@cryptocracy 22 February 2023 more from that month

Mastercard, Polygon, Litecoin, and Web3 Advances Mastercard to allow Web3 payments in USDC. *Mastercard is partnering with Web3 payment protocol Immersive. Unfortunately, I don’t think this will make your Web3 wallet more secure.* https://cointelegraph.com/news/mastercard-to-allow-crypto-payments-in-web3-via-usdc-settlements Polygon Labs lays off 20 percent of workforce. *Polygon isn’t the first blockchain firm to do this, and it likely won’t be the last. There is a general sentiment in business circles that a recession is on the horizon. Companies are preparing for the worst.* https://www.livemint.com/market/cryptocurrency/crypto-firm-polygon-labs-lays-off-20-of-workforce-as-rout-worsens-11677047998682.html A Litecoin developer forks Bitcoin Ordinals, taking NFTs to bitcoin’s baby brother. https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2023/02/21/litecoin-network-gets-its-first-nfts-after-developer-forks-bitcoin-ordinals/ BlackRock launches metaverse ETF. https://seekingalpha.com/news/3938467-blackrock-enters-the-metaverse-with-its-latest-etf-launch Blur rewards NFT creators that block OpenSea. *I missed this until Forefront point it out in their newsletter.* OpenSea responded by cutting transaction fees. The full scale war is on. BLUR’s price could climb 30 percent by March. Singing another tune, investors are pulling away from NFT marketplace tokens overall. Read more on Blur here. *Is Blur a gamechanger? Will its presence in the market spur on more NFT activity? Anything is possible.* https://mirror.xyz/blurdao.eth/vYOjzk4cQCQ7AtuJWWiZPoNZ04YKQmTMsos0NNq_hYs https://nftnow.com/news/breaking-opensea-announces-major-changes-to-fees-and-creator-royalties/ https://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/1006795/blur-s-nft-marketplace-in-royalties-spat-with-opensea-1006795.html https://cointelegraph.com/news/nft-aggregator-blur-eyes-30-price-pump-by-march-amid-airdrop-euphoria https://blockworks.co/news/nft-marketplaces-hit-hard https://cryptocracy.substack.com/p/web3-wednesday-its-all-about-the

Why the Web3 user experience should be entirely self-custodial. *I couldn’t agree with this more. There is a lot of talk about onboarding new people to Web3, but developers aren’t making that onboarding process easier. In most cases, they promise decentralization and deliver an extra layer of centralization. If Web3 is to go mainstream, it must deliver on the promise of decentralization in a seamless way that makes it easy to get in and get out with fewer hassles.* https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2023/02/21/were-responsible-for-web3-user-journeys-its-time-to-make-them-completely-self-custodial/ Ankr Network jumps 80 percent after Microsoft partnership announcement. https://dailyhodl.com/2023/02/21/web3-crypto-project-explodes-80-amid-surprise-partnership-with-microsoft/ The Stacks Token bounced 130 percent in one week. *See? Ordinals are good for something.* https://decrypt.co/121810/stacks-token-soars-week-bitcoin-nft-hype Bosch and Fetch.ai partner on Web3 tech. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/02/21/fetch-ai-partners-with-bosch-to-jointly-explore-use-of-ai-and-web3-technology/ Do Web3 startups need better funding programs? *A worthy defense of incubator and builder support programs for Web3 startups and founders. Of course, it takes money to build things, but a focus on just the money without addressing leadership best practices is sure death for a startup—Web2 or Web3.* https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2023/02/21/web3-builders-need-better-funding-programs-not-just-funds/ LinksDAO is voting to decide whether to make an offer on a Scottish golf course. *Fore!* https://blockworks.co/news/linksdao-to-buy-scottish-golf-course **On Arbitrum:** Factor raises $4.3 million on Day One of token sale. Meanwhile, Hope Finance loses $2 million of user funds in smart contract exploit. https://www.yahoo.com/now/arbitrum-based-factor-raises-4m-085201246.html https://cointelegraph.com/news/hope-finance-exploit-results-in-2m-stolen-from-users-funds 3 ways Web2 companies are getting into Web3. https://financefeeds.com/embracing-the-web3-revolution-how-traditional-companies-are-taking-the-leap-from-web2-to-web3/ How NFTs are making a comeback. https://appdevelopermagazine.com/Nfts-are-making-a-comeback/ Pop star Jewel is taking mental health to the metaverse. *Future citizens of the metaverse will likely need mental health support.* NASA has pivoted its training toward the metaverse. https://www.forbes.com/sites/cathyolson/2023/02/21/jewel-takes-her-mental-health-mission-to-the-metaverse/?sh=550a298f28c6 https://payloadspace.com/nasa-vr-crowdsourcing/ Former UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock launches his own NFT. *There’s no reason politicians can’t have their own social or creator tokens. They can accept donations in their tokens and use them to pay expenses related to their campaigns. There may be thousands of other creative uses for them, as well.* https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/what-is-nft-how-non-fungible-tokens-work-matt-hancock-b1062020.html DAOs can deepen organizational trust and transparency. *According to Wharton School’s business journal.* https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/podcast/wharton-business-daily-podcast/how-daos-could-bring-organizational-trust-and-transparency/ Friendsies NFT project deletes its Twitter account. *If you want to be accused of masterminding a rug pull, delete your Twitter account. If you actually are pulling the rug, you shouldn’t delete your Twitter account unless you’ve posted incriminating content that tips off your followers of your intent, in which case you’re an idiot.