tl;dr
• Prepare yourself, the economy is about to take a 2008 level hit• Cardano's Vasil hard fork happened and ushers in speed, efficiency and stability• Ethereum Foundation removes estimated withdrawal time for staked ETH• Binance has tapped ex-US Senator, Max Baucus to head its newly formed Global Advi...
• Prepare yourself, the economy is about to take a 2008 level hit
• Cardano's Vasil hard fork happened and ushers in speed, efficiency and stability
• Ethereum Foundation removes estimated withdrawal time for staked ETH
• Binance has tapped ex-US Senator, Max Baucus to head its newly formed Global Advisory Board
• Japan's Nomura Holdings, with $450B in assets under management, dives into the Cryptoverse in a major way
• Chain inks sponsorship deal with Kraft Sports + Entertainment
There is more going on than you think. Here is what is on my mind today.
1. The world is starting to wake up to the idea that we are in the middle of a recession akin to what we dealt with in 2008. Couple with this, I heard an economist say we are also facing stagflation. If the current global economy is affected by the supply side (energy, chips, etc.), then stagflation will not be affected by the Fed raising rates. I think there are going to be hard times ahead because I think the Fed is going to wind up overshooting on interest rate hikes and the economy will not be able to handle it. Many companies are already preparing cost-cutting plans, including layoffs. For a while now, I have been shifting to cash and crypto.
2. People are sleeping on the Cardano Vasil hard fork that went well yesterday. Vasil is going to bring greater efficiency and speed. There are some more subtle upgrades that will be included as well, but this upgrades is a big deal. Cardano is now enjoying a little pop, but that is where my head is at. I am looking at the longer term effects as more projects leverage the new features and smart contracts running on the blockchain pick up in volume.
3. Something else that may slide under the radar is Ethereum Foundation's axing the estimated withdrawal timeframe for staked ETH. No, they did not eliminate it so people can withdraw early. They removed the guesstimate information that was once shown on their site. This is a big deal because Some of us had already thought a 6 to 12 month timeframe may be a little optimistic. Development in this space is not easy and placing a timeframe on delivery is even harder. This may bring some frustration to a lot of people.
4. The Japanese economy is hurting a bit right now, but Japanese banking giant, Nomura Holdings, is laying the foundation for the future by launching Laser Digital which is focused on the Cryptoverse. Incorporated in Switzerland, Laser Digital will offer secondary trading servers in addition to investment products. The first such product will be Laser Venture Capital which will have a focus on blockchain firms working in the DeFi, CeFi, and Web3 spaces.
5. On the heels of BlockchainCom adding Jim Messina as a government advisor, Binance has tapped ex-US Senator, Max Baucus, to head its newly formed Global Advisory Board. The former Senator and Ambassador to China seems like an obvious and telling choice.
6. Out of the blue, Kraft Sports + Entertainment has inked a multi-year deal with Chain, a prominent Web3 development company. The deal encompasses the New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Gillette Stadium, and Patriot Place. Chain will be their official Web3 and blockchain sponsor. The deal also says the two will work to develop Web3 experiences leveraging Chain's technology.