This was supposed to be different.

Outsiders often label cryptocurrency-maxis as cult followers. An easy dismissive tactic, but relatively true. Not because of the fanboy mentality but rather the ethos of what it represents.

Cryptocurrency was supposed to redistribute wealth, while web3 was supposed to be more democratic, equitable, and transparent. It was supposed to be shaped by the ideals of thinkers and socially responsible people focused on the good of everyone; a community.

The word “community” has become one of the most overused words on crypto Twitter (crypto-X?). Adopted by individuals and large projects alike to virtue signal to idealists that they too want to build a better future. The dilution of the word over the past two years has translated this word into what most are looking for: customers.

Bitcoin was a revolution. A literal revolt against the banking industry that bankrupted so many individuals because of corporate greed and capitalistic endeavors. But now, the core beliefs that drew in many in the beginning are being swapped out for traditional business ideals and a lot of web2 groupthink.

The More Things Change

It’s always a slow descent into the depths. Small concessions and insignificant decisions eventually accumulate to a point where the original thread becomes lost and founders are left explaining to their customers (not the community) why they made the decisions they did. But, they find that most would agree.

It makes good business sense.

It adds value.

It ensures the financial health of our company.

In reality, these PFP NFT projects are not companies. They’re run by people who had an idea and were in the right spot at the right time. Now the need to learn how to operate like a business, answer questions about marketing strategy, strategic partnering, and, most important aspect of all, how to turn a profit.

Let’s be honest, it’s why most of us came to web3 in the first place. We saw people becoming overnight millionaires and thought it would be so easy. Now we’re here, some of us, trying to build something we imagined and it’s becoming harder and harder every day. In times like these many of these “companies” and “communities” are at their most vulnerable.

Who will save us from our over-hyped demise? The corporations with their wealth and business acumen will save us from the death spiral they tell us we’re all in. Only they can save us, and they’re willing to if we only accept their help.

We can scale your project and take you and your team to the next level!

The goal has always been mainstream adoption, but at what cost are we trying to achieve it?

Now That NFTs Are Dead…

I have a longer story about my experience pitching to venture capital firms, but this one part is relevant now. Many of them pointed out that no one is making money on royalties on NFTs. They know the power balance has shifted back in their favor. They have money, people like me (and probably you too) need access to it.

It’s bad out there. People are desperate. The generational wealth has already exited and been taken from the liquidity that many of us provided. They know this and we should have known this. Some of us did. Some of us anticipated it so well that we thought the hype was overblown when Bored Apes originally minted that we avoided it entirely.

I’m not bitter, I swear!

Recently OpenSea began its own web3 publication feature called Currents. This week’s feature focuses on two recent partnerships between mainstream brands and NFT projects.

The footwear companies Crocs and Reebok partnered with the projects Doodles and VeeFriends. Partnerships like these will help foster mainstream adoption and return value to the community, supposedly.

Reebok’s partnership features the VeeFriend Aspiring Alpaca on a nylon shoe which holders will be able to purchase for $90. Crocs will be introducing wearables (“jibbitz”) based on the Doodles PFPs. Notice these are not giveaways or rewards for loyalty by the community. These are targeted sales and advertisements to a customer base.

Awareness and mass adoption are key to the success of the entire ecosystem. While these strategic partnerships help build that real-world use case, it comes at a cost. The corporate world begins to spread its tendrils into web3 and infiltrate communities that were built on ideals that contradict the establishment.

What about those other projects struggling to survive though? Where do they turn? When they see these headlines will they adapt and develop a similar strategy?

See how the snowball begins to build momentum?

Play to Earn

My best friend says, “All I ever wanted to do was sell out,” and I’m no different.

I’m not condemning accepting money. I’m not telling anyone to not do what’s needed to help grow whatever your project may be. I don’t even disagree with Doodles and Veefriends’ business strategy. I think most of my anarchist, punk friends would disagree and have some choice words for my desire to make money. But, there’s a reason I am living in the suburbs and not still going to poorly attended shows in sweaty basements in the city to see a band no one will ever hear about: I want a seat at the table.

I know that to change things for the better I need to be in the room with people who make decisions.

But it’s a balance. A balance between your ideals and your financial situation. I’ll play the game, and use their buzzwords, knowing full well my end game is to build something that restructures their worldview. I’ll be tested, I’m sure, but I hope I pass because I took the time to reflect before it happened.

People with money are not looking to invest in small projects at the bottom, cryptocurrency is already at the bottom in their eyes. They build top-down, with trickle-down economics, focusing on their firm’s profit margins and revenue rather than equity and revenue sharing.

They’re looking into creating their own Layer 2 solutions or proprietary chains that can only be used with their product. They saw the control begin to slip their grasp and into the hands of the masses. Now they know there is an opportunity to gain traction in a market they never believed in because the ethos contradicts capitalist ideals.

They’re infiltrating the broader web3 community with their business experience, cost-cutting tactics, morally-bankrupt mindsets, and bottom-line worshipping to a space many of us came to in the hopes of beginning anew. They’ve learned our buzzwords and are eager to find new synergies with you and me.

The old African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” sums up the ethos of web3.

But who you go far with matters.

That’s why it’s important to reach out to other communities that are here already here and still focusing on building better systems that revolve around equity and not looking to create exit liquidity for early investors, or projects looking outward hoping to bring their community of customers to corporate entities.

At the end of the line who do you want to cash out with? People who built this space the right way or institutional investors who saw an opportunity when the market was down?

I know my answer.

Figure out yours while there’s still time.

Ah, crypto. The playground of the bulls and bears. 

Which side do you fall on?

Since the start of 2022, bears have dominated the conversation. They promise bitcoin’s price will drop to $30,000 or lower. 2018 all over again. Bear flag target is $21,000. Capitulation imminent. At least two more years before we go back to a new all-time high.

What about the bulls?

I can’t hear them over all the crickets chirping. The bullish fractals have disappeared.

Somebody has to fill the void. Why not me? 

Do you want to know my most bullish scenario for bitcoin (and by extension, the whole crypto market)?

Up a little, down a little, forever.

Something like this:

No FOMO, supercycle, or moonshots. Just aggressive, consistent growth that outpaces every other investment that people like you and I can access.

Dream or nightmare?

Yes, that’s my dream. 

You get perfect conditions for growth.

Plenty of opportunities for people to enter and exit, enough upward price movement to give new buyers confidence in the market, not enough “zoom!” to make people get too greedy, enough boredom that scammers go back to other things, and enough excitement to motivate investors to learn about what they’re buying.

Most importantly, enough liquidity and casual interest that builders and innovators have an audience for their creations.

For most people, that’s a nightmare. Six months before the price doubles? Multiple drops of +20% along the way?

Nobody wants to wait six months for their Lambo.

How long could that trend continue before traders decide it’s no longer a bear flag? And anyway, how do you get a good entry if the price doesn’t break out of the trading pattern?

Easy rider

While that outcome doesn’t bring a lot of volatility, it’s a much easier ride than massive bull and bear markets. Easier on the mind, body, and portfolio.

Would you be upset if the price goes to *only* $80,000 and the value of your investment *only* doubles in one year? And then another 2x next year? And another 2x the year after? 

What about 50% each year? Would you be sad about a 600% return on investment over five years? 

That’s probably more sustainable than whatever your data model predicts.

While that’d be nice, I’m not betting on it. This market has always moved in extremes. Big moves up and big moves down. Do you see any reason that should change now?

Mark Helfman publishes the Crypto is Easy newsletter. He is also the author of three books and a top bitcoin writer on Medium and Hacker Noon. Learn more about him in his bio.

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After having passed the 100 million users mark in September 2020, the Bitcoin network would now have more than 130 million users. I use the conditional tense, as these are only estimates.

As you know, the Bitcoin network is pseudonymous and each person can have multiple addresses on the network if they wish. It is impossible to know exactly how many users are on the Bitcoin network at any given time. It is possible, however, to have detailed statistics on the number of active addresses on the network.

Cross-checking is done to finally arrive at some estimates of the number of users. This figure is a little more than 130 million at the time of writing.

This is a lot and a little at the same time. It's a lot when you consider that Bitcoin was invented only a little over 13 years ago. So, in just 13 years, a P2P payment system unknown to the general public that has no marketing team trying to convince new users has managed to convince more than 130 million people. That's impressive!

On the other hand, you may say to yourself that this is not much when you have become aware of the flaws of the current monetary and financial system. And even more so when you realize that Bitcoin is the solution to these flaws. If you have understood that Bitcoin is an essential paradigm shift to a better world for the many in the future, then you may be disappointed. You might think like me sometimes:

Why are so many people still so scared of Bitcoin?

You might be tempted to think that it's because of the bad image conveyed by the powerful people in the current system who still sometimes call Bitcoin a scam. Or you might think it's because they think Bitcoin is a bubble. Others think that Bitcoin is based on nothing, and that seems to scare them.

Imagine if they found out that paper money is not based on anything at all, except the fact that it is imposed on us by governments around the world. They would be shocked to discover the ugly truth. It is however a necessary evil to be able to move towards the better and take control of your life. But some people just aren't ready yet.

Others think it's the volatility of the Bitcoin price that scares the general public. The price of Bitcoin was $69K at the end of 2021, and it is now just under $40K. This may be frightening to those used to markets manipulated by the powerful in the current system. Those who are not used to a free market that leaves the power permanently with the users might be scared.

Others might say that Bitcoin is used primarily for illegal activities and that they don't want to endorse that by buying Bitcoin. But that argument doesn't seem to hold anymore when even someone like Janet Yellen just said that Bitcoin could not have been used by Russia to escape American sanctions due to the war in Ukraine.

The real reason lies in the fear of assuming the responsibility that freedom implies

In short, if Bitcoin still scares so many people, I think it is for something else. I recently came across this quote from Sigmund Freud, and it seems to me to answer that question I asked you a bit above:

“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.”

Bitcoin gives you freedom. The freedom to live your life on your own terms. This is a tremendous freedom that we should all naturally aspire to as human beings. However, such power does not come without responsibilities as you might guess.

The power that Bitcoin gives you comes with a price to pay. That price is not a high one in my eyes, but you should know it: it is the fact that you have to be responsible for the fruits of your labor. For the first time in your life, you are going to have to take full control over the fruits of your labor.

If you lose your 12-24 word seed phrase, then your Bitcoin will never be accessible again. Thus, you will permanently lose access to your money. You won't be able to call someone to complain, as you could with a banker. You will be the one to blame. This means becoming responsible for your actions.

To me, this is a unique opportunity, but it is something that scares too many people. Yet, it is the only way to achieve true freedom over the fruits of your labor. If you have not yet purchased Bitcoin, or have not yet taken full possession of your Bitcoin's private keys, I invite you to think about what I have just mentioned.

Final Thoughts

I invite you to ask yourself about the need to become fully responsible for taking power over your life. This is essential because there can be no shortcuts here. You can't want to have uncensorable and non-taxable hard money without becoming responsible for ensuring its full security.

Feel free to tell me in the comments what you think is the main reason why so many people are afraid to come and buy Bitcoin, when inflation in America has just reached 8.5% in March 2022...

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After an ATH of $69K in November 2021, the Bitcoin price is now around $30K. This represents a 56.5% drop in the price of Bitcoin from its ATH.

For those who only see Bitcoin as a speculative investment, this is certainly a time of extreme fear. Unfortunately, this category of people is still dominant in the Bitcoin world. I say unfortunately here because Bitcoin is much more than just another speculative investment.

