Vatalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, co-authored a paper called "Decentralized Society" (DeSoc) to highlight his vision. The authors introduced the idea of "soulbound tokens" that can store a user's educational credentials, employment history, and more. More: - Soulbound tokens or SBDTs can store permanent records of merits and attributes in private blockchains as crypto assets.
- One paragraph reads: "Imagine a world where most participants have Souls [digital wallets] that store SBTs corresponding to a series of affiliations, memberships, and credentials."
- Think of SBTs as a Web3-based resume, and unlike NFTs that can be traded and sold, SBTs are designed to be untradeable.
- An example of SBTs includes universities issuing tokens to their alumni to verify educational records.
- SBTs will not replace NFTs since they're used for different applications; for instance, SBTs are proof of character, and NFTs are proof of wealth.
- The writers acknowledged that there are challenges to implementing the SBTs since the concept sounds similar to China's "social credit system." SBTs are issued to people without their consent, making them an ideal tool for authoritarian states.
- The other issue associated with the use of SBTs is discrimination. For example, certain groups can be red-lined and targeted for cyber or physical attacks, enforcing restrictive migration policies, and making predatory loans.
- To overcome this challenge, the option to "burn" or hide SBTs from the general public could be made available.
Fortune 
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Terra's proposal to launch "Terra 2.0," a new blockchain, has gained the support of crypto exchanges, including Binance, Kucoin, FTX, and others. In efforts to revive the fallen token Luna, a new blockchain will be launched called Terra 2.0 on May 27. More: - Terra has announced the passing of "proposal 1623," which was approved by its community members.
- The new proposal aims to revive the Luna token, which collapsed in early May.
- Algorithmic stablecoin UST depegged from the U.S. dollar, which caused turmoil in the crypto markets.
- The old blockchain will be called "Terra Classic," and it will be replaced by Terra 2.0. The UST stablecoin, however, will not be included in the relaunch.
- Several exchanges, including Bybit, Kucoin, Binance, and Crypto.com, began announcing their support for Terra 2.0 as soon as the proposal was passed.
- FTX tweeted that "FTX will support new LUNA airdrop and suspend LUNA and UST markets."
- Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon tweeted that he had not contacted the exchanges to list the LUNA tokens.
Decrypt
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Andreessen Horowitz raised a $4.5B crypto fund during the "crypto winter" period. The firm will use the funds to invest in crypto and Web3 startups, including equities in the companies. More: - The VC firm plans to invest billions into crypto startups during the crypto market slowdown period, known as the "crypto winter."
- Arianna Simpson, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, explains: "Bear markets are often when the best opportunities come about when people are actually able to focus on building technology rather than getting distracted by short-term price activity."
- The firm is still betting big on the crypto industry, and "Investors should not worry about the firm's bets," says Simpson.
- Simpson believes that skeptics of Web3 and crypto are usually titans of Web 2.0 because they are in a position to benefit and profit from closed platforms.
- The VC firm's portfolio companies include Lyft, Pinterest, Slack, Coinbase, and more.
- It also invested in startups building the crypto and NFT space, including Alchemy, Avalanche, Dapper Labs, OpenSea, Solana, and Yuga Labs.
- Jack Dorsey, former CEO of Twitter, stated that VCs will end up owning Web3.
CNBC
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Portugal's government will not apply taxes on Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency. A proposal made to the government was rejected on Wednesday during a budget session. More: - A proposal was made by Bloco de Esquerda insisting that Bitcoin and other crypto-related assets should be taxed under a new proposal.
- The proposal suggested that crypto holders should be taxed in excess of US$5,340.45.
- Crypto-related tax exemptions have been in place in the country since 2018, and the government continues to reject proposals to tax individual sales of crypto.
- Trading digital assets are not considered investment income in Portgual. For this reason, crypto-related business is an attractive opportunity for startups, but this might not be long-lived.
- Earlier this month, Minister of Finance Fernando Medina announced that crypto-assets should be included in value-added tax systems.
Decrypt
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Tether (USDT) launched a new token that will be pegged to the Mexican peso on the Ethereum network. The demand for cryptocurrency is on the rise in Mexico as more people look for cryptocurrency stablecoins in the region. More: - The token will have the MXNT ticker and join fiat-pegged stablecoins such as dollar-pegged USDT, Euro-pegged EURT, and Chinese Yuan-pegged CNHT.
- The issuer of the new token believes that there is a market demand in Mexico for a cheaper option to transfer assets.
- "MXNT can minimize volatility for those looking to convert their assets and investments from fiat to digital currencies," Said Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether.
- The move is designed to expand into emerging markets and provide opportunities to new crypto users in the region.
Cointelegraph
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Polkadot launched a $250M stablecoin fund, causing the cryptocurrencies in the Polkadot ecosystem to jump by between 10% and 25%. More: - The three protocols that rose this week include Acala, Astar, and Uniswap.
- Acala (ACA) is a DeFi platform built on the Polkadot network, which recently launched its first native stablecoin in the Polkadot ecosystem. The project also launched a $250M "aUSD Ecosystem Fund" that is gaining traction as investors are seeking safer stablecoin options.
- The Astar (ASTR) network is a smart contract hub that supports Ethereum and other layer-2 solutions.
- Moonbeam (GLMR) is an Ethereum-based smart contract parachain on the Polkadot network. The project announced the deployment of the Uniswap (UNI) v3 on the Moonbeam network, causing a spike in price.
Cointelegraph
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 |  | Gia Mattu is based in Calgary, Alberta. She is an entrepreneur with experience in climate technology, drones, AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. When she's not working, she loves to hike the Canadian Rockies, try new cuisine, and travel. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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