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• The FDIC’s Jason Brett recently told CoinDesk TV that there is no friendliness toward cryptocurrencies in the US banking system.
• Last week, California-based Silvergate Bank announced it would be „voluntarily liquidating“ its assets and closing its doors, while Santa Clara-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was taken over by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation for having „inadequate liquidity and insolvency.“
• New York-based Signature Bank was closed by state regulators for similar reasons.

FDIC Regulator Expresses Lack of Friendliness Toward Crypto

Jason Brett, Key Bridge Advisors Managing Director and former U.S. Regulator at the FDIC, recently expressed to CoinDesk TV his concern that federal regulators could be working to keep crypto assets away from the U.S. banking system due to a lack of friendliness toward cryptocurrency. He stated that “it’s about the friendliness toward crypto, and it just does not exist.”

Silvergate Bank Announces „Voluntary Liquidation“

Last week, Silvergate Bank, which primarily served crypto companies, announced it would be „voluntarily liquidating“ its assets and closing its doors along with their SEN platform. This decision followed news that Santa Clara-based Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) had been taken over by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation after being found with “inadequate liquidity and insolvency”.

Signature Bank Closed By State Regulators

New York-based Signature Bank was also closed this week by state regulators due to concerns about inadequate liquidity or insolvency issues. While these closures have raised some eyebrows amongst those in the crypto community, it remains unclear if these decisions are related or coincidental events or part of an effort on behalf of US regulators to keep crypto firms out of the banking system altogether.

Crypto Community Raises Concerns Over Banking System Accessibility

The recent bank collapses have caused many in the crypto space to worry whether they will still have access to traditional banking services given the lack of friendliness towards cryptocurrency from federal regulators mentioned by Brett earlier this week. This has raised questions into what measures can be taken in order to protect these companies from potential exclusion from financial institutions as they look for new ways to store value securely without fear of losing access to traditional banking services like loans or deposits accounts etc..

Future Of Crypto In Banking System Remains Unclear

At this time, it remains unclear how events such as these could affect future efforts on behalf of US government agencies regarding their stance on cryptocurrencies within the mainstream banking system moving forward. It is important for members of both businesses operating within this sector and consumers alike understand how changes like these may affect them when considering any long term investments in digital assets going forward which may require access traditional financial institutions for safekeeping purposes or other services provided therein.

• Starbucks Odyssey launched its first NFT drop, the ‘Siren Collection’.
• Members could buy two Stamps at $100 each, with payment by credit card or MetaMask wallet.
• Despite issues with site access, the collection sold out in 18 minutes and Stamps have gone up in price to over $550 on the secondary market.

Starbucks Odyssey Launches its First NFT Drop

Starbucks Odyssey, the coffee company’s Web3 loyalty program, today released its first limited edition non-fungible tokens (NFT), which it calls „Stamps.“ The program, still in invitation-only beta, allows members to complete activities such as quizzes and in-store purchase to earn Stamps, which can be collected or resold on Nifty Gateway.

The Siren Collection

The 2,000-item „Siren Collection“ features a version of the company’s iconic Siren, with the stamps priced at $100. Members of Starbucks Odyssey were able to buy two stamps each starting at 12 p.m. ET, and could pay by credit card or by connecting their MetaMask wallet.

Issues Upon Launch

Upon launch, members of the Starbucks Odyssey Discord group complained of problems accessing the site and error messages, with the site seemingly overwhelmed by traffic.

Sold Out Within 18 Minutes

Despite the issues, the collection sold out in 18 minutes and secondary sales quickly soared. As of this update, the floor price for a Siren Stamp has already passed $550.

Conclusion

NFT Stamps that members have unlocked from completing Journeys are also available for sale on secondary markets like OpenSea and Rarible but will not be part of this limited edition drop. With more drops planned for 2021 and beyond it will be interesting to see how far this new Web3 rewards system takes off!

• Ethereum developers are referring to the upcoming upgrade as “Shapella” due to the combination of two upgrades, Shanghai and Capella.
• The Shanghai upgrade is on the execution side of Ethereum and Capella is on the consensus side.
• Prior to when it went through its last upgrade, the Merge, Ethereum had an old proof-of-work blockchain and a newer proof-of-stake chain.

What Is Shapella?

Ethereum developers have started to refer to the blockchain’s upcoming hard fork – in this case a key upgrade – as „Shapella.“ This merger of names comes from two different upgrades: Shanghai (on the execution side) and Capella (on the consensus side).

