All the Web3 news you missed this week - Almost end of year edition
It seems like everyone is waiting for this rollercoaster of a year to just be over - but just because the calendar year ends, doesn’t mean the final dominoes have fallen. The closest and most obvious ripples might have already been revealed, but there are still 3rd, 4th, 5th level effects that companies are privately working through. For example, I’ve heard from startups that had a good portion of their corporate funds on FTX that are now wiped out.
Meanwhile, SBF continues to jump on various twitter spaces in an attempt to convince the world that he did nothing wrong- here’s the latest from the Coffeezilla YouTube channel.
Here’s the Web3 news from the past week
NFTs
The Contagion Fever Breaks: NFTs Dominate Art Basel (CoinDesk)
Despite ongoing chaos in the crypto space, NFTs had a strong presence at Art Basel in Miami this year, “with NFT projects and blockchain companies weaving their way into galleries and events across the city.” Community morale was “really high,” one crypto professional told CoinDesk: “There’s a lot of upside coming.”
DAOs
ConstitutionDAO Declares to Once Again Take Part in the Auction of the US Constitution by Sotheby’s (Blockchain Reporter)
Last year, ConstitutionDAO raised over $40 million to buy an original copy of the US Constitution, only to be outbid. With another copy of the Constitution now up for auction at Sotheby’s, the DAO is making another run at it — and this time it’s offering donors the option to give privately, so as to conceal the total amount raised from other bidders.
Metaverse
Forget the Snickering… Here’s Why the Metaverse Will Prevail (The Defiant)
The metaverse is coming, even though its evolution and mass adoption may take years, argues Stephen Fromkin. “Slow adoption will be mistaken for stalled progress. We’ll see the articles and talking heads claiming that the Metaverse is dead,” writes Fromkin. “And granted, we may not see a single, decentralized Metaverse in the near future. But we’re already seeing companies expand their own smaller metaverses or microverses, while decentralized apps also become more widespread.”
Why Every Business Should Have A Metaverse Strategy (Forbes)
Elsewhere in arguments for the metaverse, the best reason for its adoption in financial services could be improved security. “The Metaverse will have a security infrastructure in it from the beginning and that is why the Metaverse is both different from the Internet we know and love and more attractive than the Internet for a great many new economy stakeholders,” writes David G.W. Birch.
Mark Zuckerberg defends the company's push into the metaverse, where he appeared with a bout of hiccups (New York Times)
Pushing back on the notion that Meta has metaverse tunnel vision, Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview that “the vast majority of my time and the vast majority of the company’s effort” are still going toward its social media products. That doesn’t mean he’s backing down on the metaverse, though. Per Zuck: “If you’re getting skepticism, you’re pushing hard enough.”
Augmented Reality
Snap is testing paid upgrades to popular AR lenses (Engadget)
Snapchat has rolled out a new feature to a small group of AR lens creators, allowing them to sell lens upgrades using Snap’s in-app currency. The feature, which could give both AR creators and Snap a new revenue stream, is currently only available in Australia and New Zealand.
DeFi
DeFi ecosystem still haunted by FTX contagion: Finance Redefined (CoinTelegraph)
The aftershocks of FTX’s meltdown continue, with a number of DeFi players missing principal repayments and the Alameda- and FTX-backed Serum project going “defunct.” (In better news, DeFi’s total value locked popped up to more than $40 billion this week.)
Regulatory
Some crypto backers are purposely taking a ‘very dangerous path,’ EU regulator says
(CNBC)
With the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation coming into effect in one year, some crypto firms are already acting in alignment with regulation, while more regulation-averse players are avoiding it, said EU commissioner for financial services Mairead McGuinness. She called such separation from a regulated system “a very dangerous path.”
Crypto will be regulated as securities — ICE boss and Senator Warren (Cointelegraph)
Senator Elizabeth Warren is reportedly working on a crypto bill that would put most regulation in the hands of the SEC and would look at “taxation, regulation, national security and climate,” among other issues in the sector. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, said at a conference this week that he expects crypto to be regulated like securities.
Bank of America Says Regulation Is Key for Mainstream Adoption of Crypto (CoinDesk)
Increased scrutiny on the crypto space following FTX’s bankruptcy may help the industry evolve more quickly. Per a Bank of America report released last week: “An increased urgency for regulation may enable greater institutional engagement, and a shift in focus (and capital) from speculative trading to projects with real-world functionality and companies with road maps to profitability may accelerate industry maturity.”
In case you missed it - this was the most opened article from last week’s news roundup
Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO and founder of FTX, has embarked on a press tour that WSJ’s Gregory Zuckerman dubbed the “George Constanza” defense - making the rounds at the NY Times and Good Morning America. However, the “we didn’t intend to…” defense hasn’t been wining people over.
Coffezilla’s recap of SBF’s interview with Tiffany Fong is a good summary of his first interview.
About Me
Hi, I’m Andrew Chang - I created the Web3 Roundup to share what I’m learning in this space. I’ve spent my career at the forefront of the technology industry in areas such as crypto/blockchain (Former COO @ Paxos, co-founding partner of Liberty City Ventures), video and adtech. I learn by meeting with founders, investors and other thought leaders and approach Web3 with the same enthusiasm – and skepticism – I had about crypto/blockchain technologies 10 years ago.
You can connect with me on LinkedIn