@cryptocracy 14 September 2022 more from that month

Ethereum Steals the Show, Web3 Looks for Its Identity How bitcoin shatters the **greatest illusion ever made**. Bitcoin’s “slowness” is **its superpower**. *I couldn’t agree more with both conclusions, but don’t call me a maxi.* Is Bitcoin the perfect **settlement layer** for building apps? Another Fed rate hike could **impact BTC’s price**. https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/the-greatest-trick-that-bitcoin-shatters https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/09/13/bitcoin-should-change-slowly/ https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-is-the-perfect-settlement-layer-to-build-apps-on-top-of-hiro-ceo https://time.com/nextadvisor/investing/cryptocurrency/fed-rate-increase-bitcoin-price-impact/ Coinbase can **blacklist your staked Ethereum**. *Whoa! You’d better look at your smart contract.* What would a post-Merge Ethereum hard fork mean for **NFT licenses**? The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has introduced **ether futures trading**. Merriam-Webster **defines ETH as an altcoin**. 4 things **analysts are saying** about the Merge, and one blockchain economist is saying ETH could become a **store of value** while miners are threatening to hard fork Ethereum within **24 hours after the Merge**. *All eyes are on Ethereum today as we approach* ***the time of the Merge****.* https://beincrypto.com/coinbase-can-blacklist-your-staked-ethereum-smart-contract-shows/ https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/insights/publications/2022/09/the-ethereum-merge-what-does-the-hard-fork-mean-for-my-nft-licenses/ https://www.thestreet.com/investing/cryptocurrency/ethereum-gets-a-huge-boost-from-an-important-market-organizer https://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/992573/eth-d-off-merriam-webster-throws-shade-on-ethereum-992573.html https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/09/13/four-things-blockchain-analysts-are-saying-about-the-ethereum-merge/ https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2022/09/12/ether-may-inevitably-turn-into-a-store-of-value-after-ethereums-merge-consensys-economist-says/ https://fortune.com/2022/09/13/ethereum-miners-fork-merge/ https://www.google.com/search?q=ethereum+merge&sxsrf=ALiCzsYWTc9kjdoenwko9nagvuEuPAdFaA%3A1663159447651&source=hp&ei=l8whY8GoJNCjptQP_r-AiAQ&iflsig=AJiK0e8AAAAAYyHap3isVQpAr0v1cDORY695WpcqS8FZ&ved=0ahUKEwiB0NDgp5T6AhXQkYkEHf4fAEEQ4dUDCAk&uact=5&oq=ethereum+merge&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBAgjECcyCwgAEIAEELEDEIMBMgsIABCABBCxAxCDATILCAAQgAQQsQMQgwEyCwgAEIAEELEDEIMBMgQIABADMgQIABADMgsIABCABBCxAxCDATIICAAQsQMQgwEyCwgAEIAEELEDEIMBOgcILhDqAhAnOgcIIxDqAhAnOgUIABCRAjoRCC4QgAQQsQMQgwEQxwEQ0QM6CwgAELEDEIMBEJECOggILhCABBCxAzoLCC4QgAQQsQMQgwE6CAgAEIAEELEDUPoCWKgOYIUPaABwAHgAgAHmAogB1haSAQgwLjIuMTAuMZgBAKABAbABCg&sclient=gws-wiz USDT is live on the **NEAR Protocol**. https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/09/13/tether-usdt-stablecoin-went-live-on-near-protocol-to-extend-defi-presence/ Celsius to restructure to focus on **crypto custody**. *This seems like a wise move.* https://cointelegraph.com/news/celsius-ceo-plans-to-restructure-firm-to-focus-on-crypto-custody-report Starbucks, Polygon partner on **NFT-based loyalty program**. How NFTs can **boost customer loyalty**. *I’ve said for a long time that NFTs will be valuable for the management of customer loyalty programs. When businesses discover this, it will usher in the mainstream of Web3.* Enjoy this **deep dive into Polygon**. https://www.business2community.com/nft-news/starbucks-integrates-polygon-to-offer-nft-based-loyalty-program-02548312 https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/opinion/NFTs-can-boost-customer-loyalty-if-people-would-chill-out https://medium.com/coinmonks/polygon-a-deep-dive-8fc3543d5ff9 Crypto yields are beginning to **pay less than government bonds**. Who will invest in crypto **when T-bill yields are higher**? *This isn’t so much about which is the better investment—Treasury bills or crypto. It’s about which is the better investment long-term versus short term. We are currently operating in an* ***inverted yield curve*** *environment, a rare situation where long-term Treasury bill yields are lower than short-term T-bill yields. Yesterday’s 10-year Treasury rate, for instance, was* ***3.42 percent****. The 2-year rate was* ***3.75 percent****. The yield curve inversion has been a reliable indicator of recessions, however, there is wide disagreement over when it occurs and how it is measured. When it happens, investors tend to re-evaluate their mix of asset allocations within their portfolios. While crypto appears to be a risky short-term investment, its long-term prospects for higher yields is still solid. Savvy investors understand that and respond in one of two ways—HODL or move out of crypto and into other asset classes until the market cycle swings upward again. Don’t be alarmed. Be cautious and make good decisions.