May 27, 2022       /       Unchained Daily       /       Laura Shin

Daily Bits✍️✍️✍️

• The Ethereum Proof of Stake Beacon chain experienced a 7-block reorganization.
• DeFi startup PoolTogether, the defendant in a legal case seen as having wide ramifications for DeFi, will fund its legal expenses with an NFT collection.
• Crypto wallet MetaMask will help users recover lost assets.
• Verena Ross, a European Union regulator, said that inflation might push users into crypto.
• Tether launched a stablecoin pegged to the Mexican peso.
• STEPN users in China will stop earning rewards.
• Terra will burn 1.3 billion UST tokens after a governance proposal was passed.
• Mirror launched a feature to allow writers to sell their essays as NFTs.
• Aave, the DeFi protocol, ended its liquidity incentive mechanism.

Today in Crypto Adoption…

• JPMorgan started using blockchain tech for collateral settlements.
• Crypto exchange Kucoin reported that 27% of US adults invested in crypto over the past 6 months.
• Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said it will take 5 years to launch a digital dollar.
• Thailand’s government announced that it will not charge value-added tax on crypto transfers.

The $$$ Corner…

• JPMorgan joined Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic’s $60 million Series C round.
• Old Fashion Research fund raised $100 million for blockchain investments.
• Kongregate and Immutable launched a $40 million fund for blockchain games.

What Do You Meme?

What’s Poppin’?

Merit Circle DAO and YGG At Odds Over Refunding Seed Investment

Last Friday, a member of the gaming DAO Merit Circle called HoneyBarrel proposed to refund Yield Guild Games’ (YGG) seed investment in order to terminate the DAO’s financial obligations with them.

YGG had invested 175,000 USDC in September last year. Of that total, 100,000 USDC was invested by YGG itself and the remaining 75,000 USDC was invested through Nifty 109, YGG co-founder Gabby Dizon’s personal fund. The price of the MC token at the moment of the investment was $0.032, which accounts for 5,468,750 MC tokens. At current prices, the investment is now valued at more than $5 million.

According to HoneyBarrel, YGG has provided no value to the Merit Circle DAO since they became a seed investor. “The Merit Circle DAO needs seed investors who are adding value,” they said in the governance proposal. “They [YGG] are competitors who are only interested in extracting value, and profit, from the DAO, and their actions go against the ethical principles that Merit Circle upholds.”

YGG posted an official statement in response to this proposal after first trying to communicate directly with Merit Circle’s team to solve the issue. In addition, they made clear that there was no clause in the agreement related to “value-add” services. “It only called for the investment of capital,” YGG said.

YGG also questioned the legal authority of the DAO to nullify a contract that was signed with Merit Circle Ltd. Lastly, YGG highlighted all the things that they have been doing for Merit Circle, denying the initial claim that they’ve added no value. They said they introduced multiple funds and angels during the seed round, provided support during negotiations, helped on getting media coverage, and advised Merit Circle’s operations team.

“Once the obligations to us have been fulfilled, we would be very interested for both of our communities to work more collaboratively if that is the desire,” YGG said.

Recommended Reads

1. Jason Levin on how stablecoins could affect the “real” economy.

2. The DefiEdge on how to survive a bear market.

3. Feezy on Avalanche subnets.

On The Pod…

Hester Peirce’s Former Counsel on Terra 2.0, XRP and a Bitcoin Spot ETF

Coy Garrison, former counsel to SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce and partner at Steptoe & Johnson, discusses the role of regulation in the crypto industry and what the SEC could be doing to make crypto a better space. Show notes:

• how Coy started working with crypto
• why Coy decided to leave the SEC
• why recent comments by SEC chair Gary Gensler made him hopeful in how the SEC approaches crypto
• how the crypto industry has grown and evolved over the years
• whether the regulations are impeding innovation in the crypto space
• how stablecoins should be regulated
• what Coy thinks about the UST collapse
• what is the SEC’s take on decentralization
• whether ETH is centralized and whether it is a commodity
• why the SEC has not approved a BTC spot ETF

Book Update

You can purchase it here: http://bit.ly/cryptopians