises $420 from 69 investors (nice)
Sam Bankman-Fried is the GOAT. But you already knew that.
But just to prove his legendary status once again, he’s gone ahead and raised $420 million from 69 investors for FTX. Imagine being the 70th investor in line and having SBF delicately shoo you away.
The $420 million raise might seem high (no pun intended?) but when you consider it only values FTX at 1/4th Coinbase, you realize there’s ample room for FTX to prove its worth. After all, the FTX marketing department is undoubtedly the best in the biz.
Just ask Tom Brady.
🥲 Bitcoin & Ethereum reject highs
🥋 The fight for the metaverse is ON
♋️ FTX raises $420 from 69 investors
⬇️ Bitcoin & Ethereum reject highs
BTC cemented new all time highs above $64K, giving everyone a chance to celebrate and circulate new ATH memes, before fading to $60K.
ETH, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. By some measures it did momentarily reach a new all-time high. For a few seconds, Bitstamp recorded ETH at $4,380. But just moments later bears were able to recapture momentum, pushing ETH back below $4K with apparent ease.
With both BTC and ETH trending the wrong way, how far will they correct? Yesterday, BTC closed below the 1D trendline in play since early October. With that inertia temporarily lost, BTC will need to spike well above $66K if we want to quell any talk of ‘double tops’.
In Ethereum land, it’s a different story. With the spotlight on BTC slightly dimmed, ETH is giving entrants an opportunity just below $4K. It’s well known that ETH tends to echo BTC’s moves, albeit with a little lag.
Given that, this quick move under $4K has the makings of an excellent entry before a true breakout into new highs occurs.
👊 The fight for the metaverse is ON
In the coming days, Facebook will rebrand itself as a metaverse company. The largest social media company in the world rebranding is already big in itself, but once you understand the ‘metaversal’ implications, it gets crazier.
The metaverse is the future internet we’re all going to share. It’s multi-dimensional, experiential, and will allow users to seamlessly transition between virtual worlds using AR and VR technology.
But well before we get to that point, the metaverse-in-progress will more closely resemble games with high interactivity and user-owned elements, like Axie Infinity. As blockchain technology evolves, it’s increasingly viewed as the fabric of the metaverse.
So it should come as no surprise that Mark Zuckerberg wants to control the metaverse. That’s a frightening proposition given how much deeper the metaversal experience will be. The question is, then, what kind of metaverse do we want? An open or closed one?
Decentralization has been the rallying point for cryptocurrencies since day one. But now that we’re moving beyond mere digital currencies and into digital universes, the fight for keeping decentralization front and center is more important than ever.
♋️ FTX raises $420 from 69 investors (nice)
Sam Bankman-Fried is the GOAT. But you already knew that.
But just to prove his legendary status once again, he’s gone ahead and raised $420 million from 69 investors for FTX. Imagine being the 70th investor in line and having SBF delicately shoo you away.
The $420 million raise might seem high (no pun intended?) but when you consider it only values FTX at 1/4th Coinbase, you realize there’s ample room for FTX to prove its worth. After all, the FTX marketing department is undoubtedly the best in the biz.
Just ask Tom Brady.
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 10.25.21
🛫 Crypto total market cap hits ATH
👀 3 altcoins you need to watch
🤭 Stacked has traded $15 billion
🥂 It’s like every day in crypto is ATH day
Another day, another all-time high. This time, BTC is hanging just under previous highs, while ETH has definitively punched through to new highs.
Combined, BTC and ETH are crypto’s “big two” and have helped push the total market cap of all digital assets combined to $2.8 TRILLION. Yep, that’s the most money this little yet parabolically rising market of ours has ever been worth.
Keep in mind PlanB’s notoriously accurate S2F model still sees BTC at $135 billion before the year’s end. If we reach such heights, the total market cap will be at least 2x from here.
Therefore, choose your runners wisely and remember the saying a “rising tide lifts all boats.”
🔱 The holy DeFi trinity — watch these tokens
Today, there are over 5,000 tokens across CEX and DEX marketplaces. With so many assets to choose from, which represents the cream rising to the top? Figuring that out is all about identifying trends.