And those who don't take the time to understand the why of Bitcoin are missing the point. They see only this:

This is where you need to be able to step back and see the bigger picture. For that, there is no magic bullet: you need to have made the effort to understand the why of Bitcoin. Unlike fiat currencies whose design is such that your purchasing power is doomed to erode over time irreparably toward zero, Bitcoin is a unit of wealth, not a unit of debt.

You need to understand this nuance that makes all the difference.

The price of Bitcoin has changed from $69K to $30K, but the source code remains the same. The design of the Bitcoin protocol has not changed. But it is the Bitcoin protocol that gives you incredible guarantees for your future, not the price at any given moment.

Back in December 2021, I reminded you that buying Bitcoin was just the first step. Then, to take full advantage of it, you need to understand the why of Bitcoin and in particular the 4 rules at the heart of the Bitcoin protocol:

1. No monetary inflation

2. No confiscations

3. No censorship

4. Anyone can verify rules 1 to 3 at any time

These are the 3 protectives “No” that Bitcoin allows you to verify at all times.

As the price of Bitcoin falls by more than 50% once again, you just have to ask yourself if these 4 rules are still guaranteed. The answer is obviously YES. This is what is essential.

Behind these rules that can be verified at any time, the Bitcoin protocol gives you 10 additional guarantees that will make all the difference in your future if you choose to become a Bitcoin HODLer no matter what:

1. There will never be more than 21 million BTC in circulation

2. 10 minutes delay on average between the issuance of each block of transactions

3. An adjustment of the mining difficulty of the Bitcoin network every 2,016 mined blocks

4. A decrease in the reward given to miners for every 210,000 blocks issued

5. A consensus algorithm based on Proof-of-Work

6. Bitcoin is the most secure decentralized network in the world

7. A permanently available network

8. A never hacked network

9. The data of the Bitcoin Blockchain is immutable

10. The Bitcoin code is open source

Whenever the price of Bitcoin has fallen by more than 50% in the past, these guarantees have always been preserved. That's happening again today. This is the main reason why the Bitcoin price has always recovered and why we have then been able to reach new ATHs for the Bitcoin price every time.

As long as the guarantees that the Bitcoin protocol gives you are preserved, you can expect this to be the case. Bitcoin is thus like a phoenix that rises ever stronger. Opponents of Bitcoin find this hard to accept, but it is a reality you can check at any time because the Bitcoin source code is open.

So I'm not asking you to take my word for it, but to go and check for yourself if you want. That's what I suggested you do in this article at the beginning of February:

In Bitcoin We Trust Newsletter

Do the Math, Run the Numbers, and You’ll Understand Why Bitcoin Is a Unique Species of Money

This issue of In Bitcoin We Trust Newsletter is for all subscribers. To get more insights on Bitcoin, you may be interested to upgrade to the premium package…

Read more

4 years ago · 2 likes · 3 comments · Sylvain Saurel

Once you understand that the price of Bitcoin at a given moment has no impact on the guarantees that its protocol gives you, you will understand that as long as the design of the Bitcoin protocol remains the same, nothing changes. What changes here is simply the perception of investors, most of whom have a short-term view. They make the mistake of letting their emotions guide their choices with Bitcoin.

This is a trap that I encourage you to never fall into. If you do, then you will see the current situation as an opportunity. That's why I chose to accumulate more BTC at $30K last week, and why I wasn't afraid when the price of Bitcoin subsequently dropped to $25K. I know full well that in the future these price levels will be considered particularly cheap.

It's up to you to take the right time horizon with Bitcoin: the long-term one.

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The accounting firm PwC released the second annual Global CBDC Index report on April 4, 2022. In this report, PwC measures how far central banks have progressed in adopting their own digital currency. The result should not surprise you: more than 80% of central banks are interested in launching a CBDC, or have already done so.

For those of you not following the news, CBDC stands for Central Bank Digital Currency. A CBDC is a digital currency running on a Blockchain generally, the technology behind Bitcoin (but without decentralization of Bitcoin), and is issued by a central bank. Here is the Bank for International Settlements' vision for these digital currencies:

“CBDCs are the currency of the 21st century.”

The first major economy whose central bank launched a pilot project for its digital currency was China. It has become a national property in China since a speech by Xi Jinping in October 2019. The digital yuan is already very advanced, and China hopes to have the first-mover advantage in this area. The goal is clear: to challenge the hegemony of the American dollar over the world.

80% of Central Banks Are Preparing a CBDC

The European Union is not to be outdone, with the ECB having been toying with the idea of a digital euro for several months now. The European Commission is expected to present legislation next year to support its development. America is also talking more and more about exploring the creation of a digital dollar.

For PwC, it seems clear that these CBDCs are a good thing:

“CBDCs will facilitate more efficient, cheaper, 24/7 cross-border payments for the financial services industry. We expect CBDCs to greatly benefit cross-border transactions and the economies of all jurisdictions involved.”

The PwC report ranks retail CBDCs, those issued for use by the general public, and wholesale CBDCs, those used by financial institutions with central bank participation, out of a total of 100. Retail CBDCs are more mature than wholesale CBDCs, according to the report.

Nigeria's “eNaira” received a score of 95, making it the most mature of the two categories combined. On the retail CBDC side, the Bahamas was the first country to launch a CBDC: the Sand Dollar. Jamaica's CBDC, the Jam-Dex (ranked 4th), will launch this year. Thailand and Hong Kong top the list in the wholesale CBDC category for their joint project mBridge, which aims to facilitate cross-border payments.

Other major projects in the category include Canada, Singapore, France, and South Africa.

Finally, the PwC report includes an overview of stablecoins. I previously reported on the upcoming big flippening between Tether USDT and USDC at the end of 2021. The analysts involved in this report say that privately issued tokens will continue to evolve and coexist with CBDCs. The report also points out that stablecoins have become an “integral part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem,” and that it is “impossible” for a fund or institution “to be active in crypto without using stablecoins.”

The danger is looming for the future, and your best weapon is Bitcoin

This report is interesting, but it pretends to forget the essential issues that CBDCs bring to the people. These issues revolve around three axes: ownership, privacy, and freedom.

To make no mistake, the fact that more and more central banks are moving forward with launching their own CBDCs means that the danger is becoming clearer for the people. These CBDCs are an extension of the flaws of fiat currencies in the digital world. No more and no less. With these CBDCs, the powerful people of the current system will be able to control the people even better by monitoring all the transactions made.

The temptation will then be great to create profiles to categorize individuals and give them access to certain rights depending on whether they respect the arbitrary rules decided by the governments. The capacity for censorship and confiscation will be even greater.

For the Chinese digital currency, there is already talk of a possible expiration date to push people to spend their money and boost domestic consumption if necessary!

This is not something you want. If all this will be possible, it is primarily because these CBDCs will be centralized and controlled by a tiny minority of people. With stablecoins, the problem of centralization also arises, as does the transparency of the reserve assets. Stablecoins are a less bad solution than CBDCs, but they do not solve the real problem.

The real problem is solved by a big absentee in the PwC report: Bitcoin!

Because yes, it is Bitcoin that allows you to keep control because of the decentralization of its system and the absence of a leader. Some still doubt it, but more and more people will open their eyes to this reality in the coming years. While cash is not going to disappear in the medium term, the question arises in the longer term in a world where everything will become digital and where governments will push strongly in this direction.

This is why Bitcoin will become an increasingly used solution, and why seeing Bitcoin reach one billion users by 2030 does not seem like a utopia to me at all. As always, only the future will confirm or deny my vision. Wait and see.

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Bitcoin’s price tumbled from $40,000 to $25,000 in one week. 

While that’s not an extreme drop for bitcoin, it came at a bad time, when the market had no liquidity, little new money coming in, and a ton of leverage.

Some people got wiped out when LUNA and UST, two components of a widely-used financial platform, collapsed. 

Analysts are conflicted about what this means. 

On the one hand, we have some technical and on-chain data to suggest the bear market just ended or will end soon (one final crash, then “up only”). 

On the other hand, that conclusion doesn’t fit any of the data models, cycle concepts, or the general consensus among people in the market.

It also raises questions—when did the bear market start? What do you consider a bull market? 

Cryptowriter

Is 2022 the End of Bitcoin’s Bull and Bear Markets?

Almost six months after bitcoin’s price reached its all-time high and roughly ten months after its 2021 low of $28,500, people still argue about whether crypto is in a bull or bear market. What do those terms mean for an asset whose price goes up 100-300% in bear markets and crashes 30-50% in bull markets…

Read more

4 years ago · 6 likes · 6 comments · Mark Helfman

You get the price you deserve

Does that mean you need to wait for the price to go up before you put money into the market?

In a March survey of my Crypto is Easy subscribers, 15% of respondents said they were doing just that. Since bitcoin’s price is lower now than then, I’m assuming they’re still waiting.

Seems like many people take the same approach. 

In 2021, bitcoin maximalists told you that’s exactly what you should do. It’s what institutional investors do, too. Wait for the price to go. It’s safer that way. Buying low is stupid. Never catch a falling knife!

Truth be told, it does feel safer when the price goes up. Search volume and exchange activity go up. Active addresses and many other metrics rise. You see others doing it. You hear more people talk about it. Soon after you put money in, your investment goes up. 

That validates your decision.

Price and opportunity are different things

The problem is, all those things happen after the best opportunities have passed. It’s no wonder bitcoin’s price went up 60% in 2021 and most people still lost money.

Once search volume spikes, exchanges get more traffic, popular people get active again, and you hear “nobody’s selling,” you need to push that feeling of safety out of your head.

This market is never safe.

The bottom is always $0, no matter how high or low bitcoin and altcoin prices go. Tether’s solvency is an ever-present concern. Scams and scammers abound. Most projects will end up worthless.

These conditions exist when everybody’s doing laser eyes and when everybody’s talking about goblin town.

When you wait for prices to go up, you get all of that risk with less of the reward.

I realize traders need to wait for the prices to go up. That’s the point—wait for confirmation of whatever direction the market’s going, then grab a little piece of that move, cash out, and wait for another opportunity. When you lose, you lose a little. When you win, you win a lot. 

And you never have to worry about crypto because you don’t really want it in the first place, you want to sell it for more than you bought it for.

Are you a trader? Is that your goal? 

Bear market, bro. Sell the rips, take profits, easy risk management

I hear ya.

That kind of thinking takes me back to the beginning of 2019, which most people consider a bear market. Bitcoin’s price only doubled that year. Big letdown.

I sold half of my crypto in March 2019. Some data models and traders said we should expect bitcoin’s price to drop from $4,000 to $3,000, and I figured I’d buy it back later at a big discount.

It didn’t work out the way I expected.

Fortunately, altcoins didn’t budge much when bitcoin zoomed. I had a heavy allocation to altcoins, and still do, so I was able to basically buy my tokens back in early April at roughly the same price I sold at. I lost maybe 10% overall, plus fees.

That 10% is a lot of money now, but what can you do? A lot of people didn’t buy until the price went above $10,000, just before the market crashed in July after bitcoin briefly tapped $14,000.

You’d be surprised how many people refused to buy below $4,000 because it was too risky, but happily bought at $10,000 thinking it was a sure thing. 

On top of that, lots of people took profits on the way up, only to see the market go even higher—and then never come back to the price they sold at. Or worse, buy back in higher.

Good sailors don’t fear choppy waters

So, “only up” from here?

We shall see. When you buy cryptocurrencies, you’re buying experimental financial technology. Nobody knows how to value these things.

