SO WHAT?
GM, Coinbase is one of the leading names in Web3. When it makes a move, the industry sits up. In August 2023, it launched a layer-two (L2) blockchain—designed to help make transactions on Ethereum 10X cheaper and significantly faster. The lofty goal is to onboard the next billion crypto
Verifiable Private Identity
A Verifiable Private Identity (VPI) is comprised of self-sovereign data (stored and accessed via an identity oracle) and privacy-preserving ‘identity assets’ such as Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs).
SO WHAT?
GM, Matter Labs is the story of the year. Its zkSync platform is used by millions who enjoy faster and cheaper transactions on Ethereum. Oh, and it is about to launch the year’s most-anticipated token. But it became talk-of-the-town for all the wrong reasons last week when it emerged
SO WHAT?
GM, The trial of the developers behind a Web3 platform called Tornado Cash is dividing public opinion. Tornado Cash is a service that brings privacy to the transparent world of blockchain-based transactions. One developer has been sentenced to five years in jail in The Netherlands, while another faces trial in
SO WHAT?
GM, It’s been an eventful few weeks for the concept of decentralized, blockchain-based identification. Worldcoin, the project co-founded by Sam Altman, last month announced plans to introduce its own chain. That was quickly followed by MicroStrategy—yes, the firm synonymous with buying loads of Bitcoin—revealing it is working
SO WHAT?
GM, Bitcoin continues to be the story of Web3 this year, so you know we had to attend the inaugural Bitcoin Asia event which took place on SO WHAT’s home turf in Hong Kong. We spent the week at side events, dinners, drink meetups, breakfasts and, of course, the
SO WHAT?
Decentralized physical infrastructure network are offering new ways for cloud computing, mobile networks, EV charging and much more Decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) is one of the buzziest topics in Web3 right now. The concept is to build physical networks that can run without middlemen. File-storage, WiFi, mapping and artificial
SO WHAT?
GM, It finally happened. Last week saw the latest Bitcoin halving, an event that decreases the rewards received by Bitcoin miners—who are integral to the process of transactions and new coin minting. If you heard about the halving but don’t really get it, this is the issue for
SO WHAT?
GM, Bitcoin, Bitcoin, Bitcoin. The upcoming halving is all that Web3 is talking about—although the crazy weather in Dubai, where the latest Token 2049 event is happening, is not far behind. Halvings tend to be a tense affair. Past events have been preceded by a sizeable drop in Bitcoin
SO WHAT?
GM, Dogecoin. Pepe Coin. Dogwifhat. Degen. Shib Inu. Bonk. Based Fink. Jeo Boden. These are some of the thousands of ‘memecoins’ that traders have bought this year. Memecoins are a unique part of the cryptocurrency landscape. Based around tapping online memes, they offer little in the way of utility, trade
SO WHAT?
GM, Starbucks became the biggest global brand to dive into NFTs when it announced a Web3 loyalty program called Odyssey in September 2022. But that voyage of discovery comes to an end this week after the coffee giant abruptly announced its closure after less than 18 months. Odyssey was widely-heralded
SO WHAT?
GM, We wrote about Nouns DAO, one of the most prominent DAOs in Web3 back in September, but this week we are looking at DAOs in more detail after the US state of Wyoming introduced a new law that permits them to operate as non-profit organizations. The legislation, the latest