Forget about hopping on a trend super early — doing so is difficult, rare, and if it’s all you focus on, you’ll lose easier opportunities. Instead, seek out narratives with strong legs and obvious momentum.
Right now, the DeFi 2.0 meme is just such a trend. The holy trinity of that trend is built around the Curve Finance ecosystem. It’s locked in tens of billions of dollars from liquidity providers worldwide and shows no signs of stopping.
$CRV
Curve is a decentralized exchange for stablecoins that, in terms of TVL, left Uniswap in the dust long ago. At $14B TVL, Curve sits just behind Aave and Maker, yet sits incredibly low on the market cap leaderboards. Consider its tokenomics encourage CRV token lock-ups, CRV is incredibly undervalued here.
$SPELL
The hype on SPELL started quietly but has bubbled up now that it’s entered the token top 100. Still, hardly anyone understands this powerful token. In a nutshell, SPELL is the do-everything token for the Abracadabra yield-bearing assets into stablecoins vault. Abracadabra has conjured almost $4B in TVL and counting.
$CVX
To the untrained eye, Convex looks like a Curve clone. However, it works in tandem with Curve to significantly boost Curve rewards. The result is depositing in Convex is too good to pass up for Curve liquidity providers, which is why the platform now shares nearly all of Curve’s liquidity.
🔥 Stacked has traded $15 billion worth of assets
At Stacked HQ, we’re not ones to toot our own horn. We much prefer building the future of investment products. But we just hit a major milestone that’s too important to not shout about.
We just passed $15 billion in assets traded 🤯
Even though we set out to create the best crypto investing platform there is, it’s incredible to have supporters the world over CONFIRM what we’re doing. Big numbers like these make deepen our conviction that our path is the right one — THANK YOU🙇♂️
As always, you’re welcome to try Stacked for free right here, right now.
🛫 Crypto total market cap hits ATH
👀 3 altcoins you need to watch
🤭 Stacked has traded $15 billion
🥂 It’s like every day in crypto is ATH day
Another day, another all-time high. This time, BTC is hanging just under previous highs, while ETH has definitively punched through to new highs.
Combined, BTC and ETH are crypto’s “big two” and have helped push the total market cap of all digital assets combined to $2.8 TRILLION. Yep, that’s the most money this little yet parabolically rising market of ours has ever been worth.
Keep in mind PlanB’s notoriously accurate S2F model still sees BTC at $135 billion before the year’s end. If we reach such heights, the total market cap will be at least 2x from here.
Therefore, choose your runners wisely and remember the saying a “rising tide lifts all boats.”
🔱 The holy DeFi trinity — watch these tokens
Today, there are over 5,000 tokens across CEX and DEX marketplaces. With so many assets to choose from, which represents the cream rising to the top? Figuring that out is all about identifying trends.
Forget about hopping on a trend super early — doing so is difficult, rare, and if it’s all you focus on, you’ll lose easier opportunities. Instead, seek out narratives with strong legs and obvious momentum.
Right now, the DeFi 2.0 meme is just such a trend. The holy trinity of that trend is built around the Curve Finance ecosystem. It’s locked in tens of billions of dollars from liquidity providers worldwide and shows no signs of stopping.
$CRV
Curve is a decentralized exchange for stablecoins that, in terms of TVL, left Uniswap in the dust long ago. At $14B TVL, Curve sits just behind Aave and Maker, yet sits incredibly low on the market cap leaderboards. Consider its tokenomics encourage CRV token lock-ups, CRV is incredibly undervalued here.
$SPELL
The hype on SPELL started quietly but has bubbled up now that it’s entered the token top 100. Still, hardly anyone understands this powerful token. In a nutshell, SPELL is the do-everything token for the Abracadabra yield-bearing assets into stablecoins vault. Abracadabra has conjured almost $4B in TVL and counting.
$CVX
To the untrained eye, Convex looks like a Curve clone. However, it works in tandem with Curve to significantly boost Curve rewards. The result is depositing in Convex is too good to pass up for Curve liquidity providers, which is why the platform now shares nearly all of Curve’s liquidity.
