December 8, 2021       /       Unchained Daily       /       Laura Shin

Daily Bits ✍️✍️✍️

  • A Grayscale survey shows that 55% of crypto holders got in during the last 12 months.

  • Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, is joining Chainlink Labs as a strategic advisor.

  • The CIA has multiple projects that keep track of cryptocurrencies.

  • NFT marketplace Rarible appears to be building for a multichain future.

  • Google is suing the group behind Glupteba, a botnet that infected 1 million machines worldwide that used Bitcoin to evade cybersecurity officials.

  • Hashed, a South Korean VC, confirmed it is under investigation by South Korea’s tax authority.

  • The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority gave its approval to Fidelity Digital Assets regarding digital asset custody and trade execution services.

  • 10T, led by Dan Tapiero, is launching a new $500 million fund.

  • Enso Finance is attempting a vampire attack on six DeFi platforms.

  • Nifty Gateway has plans to build an NFT platform that cuts gas by 70%. 

  • Bitcoin miners think they are helping fix Texas’s electric grid.

  • Marriott International launched an NFT collection.

  • BitMart plans to compensate victims of a recent $196 million hack with its own funds.

  • The OCC is “approaching crypto-related activities…very carefully.”

  • FTSE Russell, the company behind a prominent UK stock market index, plans to build a crypto index containing 43 digital assets.

What Do You Meme?

What’s Poppin’?

And the First Major Gaming Company Chooses to Build NFTs on… Tezos? 

Ubisoft, the major gaming company behind Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, announced that it is launching NFT functionality through a platform called “Ubisoft Quartz.”

Ubisoft Quartz describes itself as a “new experience” that will offer “autonomy and agency” to players interacting with in-game items. By playing on Ubisoft Quartz, players can earn “Digits,” or playable NFTs. The first three NFTs will be a tactical gun, a helmet, and a pair of army pants. According to the website, each Digit is released as part of an “Edition” composed of an immutable number of items. Additionally, each Digit will have a serial number and a tie-in to previous and current owners.

To start, Digits will be playable on Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint PC game. The beta version will drop on December 9th, with the three Digits mentioned above being given away for free.

Notably, Ubisoft Quartz is using Tezos to create Digits, citing Tezos’s “energy efficient technology” that is based on the proof-of-stake blockchain. On the website Ubisoft Quartz boasts that “For illustration purpose, one transaction on the Tezos blockchain consumes as much as streaming a video for 30 seconds.” In contrast, Ubisoft Quartz claims, “a transaction on Bitcoin consumes the equivalent of one year of video streaming.”

As of press time, Tezos is up 34% over the past 24 hours– by far the largest gainer of any token in the top 100 by market capitalization, according to data from Coin Gecko.

Recommended Reads

  • Web3 expert David Phelps with 10 recommended reads:

  • Arca on sentiment in the crypto market:

  • Jack Niewold on ADA shilling:

On The Pod…

Crypto Philanthropy: How to Donate to Make Real-World Impact

Some of the biggest names in the crypto industry discuss their personal giving philosophies, how blockchain technology could change the dynamics of giving to charity, and which crypto projects are making a lasting real-world impact. Guests include Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly Capital; Caroline Ellison, co-CEO of Alameda Research; and Arthur Breitman, co-founder of Tezos. Show topics:

  • the definition of effective altruism

  • why Haseeb thinks crypto is the best industry for effective altruism

  • how Haseeb and Arthur differ in their philosophy of doing good

  • why blockchain technology is less important than liquidity when donating money across borders

  • whether Axie Infinity is making a real-world impact

  • why Arthur thinks Axie’s impact will be short-term and not sustainable

  • whether people should donate now versus later

  • Haseeb’s and Arthur’s thoughts on how giving changes people

  • what people working in crypto can do to give back

Book Update

My book, The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze, is now available for pre-order now.

The book, which is all about Ethereum and the 2017 ICO mania, comes out Feb. 22. Pre-order it today!

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