March 23, 2022       /       Unchained Daily       /       Laura Shin

Daily Bits ✍️✍️✍️

  • Bridgewater is preparing to back its first crypto fund.

  • Mango DAO rejected a proposal to add BTC to its treasury in favor of SOL.

  • Salaries for senior web3 developers range from $180,000 to $900,000.

  • Avalanche announced a new wallet application and will add Bitcoin bridging functionality.

  • Grayscale launched a new fund composed of Ethereum competitors.

  • DeFiance Capital CEO Arthur Cheong lost $1.7 million in NFTs to a phishing scam.

  • FTX acquired Good Luck Gaming.

  • A proposed law to restrict certain PoW mining set-ups in New York made it out of the New York State Assembly Committee.

  • The market capitalization of all crypto assets crossed over $2 trillion yesterday.

  • The European Central Bank (ECB) still believes crypto remains a threat in regard to Russians using the technology to circumvent sanctions.

  • The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is looking for input on a new proposal for crypto tax rules.


Today in Crypto Adoption…

  • Senator Cynthia Lummis will receive bipartisan sponsorship for her forthcoming crypto bill.

  • Investment app Acorns has added an avenue for users to invest up to 5% of their portfolio into BTC.

  • Robinhood’s new debit card product will offer crypto rewards.

  • Crypto.com will be sponsoring the FIFA World Cup.

The $$$ Corner…

  • Yuga Labs raised $450 million in a round led by a16z.

  • The newly introduced Haun Ventures has raised $1.5 billion to invest in the growth of web3.

What Do You Meme?


What’s Poppin’?

The Bitcoin Bond Is Delayed

 

Alejandro Zelaya, El Salvador’s finance minister, told Reutersthat the country has postponed its planned $1 billion bitcoin bond offering due to unfavorable market conditions.

The bond was initially scheduled to launch between March 15-20. However, due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, paired with the inherent volatility of crypto markets, El Salvador decided to push the date back – with the goal to go to market in the before September 2022.

“In May or June the market variants are a little different. At the latest in September. After September, if you go out to the international market, it is difficult (to raise capital),” Zelaya told Reuters.

The news comes shortly after an article from the Financial Times that reported the bonds would not be issued directly by El Salvador. Rather, a state-owned energy company called La Geo will issue the bonds, which will be available on BitMEX.

Once issued (or if issued), El Salvador, which made BTC legal tender and holds the cryptoasset in its treasury, plans to use $500 million to purchase more BTC, with the other $500 million going towards the construction of energy and mining infrastructure.


Recommended Reads

  1. Meltem Demirors on cross-chain liquidity:

  1. The DeFi Edge on why tokens crash:

  1. Matti Gags on crypto fashion (this is hilarious):


On The Pod…

Ukraine Has Received $150 Million in Crypto. Here’s How It Is Being Used

 

Illia Polosukhin, co-founder NEAR Protocol, and George Kikvadze, executive vice chairman at BitFury Group, both of whom have called Ukraine “home” at one point in their lives, discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the role crypto is playing in the war, and the various avenues crypto users can donate to. Show topics:

  • George and Illia’s background in crypto

  • George and Ilia’s connection to Ukraine

  • why crypto is so popular in Ukraine

  • what supplies are being purchased with donated crypto

  • how to donate crypto to Ukraine

  • why Patreon blocked donations to Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian NGO

  • George and Illia’s estimation of the amount of crypto donations received by Ukraine

  • what department of Ukraine’s government spearheaded its adoption of crypto

  • what happened with the canceled airdrop

  • the different organizations accepting crypto donations in Ukraine


Book Update

My book, The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze, which is all about Ethereum and the 2017 ICO mania, is now available!

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