🔥 Stacked has traded $15 billion worth of assets
At Stacked HQ, we’re not ones to toot our own horn. We much prefer building the future of investment products. But we just hit a major milestone that’s too important to not shout about.
We just passed $15 billion in assets traded 🤯
Even though we set out to create the best crypto investing platform there is, it’s incredible to have supporters the world over CONFIRM what we’re doing. Big numbers like these make deepen our conviction that our path is the right one — THANK YOU🙇♂️
As always, you’re welcome to try Stacked for free right here, right now.
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 10.27.21
🎢 BTC stutters, but no need to worry
👁 The problem with Worldcoin
🗳 Polkadot holders are voting on a rebrand
📈 BTC stutters but no need to worry
Last week, BTC broke through all-time highs before retreating below $64K. After attempting a run at fresh highs, BTC lost weak support zones and landed with a thud at $58K.
As always, the culprit was an over-leveraged market. Around $700 million worth of leveraged longs were liquidated within moments.
On Bitfinex alone, a trader was liquidated for roughly $135M worth of ETH. There are two lessons here:
Always set a stop loss (no matter what CT tells you)
You’re having a better day than the ‘finex trader
The apparent trend reversal hit altcoins even harder — unless, of course, you’re looking at SHIB. Now that SHIB has flippened DOGE, it’s time to start wondering what the action means for alts in general.
Is SHIB flippening DOGE a healthy sign for the market, or does it indicate excessive speculation? That’s a key question for the market to decide in the coming days.
👁 The problem with Worldcoin
Worldcoin is an attempt at using crypto to distribute universal basic income (UBI) to every man, woman, and child on Earth. Built on Ethereum, Worldcoin at first sounds like a noble attempt to do good and simultaneously bring billions of people into crypto.
However, that’s where the good things about Worldcoin end. Its founders include Sam Altman, the Silicon Valley wunderkind behind Y Combinator. He’s seen fit to give VCs a hefty 20% cut of pre-mined Worldcoin tokens. Think about that: 20% of tokens to VCs for a coin with intended global distribution...
...And we haven’t even mentioned the part about eyeballs. Worldcoin decided to go ahead and create a round metallic ball dubbed ‘the orb’ whose job is to scan your eyeballs in exchange for crypto. The scan detects tells the system whether you have/haven’t already received Worldcoin.
The levels of dystopian nightmare involved in Worldcoin’s entire premise are astounding. But even worse is Altman’s apparent surprise at people’s reticence toward giving up their retinas for crypto.
🗳 Polkadot holders are voting on a rebrand
Polkadot is a ‘blockchain of blockchains’ aiming to unite all of crypto into a new decentralized internet. Ambitions of that scale require powerful branding, which is why Polkadot hired Koto, an all-star design agency that’s worked with AirBnB, Discord, Uber, and more.
Beginning today, Polkadot token holders can vote for their favorite design results from Koto’s studio. The voting process favors smaller DOT token holders using a mechanism called ‘quadratic voting’.
Essentially, quadratic voting gives more weight to wallets with less DOT in them. Since there are many more small wallets than there are whales, the results are decided by a broader collective rather than a few large holders.
🎢 BTC stutters, but no need to worry
👁 The problem with Worldcoin
🗳 Polkadot holders are voting on a rebrand
📈 BTC stutters but no need to worry
Last week, BTC broke through all-time highs before retreating below $64K. After attempting a run at fresh highs, BTC lost weak support zones and landed with a thud at $58K.
As always, the culprit was an over-leveraged market. Around $700 million worth of leveraged longs were liquidated within moments.
On Bitfinex alone, a trader was liquidated for roughly $135M worth of ETH. There are two lessons here:
Always set a stop loss (no matter what CT tells you)
You’re having a better day than the ‘finex trader
The apparent trend reversal hit altcoins even harder — unless, of course, you’re looking at SHIB. Now that SHIB has flippened DOGE, it’s time to start wondering what the action means for alts in general.
