March Recap
token & NFT updates, news, product developments, & funding throughout March
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Tokens & Protocols:
ETH:
UNI — launches Uniswap mobile wallet now available in limited early release; UNI officially expands and deploys on BNB; UNI to also expand V3 to AVAX
LINK — Functions beta live, enables smart contracts to connect to any Web2 API
LDO — stETH withdrawals expected to be live mid-May, a ~month after Shapella
MKR — approves extension from $500M to $1.25B invested in U.S. Treasuries
PENDLE — releases cross-chain vetokenomics and launches on Arbitrum
Scroll — zkEVM product is headed to Goerli testnet, final step before mainnet
GoGoPool — permissionless staking protocol built for AVAX subnets introduced
GTC — announces gtcETH, Gitcoin Staked ETH Index
FIL — successfully launches the FVM enabling smart contracts & programmability
RONIN — introduces Ronin Wallet Social Login enabling anyone to create a Ronin Wallet using their Google, Apple, Facebook, or Twitter account
GHST — Aavegotchi completes multi-year token sale & announces the upcoming launch of dedicated chain “Gotchichain” powered by Polygon Supernets
Others:
ATOM — V9 Lambda upgrade passes vote that will enable Replicated Security
BERA — berachain is real as Dev bear introduces Polaris, the Bearchain EVM network built on top of the Cosmos SDK
INJ — Astroport mainnet is now live on Injective, Babylon (BTC security to Cosmos) testnet integrates with INJ, partners with Eclipse to launch Cascade the first Solana SVM rollup for IBC
DYDX — passes proposal to limit emissions, reduce trading rewards by 45%
SEI — announces Atlantic-2, the final version of the upcoming L1s testnet
SUI — announces the heavily funded L1’s mainnet launch will be in Q2
Phoenix — limit order book DEX on SOL launches beta version
Elusive — universal, zero-knowledge privacy layer now live on SOL
RNDR — proposes network expansion to Solana
FuelVM — modular execution protocol announces “Beta-3” testnet is now live
Hyperlane/Eclipse — partner to enable Hyperlane expansion to the Solana VM
SWEAT — move to earn token to become claimable in U.S. markets in September
BTC dominance gained 11%+ throughout March as the king continued to siphon liquidity from a large portion of the crypto ecosystem on its way to gaining 22%. ETH (+14%) and alts across the Arbitrum ecosystem were essentially the only tokens spared from the liquidity blackhole that is strong BTC led rallies.
March unfortunately saw the ongoing regulatory crackdown continue throughout the month with actions taken against:
Kucoin sued by NYAG, claims the exchange is an unregistered securities broker
Coinbase served Wells Notice from SEC focused on staking & asset listing
Binance & CZ sued by CFTC over regulatory violations
Sushiswap & head chef Jared Grey served SEC subpoena
SEC charges Justin Sun with “unregistered offer & sale of crypto asset securities”
Despite the regulatory backlash, the crypto ecosystem continued to do what it always does: build towards the future. March was broadly categorized as one of continued tech advancements and infrastructure improvements as we saw the launches of:
Chainlink Functions — enables any smart contract to any web2 API connection
Rollkit announce the ability to run a sovereign rollup on BTC
Safe’s Core — integrates account abstraction simplifying smart contract development; includes partner solutions from payments giant Stripe & Gelato
Metamask x Unity — MM SDK is now live in the Unity Asset Store enabling game devs across the work to easily integrate native wallet connections
Polygon ID — open-source ZK-based identity solution allowing the verification of credentials on-chain while protecting user privacy, passwordless login, proof-of-uniqueness, composable on-chain, privacy-protected reputation, undercollateralized loans, & more
zkEVM Launches — zkSync launches their zkEVM Mainnet Alpha now open to all users, Polygon’s zkEVM is now live in Mainnet Beta, Immutable X & Polygon announce new gaming partnership & Immutable zkEVM, ConsenSys’ zkEVM Linea now live on testnet for all users
Account Abstraction & EntryPoint — ETH devs enabled “EntryPoint” which allows wallet apps to achieve account abstraction allowing wallets to handle complex tasks automatically without requiring users to interact with the ETH chain
Wallet Access — Microsoft testing native crypto wallet for its web browser Edge, Robinhood rolls out wallet to iOS customers, Slingshot Wallet is available in app stores, & Uniswap announces their limited release mobile wallet
Instadapp’s Avocado — cross chain aggregator with built in, account abstraction powered next-gen smart wallet; gas paid in USDC for any cross-chain token swap
Coinbase Wallet as a Service — WaaS is a “scalable & secure set of wallet infra APIs, enabling companies to create/deploy fully customizable onchain wallets”.
ATOM ICS — Cosmos ecosystem finally approved a version of the long awaited Interchain Security (ICS), Replicated Security.
