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- DeFi On Bitcoin? 🤩
DeFi On Bitcoin? 🤩
DeFi possible on Bitcoin, Paypal and MoonPay, SOL Gaming, NFT sales dip, and Justin Sun sucks
Jonathan Morgan
May 02, 2024
OVERVIEW
DeFi On Bitcoin? Possibly. 🤩
Today is green, but will there be any follow-through? The big macro market cap concern is the altcoin market having difficulty regaining the $1 trillion level - it’s currently at $986 billion. 🟩
In today’s Litepaper: DeFi on Bitcoin with BOB, PayPal and Moonpay team up, Solana’s and Goole Cloud’s big moves in Web3 gaming, NFT sales drop, and Justin Sun’s latest antics. 📰
Before we dive in, here’s today’s crypto market heatmap:
And here’s a look at crypto’s total and altcoin market cap YTD:
BITCOIN
BOB's $300M Leap into Bitcoin-Driven DeFi 🤾♂️
The Build on Bitcoin (BOB) project debuted yesterday with its plan to integrate Bitcoin with decentralized finance (DeFi). Already, BOB has an impressive $300 million in total value locked (TVL) and over 40 decentralized applications (apps). 🤯
What is BOB, though? It’s a hybrid layer-2 network, often called an "Ethereum rollup." This approach combines Bitcoin's extensive reach and security with Ethereum's sophisticated DeFi functionalities, including smart contracts and stablecoins.
Simplifying Crypto Transactions
Alexei Zamyatin, co-founder of BOB, wants to streamline the Bitcoin to BOB transition, mirroring the ease of moving from Ethereum to its Layer 2 networks. The main goal: a one-click transfer process.
And they’ve already got plans for how to address the typically slow transactions on Bitcoin’s network with something called merged mining. Here are a few of the benefits from their site:
No extra PoW: Merged mining reuses work of the Bitcoin network, i.e., no extra PoW is required for BOB. No extra electricity spend is required.
Fast block times: With optimistic merged mining, BOB can retain its 2-second block times. Other merged mining approaches require a lower bound of roughly 15-second block times due to high uncle rates.
No Bitcoin modifications needed: Optimistic merged mining works on Bitcoin today. While we are working on BitVM, we can implement optimistic merged mining today.
Block fee stability: Since multiple blocks are merged mined at once, the fees are averaged over multiple blocks such that fee variance across blocks is reduced for Bitcoin miners.
This project is probably worth investigating further. If successful and scalable, DeFi on Bitcoin could become a reality. 🧠
NEWS
PayPal and MoonPay Join Forces 🤝
PayPal ($PYPL) has partnered with MoonPay to broaden its cryptocurrency offerings, providing access to over 100 digital assets for its vast user base. 🌐
This match made in heaven will circumvent the common banking restrictions that often hinder crypto purchases made with debit cards. PayPal users, previously limited to a few cryptocurrencies, can now invest in a wider array, including Solana ($SOL), Dogecoin ($DOGE), Cardano ($ADA), and Shiba Inu ($SHIB). This integration is already available to half of PayPal’s U.S. customers.
As far as the fees go, I have no idea. But they can’t be much worse than Coinbase’s ($COIN) - I hope. 💳
SOLANA
Solana and Google Cloud Launch GameShift 🖲️
Solana ($SOL) has deepened its collaboration with Google Cloud, launching the GameShift API to enhance web3 gaming experiences. 🎮
This partnership will let developers integrate blockchain features more easily into their games, thanks to the user-friendly GameShift API. The GameShift API tools allow for in-game minting of Solana-based assets and transaction management.
Support for non-custodial wallets and streamlined payment processes, reflecting a significant move towards making blockchain applications more accessible to the broader developer community. 🕹️
From a price action perspective, Solana’s having one hell of a good day. Adding yesterday’s gains to today’s, SOL is presently up over +10% and has even flipped the weekly candlestick to green.