Is SHIB flippening DOGE a healthy sign for the market, or does it indicate excessive speculation? That’s a key question for the market to decide in the coming days.
👁 The problem with Worldcoin
Worldcoin is an attempt at using crypto to distribute universal basic income (UBI) to every man, woman, and child on Earth. Built on Ethereum, Worldcoin at first sounds like a noble attempt to do good and simultaneously bring billions of people into crypto.
However, that’s where the good things about Worldcoin end. Its founders include Sam Altman, the Silicon Valley wunderkind behind Y Combinator. He’s seen fit to give VCs a hefty 20% cut of pre-mined Worldcoin tokens. Think about that: 20% of tokens to VCs for a coin with intended global distribution...
...And we haven’t even mentioned the part about eyeballs. Worldcoin decided to go ahead and create a round metallic ball dubbed ‘the orb’ whose job is to scan your eyeballs in exchange for crypto. The scan detects tells the system whether you have/haven’t already received Worldcoin.
The levels of dystopian nightmare involved in Worldcoin’s entire premise are astounding. But even worse is Altman’s apparent surprise at people’s reticence toward giving up their retinas for crypto.
🗳 Polkadot holders are voting on a rebrand
Polkadot is a ‘blockchain of blockchains’ aiming to unite all of crypto into a new decentralized internet. Ambitions of that scale require powerful branding, which is why Polkadot hired Koto, an all-star design agency that’s worked with AirBnB, Discord, Uber, and more.
Beginning today, Polkadot token holders can vote for their favorite design results from Koto’s studio. The voting process favors smaller DOT token holders using a mechanism called ‘quadratic voting’.
Essentially, quadratic voting gives more weight to wallets with less DOT in them. Since there are many more small wallets than there are whales, the results are decided by a broader collective rather than a few large holders.
Twitter
Sam Altman
No matter what you think about Worldcoin, I think some of the ideas in here are likely important to the future of privacy: worldcoin.org/privacy-by-des… twitter.com/Snowden/status…
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 11.01.21
💨 Metaverse tokens on the move
🧗♂️ Is Ethereum about to send?
🕵️ The best-kept secret in NFTs
🏃 Metaverse tokens on the move
By now you’ve surely heard about Facebook’s rebrand to Meta. Twitter is already full of memes covering all the most cringe moments from Zuck’s keynote, so we won’t rehash them here.
And even though the CTO of Oculus, a Meta-owned company, says Zuck has no plans to fully embrace crypto, the rebrand is indisputably good for metaverse-related crypto projects. That’s why several of them, including MANA, ENJ, and SAND, have doubled in price overnight.
This is likely just the beginning of the run on metaverse tokens. Projects like Decentraland have been around for years but there are several less well-known metaverse tokens waiting to be found.
ILV
Illuvium is an expansive RPG game on Ethereum via the scalable Immutable X sidechain. Gameplay revolves around collecting creatures called Illuvials scattered throughout Illuvium, a vast metaversal landscape.
UFO
Similar to Axie Infinity creators Mavis Labs, UFO Gaming is building a gaming metaverse filled with Play To Earn games, lands, and in-game collectible NFTs. Called the ‘Dark Metaverse’, UFO’s digital world requires UFO tokens to unlock experiences.
ATLAS
Star Atlas is an intergalactic metaverse game based in the year 2620. It’s built on Solana and uses two in-game tokens, ATLAS and POLIS, along with NFT and DeFi mechanics. The team creating Star Atlas is sophisticated and world-class, so watch this space.
🚀 Is Ethereum about to send?
Bitcoin pierced its all-time high recently, leading to the very natural speculation that Ethereum was next. Sure enough, ETH crept just above its ATH, but not with impressive conviction.
ETH has since slunk back below $4300 but appears poised to strike. Does it have the legs? In our estimate, ETH has several fundamental factors to push it higher.
🔼 The metaverse is largely built on Ethereum
🔼 Since EIP-1559, $3B in ETH has burned
On the technical side, Ethereum has completed a corrective wave 2 in an ascending channel and appears to be in the early stages of a parabolic wave 3 rise.
