The Weekly Roundup: OpenSea Adds Solana, the Will Smith Meme Coin, Miami Bitcoin Conference
Market Movers
The majority of the largest coins by market cap saw significant gains for the week. Bitcoin climbed as high as $47K before dropping to around $45K come Sunday night. Bitcoin has not broken through the $50K threshold since December; something to think about
STEPN was our biggest mover of the week, rising just north of 217%
STEPN is a web3 lifestyle app (re-read the name of the coin) in which users can purchase the native token of the app $GMT in order to buy virtual NFT sneakers. Once bought, users can then run, jog, or walk in these “sneakers” using an iPhone/Android app downloaded on their phone to earn additional items and level up to purchase more NFT sneakers (via Stepn). An incredible web3 use-case for social good. Hopefully, we’ll see more projects like this
First Sip
If you’re already a crypto native, feel free to skip to “Table Talk.”
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOLANA
Last week, we discussed the Ethereum blockchain and some of its pitfalls. The Solana blockchain was created in 2017 to provide an alternative to Ethereum that addresses these pitfalls.
Ethereum’s founder Vitalik Buterin describes a “trilemma” (three major dilemmas) for all blockchains: decentralization, security, and scalability (via CoinMarketCap). Ethereum sacrifices scalability (noted by the high transaction “gas” costs) for decentralization and security—the two most important parts of a successful blockchain—because of its use of the Proof of Work (PoW) algorithm. Solana solves the scaling dilemma through their unique Proof of History (PoH) algorithm.
PROOF OF HISTORY
The PoH algorithm works by maintaining a unique code that validates all previous transactions and updates for each transaction. So, instead of having to go back and validate each transaction individually, the unique code can prove the legitimacy of the previous transactions. This code drastically increases the speed at which transactions can be verified and significantly reduces the computational costs of verification.
The future of the Internet of Money? We think so.
Table Talk
MIAMI SET TO HOST BITCOIN CONFERENCE
The largest conference focused on Bitcoin, Bitcoin 2022, will take place this coming week from Wednesday to Saturday in Miami. Amongst the 400 speakers set to take stage include:
Michael Saylor (founder of MicroStrategy)
Peter Thiel (founder of PayPal)
President Nayib (El Salvador's’ President)
A General Admission pass to the event will set you back $1,099 or $799 if you pay in Bitcoin (via BitcoinConference).
We’re excited to hear what these web3 thought-leaders have to say about the future of Bitcoin and the broader crypto ecosystem.
WILL SMITH COIN PUMP AND DUMP
After Will Smith’s physical altercation with Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards, the crypto community reacted in crypto community fashion with a meme token: Will Smith Inu (WSI). The coin, listed on Uniswap (V2) this past Monday, skyrocketed over 10,000% till crashing in classic pump-and-dump fashion to approximately 68% up at the time of this writing (via CoinMarketCap).
We’d caution against meme tokens, especially those tied to a specific event that does not relate to a crypto insider. While many can demonstrate short-term value, this comes at the price of high volatility and a questionable value proposition. There’s alpha in this arena, but be wary.
NFT Buzz
OPENSEA TO ADD SOLANA
World-leading NFT marketplace OpenSea announced in a not-so cryptic tweet this past Friday that they will start supporting Solana on their platform sometime this month.
The marketplace, which has produced an impressive $24B plus worth in sales to date, will add Solana to its current lineup of blockchains: Ethereum, Klaytn, and Polygon (via Bitcoin.com).
Users will now be able to use Solana to mint, buy, and sell their NFTs on the popular marketplace.
Many NFT creators and buyers have flocked to Solana-backed marketplaces such as MagicEden over the past year due to the low cost of minting or purchasing a Solana-based NFT. The average price to complete a Solana-based transaction is significantly cheaper than Ethereum due to the differences in each coin’s price.
It should be interesting to see how platforms like MagicEden are affected by OpenSea’s move. Following the announcement, the price of Solana (SOL) surged upwards.
Let us know how you think the integration of Solana into OpenSea will affect the platform, Solana, and the broader NFT/crypto sector in the comments below.
DeFi Demographic
HACKERS STEAL $600M
This past Tuesday, the popular NFT-based video game Axie Infinity was subject to one of the biggest crypto hacks to date as thieves stole more than $600M in decentralized assets (via TheWashingtonPost).
Ronin, the blockchain that powers the game, was penetrated by criminals who took approximately 174,00 ETH and 26M USDC, which totals more than $600M. Players of Axie Infinity, which averages 2.6M daily users, purchase creature-like NFTs to enter the game. They can then spend additional crypto to make their creatures more powerful and/or buy additional Axies (the name of the creatures). The Axies have both in-game value and real-world monetary worth. The most expensive in-game Axie NFT to date was sold for $820,00 (via AxieInfinity)
Following the hack, the developers of the game said that they are working with law enforcement officials, forensic cryptographers, and their investors to make sure that all funds are recovered or reimbursed (via CoinTelegraph).
Lastly, the launch of the company’s updated in-game battle system, named Origin, was delayed from March 30th to April 7th. Axie will be spending the additional time investigating the hack and ensuring its users’ safety going forward. Seen below are some Axie NFTs (via IGN).
Final Cup
Bitcoin 2022 is set to take place in Miami this week. A 4-day event for like-minded individuals to bounce ideas off of each other? Bullish
The crypto ecosystem is rife with meme tokens, including the latest one Will Smith Inu. There’s alpha in this sphere, but most behave like standard pump-and-dump schemes. As always, do your due diligence before investing
In a much anticipated/long overdue move, OpenSea announced it would be adding Solana to its roster of acceptable blockchains. A huge move for the platform that has implications across the NFT/crypto industry. Bullish for SOL
Hackers stole more than $600M from Axie Infinity and its users. If there is one thing we have learned since the genesis of the newsletter, it is that web3 companies often lack security due to the overall newness of the sector and, by extension, a lack of rigorous security protocols. One can hypothesize that Crypto cybersecurity jobs are going to be in high demand going forward
Meme of the Week (via workandmoney)
Never show up to a party without your bowling ball.
Pat + Ari ✌️
Disclaimer: None of this is investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. CRYPTOPONG does not endorse any of the cryptocurrencies, DeFi applications, or NFT collections mentioned in this article. Perform your own due diligence and/or consult a financial advisor before investing.