Bitfinity Weekly: The Attention Economy

Welcome to Issue #108 of Bitfinity Weekly for our #BITFINIANS community. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up here.

What's in Today's Email?

• Global Crypto News
• This Week in our Blog
• NFT Market Bytes
• Tweet of the Week
• Meme Time
• A Matter of Opinion

Global Crypto News

A Decent Proposal: Solana validators approved the SIMD-0096 proposal, which allocates 100% of priority fees to themselves. Previously, priority fees (extra fees paid by users to speed up their transactions) were split evenly between validator rewards and a burn mechanism aimed at controlling $SOL’s inflation rate. The new change benefits validators by increasing their revenue but reduces deflationary pressure on $SOL. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko addressed community concerns about priority fee allocation, explaining that the current system requires users to pay double the priority fee.

Balancing Act: The Uniswap Foundation is having a busy week. The organization behind the most popular DEX is currently preparing for a community vote on altering Uniswap’s fee model while also gearing up for a legal battle with the SEC. The community vote will decide whether to shift some rewards from liquidity providers to $UNI token holders. Prior polls indicate a likely approval. The foundation is also preparing to fight the SEC, contesting a Wells notice which alleges that Uniswap's $UNI and LP tokens violate securities laws.

A Discretionary Tale: The Ethereum Foundation will implement a conflict of interest policy following concerns over its neutrality. Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi announced this decision after two Ethereum researchers, Justin Drake and Dankrad Feist, took high-paying advisory roles at EigenFoundation. The crypto community raised concerns about biases, especially after Drake's announcement to invest the "millions" he will receive from EigenFoundation into the Ethereum ecosystem.

A "Bespoke" Blockchain: DeFi protocol Aave will launch an "Aave Network" Ethereum L2 following its V4 upgrade, founder Stani Kulechov confirmed on Monday. The Aave Network is intended to be the primary liquidity hub for $AAVE and the $GHO stablecoin, while remaining network-agnostic. The network will inherit its security from Ethereum. The Aave community seemed receptive to the idea of driving adoption via incentivation, by using $GHO for gas fees and the $AAVE token for staking.

This Week in our Blog

Crypto is no longer a niche interest but one worthy of national debate. As cryptocurrencies become political relevant, what can we expect from the upcoming American presidential race? In this week's article, we dive in and break down the latest regulatory developments as well as the current political climate.

The Crypto Vote: What the 2024 Presidential Race Means for Digital Currencies

Discover how political dynamics, bipartisan support, and presidential stances are sculpting the future of cryptocurrency investments. Join us for an in-depth analysis of these groundbreaking developments.

Bitfinity BlogFred

NFT Market Bytes

The Auction Block: Another Ordinal has made it to luxury auction house Christie's this year, suggesting that the demand for Bitcoin asset continues to grow. Rutherford Chang's "CENTS Block 839969," is a highly detailed 3D digital model of a copper block made from 10,000 US pennies, which also serves as the flagship piece of the CENTS Ordinals collection. CENTS Block 839969 is notable for being inscribed on a full block mined before the April 2024 halving.

Ape Follow Ape?: basedVC and Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) have partnered to launch APES Capital, a venture capital initiative aimed at increasing investment opportunities for BAYC community members. The APES Capital platform will allow holders of Bored Apes and Mutant Apes NFTs to use $APE coin for investments. It additionally offers features like announcements, chat, and over-the-counter trading. However, to participate, BAYC and MAYC holders must stake $APE for 90-day periods, via the APES Capital website.

A Square Deal: Gaming studio Square Enix, best known for the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises, is adopting Ethereum L2 Arbitrum for its web3 game Symbiogenesis. This transition is expected to significantly reduce transaction fees. Symbiogenesis, which currently resides on the Ethereum blockchain, has dealt with community complaints about the high gas cost of activity on Ethereum mainnet. Starting May 31, 1,500 new NFT characters will be released on Arbitrum through a three-day public auction.

Tweet of the Week

Meme Time

A Matter of Opinion

Crypto citizens are no strangers to controversies and scandals. This week, we witnessed yet another bizarre saga unfold, involving serial token promoter Sahil Arora, former endurance athelete-turned-reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner, and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea. Arora first first drew CT (Crypto Twitter) attention by allegedly stealing “lots of money” from Caitlyn Jenner after his involvement with the celebrity-backed $JENNER token. He has since moved onto other celebrities, such as Azalea.

The allure of celebrity endorsements is a time-tested marketing strategy. In a volatile arena such as cryptocurrency, involvement of high-profile personalities can bring immense attention and legitimacy. However, this week's events highlight the pitfalls of such endorsements and raises the question: are celebrities in crypto a good thing?

On one hand, mainstream figures have the power to bring wider attention to web3. When a well-known figure endorses a crypto project, it can draw in new investors into the space, which contributes to faster adoption. However, the risks associated with these high profile endorsements cannot be overlooked.

Many celebrities lack a deep understanding of the complexities of cryptocurrency, making them susceptible to partnering with unscrupulous promoters. This not only jeopardizes their reputation but also endangers their followers who invest based on their endorsement. This invariably leads to issues such as drastic market fluctuations from novice traders, and a bad impression on first time entrants.

Ultimately, while celebrities can play a role in popularizing cryptocurrencies, their involvement is a double-edged sword. It brings visibility but also a heightened risk of volatility and scams. For the crypto industry to mature and gain long-term credibility, it must focus on education, transparency, and robust regulatory frameworks, rather than relying solely on star power.

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*Important Disclaimer: While every effort is made on this website to provide accurate information, any opinions expressed or information disseminated do not necessarily reflect the views of Bitfinity itself. The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice.