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Tokens & Protocols:

ETH:

• ETH’s Shanghai update enabling withdraws of staked ETH to take place in March

• MetaMask announces beta of support for Lido (LDO) & Rocket Pool (RPL) native ETH liquid staking directly inside wallet

• MATIC — PoS network hard fork upgrade completed — reduces the impact of transaction fee spikes, chain reorgs, and security, MATIC also live on Rarible

• AAVE — set to launch v3 of protocol supporting 7 assets after passing DAO vote

• YFI — launches ability for users to create yield vaults in ongoing v3 rollout

• MPL — launches KYC, accredited investor trade receivables liquidity pool

• SUHSI — to launch DEX for perp trading on upcoming Sei Network chain

• 1INCH — DEX aggregator announces development of hardware wallet; completes “Fusion” upgrade enabling user protection against MEV front-running & allows custom swap orders placed without gas fees

• BTRFLY — teases Dinero: overcollateralized stablecoin backed by staked ETH

• UNI — partners with MoonPay to enable direct, in web-app crypto purchases

ATOM:

• DYDX — delays $282M investor token unlock from February to December

• Injective (INJ), PoS L1, announces $150M ecosystem fund to accelerate adoption

• EVMOS — adds auto-conversion for token swaps between ETH & ATOM tokens

• ATOM — progressing toward another vote & hopeful launch of Interchain Security

Others:

• AVAX — partners with AWS to scale blockchain solutions & increase adoption; AVAX completes ‘Banff 5’ enabling subnet interoperability of assets & data

• BIT — launches testnet for Mantle L2 network while 2 million per day token buybacks continue until the end of February

• BLUR — delays token but confirms February 14th launch

• MAGIC — Treasure announces MagicSwap, an AMM with universal token compatibility that supports pools for ERC-20s & NFTs through single router

• JOE — expands DEX & NFT marketplace to BNB & Arbitrum; JOE also outlines their ongoing tokenomics revamp and multi-chain use-case

• SHIB/BONE — Shib developers announce/introduce Shiba Inu’s L2

• TON — to vote on suspending inactive addresses holding ~$2.5B of TON

• GALA — embraces pumponomics outlining quarterly burn of 500M GALA

• Eclipse — announces proof-of-concept for first SOL VM Zero-Knowledge Rollup

• XNFT — wallet/app interface protocol on SOL debuts wallet to wallet messaging

January was an incredible month throughout the crypto ecosystem as those willing to buy the FTX-induced lows were rewarded. Shorts were continuously annihilated and hunted by the cartel, specifically on Friday the 13th as ~$500M worth of liquidations fueled BTC, and the market broadly, from 17k to 21k.

Throughout the month, CANTO and APT lead the way, with liquid staking derivatives (LSDs) and SOL’s recovery following closely. One of the key changes in January was the shift in the market’s reaction to news. I wrote more in depth on this change in last week’s edition of Round Tripping, with the abbreviated conclusion being bad news has been minimally impactful at most while the good news has lead to strong, sustained rallies (see AVAX x AWS, GALA tokenomics, unlocks over (MAGIC), ).

Looking ahead to next month, I’ll be monitoring the following throughout February:

• CANTO — can the momentum behind CSR & the burgeoning NFT eco sustain

• SUDO & BLUR — downstream impacts on XMON, LOOKS, & X2Y2 as the NFT token narrative develops; also likely BLUR provides stimulus to NFT ecosystem

• MATIC momentum behind zkEVM mainnet launch as date is “finalized & SOOON”; spillover to other L2s & ZK tokens as EIP-4844 reducing L2 transaction fees gains transaction as it’s on the horizon after Shanghai

• stables — potential launches from CRV & AAVE as Stani says “soon”; monitoring broad stablecoin inflows as it appears to be finally increasing, best broad indicator

• Berachain — recent rally in the NFTs but is the chain real? testnet thooooonnnnn?

• ETH supply — on-chain activity leading ETH to deflation & accelerating flywheel

• bridges — Circle’s launch of CCTP & it’s affects on bridging protocols/liquidity; any updates on SYN and the coming SYN chain as it’s been recent radio silence

• LSDs — (RPL, LDO, FXS, SD) continued momentum & narrative ahead of staked ETH unlocks in March; monitoring growth/distribution of LSD market share as percent of ETH staked sits @ 13.5%, typically PoS chains see 40-60% staked

• announcements — projects continuing to capitalize on market momentum with delayed unlocks, tokenomics revamps (mostly supply burns), new products and partnerships announced; all updates increasingly referenced as “soon”

• BTC dominance — if BTC gives air for continued alt momentum; numerous look to break long-term range accumulation but BTC dominance showing signs of life

Funding & News:

the below funding and news developments are not a comprehensively list of every announcement, but a selection of the most notable announcements in January

• Venom Ventures Fund, UAE based, raises $1B for “chain-agnostic” crypto venture

• HashKey Capital closes third fund raising $500M for crypto investments

• Flashbots, ETH MEV infra company, raising $50M @ $1B valuation

• QuickNode, crypto infra & dev tool provider, raises $60M @ $800M valuation

• Nil Foundation, ZK-tech & infra developer, raises $22M @ $220M valuation

• Blockstream, BTC miner & hosting provider, raises $125M

• Mythical Games, last valued @ $1.25B, is eyeing a $50M raise while also launching an enhanced NFT-gaming marketplace

• Amazon launching a, “digital assets enterprise” including NFT initiative expected in spring with a focus on blockchain-based gaming and related NFT applications

• Solana outlines dApp Store that ships inside SOL’s Saga mobile phone

• Farcaster, decentralized social, available for beta testing inside the iOS app store

• Shopify expands NFT integration to support minting and selling of AVAX NFTs

• National Australia Bank creates ETH-based AUDN stablecoin that allows business customers to settle transactions in Australian dollars; backed 1-to-1 with bank fiat

• Visa partners with Alchemy Pay to boost NFT checkout service

• Mastercard partners with MATIC to launch crypto-focused art incubator

• Indonesia plans to launch a national crypto exchange

• ConsenSys launches private testnet for upcoming zkEVM L2

• CF Benchmark & CME Group launch reference rates & real-time indices for AAVE, SNX, & CRV; to be used for accurate pricing & developing structure products

• Neobank Cogni releases in-app non-custodial (KYC) wallet allowing users to custody their crypto assets, will soon enable in-app crypto purchases

• Fidelity continues crypto push, files for trademarks around NFTs, virtual real estate investing, & crypto trading/metaverse investment services

• China is launching a state backed NFT marketplace

• Core Scientific, publicly traded largest BTC miner by compute power, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

NFT Review:

This is by no means a comprehensive list of the ongoings in NFT land. These projects are covered in more depth throughout past Page One posts, so find more info on all of these there.

Familiar Faces:

• Azuki unveils Hilumia and partners with Bilibili

• Castaways prepares for Gen 2 Treasure Chests and Islands

• DigiDaigaku releases Villains and prepares for Dragons mint during Super Bowl

• Doodles acquire Golden Wolf studios and announce Doodles 2 on Flow

• Friendship Bracelets mint ends as collectors create complete sets

• Kanpai Pandas get an art update and prepare for Panda Points

• PROOF reveals Grails III and announced Proof of Conference ‘23

• Pudgys lead cute meta comeback while the Lils go multichain

• The Memes by 6529 have their moment; full set has gone 2.5x in January

• RTFKT holds burn event for Pods on January 31st

• Sappy Seals launch their AI Meme Machine

New Entrants:

• BasedHeads are creating a dystopian universe with SuperMassive at the helm

• The Captainz minted and completed the first step of a lengthy reveal process

• Checks by Jack Butcher captivate the community with the idea of status

• Createra debuts their user-generated voxel metaverse with a16z backing

• Kubz released as the Keungz ecosystem begins to take shape

• Lucréce plays color games with open editions

• Mutant Hounds revealed in early January, giving Mutant Apes a fitting companion

• Night Run blends art and gaming in an experimental style

• PORSCHΞ flops tragically (until they cut supply and moon)

• The Ponzi hopes to reinvent utility with tax-driven mechanics

• Sewer Pass trades for over 25,000Ξ in volume as Dookey Dash sees ~5M plays

• Open Edition craze continues with pieces from 0010, Ness Graphics and more

Upcoming Projects

• Ether opens Discord ahead of likely release in Q2 2023

• Mocaverse releases raffle tickets as NFT ahead of release

• Oh Baby Games announces $6M seed round and opens play test form

• Rug Radio x Corey Van Lew avatars launch February 6th