This month also highlighted the often forgotten fact that crypto rails continue to improve with each additional enhancement compounding throughout the entire ecosystem as the space prepares necessary infrastructure for the next eventual cycle. Looking ahead, I’ll mostly be monitoring the following sectors throughout April:
BTC dominance — currently at/approaching highs not seen since June of ‘21 & ‘22 at ~48%; will dominance top here allowing capital to spill to ETH & alts
LSDs — (LDO, RPL, FXS, SD, YFI) increased momentum & narrative ahead of Shapella upgrade April 12th enabling staked ETH withdrawals; expect narrative to rotate back to LSDs along with increased fees and TVL of staking protocols
Overhangs — YTD market hasn’t cared, but headwinds in April with Mt. Gox selling likely to begin, Shapella induced negligible selling, regulatory uncertainty including Coinbase & Binance and U.S. government’s year long TWAP selling (although minor @ ~$4M/day in BTC)
Rotations — they always manifest themselves, but fundamental and narrative driven rotations seem like a blank slate after LSDs boost from Shapella upgrade April 12th; thinking through what can develop late April through May +EV
L2s — Arbitrum TVL up 18.5% this month behind ARB airdrop but most ARB ecosystem tokens down since launch; how does distribution of TVL & users shift as Polygon & zkSync zkEVMs are live along with coming OP Bedrock upgrade
ATOM — can Replicated Security & ICS, recent SOL VM/asset integrations and coming native USDC provide strong enough tailwinds for user & TVL growth
ETH/BTC — approaching bottom of ~2 year range, expecting tailwinds to begin soon after successful Shapella upgrade then move towards range highs until momentum shifts back to BTC at start of ‘24 before April halving
Stablecoins — distribution and market share as USDT dominance climbs above 60%; USDC market cap down 23% this month, BUSD down another 28%, while TUSD continues to expand up 82% in March to $2B+
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 February
Polychain Capital looking to raise $400M for its fourth fund
Alpha Transform Holdings announced with $100M for two new funds
DeFiance Capital completes first close of new $100M liquid token fund
Scroll, L2 developer with zkEVM on testnet, raises $50M @ $1.8B valuation
Shardeum, EVM-based L1 in development, raising $5M @ $250M valuation
Figment Capital seeking $50M for its second venture fund
Chiliz (CHZ), sports/entertainment L1, launches $50M incubator & accelerator
CCP Games, studio behind Eve Online, raises $40M & announces plans for blockchain-based crypto MMO game set within universe of Eve Online
Tomi, DAO aiming to build “alternative internet”, raises $40M
OP3N, “web3 WeChat”, raises $28M Series A @ $100M valuation
Seed Club, DAO-focused accelerator program, launches venture arm with $25M
ZenGo, crypto wallet developer, raising $10M @ $100M valuation
March’s Noteworthy News
Nasdaq says institutional demand for crypto remains elevated as the exchange will launch crypto custody service by the end of June
Amazon planning launch of NFTs tied to real-world assets with a token possible
Microsoft appears to be working on native crypto wallet for its web browser Edge, Bleeping Computer says Microsoft partnered with ETH giant Consensys to offer crypto swap feature
Wormhole integrates Circle’s CCTP enabling the composition of generic messages on top of cross-chain, native USDC transfers
Deliotte & Sinclair Broadcast Group to launch new “sports metaverse experience” as Deloitte highlights “advance in the sports NFT market”
Liquid Collective, institutional staking support, launches ETH Liquid Staking
Mt. Gox repayments delayed a month, will go out between April 6th & Oct. 31st
Kraken moving forward with plans to launch its own bank “very soon” despite the currently challenging regulatory environment
Epic Games has “close to 20” crypto games in store pipeline to add by next year
Fidelity Crypto launches crypto retail product, provides access to BTC & ETH
National Australia Bank (NAB) completes intra-bank, cross-border transaction using its stablecoin via Ethereum
Sony files new NFT-related patents that would allow consumers to use NFTs both inside and outside the Sony ecosystem
Xapo Bank, BTC custodian & licensed private bank, partners with Circle to integrate USDC payment rails as an alternative to SWIFT
Microstrategy buys 6,455 BTC for $150M @ average price of $23,238 per BTC
Telegram launches support for USDT to be transferred between users in chats
Bitwise launches BITC; “new type of bitcoin-linked ETF for professional investors”
Consensys launches MetaMask Institutional & staking services for large firms
Nexon, Asia gaming giant, taps MATIC for expansion of MapleStory universe
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
“Blue Chip” PFPs bleed as more organic communities rise
Cryptopunks made their way to the top of the Blur farming charts
DeGods resurrect on Bitcoin and become most-traded Ordinal collection
Jack Butcher shifts focus to Opepen Editions with more info coming every day
Kanpai Pandas launch the PP Dex with customizable traits and casino games
The Otherside hosts Second Trip + details upcoming Legends of Mara game
PROOF scraps plans for Highrise and token amid refocusing
Pudgy Penguins announce long-awaited Rods utility program
Sewer Passes went through The Summoning to reveal HT-MVL mechs
Starbucks releases first limited NFT, The Siren Collection
y00ts made the journey to Polygon and DeGods move to Ethereum
New Entrants
All AI Art Looks The Same rewards BrainDrops full-setters
Dimensionals is the latest incredibly vague Free-to-Own gaming project
Escher launches their editions platform with three exclusive drops
Gitcoin Presents turns into a Machi farming frenzy
Megapunks were amongst the Ordinals collections utilizing Ethereum tokens
Mocaverse is Animoca Brands’ new flagship collection
Momoguro embarks on a storytelling-focused quest
Owls kickstart an ASCII-powered mini-meta
Seizon embraces dynamic rarities in an extended reveal process
SHILLR releases Media Core Pass open edition
Stealcam lets you share, steal and reveal pictures with your friends
Twelvefold was auctioned, inscribed and traded very lightly on secondary
Upcoming Projects
DenDekaDen’s Spirit Key avatars mint this weekend
Maplestory announces their entrance to the NFT space
Reddit Gen 3 Avatars are coming soon(ish)
Symbiogenesis sees Square Enix come to Polygon
Taproot Wizards take showers for a chance to Make Bitcoin Magical Again
Other News
Amazon could be entering the NFT space as soon as next month - Blockworks
Blur rolls out friendlier mobile site, enables mobile purchases
Epic Games Store is set to host “close to 20” crypto-games - Blockworks
Cozomo de Medici donates 22 NFTs, including zombie Punk, to LACMA
Meta announced their NFT programs will be shut down
OpenSea goes 0% fee, optional royalties as Blur gains market share
The Pokemon Company is looking to hire NFT experts
Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational, is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions.