This Week on Unchained: Points Systems, Solana's Surge, BTC Price, and More!
Don't miss this week's content! And merry Christmas from all the Unchained team! 🎄
In this episode of Unchained, Li Jin, cofounder of Variant Fund, delves into the emerging trend of points systems in the crypto industry.
She discusses why many projects are now favoring points over traditional tokens, the nuances of designing effective points systems, and their potential impact on user engagement and retention. While highlighting the opportunities these systems present, Jin cautions founders about the potential pitfalls and the importance of thoughtful implementation.
She emphasizes: "Points are one way of creating greater loyalty. The basis of loyalty is people already want to use your product, and a points program ideally just shifts that segment of users up one level of the loyalty tier."
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. We are also on Fountain now!
Swan founder and CEO Cory Klippsten is all-in on Bitcoin. Not only does he believe that Bitcoin is poised to reach $1 million by 2030, he also thinks most alt-coins add little to no value and will eventually all go to zero. Accordingly, his company is a massive bet on the future of Bitcoin, from educating people about the world’s first crypto and convincing them to eventually self-custody, to making private equity investments in the Bitcoin ecosystem, to eventually planning to launch the first US Bitcoin-only trust company to create a safer environment for investors.
Here he talks to Unchained about his crypto journey, the likely impact of spot Bitcoin ETFs on crypto adoption and prices, his extreme skepticism about Bitcoin Ordinals, when he first knew Sam Bankman-Fried was a fraud and why he thinks that crypto VCs have done a “massive disservice” to the world.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Pandora, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Or watch it on YouTube.
💡 OPINION: 2024 Crypto Predictions: Signs Point to Yes
by David Z. Morris
Macro conditions and crypto developments are aligning to bring crypto a truly wild year.
🕵️ ANALYSIS: 12 Charts That Tell the Story of Crypto in 2023
by Kari McMahon
The crypto industry’s leading research firms share 12 charts that illustrate the major trends of 2023.
In Case You Missed It 👀
Here are some of the most important news of this week:
Solana Mobile Can’t Fulfill All Orders of Its Crypto-Integrated Android Citing ‘Inventory Management Issue’
On Thursday, 18 units of the Solana Saga mobile phone sold on the secondary online marketplace eBay for an average of $4,041, a more than sixfold increase from its original retail price.
US Finalizes Seizure of Bitcoin, Other Tokens Worth About $3B in Silk Road Case
The U.S. Court of Appeals mandate comes more than three years after authorities seized the bitcoins and other crypto from Individual X, an alleged hacker.
Solana Surges to $84, Flips Ethereum in Weekly DEX Volume
Solana’s native token rallied 13% over the last 24 hours, while the blockchain overtook Ethereum in seven-day DEX trading volume.
Solana Takes the Lead in Daily Stablecoin Transfer Volume
Since the start of December, Solana’s daily stablecoin transfer volume has grown 600% to $16.6 billion and now outpaces major blockchain networks, according to Artemis, an institutional crypto data platform.
New Crypto Accounting Rules Unlikely to Bring ‘Sea Change’ in Corporate Adoption
FASB’s new accounting standards for cryptoassets have received praise from the industry but are unlikely to bring a surge in crypto adoption on corporate balance sheets – for now.
US Court Approves Order for Binance to Pay CFTC $2.7 Billion Fine
A U.S. Court has entered an order against Binance and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao, approving billions of dollars in fines to the CFTC.
Bitcoin Fees Surge to Highest Level Since April 2021
The average transaction fee on Bitcoin has hit a 20-month high as unconfirmed transactions on the mempool continue to pile up.
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