Bitfinity Weekly: War and Peace (and Crypto)

Welcome to Issue #126 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

An Eigen-tic Move: EigenLayer, an Ethereum restaking protocol, finally unlocked its native token $EIGEN on Tuesday, enabling trading. The token has been nontransferable since its distribution in May. The token has seen a decline in price since the unlock, with some speculators criticizing the lack of distribution transparency and true float, with community members citing supply concerns.

Inception: Incept, a blockchain project aiming to address on-chain asset management, launched a token using a new standard. The ERC-4D standard combines elements of ERC-20 (fungible tokens), ERC-721 (an NFT standard), and ERC-6551 (token-bound accounts). This new standard allows for tokens to function as a multi-layered asset, acting as a tradeable asset as well as a wallet that can hold other tokens and NFTs.

Ripple Effect: Ripple, a fintech company best known in the crypto world for its token $XRP, launched Ripple Payments in Brazil this Thursday. Centralized exchange Mercado Bitcoin is the first major Brazilian partner to use Ripple's new service to process blockchain payment solutions. Over in the U.S., Bitwise filed for an $XRP ETF trust registration on Monday, fueling community speculation.

Another One: In an interview with Fortune magazine, a representative for Spanish bank BBVA confirmed that the bank would be launching its own stablecoin next year with the help of credit card giant Visa. The stablecoin is expected to facilitate transactions in tokenized asset markets, such as real estate and private credit funds.

This Week in our Blog

Unlock the mystery behind what makes your crypto either 'fungible' or 'non-fungible'—and why it matters more than you think! Dive into the fundamental difference that could reshape how we see ownership and value in the digital age.

Fungible Freedom, Non-Fungible Expression: The Concept of Fungibility in Crypto

This in-depth article provides a comprehensive exploration of the fundamental concepts of fungibility and non-fungibility as they apply to digital assets. It thoroughly defines fungibility and examines how it enables key features for assets like Bitcoin and Runes tokens.

Bitfinity BlogHans

Discover how cbBTC is reshaping the world of wrapped assets! Dive into the mechanics behind Bitcoin’s latest blockchain twist—could this be the next big shift in the crypto ecosystem?

Wrapped Bitcoins: A first look at cbBTC

A deep dive comparing top wrapped Bitcoins like cbBTC, ckBTC and tBTC - exploring their origins, use cases, security, fees and more to determine the best decentralized option.

Bitfinity BlogFred

NFT Market Bytes

Kombat Duty: Hamster Kombat, a popular Telegram-based web3 idle game, revealed its latest roadmap which includes the integration of NFTs as in-game assets. The NFT integration is expected to happen sometime in November. Additionally, the project will launch a new web3 gaming platform to expand its game offerings to a broader audience.

Under the Lens: Minted, a documentary about the NFT art industry, has found a major mainstream distribution avenue. Independent Lens, an Emmy-winning PBS series, acquired the TV and digital rights to the Nicholad Bruckman piece, which premiered last year at the Tribeca Film Festival. The documentary is billed as an insider's look into the world of NFTs.

Troubled Waters: OpenSea has seen multiple senior executive resignations in the past three months, midst regulatory scrutiny from the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and a class action lawsuit filed by OpenSea customers. This week DLNews reported the departure of "0age", a pseudronymous protocol developer who served as one of OpenSea's key engineers.

Good Meow-ning: CryptoKitties is returning to the NFT scene with a Telegram game called "All The Zen", marking the first official product tied to the legacy NFT brand since its initial release in 2017. The CryptoKitties revamp will be part of Dapper Lab's larger initiative to highlight development of the Flow blockchain. While most Telegram-based games are built on TON (The Open Network), "All The Zen" will operate on Flow, with a "play-to-eggdrop" mechanic that will reward players with Flow-based rewards.

Tweet of the Week

Meme Time

A Matter of Opinion

This week on X, one of the biggest and most controversial community discussions was about the ethics of prediction markets, with even Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin weighing in with his opinions.

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected and financialized, prediction markets like Polymarket have gained prominence for allowing users to place bets on the outcomes of real-world events, including geopolitical crises. The appeal lies in the power of crowdsourced data, where collective opinions often provide sharper insights than traditional models. However, the recent debates on X surrounding Polymarket's section on the Middle East—highlight moral concerns about monetizing sensitive news.

At the heart of the issue is whether betting on life-and-death situations, like international conflicts, is ethically responsible. Critics argue that prediction markets create a space where people can financially benefit from human suffering, encouraging a dispassionate approach to events with real-world consequences. The prospect of making money off geopolitical disasters raises important questions about our relationship to news and information. Are we spectators, betting on the outcome of a game, or are we engaged participants with a moral obligation to treat these events with care?

On the other hand, proponents suggest that prediction markets could serve as powerful tools for understanding global events. By harnessing the wisdom of crowds, platforms like Polymarket offer an additional data point for analysts, journalists, and policymakers. In fact, a well-constructed prediction market can provide insight into the likelihood of future events, making it a potentially valuable resource for preparing for real-world outcomes.

Yet, these practical benefits don't erase the ethical gray area. The commodification of conflict and crisis could foster emotional detachment, desensitizing us to the human cost. Some argue that prediction markets are akin to the financial markets, where risk is traded as a commodity, but the stakes here feel different (as this writer believes it should). It's one thing to bet on economic trends, and quite another to gamble on matters of war and peace.

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