EthHub Weekly #82
Devcon 5, PayPal drops out of Libra, Coinbase launches USDC rewards program, InstaDApp raises $2.4M and much more!
Curated by Anthony Sassano (@sassal0x) and Eric Conner (@econoar)
đŻđ” Devcon 5!
Itâs finally here! Eric and I are both in Japan for Devcon 5 in Osaka. Weâre super excited to speak to as many Ethereans as we can so if youâre attending the event, be sure to come find us for a chat (and a free sticker)!
Just a note: there wonât be a weekly recap podcast episode this week but there will be an extended one next week where Eric and I will recap our Devcon 5 experiences!
Have a great week everyone!
-Â Anthony
News of the Week
đ€Â PayPal Withdraws from Libra
PayPal is leaving Facebook's Libra stablecoin project. The global payments giant becomes the first founding member of Libra to officially depart the project.
A PayPal spokesperson said that the payments firm âmade the decision to forgo further participationâ in the Facebook-initiated crypto project, to instead âcontinue to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities as we strive to democratize access to financial services for underserved populations.â
On Thursday, The Financial Times reported that PayPal was the only firm of the 28 inaugural members of the Libra project that did not attend a key meeting in Washington to discuss how Libra would address increasing opposition from global regulators.
In addition to PayPal, Other payments giants - Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe - are also reportedly hesitating to officially sign on to the Libra project.
đ Apple Has No Plans to Launch a Cryptocurrency
Apple CEO Tim Cook has spoken out about whether his company would launch a cryptocurrency, and the answer is a firm no.
In an interview with Les Echos newspaper, Cook argued that private companies shouldnât be competing with states on monetary control, stating:
âNo. I deeply believe that money must remain in the hands of states. I am not comfortable with the idea that a private group creates a competing currency. A private company does not have to seek to gain power in this way.â
The comment may be a dig at Facebook, which is developing a stablecoin payments project called Libraâ slated for a 2020 launch â that has been under fire from regulators worldwide over its potential risk to financial stability and national monetary policies.
đ” JPMorgan, Intel Alums Launch Revenue-Sharing Stablecoin USDD
Former employees of JPMorgan, Intel and TrustToken have unveiled a dollar-backed stablecoin with a twist: revenue sharing for the institutions that use it.
Their new company, Global Currency Organization (GCO), developed the USD Digital (USDD) token. It aims to break through with exchanges, traders and OTC desks looking for a stablecoin product but unwilling to develop one themselves.
A novel fifty-fifty revenue sharing model incentivizes that adoption, GCO says, and USDDâs placement on the ethereum blockchain provides users with transparency.
âItâs the best of both worlds,â said CEO Joe Vellanikaran. âThey get the stablecoin, and they get the revenue that GCO shares with them.â
Project Updates
InstaDApp Raises $2.4M Seed Round
InstaDApp, the DeFi portal that aggregates the major protocols using a smart wallet layer and bridge contracts, has raised $2.4M from Pantera Capital, Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Coinbase Ventures and more.
MyDeFi Updates
The MyDeFi app got an update this week and now has a new section named âToolsâ that will help you find the best lending rates from Compound, dYdX and bZx as well as sourcing information on the most profitable liquidity pools from Uniswap. The app also got a fresh new design.
Infura Has Officially Been Acquired by ConsenSys
Ethereum infrastructure provided Infura is now officially part of ConsenSys. Before the acquisition, the company was a âSpokeâ in the ConsenSys mesh which means that it was only part-owned by ConsenSys.
Whatâs New in Eth2 - 3 October 2019
In this 1 year anniversary edition of his newsletter, Ben recaps the interop lock-in, gives his thoughts on the roadmap for Eth2, and provides some research-related resources & updates.
Making Maker: September 2019
This month, Making Maker is all about preparedness: Prepare for the ânew Oasis,â start planning to upgrade from Single-Collateral Dai to Multi-Collateral Dai, and, of course, getting ready for Devcon 5 in Osaka, Japan.
PryLabs Development Update #36
Various updates from the PryLabs team including that the testnet is now back online, big improvements in BLS, round robin sync, archival node functionality and much more.
a16z Launches Crypto Startup School
The aim of the program is the encourage more tech entrepreneurs to start crypto projects and to help crypto builders navigate the idea maze. Sign-ups are open now.