The Ethereum Protocol Explained

The Ethereum protocol is made up of two layers: an execution layer and a consensus layer. Prior to when it went through its last upgrade, the Merge, Ethereum had an old proof-of-work blockchain (the execution layer) and a newer proof-of-stake chain (the consensus layer). Developers decided to merge these two chains together for easier maintenance.

Why Call It Shapella?

Due to both Shanghai and Capella happening simultaneously, developers have cleverly referred to them together as „Shapella.“ This allows everyone involved in crypto trading, analysis or industry executives understand that they should refer to this upcoming hard fork by this name.

When Will Shapella Take Place?

The Shapella hard fork is expected by next month. Developers continue working on perfecting this major update so that everyone involved can make sure their systems are ready when it arrives.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Shapella is an upcoming hard fork that combines two different upgrades known as Shanghai (execution) and Capella (consensus). It’s expected by next month but developers continue working on perfecting it before then for everyone’s safety. As such, it has become known colloquially as “Shapella” – a merging of both names into one easy moniker for all involved parties.

• Casey Rodarmor is the creator of Ordinals Bitcoin NFT project and a co-host of SF Bitcoin BitDevs.
• The Ordinal protocol developed by Rodarmor enables the creation, buying and selling of digital assets powered by its XCP token.
• Rodarmor’s dedication to testing out new Bitcoin ideas is evident in his work with Bitcoin BitDevs, which is key to the grassroots culture of Bitcoin.

Casey Rodarmor: The Quest to Make Bitcoin Fun Again

In a CoinDesk interview for Buidl Week, the creator of Ordinals Bitcoin NFT project breaks down his inspiration and how he views the backlash from some Bitcoiners against the protocol.

Bitcoin Trying Out Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT)

Bitcoin is attempting to use non-fungible tokens (NFT) again. First there were colored coins in 2012, which were aimed at representing all types of non-bitcoin assets on Bitcoin. Then came Counterparty in 2014, which was built as a derivative of Bitcoin and allowed for creating, buying and selling digital assets powered by its XCP token. Counterparty spawned „Rare Pepes“ – NFTs inspired by Pepe the Frog meme – back in 2016.

Introducing Casey Rodarmor

Casey Rodarmor has been working in technology since 2010. He has experience with Google and Chaincode Labs working on nominal projects regarding Bitcoin Core code implementation. He now serves as co-host for SF Bitcoin BitDevs after taking over from River Financial founder Alexander Leishman last year.

Ordinal Protocol

Rodarmor’s current focus lies in developing Ordinals NFTs and inscriptions via his Ordinal protocol. This allows users to create, buy, sell digital assets using its XCP token.

Commitment To Testing New Ideas

Rodarmor’s commitment towards testing new ideas found within the realm of bitcoin is evident through his work with bitcoin bitdevs – an important part of bitcoin’s grassroots culture.

• Rarible has added Tezos integration to its NFT marketplace aggregator tool.
• The addition of Tezos follows the recent announcement that Rarible would begin aggregating Polygon-based listings.
• Tezos is favored by crypto-native artists and collectors for its eco-friendly properties.

Rarible Expands Aggregation to Support Tezos

Rarible, an NFT marketplace, announced Thursday that it will be integrating support for Tezos on its aggregated marketplace. This follows the recent announcement that Rarible would begin aggregating Polygon-based listings. Alexander Salnikov, co-founder of Rarible, said they chose to integrate Tezos marketplaces into their aggregation tool in an effort to court crypto-native artists and collectors who favor sustainability.

What Does This Mean For Collectors?

Collectors on Rarible will now have access to purchase Tezos-based NFTs from marketplaces such as Objkt, fxhash, Teia and Versum. The company also noted that all Tezos marketplaces honor creator royalties – a feature which Rarible also supports – creating an attractive environment for creators on the platform.

Rarible’s Toolkit for Creators

Rarible has been building out its toolkit for creators over the past several months. In October 2022, they launched their aggregator tool which pulls NFT listings from competitor marketplaces and bolsters collectors‘ access; then in January 2021 they deployed their royalty program allowing users to collect a portion of every resale when buyers purchase their work via the platform.

Popularity of Polygon

The integration of support for Polygon tokens is likely due to large companies like Starbucks planning to deploy Web3 initiatives on this blockchain network; leading many enthusiasts to believe it’s heading towards mainstream adoption soon enough.