* https://cryptopotato.com/crypto-yields-are-starting-to-pay-less-than-government-bonds/ https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2022/who-would-invest-in-defi-when-t-bill-yields-are-higher/ https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/invertedyieldcurve.asp https://ycharts.com/indicators/10_year_treasury_rate https://ycharts.com/indicators/2_year_treasury_rate Doodle raises **$54 million**. How the 1-year-old NFT project became the **next big thing**. The top 5 failures of the **NFT avatar hype**. *HINT: According to this author, Doodles is one of them. What are the other 4?* https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/09/13/nft-marketplace-doodles-raises-54m-at-704m-valuation/ https://www.fastcompany.com/90783396/doodles-domination-how-a-1-year-old-nft-project-turned-into-the-next-big-thing https://cryptobriefing.com/remember-nft-avatar-hype-these-are-niches-top-five-failures/ SWIFT is **building its own blockchain**. https://www.swift.com/news-events/news/swift-innovates-remove-friction-corporate-actions Is Web3 experiencing an **identity crisis**? **(THIS IS THE BEST READ OF THE DAY)** *This article has several great reading sections. One of those is on the Lens Protocol, which I’m looking forward to, not because of the NFT component but because of the social graph component. When social media transitions from siloed platforms that look and feel like walled gardens into a social graph that works much the same way as real-life social networks, that’s when the Web will have truly bared its soul.* https://fundamentallabs.substack.com/p/web3-social-a-booming-space-with?sd=pf

How Americans can recover crypto **locked in Tornado Cash**. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/09/13/us-treasury-explains-how-us-persons-can-recover-crypto-locked-in-tornado-cash/ Citadel, Fidelity, Charles Schwab to **launch a crypto exchange**. https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-news-today-09-13-2022/card/citadel-securities-fidelity-schwab-back-new-crypto-exchange-wiOjfsTo4q9UrdhylBT2 5 challenges of **metaverse colleges**. https://theconversation.com/5-challenges-of-doing-college-in-the-metaverse-189921 The benefits of **Web3 for authors**. https://greg.cent.co/nft/2462 Why a digital dollar is **a bad idea**. *I wonder if anyone who opposes the idea of a digital dollar realizes that the dollar is already practically digital.* https://fee.org/articles/why-a-digital-dollar-is-a-really-bad-idea/ Brother of former Coinbase manager pleads **guilty to insider trading** charges. https://coingeek.com/brother-of-ex-coinbase-manager-pleads-guilty-in-insider-trading-case/ The Linux Foundation is forming the **OpenWallet Foundation**. *I’m a huge fan of open source and interoperability, but this will only be of value if the security of wallets built through this initiative is super tight.* https://www.linuxfoundation.org/press/linux-foundation-announces-an-intent-to-form-the-openwallet-foundation The challenges of building a **reputation in Web3**. https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-challenges-with-building-a-reputation-in-web3-and-how-to-solve-them The Overline Network is giving away free land. Today is the last day to **claim yours**. *What do you have to lose? Click the link and we’ll both get free land. There truly is no cost to you, however, you can buy virtual land if you want to.* https://network.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1ab67a42a7e778dc48c55d3b9&id=528c3bbb66&e=fee004e001 Put Your Content to Work at **Read.Cash/Noise.Cash**. ***You do not want to miss this Clubhouse event tomorrow.*** https://www.clubhouse.com/event/PN2yaqoZ The Science DAO wants to **open source scientific publishing**. https://coinjournal.net/news/the-science-daos-project-targets-open-source-scientific-publishing/ 7 ways to earn **passive income from crypto**. https://www.finance-monthly.com/2022/09/top-7-ways-to-earn-passive-income-from-your-crypto-assets/ Chipotle adds new menu item **to the metaverse**. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/09/13/chipotle-launches-new-dish-in-the-metaverse.html Digital currency service provider Abra is **launching a bank**. https://www.coinspeaker.com/digital-currency-abra-us-bank/ Uruguay executive **introduces crypto bill** into Parliament. https://news.bitcoin.com/uruguay-introduces-cryptocurrency-law-in-parliament/ *Snark and commentary in italics.* Cryptocracy is a decentralized newsletter published several times a week. I curate the latest news and crypto analysis from some of the brightest minds in crypto, and sometimes offer a little insightful and snarky commentary. Always fresh, always interesting, and always crypto. *First published at* *Cryptocracy**. Not to be construed as financial advice. Do your own research.* https://cryptocracy.substack.com/p/why-all-eyes-are-on-ethereum-today