Lighthouse Update #16
The Lighthouse team gives us an update on their time at the Eth2 client interop summit, their experience with multi-client testnets, updates to their documentation and more.
Makerâs new Oasis Trade is Live
Oasis Trade represents the first step toward creating an all-in-one decentralized finance (DeFi) hub whereby users can trade crypto assets, earn savings by locking up Dai in the Dai Savings Rate (DSR), and access Multi-Collateral Dai CDPs.
Mint Sets with USDC and DAI
You can now use the USDC and DAI stablecoins to mint and redeem Sets on the TokenSets website. You can also now track your Sets using the Delta portfolio app!
Pools.fyi Launched
This new webapp helps liquidity providers understand each and every pool on Uniswap in order to determine where the best returns are.
BitDEX Announced
UMA Protocolâs BitDEX is a decentralized BitMEX that has no central operator, doesnât use on-chain price feeds and introduces the concept of âpriceless financial contractsâ.
Coinbase Launches USDC Rewards Program
Eligible U.S customers can now start earning 1.25% APY rewards on every USD Coin (USDC) that they hold on Coinbase.
Ethereum 2.0 Grant Update #2: Interop Lockin
Whiteblock gives their own recap of the Eth2 interop lock-in event covering both the goals & outcomes of the event plus next steps for the team.
Nuo Introduces Margin Trading 2.0
Nuo upgraded their margin platform and now supports 30+ margin trading pairs, long or short ETH/WBTC, the ability to add any token as collateral and more.
SKALE Raises $17.1M
SKALE, the Ethereum scalong solution, has raised $17.1M from Winklevoss Capital, Arrington XRP Capital, ConsenSys Labs, among others.
Kyber Ecosystem Report #7
Kybers monthly recap giving us an update on new fiat-to-crypto functionality added to KyberSwap, new DeFi integrations, KNC updates and much more.
Morningstar to Offer Ratings for Crypto Assets
Morningstarâs system for rating bonds will be placed directly on the Ethereum blockchain to possibly enable a migration of the $117 trillion debt securities industry.
Matic ÎČ-Mainnet is Live
Matic Network is a Layer 2 blockchain platform using the Plasma framework. This week, they released the 2nd iteration of the Matic mainnet.
uPort Rebrands
Decentralized identity project uPort has rebranded with a brand new logo and website.
Community Member Spotlight
This week weâre highlighting the great work of Lefteris Karapetsas!
Lefteris is a long-term Ethereum core developer residing in Berlin. Heâs also working as a developer on the Raiden Network as well as Rotki - an opensource portfolio tracking, analytics and crypto tax reporting app.
Keep up the great work Lefteris!
Interesting Tweets
David Hoffmanâs summary thread of his Ethereal Tel Aviv talk
Jake Chervinskyâs perspective on the recent SEC settlements
Ecosystem Bits
Blog Posts
Proof of Stakeâs Security Model is Being Dramatically Misunderstood (recommended read)
The Collapse of FairWinâs ~$125m Ponzi Scheme (recommended read)
Ethereum Speed Up Transactions: How They Work and What They Mean For Dapps
Lessons from a Pioneer in the NFT Game Ecosystem: A Brave New World for Indie Dapp Devs
Institutional Cryptocurrency Adoption â âHowâ and âWhyâ Matters More than âWhenâ
Creating an Ethereum Wallet â Which is Best and Where to Start?
Podcasts
AZTEC Protocol: Bringing Privacy to Ethereum - Into the Ether
Ethereumâs Serenity (ETH2.0) Developer Experience - Hashing It Out
An Early Technologistâs Perspective on Investing with Joey Krug - Wyre Talks
DappCon 2019 â Look at My Flashy Colors And Rounded Corners! - Epicenter
Defending ProgPoW with Kristy-Leigh Minehan - POV Crypto
Videos
Ether: A New Model for Money - David Hoffman (highly recommended watch)
Misc
Meme of the Week
Vitalatte, anyone? Iâll see myself out.
Looking for Work?
Top jobs listed on Cryptocurrency Jobs this week:
Product Designer - dYdX
Executive Assistant - OpenLaw
Senior Frontend Developer - Dolomite
Visual / UI Designer - Immutable Games
+100âs more on the Cryptocurrency Jobs website!
Protect Your Crypto
Buy a hardware wallet:
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