As of today, any price between $21,700 and $150,000 fits into the “normal” range of bitcoin’s volatility. Altcoins can go up or down 50% at any moment in bull and bear markets.

Will we get the +100% upswings we’ve seen in previous bear markets? Or another +30% drop, as we’ve seen in previous bull markets? Experts on both sides have called for each of these outcomes.

Does the world go into a global recession? Will the US and Chinese economies continue to slow down? Can Japan sustain the yen? Can low- and middle-income countries pay their sovereign debt? Will the war in Ukraine spill over to other countries and cause food shortages? 

What other financial calamity lurks just around the corner, hidden today by the vagaries of the markets and the fog of financial speculation?

Somebody knows, but I don’t. As of today, I’m buying bitcoin and altcoins until bitcoin’s price reaches $40,000.

(That price will change over time, based on my plan.)

Read my Plan

You could wait until the market gathers some momentum. At what price will that be? Somewhere above $40,000? $50,000? $60,000?

At that point, all the decisions will get harder. Prices will keep going up. Drops will go lower than you could ever imagine. Every bullish fractal will seem utterly convincing. Every bearish observation will seem utterly foolish. Each dip will seem like a buying opportunity, but only some will be.

And then, right before the market crashes, as it has so many times in bull and bear markets, you’ll hear somebody tell you to buy more bitcoin because it has to go up.

Yet, all the risks that exist in this moment will exist in that moment.

Cryptocurrency is a ruthless, selfish, nasty, dirty, speculative market full of people who don’t care about you or your welfare—doubly so when the price goes up.

Plan accordingly.

Mark Helfman publishes the Crypto is Easy newsletter. He is also the author of three books and a top bitcoin writer on Medium and Hacker Noon. Learn more about him in his bio.

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When you entered the crypto market, you found a lot of excitement. Data models predicted riches. YouTube and Twitter told you the market would explode to the upside.

It doesn’t feel that way today, but it should.

Since last summer, you’ve stood on the ground floor of the next leg up, and it’s a whole different experience. Scary. Exciting. Frustrating. Terrifying. Stressful. Hopeful. A mix of emotions.

Big upswings, big downswings. Supercycles and bear markets. Laser eyes and death crosses. Big players moving on. Little players moving up.

Crypto remains a wealth-creation machine, a generational opportunity to build lasting, durable wealth from owning a stake in the financial networks of the future.

It is also a cruel and vicious market. Only the most courageous and persistent survive.

To paraphrase a US general, you may have thought crypto is all glory, but I assure you, it is all hell.

We’ve been here before

In 2019, the market did 4x in six months to kick-start a three-year parabolic run, with upswings of +500% and downswings of +60% along the way. 

Do the swings of the past six months seem any more extreme?

When the market zooms for three months, you feel a sense of ecstasy and excitement. You can’t help but put money in—and everybody’s telling you to do just that.

When the market drops for three months, you feel a sense of terror and loss. You can’t help but take money out—and everybody’s telling you to do just that.

Both times, it feels like the right decision. Traders will insist it is.

And if you act on those instincts, you will never get ahead in this market. In other markets, maybe, but not crypto.

Empty promises

Perhaps the traders have something else in mind?

Last year, they told you that you’d get a repeat of 2017. Then, they said you’d get a repeat of 2013. Now, they’re saying you might end up with a repeat of 2012 or 2019.

What happened to $288,000 bitcoin by the end of 2021? Stock to flow says we should be above $100,000 now.

How could so many people say so many things that never came true? How could so many people who were so wrong so many times in the past, now be right?

Maybe it’s impossible to be right or wrong about the future.

If nobody knows what’s going to happen, how can anybody be right or wrong? And even if somebody is right or wrong, how do you know it’s anything more than a coincidence or a lucky guess?

Priya in the park yells “bear market” every time the price dips 5% or more and begs you to sell every upswing. Tony on the TV yells “supercycle” every time the price pumps 5% or more and begs you to buy every downswing.

Eventually, they’re going to be right.

What will you do about it?

Does it even matter? In 2019, bitcoin’s price ended more than 100% higher than it started. In 2020, its price tripled from start to end.

And most people finished down on their investment.

They chased the market. Meanwhile, people who bought in 2018 sold to these newcomers after the price went up.

In January, I published an article begging people to stop dollar-cost averaging blindly. While there’s never a bad time to buy bitcoin, some times are better than others. Just make the most of those opportunities and chill when the opportunities pass.

Buy low and HODL.

Judging from the comments, people didn’t like that advice. Frankly, they hated it and called it terrible and stupid. But it’s worked for me and it’s baked into my plan for bitcoin’s bull market.

Read About My Plan

With that plan, you’re down as much as 25% but probably closer to even on your investment, possibly up 600% or more.

(For altcoins, you may have a far wider range of returns. I’m down +99% on some altcoins and up more than 5,000% on others. Most pace or slightly beat the overall market.)

Over the long run, gamblers and competent traders might do better. Dollar-cost averagers will probably do worse.

Mark, you still call it a bull market. Why?

Like Richard Nixon did with his dog, I just want to say this right now, that regardless of what they say about my plan’s name, I’m going to keep it.

You can call it whatever you want—I’m sure you can think of some choice words to describe it. (Some with only four letters.)

Bitcoin’s price goes up 100% in bear markets and drops 50% in bull markets. That gives me the latitude to say “bull” and “bear” about pretty much anything I want.

In any event, it doesn’t matter.

With my plan, you will never have to think about bull or bear, right or wrong, short or long. You won’t have to time the market, take profits, or buy the peaks. Ideally, you will never sell (though you probably will have to at some point).

You will simply take advantage of opportunities as they come and let the market do its thing.

That way, this market will never let you down.

Mark Helfman publishes the Crypto is Easy newsletter. He is also the author of three books and a top bitcoin writer on Medium and Hacker Noon. Learn more about him in his bio.

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Did you hear about Goblin Town?

Apparently, the crypto market’s in it.

What’s Goblin Town?

“A dark, depressing place where dreams die and anguish reigns.”

Where I come from, we call that a “day job.”

I get it. Since the market reached its zenith on November 8, 2021, overall trading volume has dropped every month, along with prices.

Actually, prices have gone up for three months.

Also, on a monthly basis, volume peaked in December 2020, not November 2021. It’s gone down for 15 months, even though bitcoin made multiple new all-time highs over that time.

See for yourself:

• Bitcoinity

• TradingView

Mark, that can’t be. 2021 was crazy! Laser eyes, supercycle, etc.

Yea. Kinda like when you get to a party at 2 am. Everybody’s happy but you already missed most of the fun. You only get the tail end and the hangover that comes the next day.

To be fair, volume is not a meaningful statistic and it will continue to mean less as more money flows to derivatives and investment funds instead of the spot market.

Those products let people speculate on crypto prices without actually buying or selling crypto. The spot market still sets prices, but a lot of the volume flows elsewhere. Maybe not the best metric to look at.

Can you ever really find clarity in a single metric?

Be careful with conclusions

For example, entity data, a type of analysis that came into vogue last year. This data uses inference and heuristics to figure out how transactions are linked to one another. From that, analysts can identify unique entities and the bitcoins they control.

Its best producer, Glassnode, warns people that the data includes a lot of guesswork.

On top of that, entity data obscures what the actual bitcoins are doing, which is for me the most important information you get from on-chain data. An entity can buy, sell, and move 10 bitcoins and leave no trace in the entity data. To find those bitcoins, you need to look at other metrics.

At the end of the day, I don’t need to know what the entities are doing, I need to know what the bitcoins are doing.

Some prefer whale watching. A few of the biggest wallets have an uncanny ability to send bitcoin out of their wallets near the local tops and bring bitcoin into their wallets near the local bottoms.

Often, they’re off by weeks, during which time the price can move 25-50%. Sometimes, they send at bottoms and receive at tops. How reliable are they?

Many people apply some form of technical analysis. Traders use that type of analysis to plan entries, exits, stop-losses, and hedges. Essentially, it’s a risk-management tool for people who want to make money from changes in the prices of cryptos.

Is that your goal? If not, are you sure you want to make decisions based on technical analysis?

What about fractals? Can you take one outcome from one event on one dimension at one point in time, then use it to form your expectations of this moment?

At best, you can stack a few fractals over each other across several dimensions with perfect alignment. Like, 5 or 6 independent points of data, not two coincidences across different timeframes. Unfortunately, you’re not going to find those very often.

That one perfect metric

Every chart, metric, model, and indicator has its limits. Accept it for what it can tell you, not more than that.

With custodial accounts, multi-sig wallets, investment products, private deals, Lightning Network, and mixers, on-chain data gets less useful.

With smaller floats, low balances on exchanges, more leverage, and more people with access to quality market intelligence, technical analysis gets less useful.

Does that mean you should throw your hands up and dollar-cost average forever? Give up trying to use observation and reflection to understand how people act in various market conditions?

No.

Just don’t think every data has holds the key to success. Thinking only goes so far and you can never see the full picture no matter what data you have.

Choose your conclusions wisely.

Mark Helfman publishes the Crypto is Easy newsletter. He is also the author of three books and a top bitcoin writer on Medium and Hacker Noon. Learn more about him in his bio.

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During the Bitcoin Miami 2022 Conference, Cathie Wood, the CEO of Ark Invest, was asked about her vision for the future of Bitcoin. During her speech, Cathie Wood explained that she sees Bitcoin reaching a price of $1 million by 2030. Cathie Wood has been a long-time believer in Bitcoin and certainly given Ark Invest's positions, she wasn't going to be Bearish on the future of Bitcoin.

Following this speech, some people contacted me to ask what I thought of her prediction of a $1 million Bitcoin price by 2030.

So I'm going to try to ask you what I think. The first thing is that I'm not going to give you a straight answer like “Yes, Cathie Wood is right” or “No, Cathie Wood is wrong”. Like you, but also like her, I cannot know what the price of Bitcoin will be in 2030. So I cannot assure you that Cathie Wood is right or wrong.

Only time will tell.

You need to focus on what Bitcoin brings to the world

However, I can tell you something much more important. The price of Bitcoin moves at its own pace because Bitcoin is a free market. So there can be, and often is, a difference between the fundamentals of Bitcoin that we Bitcoiners can perceive, and the valuation of Bitcoin on the spot market that corresponds to the feeling of all the participants in this market.

This is the fair value of Bitcoin, because the market has decided so, but there is always a lag time before the fundamentals of Bitcoin are taken into account by the market and this reflects on its price.

So the important thing is to focus on the fundamentals of Bitcoin. What does Bitcoin bring to the world? Is the supply of Bitcoin becoming scarcer? Are we seeing more and more HODlers over a year old on the market?

And so on. These are currently things that you see when you look at the on-chain data. It's not yet bearing fruit as some would hope, but that will come with time. Patience is the key with Bitcoin. You know this because I tell you this constantly.

Second, Bitcoin offers everyone a P2P payment system whose transactions cannot be censored. A system that belongs to all its users. In a world that is more uncertain than ever, the Bitcoin protocol gives you incredible guarantees. With Bitcoin, you can take real control over the fruits of your labor.

Bitcoin protects you from censorship, confiscation, and the infinite monetary inflation that is the original sin of the current monetary and financial system. So more and more people will open their eyes to the flaws of the current system, but also to the fact that Bitcoin is the cure.