* https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/02/21/friendsies-nft-collection-deletes-twitter-after-pause-announcement-spurs-rug-pull-accusations/ Saudi Arabia has a giant metaverse cube the size of 20 Empire State buildings. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/news/inside-saudi-arabias-giant-metaverse-29275089 Momint has launched a blockchain-based electric energy production solution in South Africa. *Very interesting and creative use of solar cells.* https://news.bitcoin.com/report-south-african-startup-momint-seeks-to-boost-electricity-generation-using-blockchain-based-solution/   This Week on Hive *These links are provided to give a taste of the content being published at Hive, and to show the diversity of content being published.* @dynamicrypto provides an analysis of Hive in 12 easy-to-digest bullet points. https://hive.blog/neoxag/@dynamicrypto/a-dynamic-analysis-of-neoxian-community @secorama went in search of snowdrops. https://hive.blog/hive-155530/@seckorama/in-search-of-snowdrops @edicted says “Don’t Be a Taker; Be a Maker.” https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@edicted/don-t-be-a-taker-be-a-maker @acidyo announces the introduction of the GOSH token. https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@acidyo/gosh-announcement-and-info-airdrop @parttimeeconon asks if Splinterlands is still play2earn. https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@parttimeeconon/is-splinterlands-still-play-to-earn @taskmaster4450 says Elon Musk is trying to turn Twitter into Hive. https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@taskmaster4450/twitter-working-on-monetizing-content-musk-is-trying-to-create-hive @asteroids educates Hive users on how to always be a winner. https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@asteroids/how-to-always-be-the-winner-in-every-situation @intentionsoflife waxes poetic on OpenSea’s waiver of fees. https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@intentionsoflife/why-opensea-s-new-royalty @ladiesofhive discusses #threads for ladies. https://hive.blog/ladiesofhive/@ladiesofhive/ladies-threads-and-be-rewarded-with-leo-and-hive @blocktunes tells you how to share your music using IPFS and the Hive blockchain. https://hive.blog/hive-176363/@blocktunes/how-to-store-music-using-ipfs-and-share-via-the-hive-blockchain @samest shares how to earn with DaoLabs. https://hive.blog/hive-167922/@samest/daolabs-one-of-the-big-way-to-earn-online   3 From Publish0x *Almost all of the content on Publish0x is about crypto. At least, the most popular content is crypto-focused. These are some of the best reads today.* LeoThreads has the potential to take over Hive. *In some ways, it’s already beginning to happen.* https://www.publish0x.com/sapphire-crypto/leothreads-has-the-potential-to-capture-hive-xyezvvg John Wegehaupt explains how bitcoin flipped bullish. *John constantly produces A+ content.* https://www.publish0x.com/johnwege/why-bitcoin-flipped-bullish-xddpoex Has SmartBCH failed to make DeFi popular in the Bitcoin Cash community? *PVM is another A+ content producer on Publish0x.* https://www.publish0x.com/mind-puzzle/smartbch-failed-to-bring-defi-for-the-bch-community-xkpryoq Got some content on a Web3 platform you think I should see? Drop by Cryptocracy and leave me a comment on one of my posts alerting me to that content by linking to it. https://cryptocracy.substack.com/ Be sure to check out this week’s Defluenced podcast where Unkle Bonehead (@unklebonehead) and I discuss 3Speak’s wiring diagram. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP8Dnp41Gng https://youtu.be/jP8Dnp41Gng If you haven’t heard yet, my new book *Web3 Social: How Creators Are Changing the World Wide Web (And You Can Too!)* is selling like hotcakes on Amazon. It’s hit No. 1 New Release in at least 4 categories and has garnered several 5-point reviews. Check it out! Learn more about it on the book’s website. https://www.amazon.com/Web3-Social-Creators-Changing-World-ebook/dp/B0BW4W3JYK https://allent.authorchannel.co/ **Be sure to check out** **my NFTs at Cent Pages****. Most of them can be minted for free:** https://cent.co/account/posts 8 New Web3 Social Media Platforms & Protocols https://cent.co/account/posts/7755 Web3 Social Earnings, January 2023 https://cent.co/account/posts/7432 Will Web3 Finally Be Decentralized in 2023? https://cent.co/account/posts/7121 Steven 'Clam' Chowder is Tired of the Big Con https://cent.co/account/posts/6908 Diamonds and Pearls: A Historical Look at the Top 10 Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap https://cent.co/account/posts/6610 Let's Have a Happy Crypto New Year! https://cent.co/account/posts/6465 Twitter Tuesday: Sam Bankman-Fried Has Been Arrested in the Bahamas https://cent.co/account/posts/6029 Alternatively, you can share Cryptocracy posts by copying/pasting the URL into Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or wherever you want to share. *Snark and commentary are in italics. Inclusion of an item doesn’t mean I agree or endorse the ideas presented. Of course, it also doesn’t mean I don’t.* 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. Original articles on Fridays. *First published at* *Cryptocracy**. Not to be construed as financial advice. Do your own research.* https://cryptocracy.substack.com/p/web3-wednesday-mastercard-to-accept **Connect with me at:** Actifit https://actifit.io/signup?referrer=allentaylor Diamond App (DeSo) https://diamondapp.com/u/allentaylor gFam https://gfam.live/profile/cryptocracy Hive https://hive.blog/@allentaylor Presearch (affiliate link for Presearch) https://presearch.com/signup?rid=2670313 Publish0x https://www.publish0x.com/?a=MvbmyNrbYA Read.Cash https://read.cash/r/cryptocracy Torum https://www.torum.com/u/cryptocracy Image credit: Blur’s Mirror blog