Bitcoin L2s Are 🥵
In today’s edition: 🚫 Coinbase Commerce drops bitcoin support, 💥 FixedFloat's $26M hack, 🏛️ CryptoLaw founder Deaton considers Senate run, and more!
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Union is the first sovereign interoperability layer pioneering trustless bridging between appchains, L1s, and L2s without depending on trusted third parties, oracles, multi-signatures, or MPC. Looking to future-proof blockchain bridging, it is the only protocol that fully addresses the sovereign bridging trilemma, unlocking a horizontally-scaled future.
Starknet made news last week for announcing what will be the largest initial airdrop by number of eligible addresses ever. But it faced heavy criticism online for many of the details of the airdrop, from the fact that Ethereum solo takers received almost 22% of the distribution to eligibility requirements that users held at least 0.005 ETH in their wallets as of Nov. 15, 2023 to the fact that the token generation event took place almost two years before the unlock date.
StarkWare CEO Eli Ben-Sasson joined Unchained to respond to the multiple critiques of the airdrop and discuss why he and the Starknet Foundation decided on the details that they did.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
What’s Poppin’?
by Sam Sriram, Benjamin Powers, and Sage Young
A New Era for Bitcoin Is Here, Whether Bitcoin Maximalists Like It Or Not
New proposals, fundamental changes in Bitcoin’s technology, and the increasing prevalence of layer 2 networks have all helped bring in a new era for the oldest blockchain network.
Coinbase Commerce Ends Support for Bitcoin and Similar UTXO Coins
Coinbase’s payments platform for merchants will no longer support Bitcoin and other UTXO coins unless customers have an existing account with the exchange.
Crypto Exchange FixedFloat Hacked for $26 Million in Bitcoin, Ether
Decentralized exchange FixedFloat confirmed there was a theft of funds from its platform shortly after unusual blockchain transaction activity suggested at least $26 million had been stolen earlier in the day.
Crypto Advocate Could Challenge Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts Senate Race
John Deaton, an attorney who has been a sharp critic of how US authorities have tackled of crypto regulation, is reportedly taking a “serious look” at entering the race.
Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️
🦍 Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club, acquired Proof and its Moonbirds NFT collection. Its planning to integrate Moonbirds into its metaverse project, Otherside.
💼 FTX creditors filed a lawsuit against the exchange's bankruptcy law firm, Sullivan and Cromwell, alleging involvement in FTX's operations prior to its collapse.
🔓 Celsius disclosed in court documents the distribution of $2 billion in crypto to creditors, progressing towards fulfilling its $3 billion distribution commitment.
🤖 Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said AI has the potential to address Ethereum's major technical challenge of code bugs and verification.
📉 Cathie Wood's ARK Invest sold nearly $90 million worth of Coinbase shares, despite recent analyst upgrades praising the company's fourth-quarter performance.
🇯🇵 Japan’s government approved a bill that proposed legal amendments to allow venture capital firms to invest directly in cryptocurrency and Web3 startups, aiming to boost local innovation. The amended bill will be debated in parliament.
💸 Coinbase committed $3.6 million to support Bitcoin development through nonprofit Brink, following the wind-down of its GiveCrypto initiative.
💹 The price of Worldcoin hit a record high, climbing 100% in the past week, buoyed by the debut of OpenAI's Sora AI model, pushing its market capitalization to approximately $700 million.
🤔 A JPMorgan analyst expressed skepticism about the real impact of Coinbase's involvement in bitcoin ETFs, citing a lack of clear insight into how its custodial services contributed to earnings.
📊 Digital bank Revolut plans to launch a cryptocurrency exchange designed for advanced traders, featuring enhanced analytics and lower fees compared to its existing app.
The $$$ Corner…
🚀 Y Combinator highlights the stablecoin space as a key area for future startup innovation, recognizing the potential of stablecoins in transforming traditional financial practices.
What Do You Meme?
Recommended Reads
CoinDesk: Sam Bankman-Fried's Sentence Might Be Lighter Than You'd Expect
The Block: Crypto projects have given out 115 billion points so far (but some still won't say how many)
Unchained: What Is Bluesky? An Introduction to Jack Dorsey’s New Social Network
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is up 1.1%, trading at $52,380
ETH is up 3.8%, trading at $2,913
BTC dominance: 49.35%
Crypto market cap: $2.08T
*All data as of today, 06:08 am ET. Source: CoinGecko
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