The price of Bitcoin will rise sharply in the future, but there's no need to set goals with specific dates

What interests me personally is that Bitcoin addresses the problem that millions of people will have in the coming years. So the adoption of Bitcoin will be massive in my opinion. And since the supply of Bitcoin is hard-capped at 21 million units no matter what, you know what that means: the price of Bitcoin is bound to rise sharply in the future.

This will be the result of the application of the principles governing the law of supply and demand.

I don't know how fast this will happen. If Bitcoin continues to keep pace with the adoption of the Internet, then we will have around a billion users by 2030. With that number of users, it is not unrealistic to think that Bitcoin's market cap will have surpassed that of gold which is currently $12.5T. This would give us a Bitcoin price of around $430K.

This is entirely possible, but then things could go even faster. Or things could go at a slower pace. And that's where setting goals like Cathie Wood does is dangerous. Many will buy Bitcoin based on these types of predictions that are just opinions.

There is a great risk that these people will not understand the why of Bitcoin and will then start selling their BTC en masse if the announced goals are not met. This is what happened at the end of 2021 with the S2F Model. Too many people were taking this model for granted. But it was not an exact science. We then saw many people selling their BTC at a loss. A huge collective disappointment that has helped the price of Bitcoin fall by 50% since its ATH in November 2021.

However, the fundamentals of Bitcoin had not changed. Only the vision of buyers who didn't understand the why of Bitcoin had changed.

Final Thoughts

If you are going to buy Bitcoin (and that’s a great idea), you must do it for the right reasons. You have to do it because you fundamentally believe in Bitcoin, not because some people give you guarantees about the price of Bitcoin at a certain time.

That never works, because the price of Bitcoin is never guaranteed. Only its protocol gives you certainty. Once you understand this, you will have taken a big step in the Bitcoin revolution, and you can become a long-term HODLer who keeps accumulating patiently. Because that's what Bitcoin is all about in the years to come.

And when we get to 2030, we'll see where we stand. Stay strong, Stay Bitcoin HODLers!

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Eden Election Scheduling Issue

The third Eden on EOS election is scheduled for July 9th. Note that you may need to re-register. There was a slight issue with the contract. It’s believed to have been resolved. However, review and testing will precede MSIG approval. It’s not clear when sign ups will be official. Edencommunity.org expects not to update the new election date until the contract is finalized. CDs maintain that the election will occur as regularly scheduled later this week.

Pomelo Season 3

Each Pomelo season promises to outdo the one prior. Like Pomelo NFTs, new funding rounds expect to bring new features. The team works diligently to provide the community with a robust experience and analytical tools. If the past two seasons are any indication, season 3 stats will inspire discussions extending throughout the greater ecosystem. Here’s the season schedule taken directly from the Pomelo Medium announcement:

July 19–August 8: Create your grants for public goods. As grants are created, the Pomelo team approves the ones that qualify.

July 27–August 17: Donate EOS to your favourite grants and influence the distribution of the matching pool.

After August 17: The Pomelo team analyzes results and distributes the matching pool to qualified grants that pass KYC.

Dan on Fractally and Legal DAOs

Fractally’s release date has yet to be set. The technology is still in development. Rumors are that a final product is in sight. The focus seems to be on delivering the best possible long term solution. Dan Larmier has been active in presenting issues that impact both fractally and blockchain as a whole. In fact, the subject matters that Dan writes about have far reaching implications for human life as a whole. Last week he dug into the need for fractal democracy. The previous week previewed the fractally database. Persistent discussions in the crypto space often relate to regulation. This week Dan expanded on some ideas he touches upon in weekly fractally meetings, that of the legal stand of a DAO. Fractally is unique in the crypto space. It’s being developed with both the latest technical ideas and regulatory concerns in mind.

Mandel to Fix Lost Transactions

Cryptocurrencies can be intimidating for new users. Non-technical individuals often wonder about lost keys and transactions. Traditional banking relies strongly on relationships to resolve matters. Blockchain is supposed to be better than these types of guesses. The new EOSIO (Mandel 3.1) tackles lost transactions and account recovery. Most blockchains avoid such topics until a rollback becomes the only viable option. Mandel will bring “powerful new tools” for optimizing the user experience, as well as solve issues related to subjective billing and lost transactions. Account recovery was touched upon from time to time earlier this year. Essentially, users may soon have the ability to authorize family and friends (or a combination of protocols) to reinstate their account. The only option currently available is to submit a request at the BP level, a rather daunting, if not futile, endeavor.

Token 2049 Approaches with the Spotlight on TrustEVM

Mandel isn’t just the third generation of the EOS mainnet. It’s the first time the community has had true input into development. For years the mainnet community voiced, even demanded, greater development. Oftentimes these cries went unheard. Not so ever since Mandel arrived. Development on EOS proceeds beyond most wildest dreams. All the effort and energy comes to an apex this December as Mandel sets to go live. Token 2049 happens the same month. A mostly covert dev team leaks tidbits of their event agenda from time to time. Not surprising that TrustEVM (as well as Recover+) are already fueling September rumors.

EdenOS Governance

The week prior to an Eden on EOS election has typically been quiet. Given the issue with the election smart contract, preparations for the third election feels more like the first one. And then there’s the recently declared independence and request for the blockchain keys. Keep a mindful ear, especially if you’re planning on participating. Regularly scheduled weekly news and events include:

• 12th, and (fingers crossed) final, meeting of the second term CDs

• Fireside Chat Q&A

• Mandel meeting #21

• Coalition+ working group progress update

• Top 5 EOSIO Moments of the Week

• Daily news by EOS Vision

• EOS Support news and trivia giveaway

Fractally Consensus

Fractally differs from EdenOS in its design for faster consensus via small groups. This week saw a test version of the new UI. As promised, the in-development video technology is a decentralized solution. A few advantages were touched upon, like remaining an independent participant even if one’s connection goes down. The new UI wasn’t used during this Saturday’s meeting. Instead a clip of a breakout group showed how much easier and faster consensus meetings can be. Saturday’s meeting had several breakout rooms. Hope you join the discussion of an amazing new way to network.

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Daniel Larimer on Fractal Democracy

Dan asked the question:

… If public goods generally require government subsidies how will the market  profitably produce real decentralization ? …

It coincides with his article, What is Fractal Democracy? Voting was paid special attention. Here’s he differentiates between traditional voting processes and what occurs in a fractal:

Typical voting processes have a pre-defined ballot which limits the choice of the people. Using fractal voting there is no need for a pre-defined ballot and all members of a fractal democracy have equal opportunity to be heard.

A government for and by the people was the product of soldiers, warriors and survivalists who initially sought representation. The idea that everyone in the world would have at their fingertips a supercomputer (by 1969 standards) to allow for a fully distributed voting process was unthinkable. In fractally, the base goal is to institute meaningful voting. After all, why cast a vote if one’s presence at a Party’s party will better further one’s political agenda.

Yves and a bit from the ENF

It’s hard to separate Yves from the ENF. This week, Big Beard Samurai seems to be on fire. He commented about:

• ZEOS whitepaper

• Gaming and crypto

• Funding options

• ENF COO Ted Cahall

• Scalability+ Blue Paper

• Recover+ program

• Horizon bridge hack

There’s more from BBS on their twitter. The ENF also had something to chime in on the Yield+ portal preview (actually, quite a big deal is the Yield+ release) and the impact Object Computing has had on EOS development.

EOS Support Giveaways, Meetups and More

Every week EOS Support delivers for the community. The team and its agents are a community asset in more ways than one. Giveaways have been held on Thursdays:

Win up to 50 $EOS and learn all about EOS

Meetups are gaining momentum. Check out the "Get EOS Blockchain Technology" meetup. In that spirit, MyvoteEOS went on a journey to promote EOS. What a way to reach out! EOS Support is a dedicated community with EOS experts. It’s also a network serving to uplift the community. Whether you're looking for onboarding for yourself or a friend, or more complex applications, EOS Support is the place to start your journey. Take a look at its step-by-step guides like how to create a multisig. 

Faster Finality

EOS is fast. It’s lightning in a bottle compared to most other blockchains. So what’s the need to get faster? It’s more about finality than base speed. If EOS can finalize transactions quicker, it enables developers to architect longer stung applications. With EOS EVM on the horizon, faster finality will go a long way in supporting new applications. Faster Finality also serves to make EOS more attractive to the Ethereum community of developers and greater ecosystem. This is important considering the negative press EOS has fielded over the past few years.

Eden Bylaws Amendment

Second term Chief Delegates have set their eyes on defining what it means to be Eden. In recent weeks, that took the form of declaring independence. Prior to that, at the beginning of their term, the group sought to pass bylaws. These bylaws were written by first term Chief Delegates. The founding group could not define Eden because they had a lot on their plate- like collecting and allocating the first funding distribution. Second term CDs have looked at and refocused attention on how best to move Eden forward. Thus, we have this week’s amended bylaws proposal for 3rd term CDs to consider. Among the highlighted topics in the video is for consistency. More specifically, a call for future CDs to not act contrary to existing bylaws. Members can find more information through the recaps channel.

Coalition+ Report and Imminent Brand Reveal

It’s been nice having the Coalition+ team keeping the community informed. Coalition+ is one of the fastest growing working groups. Hope for a prosperous future also comes in how this working group spans blockchains. Now with a bit of background, the imminent brand reveal makes more sense. Coalition+ has its sights on the sky. Yes, it’s a working group, but it’s one that’s running. Few continue to run past their young, athletic days (or ICO development phase). For those that do, some get to soar. Coalition+ has always had the runner's eye. 

Around Eden on EOS

The 11th meeting of second term CDs was discussed above. Voting for the third term happens on July 9. Get ready for the next phase in Eden’s development. BPs, funding, and scope are all hot topics. In other mainnet news, team Mandel met for the 20th time, Fireside Chat, Top 5 EOSIO Moments of the Week, and daily news by EOS Vision. Also previously mentioned, the EOS Support team hosts weekly trivia.

Fractally Consensus

Sorry, I missed this past week’s Saturday meeting. Getting info second hand. Good thing for the recaps channel. What is fractally? It’s a way to achieve fair quick consensus. Fractally can support governance across platforms, industries and sectors. Join the discussion.

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Mandel 3.1 Release Candidate #1

It’s been a long time coming, but Mandel is finally here. Baring testing and BPs finding consensus, Mandel 3.1 expects to go live this September. The ENF released a product (Mandel 3.1 Release Candidate #1) for testing on the 4th anniversary of EOS. Anong the features the ENF listed as part of the release candidate are:

… protocol upgrades enabling contracts to get the current block number and to accelerate various cryptographic computation…

In anticipation of the activity that the Trust Network expects to bring, the ENF seeks to hire new talent. 

Happy Birthday EOS

June 14th marks the anniversary of EOS’ first block producers. The blockchain itself was published and actively tested earlier in 2018. However, active block producers means P2P transactions and an open mainnet network. EOS Authority wished the community a:

Happy birthday EOS! 🎉

The veteran team maintains maybe the best known block explorer. Leave it to them to acknowledge the importance of this anniversary:

On June 14th 2018… the $EOS Mainnet was activated. We also produced our first blocks. Original BPs list …

The World Has Another Eden

If you’ve been following Eden on EOS then you know how crucial it is for a blockchain to secure reasonable governance. Eden has shown both promise and growing pains. While Eden on EOS Chief Delegates seek to acquire the keys of the mainnet, another community grows in its shadow. Brighter by the day, Eden China recently held the second independent trial election using Eden technology. Playing a key role is Gracie Lau, a current BP for Eden on EOS.