Conclusion

These integrations with both Polygon and Tezos demonstrate how serious Rarile is about supporting creators as well as collectors who favor these eco-friendly networks; giving them more options when it comes time to buy or sell NFTs through the platform.

• BitMEX Research has identified over 13,000 Ordinals NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain.
• The sudden influx of JPEGs and other media files onto Bitcoin has consumed 526 megabytes (MB) of block space and cost creators 6.77 bitcoin (roughly $155,000).
• Critics have accused the Ordinals crowd of „spamming“ the most dominant blockchain with oversized JPEGs.

Explosion in Popularity for Bitcoin NFTs

Interest has skyrocketed following the first Ordinals transaction on Dec. 14 as crypto derivatives firm BitMEX released a blog post showing that 13,000 Ordinals were minted or „inscribed“ between their debut and Feb. 7. The total number of Ordinals transactions to date shows a steep „hockey stick“ curve, indicating NFT activity on Bitcoin has gone exponential.

Cost of Transaction

The sudden influx of JPEGs and other media files onto Bitcoin has consumed 526 megabytes (MB) of block space and cost creators 6.77 bitcoin (roughly $155,000 at the time of publication), according to the post.

Controversy Surrounding Transactions

The surging popularity of Ordinals has drawn the ire of prominent Bitcoiners such as Rene Pickhardt, who accused the Ordinals crowd of „spamming“ the most dominant blockchain with oversized JPEGs. When plotted out graphically, critics like Pickhardt have some data to back their view: Ordinals‘ share of total Bitcoin transactions barely cracked the 3% mark on Wednesday yet they consumed nearly 70%of blockspace.

Bitcoin Solutions

Solutions such as creating a Lightning Network in order to prevent these types from ’spamming‘ are being proposed by some members in order to provide more efficient ways for individuals to use Bitcoin’s block space without wasting it unnecessarily..

Future Prospects

Despite criticism, interest in NFTs is only continuing to grow which could open up new opportunities for artists and innovators looking to use this technology for creative projects or business ventures in the future.

• Archimedes, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and borrowing marketplace that is launching this month, secured another round of funding.
• The seed-funding round of $4.9 million was led by Hack VC and included other backers such as Uncorrelated Venture, Psalion, Truffle Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, Haven VC and Palsar.
• Archimedes’ mission is to make capital efficient DeFi opportunities more accessible by offering users leverage that multiplies their original yield opportunity.

Archimedes Raises $4.9M in Seed Round

DeFi lending and borrowing platform Archimedes recently closed a seed-funding round of $4.9 million led by Hack VC. This adds to the pre-seed funding of $2.4 million for a total of $7.3 million in pre-launch fundraising from various investors including Uncorrelated Venture, Psalion, Truffle Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, Haven VC and Palsar.

Launching This Month

The decentralized finance marketplace is set to launch this month with an aim to make capital efficient DeFi opportunities more accessible for users through leverage which multiplies their original yield opportunity. Upon taking out a loan on the platform users are sent a non-fungible token (NFT) representing a yield-generating stablecoin position leveraged up to 10 times the principal collateral amount.

What Is DeFi?

DeFi stands for „decentralized finance“ and refers to financial activities carried out on a blockchain such as lending or trading digital assets or currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum respectively. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are digital assets recorded on the blockchain that represent ownership of virtual or physical items which can be sold or traded as well as used in games like CryptoKitties and CryptoPunks among others.

Mission To Make Capital Efficient DeFI Opportunities More Accessible

Archimedes‘ mission is to provide users with easier access to capital efficient DeFI opportunities through leveraging their original yield opportunity up to 10 times the principal collateral amount upon taking out a loan on its platform represented via an NFT asset issued by the company itself when repayment begins.

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• Crypto market capitalization dropped 3.5% in the past 24 hours following a decline in U.S. equity markets.
• Ether and dogecoin led the slide among major tokens, falling more than 5%, while bitcoin lost just 1.6%.
• Outside of majors, avalanche (AVAX) fell 7.7% while lido (LDO) dropped over 10%.

The crypto market has been taking a breather in the past 24 hours after weeks of an uptrend. Market capitalization dropped 3.5%, following a decline in U.S. equity markets, with Ether and dogecoin leading the slide.

Ether and dogecoin fell more than 5%, while bitcoin lost just 1.6%, according to CoinDesk data. This caused upward of $173 million in longs, or bets on higher token prices, to be liquidated. Ether futures saw $86 million in liquidations while traders of bitcoin futures lost $46 million, per data source Coinglass.

