📝 Web3 Field Notes #3
📝 Web3 Field Notes #3
Bitcoin core version 24.0 released; the naysayers are back; NFTs and generative art; Ethereum Shanghai update; Harvard recommends Bitcoin for central banks & more.
📚 Readings:
The mother of them all: a timely reminder of why we need Bitcoin. “If you want to compare Bitcoin to something else, compare it to fire, the number zero, the wheel, the printing press, or electricity.” Link (and some Bitcoin books)
Lunch with the FT: Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, remains bullish, while the stock of his company is at an all time low. He has to. Link
A comprehensive reading list on web3. The rabbit hole gets deeper. Link
Good report by BCG on asset tokenization. Still a lot of work needed. Link
The naysayers are back. “The end of crypto?” – The Economist and The New York Times weigh in on crypto. Link NYT Link Economist
Everything you care about online is an NFT. Good write up. Link
New frontiers in AI and generative art. Link
🚨 What caught my eyes:
Bitcoin core version 24.0 released. Link | Notable changes
Latest Ethereum all core dev call: The upcoming Shanghai hard fork upgrade (ETA: 2023) will unlock Beacon Chain staked ETH withdrawals, and might include EIP-4844 (proto-danksharding). Proto-danksharding won't reduce Ethereum gas fees, but it will reduce the transaction costs of Layer 2 protocols. Link
World Cup NFT bonanza: NFTs in sport are still about “collecting” and “rarity” for die-hard fans, rather than utility. Meanwhile, NFTs are gradually becoming mainstream. Link
Harvard University publishes paper that recommends central banks to hold Bitcoin. Link
Binance launches industry recovery fund. CZ is seizing the moment. Link Etherscan
🚀 Interesting Web3 start-ups:
NiftyKit: create NFTs with no code. Link
Kazm: a web3 CRM system. Link
Rarify: metadata on NFTs across multiple blockchains. Link
Daylight: market directly to digital wallets. Link
Artemis: developer activity dashboard across protocols. Link
💡Ideas & Take-Aways:
The aftermath of FTX: “bottomless exhaustion”. The third stage of a bear market. Narratives die off. Anger is replaced by silence. I think that’s the stage we’re slowly entering. Crypto isn’t less exciting though.
Back to building an learning.
Onwards! 🚀
“So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all, to endure it and prevail is great good fortune.”
– Marcus Aurelius