Yves and ENF

It was a busy week all around. Here’s a few more highlights from the ENF and its Founder and CEO Yves La Rose. The ENF is looking to hire new talent. So is Nathan James. The Yield+ liquidity incentives program continues to gain momentum. Yves discussed carbon markets, the importance of revitalizing the ecosystem, the challenges of the job, and the next wave of DeFi. Both Yves and Blockchain Zack discussed the Trust Network this week. Also be aware of the community discussion around the EOS EVM on Twitter spaces

Recover+

Lost account? No problem. OK, maybe not as easy as a phone call. Afterall, this is blockchain. Still, what the Recover+ group is working toward is amazing. Imagine having a way, one that you’re comfortable with, to both maintain control over your digital assets while recovering a lost account. The recently released Recover+ Blue Paper goes into what’s possible. Account recovery has been a hot topic in recent months. A variety of methods have been explore, including securing recovery with family and friends. Here’ what Yves La Rose had to say:

…We researched the best solutions to recover hacked funds and ensure #EOS users are protected. DeFi 3.0 will have an insurance layer and it'll be built on $EOS…

Pomelo Season 3 NFTs

Another season of Pomelo approaches. How do we know? A new set of NFTs are coming. Check out the teams’s Medium post to learn more. 

Eden CDs Declare Independence

This past week may prove to be a turning point for Eden on EOS. Reigning Chief Delegates posted a declaration of independence. It’s not an empty action. The objective is to take ownership of the mainnet’s keys. Daniel Larimer commented on the implications of the Chief Delegates’ declaration of independence. He cited legal concerns. In normally scheduled mainnet news, there was the 10th meeting of this terms CDs, team Mandel meeting #19, Top 5 EOSIO Moments of the Week, daily news by EOS Vision, and as always, the weekly Fireside Chat. You may also wish to catch the brief discussion and giveaways being hosted by the EOS Support team. 

Fractally Consensus

Dan doesn’t publish every week, but when he does, the ground beneath seems to shake. Commenting on the CDs declaration was just one of the impacts his writing had in recent days. Maybe the most powerful, and certainly the most technical was his post on the performance capabilities of the coming fractally database. Excitement continues to grow. Each passing Saturday whitepaper discussion feels more energetic. Now that a second fractal has spawned, there’s even more proof in concept. It’s by no means trivial to have the capacity to achieve meaningful consensus in a short time. Find out more by joining the whitepaper discussion.

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Consensus 2022

Deemed the biggest festival in crypto, Consensus 2022 is open to mainstream companies like American Express. The premier card company added its first crypto-linked product. The event certainly had its moments. To say the CBDC topic was a heated one would be an understatement. Coindesk covered the controversy: 

You know it’s going to be a fiery conversation when one of the panelists says “F**k the Fed” in his opening statement.

Maybe the topic is a bit dicey for the credit card companies. That didn’t stop financial innovator Circle from voicing its thoughts:

 Dante Disparte, head of policy for stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial, called central bank digital currencies (CBDC) a “preposterous idea.”

Brandon Lovejoy is the ENF’s Communications Manager. He represented EOS at Consensus 2022 and recently published a continuation of the discussion Why Block One leaving EOS was the best thing for EOSIO. Who do you think would better help further mainnet development in representing EOS at Consensus 2022, B1 or the ENF?

Pomelo Update: The Good, the Bad, and the Opportunities

Team Pomelo is among the most analytical projects on the EOS mainnet. Expect anything less coming out of EOS Nation? Veteran community members know of the team’s relentlessness. On that note, here’s this week’s Pomelo update, a look into the positives and negatives of Season 2. Aspects hoping to find more profound growth during Season 3:

• Additional donors

• Increased funding

• More grants

Things that need refinement:

• Trust bonus (particularly adoption)

• Donor participation

Here are a couple of highlights from the Pomelo Medium post:

Grant owners needed opportunities to gain more exposure and promote their grants, especially those who didn’t already have established communities.

Grant donors told us they would like more visibility into a grant’s progress on commitments from the previous season, along with a way to validate the updates are accurate.

Yves La Rose: Executive Director/Founder of the ENF and Blockchain All Star

While Brandon is at the festival in Texas, Yves spreads the word via Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) Eventbright. This will be the 11th interview of a Blockchain All Star. Learn more about Yves and how his passion for blockchain grew over the years. Be sure to join the event on June 14th at 9pm CST. Registration is free. 

EOS and the Future of Defi with Blockchain Zack

Brandon and Yves are not the only ones to watch out for this week. Zack discussed how:

…synergy between Yield+ and Recover+ will drive #TVL on $EOS …

Yield+ will reward defi applications that meet specific requirements. It may very well change the status quo of how EOS defi applications develop. Recover+ brings an added level of assurance, especially for those new to blockchain who may lose access to their assets. Zack believes that the new paradigm may: 

…inspire everyone in #DeFi…

Boid Charity Auction Supports Ukraine Effort

About a day ago, it was made public that the Ukraine military is running out of ammunition. External funding could help solve this problem. Ukraine continues to put up a good fight against a once perceived superior, even insurmountable, invader. It’d be a shame for Ukraine to lose its homeland to empty barrels. Food is also an issue. Enter team Boid. This week saw the Ukraine Boid Avatar Charity Auction. Avatars will be limited to 10. One will be auction per day and:

…All funds raised go to Ukraine support…

TrustEVM

If history is any indication, when a blockchain connects to Ethereum, there’s a run on price and assets like NFTs and defi. EOS EVM, dubbed the Trust Network, has already begun testing. The development and support team are actively raising awareness. A Medium post and a part of this week’s Fireside Chat offer basic information and deeper insight.

Explosive Development

What good would be connecting to a new blockchain without advancing the EOS mainnet? Couldn’t such a lack of planned innovation ultimately extract value from both chains? The ENF’s leadership as the developer of core mainnet technology didn’t start with an EVM. Rather, the foundation introduced it following the formation of key working groups and blue papers. On that note, the ENF continues to maintain an open process:

CD Meetings Back on Schedule

If you read last week’s EOSweekly, then you’re aware that the weekly Chief Delegate meeting was absent. Eden community is back to normal this week with two new publications on Odysee (CD meeting #9 and #8). The CDs also published the Eden Peace Treaty on Odysee.

EdenOnEOS Governance

The EOS public mainnet expects to one day be primarily governed by Eden. With Eden on EOS elections occurring every few months, the community needs a more rapid consensus mechanism. Enter team Fractally. This is the team that gave us Eden and of its same name, fractally consensus meetings. Nice to see a second fractally meeting specific for Eden take place this week. It serves to bring the ecosystem a bit closer together. Following up his star-like into last week, Nathan James asked the community:

Hey #blockchain #developers, what are your favorite tools for development?

As far as regular info mediums, the CD meetings (mentioned above) are back on track, Mandel meeting #18, Fireside Chat, Helios’ Top 5 #EOSIO Moments Of The Week, and for EOS daily news, check out EOS Vision.

Fractally Consensus

Another Saturday fractally meeting in the books. Seems like the community is finding its groove. Want proof? Check out this weeks addons (thanks to bytemaster7):

• test of first interim council

• fractally logo for community use

The fractally team seeks to protect development and copyrights while facilitating an open community. Fractally code has been committed for open-source. Until then, the community needs things like an interim process for the governing council. Find out more by joining the whitepaper discussion.

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The Hunt for Developers: Spotlight on Nathan James

Those who’ve been around a couple of years probably used Scatter. It was the first EOS wallet. Nathan James was behind Scatter’s development. With the success of the Anchor wallet and other development opportunities, Nathan moved on to develop his own EOSIO-based chain in Ultra. Good news for Mandel in that Nathan is back and working with the EOS Network Foundation. His first mission is to recruit new developers. Other initiatives beyond aiding the ENF’s own development goals include hackathons and developer events, a mentor program, and a variety of documentations, learning initiatives and demonstrations.

New Trust EVM Logo

The new reality of an EOS-ETH ecosystem quickly approaches. Already being tested by both core and dapp developers, EOS EVM (Trust Network) seems to be on schedule. Another sign is the new Trust EVM logo and branding. Read about the logo design strategies, how it’s expected to be used and more at the Trust Network’s Medium blog. Explore the expected benefits of:

• scaling

• low gas fees

• high throughput 

• security

• tools and more

Also note that one of the first community testnet applications of EVM token proved successful for me on June 5. The app tested: TrustSwap.

ENF News

Every week the ENF dominates EOS news; every week the ENF delivers something new. The EOS mainnet is in transition and the ENF is leading the way. So it’s no wonder that the community allows it such leeway. It has never demonstrated the complacency of Block.One, nor has it shown signs of slowing down. Besides having a direct hand or influence in other topics presented this week, the ENF released its bi-weekly report for the EOSIO Coalition+. Included in the report was the planned funding of 22 top priorities. The long term-plan and roadmap includes development goals and support. If you’ve stayed current then you’re aware that a mainnet consensus upgrade is scheduled for September. Also scheduled for the end of the same month is Token 2049 in Singapore. The event expects to attract 3,000 members of the crypto community. Also note that the ENF, Coalition+ and Greymass are teaming up specifically to advance Wallet SDKs. Among the objectives are better user experiences and the development environment.

EOS Support Scam Warning

EOS Support provides a variety of services. Onboarding new users is merely one. The team remains diligent about protecting the community and identifying new scams. A new social media scam was found this week. EOS Support described it as an EOS account verification scam on its site. Recommended practices would at least:

• Never follow any instructions you get via private messages on social media.

• Never enter your private key on social media or suspicious websites.

• If you are not 100% sure, you can always ask EOSsupport.io before claiming anything!

You can find a list of known scams here.

Defibox

Team Defibox took time out this week to talk about stable coins and security. Indeed both should be primary concerns of any defi platform. EOS token holders have come to expect the best from Defibox. Speaking about security the team said it to be its top priority. Defibox thanked a bug hunter for discovered a new threat. A reward was also deemed in order. In fact, a Defibox official added:

We reward experts who invest time and effort in improving the security of Defibox！

When discussing stable coins, Defibox expressed the desire for increased support. USN, USDT, and the Balance protocol were specifically singled out. Advancing liquidity is key for both Defibox and EOS (Yield+) alike.

Greymass Recruiting and the Roles of Anchor and Unicove

The ENF isn’t the only one who’s recruiting. So is Greymass and Team fractally for that matter. In it’s latest progress update (May) Greymass said:

…one of our primary goals this year is growing our small team and to help onboard new developers into the EOSIO ecosystem…

An ideal solution combines the right individuals alongside the building of new tools. Developers that Team Greymass are looking for should be: 

… interested in pushing the boundaries of these new technologies.

Included in the progress report was the new distinction between Anchor and Unicove:

…Anchor working towards being the EOSIO “authenticator” for any application and Unicove being the primary EOSIO “wallet” interface Greymass offers.

This week, Greymass also gave the community a heads up on some unexpected network behavior. A server failure saw users connected to North American relays being prompted to sign the last transaction performed. Greymass said that the request could safely be dismissed. 

‘Covert’ EOS Hackathon in Southern Italy

What is it about EOS Hackathons? Last week this newsletter reported on the ‘ENF’s pre-sign up and survey’ for EOSIO’s first hackathon without Block.one. All the while in Italy EOS took the spotlight at Blockchain Garden. Hope you’re not tired of hearing something along the lines of the following… ‘where most blockchains cater to miners, EOS’ high performance capabilities gravitates power toward developers’. Who values hackathons more, developers or miners/HODLers? It’d seem the former. Thanks to Bywire News for sharing the ItalyOnEOS (not really, just a pun) event. The hakathon exposed 200+ key people and influencers to what both blockchain and EOS have to offer the world.

