The Web3 Rewind

A handful of the most interesting and current stories in the blockchain/web3 world not published on DeCential this past week in case you missed them

Hello and welcome back to the Web3 Rewind! Per usual with the industry, lots has happened this past week so without further adieu, let’s dive into this week’s news.

The Latest

These are the moments, the weeks, the months, where people will look back and realize the depths of the current crypto winter. It was only last week that The Merge was pulled off successfully — one of the most amazing technological achievements that I’ve witnessed in my life. Ethereum’s coordinated and seamless transition of its security protocol that underpins $156 billion in value from proof of work to proof of stake should be heralded for the grand accomplishment it represented.

The market, however, turned negative on Ethereum, and prices have fallen about 15 percent as of this writing. Bitcoin is down as well, but not as much. This flies in the face of much pre-Merge discussion about how “the Merge isn’t priced into Ethereum.” I believed that narrative, and still do. But you can only argue with markets for so long. If you can’t stay in the trade it doesn’t matter if your thesis was correct in the long run. You busted out.

That’s why I say these are the times that try men’s souls (ok maybe I didn’t put it as eloquently as Thomas Paine). But this is a dark and confusing time for people who believe in Ethereum and it’s ability to continue to change the world. Luckily, as we continually report here at DeCential, the builders and developers who are making web3 a reality are, well, fully in build mode.

Keep your head, keep your head down, and keep building. The world and the market will catch up eventually. — Matthew Leising, editor in chief, DeCential Media

Merge purge dept.

With The Merge a success it seems that industry folks are the only ones who really seem to realize the magnitude of what has happened. Meanwhile, the rest of the market participants seem unaware of how to price The Merge and how to evaluate its impact on the rest of the market.

Amidst further confusion and turmoil in the US equities market, Ethereum and Bitcoin show that they are still very much moving in correlation with stocks. That being said, Coindesk elaborated that Ethereum and Bitcoin have experienced significant price slides.

Coindesk goes on to surmise that what really is on everyone’s mind is whether or not there is any hope for the markets with a less aggressive stance by the Fed. If rate hikes and other monetary factors continue to be aggressive then there may be little hope for prices to rebound in the near future. Moreover, they state that the market is firmly in “fear territory.” Augmented with increasing confusion on the regulatory front, it appears that growth and development will be focused on the fundamental front, where developers and friendly governments should aim to refine base level products and services. This focus on value add will benefit the industry and help those projects that really are making a difference to stand out amongst the ones that are more noisy. — Parker Dresdow, DeCential Media

Quick Bits

NFT mints on Solana have surged to an all-time high

• Solana has hit an all-time high of 312,000 for new NFT mints on its blockchain, according to The Block. New NFTs on Solana have been scaling in a mostly exponential fashion since September of last year and show no signs of slowing down.

• Solana has struggled with the fact that most of the more major NFT projects have released their initial runs on the Ethereum blockchain. Nevertheless, this shows that as the NFT space begins to mature, projects will find new outlets and communities to reach via alternate blockchains that are less encumbered with the reigning incumbents.

Goldman Sachs’ bearish macro outlook puts Bitcoin at risk of crashing to $12K

• With looming rate hikes and a less than stellar macro outlook, economic analysts at Goldman and other institutional firms are seeing the potential for Bitcoin to fall further away from $20,000. While Bitcoin is often touted as the “Gold Standard” of crypto, it seems unable to eventually break away from its correlation to the stock market, and therefore brings into question this mantle.

• Of primary concern is whether or not the various macro threats are priced into the value of Bitcoin today. According to CoinTelegraph, some analysts are finding it difficult to gauge as signs of a deepening recession continue to appear, while industry-specific factors such as large short positions pose lingering threats to Bitcoin’s price. Moreover, The Merge has seen Ethereum a one time PoW coin, leaving Bitcoin alone as the sole largest PoW chain and ecosystem.

White House’s Latest Crypto Framework Lacks Clarity, Some Say

• Following last week’s landmark statement out of the White House, industry specialists and analysts are asking the question, “What does it all mean?” Following last year’s announcement on crypto and the federal government’s exploration of the matter, the White House, in step with the general public, seems to be confused as to which agencies and which regulators are in control.

• This continued lack of clarity is good in some ways as it shows that the federal government, via the White House, is not seeking to be entirely heavy handed in the way that it deals with the crypto industry. However, the problem is that while the various federal agencies continue to squabble over territory like many generals over a battlefield, the industry continues to suffer. What the industry would really benefit from is the ability to have a single set of rules and regulations that are enforced by either one or very few agencies. The only clarity that does seem to be provided in the meantime is that by the summer of 2023 The Treasury Department will have completed robust assessments on both DeFi and NFTs. In the midst of all this confusion, what would be truly beneficial is a coordinated move by politicians to work up legislation that clearly lays out a path forward for a well-defined regulatory system. But alas, only time will tell when solid regulation and regulators will avail themselves.

Iran to begin ‘crypto rial’ CBDC trial despite possible lack of infrastructure: Report

• The Central Bank of Iran announced it will release a “crypto-rial.” This is a monumental moment for Iran as the nation has been in a complicated financial position for a while with both sanctions and internal monetary mismanagement weakening the country’s purchasing power both at home and abroad.

• This development is also important as the government, in a similar fashion to Afghanistan, has largely outlawed using crypto for transactions in the country. CoinTelegraph elaborates that the Iranians also struggle from lack of regulatory clarity as crypto has been allowed as a usable tender for bringing imports in. This sort of mixed messaging that may seem unintentional on the surface begins to appear as part of a larger narrative of central banks and crypto. This narrative could be described as banks making unilateral and isolated decisions on crypto and largely disregarding or hampering the private sector’s use of products that don’t align with their goals.

Latest Podcast

DeCent People Podcast With Jeremy Fall of NFT Media Company Probably Nothing

Creator and co-founder of web3 media company Probably Nothing Jeremy Fall discusses how merging trusted web2 institutions with NFT drops are part of a successful decentralized future and how companies like Warner Records--who are forgoing huge paydays to launch more socially conscious NFT initiatives--are helping give web3 credibility while preserving its integrity.

You can download and subscribe to the podcast here on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Amazon Music and Audible.

Good Podcasts Outside DeCential

Go Down Under for an Australian crypto podcast about the latest in U.S. Securities and Exchange action regarding crypto and why Ethereum’s price has fallen after the successful Merge.

And last but not least

Web3 Watch: NFTs Return to Minecraft, Coinbase Provides ENS Usernames

Despite being banned by Mojang, the main Minecraft developer, NFTs have continued their prolific rise in the game and continue to grow in popularity on third-party servers, according to Blockworks.

This development is yet another indicator that the integration of crypto and video games has enormous potential and is a testament to the old saying, “Where there’s a will, there's a way.” 

Blockworks also notes that Scotch & Soda, a Dutch clothing brand, has launched its own NFT program to build out its membership. This program will not only foster community interaction, but will also afford holders the ability to collaborate with the brand on new lines and products.

Out of the Ether: Special NFT Edition

Have you read the definitive history of Ethereum? No? Well then get your special edition of Out of the Ether while you can. There are only 1,000 that were printed and each copy is an NFT that can be registered on the Lukso blockchain’s Universal Profile protocol.