📝 Web3 Field Notes #14

The layer 2 era has arrived; Coinbase launches "Base"; Yuga Labs launches Bitcoin NFTs; GQ & Valentino enter Web3; Ethereum updates; EU's new regulatory sandbox; Gaming & Web3; New start-ups & more.

“Information that we assume to be public, we publish. Information that we assume to be agreed, we place on a consensus-ledger. Information that we assume to be private, we keep secret and never reveal.” – Gavin Wood

📚 Readings:

• A cypherpunk's manifesto. Link

• “ĐApps: What Web 3.0 Looks Like.” Gavin Wood, the father of Web3, on Web3. Link

• Cars, ownership, capitalism, NFTs, and the metaverse. Link

• Meet Base. Coinbase introduces its new layer 2. Link

• “Five Lessons From My First Year Working In Web3”. Ryan Wyatt, President of Polygon Labs, recounts. Link

• February highlights of the US regulatory crackdown on crypto. Link

• One of Bitcoin’s most prolific contributors steps down. Who actually controls Bitcoin? Link

🚨 What caught my eyes: 

• The layer 2 era has arrived. Last week, for the first time, Arbitrum alone counted more transactions per day than the Ethereum main layer (L1). Optimum, another popular layer 2, and Arbitrum are now consistently logging more transactions than the Ethereum main layer (L1). Last week as well, Coinbase (yes, Coinbase) announced they are launching a new L2 blockchain called 'Base’ built on the Optimism tech stack. This is big. L2s solutions are scaling solutions built on top of blockchains that process transactions off-chain while still leveraging the security of the underlying blockchain. More here.

  • PS: If you haven’t minted one of the “Coinbase, Introduced” commemorative NFTs, the window is still open – and it’s free. Mint here.

• Bitcoin NFTs (aka Ordinals) just got much bigger. This week, Yuga Labs, the home to some of the biggest communities in the Web3 space (e.g. Crypto Punks, Bored Apes, Meebit, Otherside) announced TwelveFold, a limited edition art collection of 300 generative pieces, inscribed as ordinals on the Bitcoin blockchain. Link

• Unity, a cross-platform game engine with a user base of 2.7 billion, highlighted a Web3 toolbox with “verified solutions”, such as Algorand, Aptos Labs, Dapper Labs, ImmutableX, or Metamask. Could this bring Web3 gaming to the masses? Link

• GQ enters Web3 with its first ever digital collection — “GQ3 Issue 001: Change Is Good”. The airdrop is planned for March 8th. Holders will claim a wide range of utility, including a GQ magazine subscription and becoming a member of the GQ community. This means ongoing access to future live events, a special section of the GQ Discord, and first-in-line status for future GQ3 drops. The whole campaign is very well set-up. A future case study? Maybe. Link

• Valentino announced its move into Web3 by partnering with luxury NFT marketplace UNXD. The partnership will involve both digital and physical fashion, with the goal of creating community experiences in both digital and physical spaces. Another one. Link

• Ethereum devs push back Shanghai upgrade – and staked ether withdrawals – to early April.

• Ethereum has deployed ERC-4337, a standard that allows accounts to be abstracted from the blockchain. This will pave the way for huge UX leaps, such as gasless transactions, recoverable wallets, two-factor authentication, monthly spending limits, and smart accounts. Ethereum currently features two account types — accounts controlled by private keys and contract accounts. Account abstraction moves to enforce a single account type, just contract accounts.

• Pudgy Penguins launches cross-platform avatars for their holders, aka PfPs 2.0. Step-by-step towards new online identities in the metaverse. Link

• The EU is now accepting applications for its blockchain regulatory sandbox. Link

🚀 Interesting Web3 start-ups: 

• 3RM: A CRM for Web3. 

• fam.: Build and manage Web3 communities. 

• Venly: All the tools that you need to build in Web3. 

• Towns: Real-time group chat and protocol for online communities.

💡Word on the street:  

"Progress, not promises" – Last weekend, the Web3 community met in Paris for one of the biggest conferences of the year. It was apparent that Web3 is not only a technology, but a cultural movement. Future brands will be built around the community and the cult around them, with ownership built in.

The Coinbase announcement of “Base” is a big win for the entire ecosystem. That a big, regulated and centralized player is pushing to build open-source DeFi infrastructure is a strong signal and a breath of fresh air amidst the US regulatory crackdown. Innovation continues.

That’s all for now, folks.
Back to building and learning! 🚀

– Marc

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📈 Awesome charts to share with friends:

🎨 Artwork: “Rebellion” by crypt0warr10r