Newsletter: A Pivotal Upgrade...

Welcome to issue 136: This week we cover Major takeaways from a16z's 2023 State of Crypto report, Ethereum latest upgrade, pod.xyz launch by Metropolis team, plus latest mainstream news and many more...

Welcome to edition 136:

▹ 2023 State of Crypto report
▹ Ethereum Shapella Upgrade
▹ Metropolis launches Podarchy Explorer
▹ Li.Fi team on Crypto Aggregation
▹ Alex Stein on NFT Loyalty Program
▹ Mainstream latest and more...

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Week’s Highlight

Major takeaways from a16z's 2023 State of Crypto report

a16z published a comprehensive "2023 State of Crypto" report, and it's jam packed with insights. Some of the highlights include:

• Blockchains have more active users, and more ways to engage. Active addresses hit an all-time high last month -- 15 million -- doubling over the last two years, as a growing variety of apps and services, like on-chain games, offer people new ways to engage. 
• Despite market volatility, the number of active developers in the crypto industry has held steady. Builders drawn in by the 2020 bull run are sticking around. Almost 30K developers contributed to, or built on, crypto projects last month -- steadily increasing over 60% in the last three years.
• The U.S. is losing its lead in web3. Between 2018 and 2022, the proportion of crypto developers based in the U.S. vs. the rest of the world fell 26%. Thoughtful regulation can encourage crypto builders to innovate and grow these technologies safely in the U.S.

The report was published alongside a "State of Crypto Index," a dashboard tracking ket ecosystem metrics such as Active Developers, Contract Deployers, Job Search Interest, Academic Publications, Active Addresses, Transactions, and so much more.

The page also includes an aggregate "Index" metric, which is an aggregate indicator of the overall health and development of the industry based on what the team has deemed important.

Take Note

The crypto industry is healthy and growing, and all signs point to continued development and adoption. This is a fantastic sense of perspective for anyone working in the space, or for friends questioning what's still happening. Keep on Buidling!!!

What's Poppin'

Shapella: A Pivotal Upgrade for Ethereum. As of last week, Ethereum's core developers have implemented the Shapella upgrade through a hard fork. The highly-anticipated upgrade enables users and validators to withdraw their staked ETH on the network. The upgrade took place just before 6:30 pm ET on Wednesday, marking the first major change since The Merge last year. The upgrade proved to be a positive catalyst for Ethereum, helping drive it to a new yearly high of $2,100. Stakers and validators wishing to unstake and withdraw their assets have two options: Full and Partial withdrawals. The withdrawal cycle, however, varies based on the type of withdrawal, and therefore the time it takes to receive the assets varies. Huge props to the Ethereum core dev team!

Metropolis Introduces Podarchy Explorer. The lore of blockchain promises us automated, open, and transparent systems. However, we have seen continued instances of obfuscated power structures, vulnerable technical systems, futile governance theater among our on-chain protocols and systems. Last week, Metropolis announced the Podarchy Explorer, a relationship indexer between entities on-chain, including smart contract permissions, multi-sig signership, and financial data. Technical and non-technical users can now start uncovering the underlying permissions associated with any on-chain entity.  With every search comes the opportunity to reveal flaws and anti-patterns across the ecosystem. Great work team!

Why NFT Customer Loyalty Programs might actually work. Starbucks Odyssey is a new corporate-branded open-world game and loyalty program that uses NFTs to supercharge customer loyalty. Players complete various quests to earn NFT stamps, which can then be traded on NFT marketplaces for cash. Starbucks has integrated an open crypto economy to turn a traditional customer loyalty program into a more engaging experience, incentivizing a positive sum ethos among its players. Starbucks' Odyssey has shown that established brand partnerships could be essential for Web3 to realize its promise of democratizing data and economic tools. Finally, the essay explores the history of customer loyalty programs, their benefits and drawbacks, and how Starbucks Odyssey could change the game.

Crypto Aggregation Theory. This essay builds on Ben Thompson's "aggregation theory" as it relates to crypto. In part one, the essay dives into the fundamentals of aggregation theory and demonstrates its relevance to the crypto space, diving into how the theory needs to be modified to reflect the nuances of crypto, which leads us to define the crypto aggregation theory. Part two focuses on the "bridge" industry, providing a deeper perspective of how bridge aggregators can harness flywheels of network effects to drive their success and secure a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving blockchain landscape. This is a fantastic piece for anyone looking to learn more about bridges and how the ecosystem will develop over time.

Composable Moderation. Bluesky invites are being requested left and right on Twitter as the new Jack Dorsey social network picks up steam. The Bluesky app is prioritizing user safety by focusing on moderation before the last pieces of open federation. The approach to moderation is customizable and allows for an ecosystem of third-party providers. The app uses a composable labeling system for moderation that can be applied by anyone to content or accounts, and can be automatically or manually generated. The app aims to prioritize user safety while giving people more control and transparency in the critical piece of social networking infrastructure where technical and social systems collide. An interesting experiment indeed -- will be exciting to keep an eye on.

Proto-DAOs: Making DAOs Fun Again. In this essay, Stefen of Govrn introduces the idea of a "proto-DAO," which are a midpoint between a loose community and a full-fledged DAO. He argues that there is value in having communities organize and come together, even if they are not yet ready to become a DAO. Proto-DAOs allow communities to coalesce around a particular goal or action and have contributions recorded in a transparent manner. This can enable retroactive funding and better decision-making within the community. Stefen encourages supporting proto-DAOs and spending more time bringing people together to organize into communities. In many ways, this is a call to return to the pre-2022 DAO experience, where tools were less mature and community was the primary concern.

Latest on Mainstream...

First, members of the U.S. House of Representatives are circulating a new draft bill to provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins in the U.S.  Talks around legislation restarted after a new Congress convened in January, and the House Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the topic on Wednesday.

Next, among the vast majority of Americans who say they have heard at least a little about cryptocurrency (88%), three-quarters say they are not confident that current ways to invest in, trade or use cryptocurrencies are reliable and safe, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted March 13-19. This comes out to about two-thirds of all U.S. adults.

Finally, banks in Hong Kong, including the local unit of a big Chinese state-owned lender, are taking on crypto companies as new customers as the city advances its vision of becoming a digital-assets hub. Banks have opened deposit accounts for crypto businesses that can be used to support their day-to-day operations, such as paying salaries to employees. Some are going as far as providing crypto trade-settlement services that other lenders have steered clear of because of the potential risks involved.

Signal Bites

▹ Read - On The Future Of Ethereum
▹ Deep Dives - Web3 Passport Stack
▹ Mainstream - Solana "Web3" Phone
▹ Cool - Lee x Shibuya
▹ Interesting - NFT 100
▹ NFT - Mastercard Drops NFT
▹ DAO - Optimism S4
▹ Happening - W3CR Exhibition
▹ Discussion - Arbitrum's User Acquisition
▹ Fresh Take - Consumer Crypto
▹ Tooling - Uniswap Wallet
▹ Elsewhere - Coachella Metaverse
▹ Showcase - EthGlobal Tokyo

◎ Check out Signal  for daily top web3 social headlines

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The information in this newsletter is not intended to constitute legal, financial or investment advice and should not be construed or relied upon as such. Any opinions reflected are the opinion of the author(s) of the newsletter only and not necessarily of Forefront. Please DYOR.