EdenOnEOS Governance

Sorry readers… at the time of this week's publication, not found on either EdenOnEOS YT, Odyssey, twitter or telegram chats, was the seventh (2nd term) Chief Delegates meeting. Nor was there a newly posted MyvoteEOS BP interview. Like troopers, the Mandel team held its 17th meeting. And of course, the weekly Fireside Chat went on as scheduled. Not one to readily allow an info network to stagnate, I draw your attention to EOS Vision. The team delivers news daily, albeit in image format. Seemingly inspired by Pomelo, EOS Vision is proving as on topic as any info medium focused on the mainnet. If you’re looking for more, try Helios’ top 5 EOSIO Moments of the Week.

Fractally Consensus

Each week I try to include a bit of new info about fractally and how it can add value to Eden governance. Fractally is about more than achieving quicker consensus than Eden. There’s a whole set of tools to be developed as outlined by the white paper. This week seemed to host one of the more quieter Saturday standup meetings. However, if one considers the potential for a second fractal meeting (with token allocation) this Wednesday, then the week may prove special indeed. Find out more by joining the whitepaper discussion.

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The weeks are going on and on for the Bitcoin market. Bitcoin will now record its 9th weekly red candle. Last week we were already talking about an extremely rare situation for the 8th weekly red candle. How would you describe this 9th weekly red candle?

I leave it to you to propose your ideas in the comments.

Anyway, we can see that extreme fear is dominating the market now. This fear is linked to the uncertainty of the situation for the months to come. More inflation? Recession? Stagflation? Both? No one knows what lies ahead, which complicates the work of central bankers and therefore the vision of investors in the financial markets:

Thus, the fear that prevails in the Bitcoin market is also noticeable in all financial markets. Even gold is not taking off, which is surprising to many given the current uncertainty. It has to be said that gold is starting to tire. Why? Many are simply fed up with its manipulated market. Of course, gold remains an established reserve value for centuries, but individuals want something more relevant to their times.

That's where Bitcoin comes in. Digital gold on steroids, because it allows for so much more.

Bitcoin's current price does not change its fundamentals

So of course, all of this is not materializing on the price of Bitcoin which is around $29K as I write this. Retail investors are absent from all liquid markets and prefer to wait wisely. This can be seen in the very low trading volumes.

Yet, despite the fear that Terra's collapse has added to the market, the opportunity with Bitcoin is now. While a major financial crash could occur, Bitcoin will be your lifeline.

It's hard for some to see that in a market dominated by fear, and where Bitcoin's opponents are having a field day. Christine Lagarde has just assured once again that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value. Perhaps she feels obliged to repeat this constantly to convince herself ...

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft who considered the Internet to be “a passing fad” in the late 90s, also assures you that Bitcoin has no value. And therefore no future. Just hearing him talk about Bitcoin like that makes me even more bullish than before, I must say.

Between these naysayers who are taking advantage of the current uncertainty, some investors are taking the high road. When they're billion-dollar investors, that's something that speaks to you more than when I tell you that the opportunity with Bitcoin is now.

Bill Miller strengthens his position in BTC, as he sees Bitcoin as insurance against financial catastrophe

This is especially true of Bill Miller, a famous investor, and fund manager. The man built his fortune by founding the investment firm Miller Value Partners. I already told you about him at the beginning of 2022 when I said that the secret for this year would be to focus on the number of BTC you HODL, not the price of Bitcoin at the moment T:

In Bitcoin We Trust Newsletter

Focus on the Number of BTC You HODL, Not the Current Price of Bitcoin in Weak Money.

This issue of In Bitcoin We Trust Newsletter is for all subscribers. To get more insights on Bitcoin, you may be interested to upgrade to the premium package…

Read more

4 years ago · 1 like · Sylvain Saurel

Well, Bill Miller has more confidence than ever in Bitcoin, which he sees as the best possible hedge against the potential big financial crash ahead. What makes him so confident in Bitcoin is that it cannot be controlled by the powerful in the current system:

“When the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan, Western Union stopped sending remittances there or taking them from Afghanistan, but if you had Bitcoin, you were fine. Your Bitcoin is there. You can send it to anyone in the world if you have a phone.”

What is happening with the war in Ukraine also confirms this. Bitcoin is helping all those who cannot rely on the current monetary and financial system daily. There are more and more of them.

For Bill Miller, “Bitcoin is an insurance policy”, because “Bitcoin works without the intervention of central banks or governments”. The investor took the opportunity to make fun of Mike Novogratz, who had the logo of Luna, the cryptocurrency that recently crashed, tattooed on his arm: “maybe you should have had a Bitcoin on your arm, it would be a bit more durable than this one”.

Indeed, as far as durability is concerned, it's better to have the Bitcoin logo tattooed on your arm than a Sh*tcoin. Anyway, everyone does what they want with their body. It'll be a souvenir for Mike Novogratz.

Putting his money where his mouth is, Bill Miller invested half of his funds in Bitcoin:

“This time I went back to buying it at $30,000, when it had dropped from $69,000. The idea was this: there are a lot more people using it, there's a lot of money coming in from the venture capital world. Bitcoin can provide insurance against financial catastrophe that no other asset can. And its value can increase ten or fifty times.”

Final Thoughts

Bill Miller is not the only billionaire investor who fundamentally believes in Bitcoin. There are more and more of them, and I already told you about them at the very beginning of 2022 here:

In Bitcoin We Trust Newsletter

Still Thinking Bitcoin Is a Madoff-Style Ponzi Scheme? Listen to the World’s Best Hedge Fund Managers Investing in Bitcoin

This issue of In Bitcoin We Trust Newsletter is for all subscribers. To get more insights on Bitcoin, you may be interested to upgrade to the premium package…

Read more

4 years ago · 2 likes · Sylvain Saurel

What I want you to understand here is that this is not the time to panic. Uncertainty obstructs the vision of most market participants, but you have to make the effort to look past it. If you do, then you will understand why Bill Miller is so Bullish on Bitcoin.

You will do the same as I and all other Bitcoiners: you will be patient in continuing to learn about Bitcoin during this moment of consolidation with the price of Bitcoin seemingly stuck below $30K. This is reminiscent of what we experienced in the summer of 2020 when the price of Bitcoin seemed to be stuck between $9k and $10K. The rest is history.

So be patient.

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Yield+ Blue Paper (In Full)

The Yield+ Blue Paper is finally here. Maybe you’re wondering about new topics that weren’t outlined in last week's ENF preview post. When overviewing the program, the ENF tweeted:

Yield+ proposes a custom Liquidity Rewards Program for the #EOS Network. 🚀

Its goal is to adapt and improve upon existing (DeFi related) programs…, bring more activity on-chain, and increase earning opportunities for users.

Yield+ adopts successful strategies for liquidity rewards for the EOS mainnet. As one might expect, EOS’ high performance design allows for unparalleled advantages. Read tge blue paper to dig deeper into last week’s topics:

• TVL as the primary metric for qualifying dapp projects

• advanced rewards

• expanded asset support

The blue paper also discusses pertinent issues like DeFi risks and attacks. There’s a plethora of visual statistics illustrating liquidity incentives. Clear details about the rewards program precedes a discussion about data modeling and risk analysis. An oracle will measure the Total Value Locked (TVL); initial service will incur a fiat structured cost. The final two sections discuss the treasury and deliverables.

Defibox Balances the Scales

Visit Defibox and find a relatively complex array of financial tools. Community sentiment was overwhelming upon launch. EOS low transaction fees are well known. Maybe this is why Defi on EOS excites so many. With Balance officially launched by Defibox, a low slippage, price fluctuation, and impermanent loss solution enters the ecosystem. EOS Nation is also involved in the open source project that was audited by several companies. Current support exists for USDT and USN stable coins as well as user provided liquidity. Functionality as described by the Defibox team:

Balance uses a unique constant product + constant sum function model. With a constant sum model near the price equilibrium point, the liquidity is concentrated near this point and the liquidity depth of stable coins is guaranteed. Therefore, stablecoin transactions on the Balance protocol can reduce users’ slippage losses.

New EOS Hackathon

If you’ve been around EOS long enough then you know the value and excitement surrounding hackathons. Impact projects got started here. Winners are held in high regard. All that was before the new EOSIO era, when B1 was Block.one and a corporate agenda essentially dictated new development. Imagine what a more decentralized and open source focused EOS will attract. Chris Barnes is part of the Helios team. He was the first (non-official) Eden Satoshi (Head Chief Delegate). Chis tweeted the ENF’s pre-sign up and survey for what may prove to be the first EOSIO Hackathon deemed worthy of an unleashed EOS public mainnet.

Coalition+ Reports Some Lift

The Coalition+ team seems set on delivering weekly report. No doubt working groups are better for it. Doubt a dedicated section will live here (never know). Eden and Fractally neighborhoods expect to grow alongside the ecosystem. The ENF as a public advocate and developer may outlive the Coalition’s purpose. Nevertheless, the objectives of working groups need a gathering point. Coalition reports can provide far reaching alignment for all contributing developers as well as onlooking projects. So why the section this week? Check out the ENF’s tweets (1, 2, 3) about:

• Set priorities

• Request for proposals for wallet SDKs and finality

• $2M quarterly dev fund 

• EOSIO rebrand

Pomelo Stats are Meaningful

Team Pomelo dishes out funding to the broader community. Many well deserved projects find relief here. Still, there’s an air of heightened excitement of receiving funds that seems to overshadow the process of advancing public goods like EOS Costa Rica’s EOSIO Dashboard. Funding by the ENF and Helios teams don’t attract the same attention and neither seems as strictly dedicated to public goods. Maybe this is why the EOS mainnet community enjoys Pomelo stats so much. Here are just a few to you’re encourage to visit the Pomelo blog:

• 100+ projects approved

• 1000+ donors

• 7000+ contributors

• $900,000+ match funds

Fractally: What’s Possible?

Finding links for fractallyNews aren’t as easy as for Eden. Heck, fractally probably won’t be called fractally. And rumors about a new chain appear true. So if you’re wondering about how to stay in the know about everything fractally, you’ll need to join the weekly standup meetings and engage in the AMA and discussion. As a regular attendee I can say that the community welcomes new members and their ideas. Contributions come in all forms. Networking finds fertile ground. All that without a dedicated platform or streamlined onboarding. Imagine the possibilities.

Around Eden, and the Mainnet Community

Second term Chief Delegate meeting #6 saw a vote to ratify Yves La Rose as ENF President (courtesy of Michael O’Sullivan). Brock Pierce mapped out an ideal system of governance. Seems like Eden’s role as a mainnet governing body has gained some momentum. This section is about Eden and the community it governs. It’s a place to find news like a curated list of resources. Last week’s Mandel (#15) discussion talked about a new developer environment released this week by ENF and team. Termed D.U.N.E., the new environment comes in light of community feedback and needing to replace a docker image for lost native Mac support. View Mandel meeting #16 for more details. The ENF posted about subjective billing and lost transactions. As always, the community got together for another Fireside Chat. MyvoteEOS BP interviews are heating up. 

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TOP HEADLINES

More Funding Coming to Eden?

Eden Chief Delegate meeting #5 may prove to be a memorable one. Its ultimate impact may lead to increased Eden’s funding. Chris Barnes listed the key issues. CDs look to request funding from the ENF. A new motion could increase the treasure draw rate by 3 fold. For more details, visit Bywire’s posting of meeting minutes. This wasn’t the only topic on the agenda. Other topics discussed included:

• individual CD updates

• a treasury report

• motion for Eden as a legal trust

• member services

Present at the meeting were Gracie Lau, Michael O'Sullivan, Chuck MacDonald, and Edgar Fernandez. Brock Pierce was not in attendance. That didn’t stop Helios (of which Brock is CEO) from supporting the initiative via tweet.

Yield+ Nearing Launch Cycle

There’s a lot of excitement around Yield+. Developers believe that incentivized liquidity is key to taking EOS (and DeFi for that matter) to the next level. For a deeper dive, view a recent Everything EOS video with Yves La Rose, Zack Gall, and Denis Carriere. Portal and smart contracts are already funded. This is in anticipation of leveraging the Trust Network. The broader developer community will also be able to hit the ground running. The ENF confirmed that the final format of the Yield+ Blue Paper is nearly ready. It’s release will coincide with Korean and Chinese translations. TrimBot pointed how a lot of recent EOS development is a long time coming:

…The @EosNFoundation is doing everything Block1 should have been doing for EOS, which is why you see lots of devs… returning to build on EOS.

Tapping B1 Locked Funds

Virtually anyone in EOS can speak volumes about the B1 locked token controversy. Well, at least any regular participant in daily chats. For that reason, and to avoid as much of my bias as possible, variously selected tweets will populate this entry. Starting with the ENF about the token unlocking schedule:

“...resolved to dismiss @B1 and cut …(67 million $EOS tokens) that B1 was scheduled to unlock over the following six years."

ENF on motivation:

“…mistakes that pushed the #EOS Network Foundation (#ENF) and the $EOS community to fight back and try to rebuild the blockchain."

Industry support:

"Many in the blockchain and #Web3 community wish the #ENF and @BigBeardSamurai good luck in their endeavors in trying to bring justice to the block producers and investors in $EOS..."

Crypto Daily:

…New Hope…

Trim Bot on a caring community:

Block1 didn’t care about EOS…but the community does. The community-led @EosNFoundation has helped revive EOS…

EOS Go excerpt:

..#EOS keeps building…

The Money Team GH concurs that EOS has a lot in the “pipeline” even beyond:

…governance & tech…

More eyes are on EOS. That’s clear. The above illustrates how EOS news continues to expand. Recent media coverage outside of localized EOS mediums comes by way of CoinPedia, Crypto Bulls Club (timeline), Crypto News Flash, ZCrypto, Crypto Daily, and Coin Checkup. That’s in addition to The Money Team’s and other twitter threads.

It’s Pomelo Reporting Day!

Season 2 of Pomelo has been analyzed and grants appropriately adjusted. Many in the community expressed their excitement over the new stats. Will Pomelo charts become a celebrated thing? They are indeed important in that the team determines critical metrics to address the following:

• Quid pro quo

• Sybil attacks

• Collusion

Any project found guilty of the above was either disqualified or had their matching pool reduced. The most funding lost amounted to over $100,000. The top winner, EOS Web Wallet Plugin, gaining over $13,000. No wonder why there was so much excitement on Pomelo reporting day! View the full report entitled Pomelo Season 2 Analysis: Matching Pool Distribution on the team’s Medium blog.

Mandel Upgrade Set for September 23

EOS is not like other blockchains. The mainnet community knows this. New users quickly come to understand the same through blazing speed and easy-to-use apps. Such advantages are possible because of EOS’ blockchain innovations. Listen to what Yves La Rose said about the unique way EOS upgrades. In describing how a parameter changes on the mainnet, Yves said the following:

EOS essentially forks continuously… gone through multiple forks

These are considered soft forks. Unlike most other blockchain networks, EOS affords BPs ample time to test and come to consensus on new parameter changes. Confusion lies in misconceptions about expected new token releases. This is often associated with large scale changes in early generation blockchain tech like PoW. He goes on to say:

…Hard fork means something very specific to 99% of blockchain users and it is not the case in EOS

Basically, if the top 21 BPs reach consenus and are capable of implementing the new changes, the system upgrades. The consensus upgrade is scheduled for September 23. The YT video (above) begins at Yves comments about these upgrade differences.

Around fractally, Eden, and the Mainnet Community

Can fractally be incorporated into the Eden decision making process? Some within the community believe so. There’s also been talk of using a fractallyEden standard for the next election. Additionally, a small group is trying to incorporate fractally into informal Eden meetings. Meetings every other week or so have been suggested. Hope by now it’s understood that fractally and Eden are complementary technologies- one focused on governance and the other on consensus. If you’re looking to make a difference or want the inside scope, join a fractally meeting and experience the potential of blockchain consensus. As for what’s going on in Eden besides the motion to increase funding (CD meetign #5- see first entry above), check out this week’s Fireside Chat and Mandel meeting #15 (also discussed above).

Meta Collect Community

Looking for a fun way to get involved with the EOS community and sister chains? Join Meta Collect Discord for info about Mongs, Crunks, COLLECT tokens, and of course, our beloved Finney. End of week saw quite a lot of momentum for several of Meta Collect’s projects, including the near finished brick and mortar art studio. Discord is a great place to get alerts about live shows and breakout twitter spaces. You can also just come to chill or learn about engagement rewards. Never know when there’ll be a popup giveaway event. And then there’s the ongoing poker tournament.

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A week after the Terra ecosystem explosion that plunged the market into total panic for several hours, Do Kwon, the founder of Terra, presented a proposal to relaunch the project on Monday, May 16, 2022. This was done on the Terra Agora platform, but also in the form of a multi-part tweet:

This proposal includes the central elements already put forward on the night of May 13 to 14, 2022 by Do Kwon. On Agora, it is specified that the proposal “Terra Ecosystem Revival Plan 2” will be officially submitted to the vote on May 18, 2022.

In broad terms, the idea is similar to the one he presented recently: the Terra ecosystem is rich in valuable projects, and talented developers and it has a strong community, which makes, according to Do Kwon, so many reasons to save the Blockchain structure even without the UST. “Terra is more than $UST” as Do Kwon wants you to believe.

The important points of the Terra Blockchain fork proposed by Do Kwon are:

• Fork from the current Terra Blockchain, which will now be called “Terra Classic” (LUNC), to the new Blockchain, which will retain the Terra name and the LUNA token.

• The new blockchain will be developed WITHOUT the UST algorithmic stablecoin.

• The new LUNA will be distributed as an airdrop between people who own or have owned LUNA, in staking or not.

• A large portion of these tokens will be distributed to developers in the ecosystem in order to provide leeway and convince them to stay for the long term.

• Terraform Labs' parent company Terra's wallet will not be included in the airdrop so that the new Blockchain is completely self-sufficient.

• The staking reward rate of this new inflationary token will be 7%.

Not surprisingly, Do Kwon opted for a hard fork of the Terra blockchain, which would result in splitting the blockchain into two, the old one, Terra Classic, and the new one called Terra.

Do Kwon wants to give priority to maintaining the foundations

Regarding developers, they will benefit from an “emergency allocation” consisting of 1% of the distributed tokens as soon as the new Blockchain is set up so that they can continue to maintain the ecosystem and its applications in complete security. 4% of the total tokens will also be distributed over 4 years to developers in order to reward them, under certain undefined rules to be established by the community via a governance system.

Among the essential applications mentioned in Do Kwon's proposal, we find the most known of the ecosystem, such as the platform dedicated to Terra developers, Setten. We also find the Astroport, a decentralized finance platform (DeFi) widely acclaimed by the community, the Terra Station wallet, the StarTerra launchpad, the Axelar and Wormhole bridges, Nexus Protocol and others.

Technical details and distribution of tokens

One billion LUNA tokens will be distributed in the following way, in addition to the support provided to developers:

• 25% - Community pool, controlled by staked governance.

• 1% - Essential Developers emergency allocation. No lockup.

• 4% - Essential developers (1-year cliff, 4 years vesting thereafter, granted after launch traction)

• 35% - All bonded / unbonded Luna, minus TFL at “Pre-attack” snapshot

  • For wallets with < 1M Luna: 1-year cliff, 2 years vesting thereafter

  • For wallets with > 1M Luna: 1-year cliff, 4 years vesting thereafter

• 10% - Luna holders (staking derivatives included) at the “Launch” snapshot - 10% unlocked at genesis, 90% vested over 2 years thereafter

• 25% - UST holders at the “Launch” snapshot - 10% unlocked at genesis, rest vested over 2 years thereafter

The snapshot “Pre-attack” was taken on May 7th, 2022 at 23:00:04 (UTC+8). The “Launch” snapshot will be taken on May 27, 2022, at 3:59:51 (UTC+8). According to Do Kwon, Terraform Labs will be in charge of the preparation of the future infrastructure, its wallet, and the tools related to the development of the new ecosystem. The network validators will be responsible for coordinating the launch of the fork following the relative snapshot.

Timeline

• 05/17 - Announcement out

• 05/18 - Governance proposal out

• 05/21 - Terra Core release is cut, network launch instructions made available for validators

• 05/25 - Essential app developer registration completed

• 05/27 - Genesis file created from final launch snapshot

• 5/27 ~ Network launch

Note that the advanced dates are in UTC+8 (Asia Time).

Mainly negative reactions

Although the proposal has just been made and we can expect more information in the coming days, the reactions are mostly negative for the moment, with part of the community asking for a burn of the surplus LUNA and not a new Blockchain.

An idea recently supported by Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, who recently stated that the Terra fork would lead nowhere since it “would not create any new value”, and that the most appropriate solution would be to use Terra's BTC reserve with an appropriate LUNA burn to straighten out the UST peg.

The problem is that the reserves of the Luna foundation have already been thrown out the window last week in a vain attempt to repackage the UST:

More than 80K BTC were thus wasted in a totally unnecessary way in the middle of the turmoil. Such reserves could have been used in a more intelligent way probably. At the time of writing, LUNA is trading at $0.00018 and UST at a sad price of $0.08.

Feel free to use the comments to tell me what you think of this proposal by Do Kwon, and more importantly, if you think Terra can still escape extinction.

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Rebranding EOS: Historical Significance and Look Forward

The EOS mainnet community patiently awaits the next upgrade of EOSIO in Mandel. Note that the name Mandel is a placeholder for the rebranded version of EOSIO.  The ENF retweeted $4 Billion DAO’s Medium post. The story looks back at the early success of the mainnet, the issues that led to its fall out of the top five cryptocurrencies by market cap, and its return to form under the leadership of the ENF. Three key issues identified by $4 Billion DAO pertain to:

• DeFi

• GameFi

• in-fighting

While EOS took a relatively lax approach to DeFi and virtually missed out on GameFi, several of the top blockchains aggressively pursued both. In-fighting among prominent mainnet developers made success difficult for those who wished to produce in both arenas. Now, under the ENF’s leadership, much needed infrastructure begins to take shape. This is the main reason why EOS is garnering attention from top media outlets like Forbes.

Yves, Pierce Talk EOS Wired on B1

So you already heard, EOS is rebranding from years under B1. Wired looked at both sides, that of Block.one (now rebranded as B1) and those directly developing the EOS mainnet. Pierce might not initially seem like he belongs in the dev chat, but he’s no stranger to getting new crypto tech off the ground. In fact, Wired states:

…Pierce suggested rescuing EOS through the launch of an investment firm called Helios, which would be endowed with the newly acquired tokens. “I'm no longer a [Block.one] shareholder, which means I don't have any limitations,” Pierce told WIRED in November. “I'm free to do whatever I think is necessary for the ecosystem at this point. “

Yves La Rose’s perspective on the launch of Bullish:

…“They are essentially getting away with $9 billion,” he says. “And they did it in a legal way.”

As for the B1 side, their strongest argument seems to be centered around legal challenges. Several B1 developers have left to help make EOS the best it can be.

EOS Support CMC Registering and Survey

EOS Support continues its pursuit of making EOS more accessible. Its latest endeavor is a proposal to manage traffic from Coin Market Cap. The team would register contact@eossupport.io on the CMC website at coinmarketcap.com/currencies/eos/. This would help align the old EOS dynamic with core development done exclusively by the community. EOS support is also conducting a survey of the platform and its developers. Add these two initiatives to ongoing services like coordinating the Mandel upgrade, and EOS Support demonstrates a knack for onboarding.

EOS Rate 2.0

Voting for block producers would have little meaning for average users without tools like those provided by EOS Rate. Provided by EOS Costa Rica, EOS Rate 2.0 is open source and made to connect all members of the mainnect community more closely to their active BPs. Token holders have access to a rating system that aids in discerning among the most valude BPs. The tool is also a voting portal. Here are some of the new changes in EOS Rate 2.0:

• Likes (and dislikes)

• User comments

• general code refactoring

• Improved home page

Here’s a direct link to the EOS Rate homepage; click “start rating” to begin.

Ecosystem News Growth

One of the positives that goes virtually unnoticed since the ENF took over for B1 is EOS news. EOS Nation’s Hot Sauce is regular again. Everything EOS’ weekly report is back under the directive of the ENF. And then there’s new projects like EOS Vision’s monthly report and daily newsletters. EOS Vision is what inspired this section. As always, there’s quick access to Hot Sauce and Everything EOS in COMMUNITY CHATTER (below). EOS Vision’s website is being worked on. A wonderful story of a team working out of Venezuela and the challenges faced in a tough economic climate. Other EOS news outlets include a partnership with Helios and team Helios itself (EOSIO Moments [week and Q1]).

EOSIO+ Coalition Report

Yep, the EOSIO+ Coalition already delivered a report. Here’s what the team of team’s has been doing:

• Over 20 items up for Coalition funding and more RFPs (Request for Proposal) sought

• Scalabitly+

• Rebranding the new EOSIO (Mandel)

The Coalition has an annual budget of $8 million. It wants to attract more developers and teams to join its efforts. Brought to life in the environment of EOS working groups, the Coalition now plans one of its own in Scalability+. Expect a Blue Paper detailing how to take EOS to the masses. Last, but certainly not least, is Mandel. EOSIO needed a rebrand so as to distinguish its capabilities from those imposed by B1. Mandel marks the beginning of the community's thought process. The new EOSIO will not likely be called Mandel, so the end of Mandel will usher in a new dawn in EOSIO. By the way, has the Coalition considered starting its own fractal?

Around the fractallyEden Ecosystem

The difference between fractally and Eden is one of consensus vs governance. Eden is the governance mechanism for the EOS mainnet. For achieving efficient consensus, fractally is where it's at, or where it will be at once the tech is operational. There’s a lot going on in fractally, but with tech in-development, you’re encouraged to join the whitepaper discussion (and earn some RESPECT while you’re at it). For members looking for something fractally faster, try Brainstorming Sessions (#8). On EOS, check out Mandel meeting #14, the recent Fireside Chat, and Chief Delegate meeting (#5). This past week, Bywire also introduced Eden Town Halls. Note that Bywire’s Michael O’Sullivan was recently interviewed by Nova Crypto.

Meta Collect Community

Looking for a fun way to get involved with the EOS community and sister chains? JoinMeta Collect Discord for info about Mongs, Crunks, COLLECT tokens, and of course, our beloved Finney. Discord is a great place to get alerts about live shows and breakout twitter spaces. You can also just come to chill or learn about engagement rewards. Never know when there’ll be a popup giveaway event. And then there’s the ongoing poker tournament.

COMMUNITY CHATTER

EOSweekly is a roundup of recent news within the ecosystem. Unique needs and services continue to emerge as the advantages of blockchain technology are realized. Easy access to information becomes increasingly important for these expansive networks.

Comment & Earn!

Share your thoughts and opinions on the topics covered within this blog in the comments below for your chance to win yourself an NFT. Click here for more information on our engagement rewards.

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From working groups to working together, the ecosystem’s new motto: “action, action, we have action”. EOS Shareity delivers its report while ENF goes sight seeing for developers. Eden being down by law nicely compliments Yield+ liquid refreshments and EVM token capital demand. On the horizon, Mandel and fractally gain momentum.

TOP HEADLINES

EOS Shareity Monthly Report

Even those new to the EOS community cannot miss an overwhelming drive to do good. Traditional financial incentives are as alive on EOS as anywhere else. That’s what makes charitable contributions all the more impressive. EOS makes it easy to give. Common obstacles like high fees and slow transactions don’t exist here. This means streamlined value transference with immediate global impact. All this comes to light in EOS Shareity’s monthly report. Recent impact includes:

• Food And Medicine (Santa Lucia Church)

• Medicine and Medical Supplies 

• Help2Ukraine Donations

Over 800 EOS was received by 36 individuals, with life altering effects sure to be far greater. The team also launched new NFTs and Shareity Coin. Qualifying for a proof of donation NFT starts at 2 EOS. Or maybe you wish to purchase a Help2Ukraine NFT. Visit the blog post for more details. Thanks to EOS Vision for bringing this project to light.

Eden Chief Delegates Approve Bylaws

If you’ve been following the progress made by Chief Delegates, then you’re aware of the emphasis placed on bylaws. Technical implementation of bylaws was among the key issues during the CDs 4th meeting. Edenia was suggested for the tech role during the 3rd meeting. Bylaws were officially ratified during the 4th meeting. This sets the next election for July 9th. Ratification of the technical lead was hoped to take place alongside the bylaws. This didn’t officially happen.  However, the CDs are confident that their choice for the tech team will satisfactorily implement the bylaws. One of the earliest mentions of the bylaws was on March 26 by Chris Barnes. Here’s a direct link. Also note that Eden discord is now in the hands of the CDs allowing for more elaborate community engagement.

ENF Developer Spotlight Series

It’s good to see attention being given to developers. Non-developer contributions need attention too. It can be argued that EOS token holders dominated mainnet decisions to the point of negative impact. Maybe if contributions were given more attention, B1 would have prioritized core mainnet development. Developers cannot do it all. They need support, creativity, and diversified ideas. However, start with developers and all the pieces can be tied together. Developers and contributors are also less likely to prematurely leave than token holders. The first spotlight is on ENF Director of Engineering Areg Hayrapetian:

"With blockchain, I feel like the critical time for the history of that technology is the present."

Read the full interview by Brandon Lovejoy. Here’s Brandon on why the new series:

It was a pleasure to interview @AregHayrapetian, a legendary developer and deep thinker, for the debut of my new series with the @EosNFoundation "Architects of Consensus", highlighting the unseen figures who make the magic of #EOS, #EOSIO, and blockchain in general possible!

Understanding Yield+ Rewards

Yield+ seems to be among the more popular working groups. Its reward mechanism was discussed midway through a recent Fireside Chat. Denis Carriere went into some of the details. Here’s part of an ENF selected quote:

…it's actual liquidity in the #EOS ecosystem doing DeFi work." @DenisCarriere on Yield+

The primary objective is to promote active defi protocols. This means it's entirely liquidity driven. There are no rewards for voting. Liquidity determines activity. EOS and Tether will be initiall supported. Other tokens expect to be added in the near future. Examples of  projects that qualify now include:

• Pizza

• Defibox lending

• Swap pools

Check Defi Llama for a list of other eligible projects.

TrustEVM Token IDE

Later in the same Fireside Chat, Yves explained the value of holding an IDE. In two words (and following with a long pause):

external capital

The pause was indicative of the potential for controversy. It’s about the immediate advantages of an IDE vs. a 100% airdrop. A partial airdrop remains possible. However, the real issue for the EOS community is the value add. EVM tokens via IDE will positively impact EOS token holders and the mainnet economy. ENF’s promise maintains a direct EOS price impact. Yves went on to say that the team is still:

ironing out the details 

The biggest take from the EVM token IDE is the capital influx right from the start. This means EOS will experience a net value increase. Essentially, at least someone will be paid without drawing value out of EOS. Yves was all but certain that a 100% airdrop would result in tokens being initially sold and subsequently devaluing mainnet assets. A couple of things to look out for might be the controlled value-to-use_case of the new EVM token, as well as, to whom the external capital flows.

Collaboration Updates: EOSIO+ Coalition, Vigor Origin, Chintai

Networking opportunities fostered by the EOSIO+ Coalition already show potential. Represented chains include:

… #EOS, @HelloTelos, @WAX_io, and @Network_UX.

Watch the video to see what was said at the April 28 coalition meeting. This past week, Charlie (of Meta Collect community) pointed out a key Vigor protocol update:

0rigin… entered into an agreement with the Vigor DAC… to assume the ongoing development, substantial restructuring, and multi-chain expansion of the Vigor Protocol… accelerate the release of Vigor 2.0…

Chintai may be the last update listed here, but its potential to impact the EOSIO ecosystem is profound. The team announced a partnership with Hubbis. After gauging the sentiment of 96 replies from Asian wealth management professionals, it was found: 

…some private banks and wealth management firms remain sceptical about cryptocurrencies… and …non-fungible tokens, but more positive about digital tokenisation via fractionalisations of underlying physical or financial assets … And ….private banks … and …independent wealth management …believe digital assets are core to our collective futures.

fractally Eden

fractally is not Eden and Eden is not fractally. fractally Eden can be the onset of a new paradigm that ensures the fractal growth of the ecosystem. Many of us meeting attendees hope that fractally can work with Eden governance. An Eden CD expressed interest in fractally tech for elections. Eden must remain on schedule and fractally isn’t ready just yet. fractally may choose EOS as its primary environment. However, it exists as a stand alone communication mechanism that can cross, not just blockchains, but traditional platforms as well. Now wonder why fractally Brainstorming Sessions (#7) continues to gain steam. On the EOS side, this week saw Mandel meeting #13, a scorching Fireside Chat, and a Chief Delegate meeting given its own section this week (see above). Maybe also take note of the chart (above) presented by Eden Capital of Mandel’s increased code activity.

Meta Collect Community

Looking for a fun way to get involved with the EOS community and sister chains? Join Meta Collect Discord for info about Mongs, Crunks, COLLECT tokens, and of course, our beloved Finney. Meta Collect co-founder was on GenPool Spotlight taking a fun look back at how it all got started. Discord is also a great place to get alerts about live shows and breakout twitter spaces. You can also just come to chill or learn about engagement rewards. Never know when there’ll be a popup trivia session, poker, game, or giveaways.

COMMUNITY CHATTER

EOSweekly is a roundup of recent news within the ecosystem. Unique needs and services continue to emerge as the advantages of blockchain technology are realized. Easy access to information becomes increasingly important for these expansive networks.

Comment & Earn!

Share your thoughts and opinions on the topics covered within this blog in the comments below for your chance to win yourself an NFT. Click here for more information on our engagement rewards.

Discord | Twitter | Youtube

Follow Marco: Twitter

Subscribe now