And that positive price action is reflected in the sentiment score, moving from bullish (64) yesterday to extremely bullish (83). Retail traders and investors have been on the right side of the SOL dip buying so far; time will tell if they continue to be rewarded for their bravery. ⏫
STOCKTWITS CONTENT
New “Trends With Friends” 🍿
Stocktwits co-founder Howard Lindzon chops it up with pals JC Parets and Phil Pearlman every Thursday on "Trends With Friends."
NFTS
Ethereum and Solana's NFT Sales Take a Dive in April's Rough Waters ⤵️
NFT sales for Ethereum $ETH and Solana $SOL took a major hit in April, each experiencing sharp declines amid broader market challenges. 🖌️
The market took a 31% nosedive compared to March's numbers, dragging down Ethereum and Solana along with it. The latest stats paint a pretty grim picture: total NFT sales barely scraped together $1.15 billion.
It wasn't all doom and gloom, though. While Ethereum and Solana watched their figures plummet, a few underdogs somehow managed to claw their way up. Immutable X ($IMX) and Avalanche ($AVAX) actually saw their sales numbers tick up, proving that it's not all about the big players.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin ($BTC) decided to show everyone how it's done. Despite a general slump, Bitcoin-based NFTs like the Uncategorized Ordinals collection pulled in a cool $314.82 million—up nearly 17% from March. Not too shabby. 🖼️
NEWS
Justin Sun's Diplomatic Shield Shatters in Legal Showdown 🛡️
From the WSJ of crypto news, Protos: Justin Sun's gambit to wield diplomatic immunity has crashed and burned in the halls of U.S. justice. 👩⚖️
Sure, Sun scored a legit diplomatic title, fancy enough to bag him a UN visa as Grenada’s Ambassador for Science and Emerging Technology. But, according to the powers that be at the UN, this superhero cloak of immunity was only effective on Swiss turf and, frankly, only when he was actually, you know, doing his job. Not much cover for past misdeeds, it turns out.
A Spectacular Legal Faceplant 🤦
Sun's legal team kept pushing the immunity angle until it became a running joke. His exit from Grenada's political scene was less a dignified departure and more a tail-between-legs retreat. In the courtroom, the arbitrator wasn't having any of Sun's evasion tactics either, chucking out his testimony like yesterday’s news.
Now, rather than strolling through San Francisco or enjoying Swiss chocolates, Sun plays hopscotch between countries that might not hand him over to Uncle Sam. He continues to sell his $TRON story, likely hoping it sounds better far from the long arm of U.S. law. 👮♂️
NEWS
Crypto News In Three Sentences 📰
🔒 Elizabeth Warren Targets Iran's Crypto Mining
Senator Elizabeth Warren has intensified her warnings about the negative potential for cryptocurrencies, particularly focusing on Iran's growing crypto mining. In a letter co-signed with Senator Angus King, Warren highlights how Iran's sanctioned mining activities might be financing threats against international peace and U.S. national security. From CryptoSlate.
📉 Story 2: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Experiences First Outflows
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ($IBIT) faced its first day of outflows, losing $36.90 million as $BTC prices tumbled, contributing to a broader trend of $563.70 million exiting U.S. Bitcoin ETFs. Despite this setback, institutional interest remains high, with significant investments from major banks like BNP Paribas and BNY Mellon. Finbold has more.
💰 EMURGO Advocates for Tokenizing Precious Metals via Cardano
EMURGO, Cardano’s ($ADA) commercial arm, is championing the tokenization of precious metals to enhance transparency, security, and accessibility in investments. EMURGO’s initiative reflects a broader shift towards integrating digital asset solutions in traditional industries, promising a more interconnected and streamlined global market. More from CryptoGlobe.
🚫 Debunking Rumors of Elon Musk Testing XRP Payments
Recent rumors claiming Elon Musk is testing $XRP payments on his X social media platform have been debunked by a network validator. The validator clarified that any user can label their account under any name, including Musk's, without proof. From U.Today.
Links That Don’t Suck 🔗
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