Here’s an easy visual to help you see it.
😎 Is Hic et Nunc the best-kept secret in NFTs?
Most of the NFT action is happening on Ethereum by way of marketplaces like OpenSea, Foundation, and SuperRare. There’s also a bit of Solana NFT activity but the quality/quantity of work isn’t there yet.
But Hic et Nunc, an NFT marketplace on Tezos, is surging forward to challenge Ethereum. If you follow the NFT space closely, many of the best + most collected artists are now linking to Hic et Nunc profiles (sometimes called HEN or HIC). Why are they moving to Tezos?
First and foremost, Tezos transactions are so cheap they’re basically free. They also confirm quickly. But the second reason for the explosion in Tezos NFT activity is quality artwork.
Hic et Nunc has managed to attract countless artists from the worlds of fine art, resulting in an NFT platform filled with works that rival the highest-selling pieces on SuperRare. To sweeten the deal, HEN artworks are also generally priced far below what Ethereum NFTs sell for.
There’s also OBJKT, the Tezos version of OpenSea, if you want to dive deeper.
💨 Metaverse tokens on the move
🧗♂️ Is Ethereum about to send?
🕵️ The best-kept secret in NFTs
🏃 Metaverse tokens on the move
By now you’ve surely heard about Facebook’s rebrand to Meta. Twitter is already full of memes covering all the most cringe moments from Zuck’s keynote, so we won’t rehash them here.
And even though the CTO of Oculus, a Meta-owned company, says Zuck has no plans to fully embrace crypto, the rebrand is indisputably good for metaverse-related crypto projects. That’s why several of them, including MANA, ENJ, and SAND, have doubled in price overnight.
This is likely just the beginning of the run on metaverse tokens. Projects like Decentraland have been around for years but there are several less well-known metaverse tokens waiting to be found.
ILV
Illuvium is an expansive RPG game on Ethereum via the scalable Immutable X sidechain. Gameplay revolves around collecting creatures called Illuvials scattered throughout Illuvium, a vast metaversal landscape.
UFO
Similar to Axie Infinity creators Mavis Labs, UFO Gaming is building a gaming metaverse filled with Play To Earn games, lands, and in-game collectible NFTs. Called the ‘Dark Metaverse’, UFO’s digital world requires UFO tokens to unlock experiences.
ATLAS
Star Atlas is an intergalactic metaverse game based in the year 2620. It’s built on Solana and uses two in-game tokens, ATLAS and POLIS, along with NFT and DeFi mechanics. The team creating Star Atlas is sophisticated and world-class, so watch this space.
🚀 Is Ethereum about to send?
Bitcoin pierced its all-time high recently, leading to the very natural speculation that Ethereum was next. Sure enough, ETH crept just above its ATH, but not with impressive conviction.
ETH has since slunk back below $4300 but appears poised to strike. Does it have the legs? In our estimate, ETH has several fundamental factors to push it higher.
🔼 The metaverse is largely built on Ethereum
🔼 Since EIP-1559, $3B in ETH has burned
On the technical side, Ethereum has completed a corrective wave 2 in an ascending channel and appears to be in the early stages of a parabolic wave 3 rise.
Here’s an easy visual to help you see it.
😎 Is Hic et Nunc the best-kept secret in NFTs?
Most of the NFT action is happening on Ethereum by way of marketplaces like OpenSea, Foundation, and SuperRare. There’s also a bit of Solana NFT activity but the quality/quantity of work isn’t there yet.
But Hic et Nunc, an NFT marketplace on Tezos, is surging forward to challenge Ethereum. If you follow the NFT space closely, many of the best + most collected artists are now linking to Hic et Nunc profiles (sometimes called HEN or HIC). Why are they moving to Tezos?
First and foremost, Tezos transactions are so cheap they’re basically free. They also confirm quickly. But the second reason for the explosion in Tezos NFT activity is quality artwork.
