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Welcome to The Node! Today is the first day of Consensus, in Austin, Texas, the largest cryptocurrency festival in the world.
Over the next four days, The Node will publish twice a day: once in the morning providing the usual news digest and once in the afternoon. These second newsblasts will feature on-the-ground reporting and live updates from Consensus, so you can stay up-to-date whether you're here or not. – Daniel Kuhn |
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ETH UPGRADE: The Ethereum blockchain's first dress rehearsal for its upcoming Merge was successfully completed Wednesday, when the Ropsten test network successfully merged its proof-of-work execution layer with a proof-of-stake consensus chain called Beacon. Ethereum is undergoing the largest public blockchain overhaul ever, and this test was an identical process to what needs to happen when the new Ethereum network goes live in a few months. - Currently, the Beacon Chain runs in parallel with ETH's current PoW chain.
'SERIOUS ERROR': Following a $5 million exploit, the team behind the attacked liquidity platform called Osmosis decided to halt the Osmosis Chain for at least 48 hours. Decisions were broadcast on Twitter and in a Discord, including the Osmosis team's pledge to cover all losses using its strategic reserves. - "Funds have been linked to CEX accounts," Osmosis community analyst RoboMcGobo wrote on Discord.
- Elsewhere, Ethereum scaling solution Optimism announced a previously undisclosed $15 million loss after OP governance tokens intended for the market maker Wintermute ahead of Optimism's planned airdrop were sent to the wrong blockchain address.
- "We made a serious error," Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy, whose firm provided the incorrect address, said.
WHERE'S THE BITCOIN? South Korean law enforcement agencies are investigating Terraform Labs following last month's collapse of their controversial algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), and are specifically trying to find out what happened to its $3.5 billion strategic bitcoin reserve. Authorities estimated that around 280,000 South Korea citizens had been impacted by the collapse of UST and Luna (LUNC). - Terraform co-founder Daniel Shin denied allegations of fraud and embezzlement, telling the Financial Times that there was "no intention of deception."
- Elsewhere, the New York Department of Financial Services published formal stablecoin guidance, including strict reserve and attestation requirements to protect consumers.
EXCHANGES, EXCHANGES: Coinbase has agreed to make a strategic investment in Singapore-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex as the startup looks to round out a $40 million Series B. The two exchanges were previously holding acquisition talks, with the larger to buy the smaller. - Meanwhile, crypto market-making giant Wintermute announced plans to launch a decentralized (but not open source) exchange called Bebop on Ethereum this summer. The DEX plans to have an interesting feature where users can swap a portfolio of tokens for a single coin.
- Separately, institutional crypto custody firm Anchorage is launching a global custody-exchange network with commitments from Binance.US, CoinList, Blockchain.com and Wintermute.
- Finally, OSL Digital Securities, a crypto exchange, will now offer services to institutional and professional investors in Hong Kong, after partnering with Interactive Brokers while global brokerage company BGC Partners plans to build a crypto desk this year.
THE REAL METAVERSE? Neal Stephenson, who coined the term "metaverse" in his hit 1992 novel "Snow Crash," is now launching one called Lamina1. The author has partnered with crypto OG Peter Vessenes to possibly "friendly fork" Avalanche to support their immersive, 3D, sci-fi-inspired metaverse. - Lamina1's testnet is expected this summer. Vessenes will be the project's CEO while Stephenson will serve as chairman, and they've brought on an impressive list of financiers.
CAPITAL FLOWS: Crypto investment firm Arrington Capital, which has more than $1.6 billion in assets under management, partnered with the Moonbeam Foundation for a new $100 million ecosystem fund for Polkadot's Ethereum-compatible parachain. Capital will go towards building the Moonbeam ecosystem which connects Ethereum to Polkadot without a bridge. Two projects have already been funded. - Algorithm-backed stock advisor Delphia has raised $60 million in a Series A led by Multicoin Capital. The funding will be used to expand headcount and to launch the native Delphia Data rewards token.
- Skolem Technologies, the decentralized data and trade execution service provider, raised a $20 million Series A led by Galaxy Digital with Point72 Ventures, Jump Crypto and Dragonfly in toe.
- Valkyrie Investments, the asset manager with $1.2 billion under management, raised $11.15 million in a strategic funding round that included traditional Wall Street players BNY Mellon (BK), Wedbush Financial Services.
- Binance Labs among backers of $7.6 million round for Discord game Tatsumeeko.
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Okra Finance is the world's first Permissioned DeFi Composable Index Platform. Through our drag-n-drop DApp GUI and DeFi infrastructure, Fund Managers and Financial Advisors with no prior coding knowledge are able to instantly create smart contract-based funds that are fully redeemable and readily distributable on-chain. Combined with a highly customizable permission layer, Okra revolutionizes Digital Assets Fund Management with institution-ready tooling necessary to cater to today's investors. Stop by booth#340 to meet the team and grab some freebies during Consensus2022! |
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A guide to official and side events |
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On the first day of Consensus, my true love gave to me… - Get Set Up With DESK: Learn about CoinDesk's social token, set up your wallet and learn about "proof of attendance" protocols from 9:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m. CDT at the Hilton.
- At the Sunset Room on Thursday from 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. CDT, CoinDesk Editor-in-Chief Kevin Reynolds will chat with Leslie Cauley, founder of TruthDAO, a professional news organization built with community support through a decentralized DAO structure.
- Unstoppable Women of Web3 and The Female Quotient are hosting "THE" gathering for women at Consensus. All are welcome to come and discuss the future of Web 3 and equity.
- At Stubb's, legendary hip hop artists Method Man & Redman, Big Boi and the up and coming Latashá are performing.
Finally, here's a comprehensive guide to the most important CBDC events throughout Consensus. |
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Why Luna's Collapse Is Good for Crypto* Bill Barhydt, CEO of Abra, was recently interviewed to discuss the stablecoins markets and Luna's failed attempt to run an algorithmic stablecoin at a global scale. The full interview can be found here *This is sponsored content from Abra. |
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