🔽 Ether vs. Bitcoin: The Flippening Fades?
In today’s edition: 📉 Ethereum's L2 boom: A double-edged sword?, 🕵️ Arrested in MEV-related case, 🎈 Worldcoin's looming hyperinflation threat, 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.
Erik Voorhees, a crypto OG, has launched Venice, a private, uncensorable, open-source competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude, powered by a decentralized crypto network.
In the episode, Erik and Venice’s COO Teana Baker-Taylor delve into the problems with censorship and data in current AI agents, including how they create honeypots of information about users’ search history for hackers, or that they can be absurdly politically correct, such as refusing to create images of Caucasian people. As they point out, there’s also the risk that the companies managing them could be censoring the models to please the Chinese government, in order to access the market in that country. They talk about their plan for Venice to gain market share, considering that DuckDuckGo, a privacy-preserving competitor to Google, has a much smaller market share. And they explain why they intend for Venice to eventually use the compute of Morpheus, or other decentralized crypto-powered compute networks.
They also critique the SEC’s current regulatory approach to crypto, calling it “a joke.” Additionally, they explore the concept of AI agents using cryptocurrencies as their primary currency.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pods, Fountain, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
What’s Poppin’?
by Sam Sriram, Sage Young, and Juan Aranovich
The Price of Ether Keeps Bleeding Against Bitcoin. Is the ‘Flippening’ Dream Over?
The ratio of ether’s market cap to that of bitcoin’s hit a multi-year low Wednesday and overall has been falling since The Merge. Will the trend continue?
Ethereum Scaling With L2s Has Damaged Its Tokenomics. Is It Possible to Fix It?
While Ethereum layer 2s are at an all-time high in terms of active addresses and transactions, the mainnet may not be doing as well.
DOJ Alleges Two Brothers Stole $25 Million From MEV Bots Last Year
Two New York-based brothers have been arrested on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with the DOJ alleging they exploited Ethereum to fraudulently obtain $25 million worth of crypto in around 12 seconds.
Worldcoin’s Token Could Become Hyperinflationary In 70 Days, Says Crypto Trader
Crypto trader DeFiSquared took aim at Worldcoin’s “predatory tokenomics” that could potentially see WLD supply inflate at 4% per day after token unlocks and emissions commence.
Daily Bits… ✍️✍️✍️
📅 The Ethereum Layer 2 network Blast postponed its token generation event from May to June 26, increasing airdrop allocations to compensate for the delay, which has led to a rise in token prices as users accumulate more tokens in anticipation.
📜 Lawmakers, led by Rep. Wiley Nickel, are optimistic about overturning the SEC's SAB 121, which mandates that firms holding crypto for customers record those assets as liabilities, with a Senate vote expected this week.
🇺🇸 Stablecoin issuer Circle filed to relocate its legal base from Ireland to the U.S. ahead of its planned IPO, aiming to list shares publicly in the country.
🔄 Eclipse CEO Neel Somani stepped down following allegations of sexual misconduct, with Chief Growth Officer Vijay Chetty taking over as the new CEO.
📝 Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev appealed his money laundering conviction, seeking to challenge the guilty verdict and potentially serve his sentence at home during the appeal process.
🚔 Chinese authorities dismantled a $1.9 billion underground banking network using USDT for illegal foreign currency exchanges, arresting 193 individuals and freezing significant assets.
Today in Crypto Adoption...
📊 CME Group is exploring the launch of bitcoin spot trading, expanding beyond its current futures offerings to meet demand from traders seeking regulated platforms for cryptocurrency transactions.
🇦🇺 Coinbase plans to offer specialized services for Australia’s self-managed pension funds, aiming to attract this market segment by enabling tailored crypto trading options.
The $$$ Corner…
🌐 Humanity Protocol, a Web3 digital identity startup, secured $30 million in funding, reaching a $1 billion valuation, with plans to launch its own cryptocurrency for identity verification fees.
🛡️ Shogun, a DeFi protocol developed by Intensity Labs, raised $6.9 million in a seed funding round, bringing its token valuation to $69 million with significant backing from prominent investors.
🎮 Crypto trading card game "Cross the Ages" gathered $3.5 million led by Animoca Brands, as its CTA token lists on exchanges like KuCoin and Bybit, building an in-game economy around the token.
What Do You Meme?
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is up 5.6%, trading at $66,179
ETH is up 3%, trading at $2,995
BTC dominance: 51.96%
Crypto market cap: $2.51T
*All data as of today, 06:55 am ET. Source: CoinGecko
Recommended Reads
DL News: Scroll airdrop farmers can now track their points. But will that satisfy sceptics?
Unchained: What Is the EIP-3074 Proposal on Ethereum?
CoinDesk: What the DOJ’s First MEV Lawsuit Means for Ethereum (ETH)
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I'm intrigued by Erik Voorhees' vision for Venice, leveraging decentralization to address censorship and privacy concerns in AI. However, competing with established giants like OpenAI and gaining significant market share could be an uphill battle, especially given the niche adoption of decentralized networks. With crypto behind her, everything is truly doable.