Hic et Nunc has managed to attract countless artists from the worlds of fine art, resulting in an NFT platform filled with works that rival the highest-selling pieces on SuperRare. To sweeten the deal, HEN artworks are also generally priced far below what Ethereum NFTs sell for.
There’s also OBJKT, the Tezos version of OpenSea, if you want to dive deeper.
Twitter
TΞtranodΞ (💎, 💎)
November's gonna be a great month $ETH #ETHEREUM 🌛
Stacked Insights Newsletter, 11.09.21
👨🏫 Intro to on-chain analysis
Blockchains are massive public data sets tracking token movements. They allow us to view incredible amounts of financial data, including:
👉 Real-time token movements (to/from exchanges)
👉 New wallet creation (to gauge adoption)
👉 Active addresses + tx count (to gauge demand)
Nothing even remotely close to on-chain metrics exists outside of crypto. But that’s a feature, not a bug — cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are designed to be fully transparent. What on-chain analysis does is utilize that transparency to inform your trading + investment decisions.
How to use on-chain analysis, pt. 1
Blockchain networks count utility as a fundamental feature. Determining just how much use a network is seeing relative to its market cap/token price is a quick yet insightful way to judge how undervalued or overvalued that network + token is.
An early yet timeless way to position how a given blockchain network + token is valued is the Network Value to Transactions (NVT) ratio. The NVT ratio is a basic formula that divides the network’s market cap by its transaction volume within a set timeframe.
Taking Ethereum for example, let’s imagine high token prices at ~$4.5K ETH yet network transaction volume during that same quarter is at a yearly low. The low volume reflects low demand for Ethereum, a network based on utility, insinuating that at $4.5K ETH, the network is overvalued.
You can also use on-chain metrics like NVT to contextualize other fundamental factors. Perhaps competing L1 blockchains like Solana, Polkadot, and Avalanche are gaining impressive traction during the same quarter Ethereum’s transaction volume is declining. Now, you have a more complete picture for creating an investment thesis or trading based on hard data.
Similarly, if Ethereum is seeing record breaking transaction volume (usually reflected by high gas prices) at the same time ETH price is stagnating, the NVT ratio might indicate ETH is undervalued.
In part 2, we’ll explore how to zero in on effective trading strategies using other on-chain metrics like new wallet creation and tracking token movements between relevant wallets.
👨🏫 Intro to on-chain analysis
Blockchains are massive public data sets tracking token movements. They allow us to view incredible amounts of financial data, including:
👉 Real-time token movements (to/from exchanges)
👉 New wallet creation (to gauge adoption)
👉 Active addresses + tx count (to gauge demand)
Nothing even remotely close to on-chain metrics exists outside of crypto. But that’s a feature, not a bug — cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are designed to be fully transparent. What on-chain analysis does is utilize that transparency to inform your trading + investment decisions.
How to use on-chain analysis, pt. 1
Blockchain networks count utility as a fundamental feature. Determining just how much use a network is seeing relative to its market cap/token price is a quick yet insightful way to judge how undervalued or overvalued that network + token is.
An early yet timeless way to position how a given blockchain network + token is valued is the Network Value to Transactions (NVT) ratio. The NVT ratio is a basic formula that divides the network’s market cap by its transaction volume within a set timeframe.
Taking Ethereum for example, let’s imagine high token prices at ~$4.5K ETH yet network transaction volume during that same quarter is at a yearly low. The low volume reflects low demand for Ethereum, a network based on utility, insinuating that at $4.5K ETH, the network is overvalued.
You can also use on-chain metrics like NVT to contextualize other fundamental factors. Perhaps competing L1 blockchains like Solana, Polkadot, and Avalanche are gaining impressive traction during the same quarter Ethereum’s transaction volume is declining. Now, you have a more complete picture for creating an investment thesis or trading based on hard data.
Similarly, if Ethereum is seeing record breaking transaction volume (usually reflected by high gas prices) at the same time ETH price is stagnating, the NVT ratio might indicate ETH is undervalued.
In part 2, we’ll explore how to zero in on effective trading strategies using other on-chain metrics like new wallet creation and tracking token movements between relevant wallets.