Outside of majors, avalanche (AVAX) fell 7.7% while lido (LDO) dropped over 10%. This was a marked shift from the previous month, where Lido had seen a 135% jump in value. Meanwhile, some tokens traded in the green, including those of interoperable blockchain platform Quant (QNT) and layer 1 network Aptos (APT), with both rising over 4%.

The pullback appears to be a much-needed bull breather, following a notable upswing in the crypto market. This was largely driven by strength in bitcoin and strong transactional activity among tokens such as SOL and ADA.

The crypto market has seen a surprising amount of stability over the past few months, with market capitalization remaining relatively steady despite the recent pullback. This could be a sign of market maturity, as traders become more comfortable with the idea of crypto as an investment asset.

• FTX’s collapse has led to a greater focus on regulated custodians.
• The crypto custody revenue opportunity could grow to $8 billion by 2033 from less than $300 million today.
• There is a large revenue opportunity for crypto firms and banks to provide Wall Street-like custody, market-making and prime brokerage services to new crypto investors.

The recent collapse of the crypto exchange FTX has caused the crypto industry to take a greater focus on the use of regulated custodians. According to a research report from Bernstein, the crypto custody revenue opportunity could grow to an impressive $8 billion by 2033, up from less than $300 million today. This would be driven by an increase in institutional participation in digital asset markets.

Analysts Gautam Chhugani and Manas Agrawal commented that “Crypto custody is the foundational enabler for institutional adoption”, noting that it is a technological endeavor that is focused on securing the private key. They expect to see a jump in penetration of crypto custody with existing investors, as well as a sharp growth in custody services due to the increased institutional presence in the digital asset space.

At the same time, market making is likely to increase as institutional participation grows and as there is an increased demand for liquidity in large-cap coins and less popular tokens. Market makers are essentially brokers who facilitate liquidity in a market by providing both bids and asks for a given asset.

Furthermore, there is a large revenue opportunity for crypto firms and banks to provide Wall Street-like services such as custody, market-making, and prime brokerage services to new crypto investors. Prime brokerage services are essentially the provision of services to large investors such as hedge funds, which can include access to capital, liquidity, and analytics.

Overall, the report from Bernstein highlights the growing importance of crypto custody services in the digital asset space and the increasing revenue opportunities for firms that can provide these services. As institutional participation in the digital asset space continues to grow, so too should the demand for these services, which could lead to significant growth in the crypto custody market in the coming years.

• Around 117 parties have expressed an interest in buying units of FTX, a legal filing posted Sunday said, as a deadline for initial bids approaches.
• The crypto company’s bankruptcy case could take years, and the estate has prioritized the sale of LedgerX, FTX Japan, FTX Europe and stock-clearing platform Embed.
• The Hash panel discusses the potential sale of LedgerX, FTX Japan, FTX Europe and the stock-clearing platform Embed, plus what this means to the bankruptcy case.

As the crypto industry continues to evolve, a legal filing posted Sunday revealed that around 117 parties have expressed an interest in buying units of FTX, the crypto company that is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. The filing also revealed that a deadline for initial bids is looming, with the crypto company’s bankruptcy case potentially taking years to resolve.

To make the process more efficient, the estate of FTX has prioritized the sale of LedgerX, FTX Japan, FTX Europe and the stock-clearing platform Embed. This is because these assets are seen to have a greater risk of losing value if not sold quickly. In order to facilitate this, a panel was set up to discuss the potential sale of these assets and the implications that such a sale would have on the bankruptcy case.

The panel is composed of representatives from the bankruptcy court, FTX, the creditors, and other interested parties. The panel has been tasked with determining the best way to move forward with the sale of these assets, as well as the potential implications of such a sale. Furthermore, the panel will assess the potential impact of the sale on FTX’s bankruptcy case.

The panel has also been asked to investigate the bids that have been made by the interested parties, and to determine which party can offer the most value for the assets. The panel will also examine the financial health of each bidder, as well as their ability to successfully complete the sale of the assets.

It remains to be seen whether the sale of the FTX assets will proceed, but the panel’s deliberations will no doubt play a large role in the eventual outcome. In the meantime, the court will continue to examine the various bids that have been made and decide on the best course of action. Whatever the outcome, this case will no doubt be closely watched as it will serve as an example of how the crypto industry handles bankruptcy proceedings.