LensLinks: Issue 12

A blockchain news roundup, brought to you by Regiment LLC

Author

Len Pacek
October 19, 2022

Today in LensLinks:

  • 101: What is Metaverse? The Future of Metaverse Seems Bright

  • SBF: Who is he and why is Texas investigating?

  • Walmart and the future Crypto Payments Disruption

  • Dubai has first "Metaverse Cops"

  • Robert Leshner on DeFi and "the end state of markets"

  • Bitcoin rally falls, Metaverse CAGR predictions, Big Eye Coin presale flying, 2022 "The Year of Crypto Hacks", whew!

  • And Much, Much More...

QUOTABLE...

Cryptocurrencies fall into one of the major areas of payments disruption and “will become an important part of how customers transact.”

- Suresh Kumar, the global chief technology at the retail giant Walmart

NOTABLE...

Cryptocurrencies Will Play ‘Very important Role’ in Payments Disruption: Walmart CTO - Decrypt

Walmart’s global chief technology officer Suresh Kumar explained how crypto and the metaverse will play key roles in the future of payments.

https://decrypt.co/112251/cryptocurrencies-will-pay-very-important-role-payments-disruption-walmart-cto

Cryptocurrencies fall into one of the major areas of payments disruption and “will become an important part of how customers transact,” according to Suresh Kumar, the global chief technology at the retail giant Walmart.

“Crypto is going to continue to play a very important role in that. And obviously, we want to be there where the customer really needs us to be,” Kumar said at Yahoo Finance's All Markets Summit on Monday.

 Metaverse & Gaming

Metaverse Cops: Dubai Becomes First City In The World To Offer Services In Virtual Land

The Metaverse broke into the tech scene in 1992 in Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash – a science fiction novel that featured humans as programmable avatars

https://bitcoinist.com/metaverse-cops-dubai-police-in-virtual-land/

In fact, this year, Metaverse market capitalization is already over $38.5 billion and is expected to grow even more as more users are expected to join in different projects or programs that leverage this emerging technological innovation.

For 2022, monthly users for this burgeoning industry average around 400 million and a greater majority of this number expressed willingness to spend up to $1,000 for advanced Virtual Reality (VR) gears.

 Blockchain, Tokens & DeFi

DeFi 'Should Be the Foundation’ of Every Financial Product: Compound’s Robert Leshner - Decrypt

Real-world assets on the blockchain and “radical transparency” means DeFi is the “end state for markets,” according to one founder.

https://decrypt.co/112161/defi-should-be-the-foundation-all-finance-compound-robert-leshner

While centralized crypto lenders were collapsing, DeFi worked as it should, making it the “end state for markets,” Robert Leshner argues.

Crypto Trading

Bitcoin fails to rally with stocks as $940 million of the crypto is pulled from exchange favored by institutions

On Tuesday, some 48,000 bitcoins moved off Coinbase Pro, a favored exchange among institutional investors, according to data provider CryptoQuant.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/18/crypto-prices-are-little-changed-as-940-million-in-bitcoin-exits-exchanges.html

On Tuesday some 48,000 bitcoins moved off Coinbase Pro, a favored exchange among institutional investors, according to data provider CryptoQuant.

The outflow was the biggest among crypto exchanges since crypto’s big crash in June of this year and the second-largest of all time. Exchange outflows suggest investors are withdrawing their crypto from exchanges and shifting from selling mode to accumulating mode.

Metaverse & Gaming - A Little More...

Insights: Gaming, Gen Z and the metaverse

The gaming world has always been the precursor to what Web3 will bring, and its largest audience, Gen Z, is fluent in this virtual language. The question is: what can the marcomms industry learn from them during the advent of the metaverse?

https://gulfbusiness.com/insights-gaming-gen-z-and-the-metaverse/

The Future Of Metaverse Seems Bright

What is Metaverse Metaverse is a 3D and Online concept that combines various virtual spaces. Internet technologies continue to expand, bringing more exciting opportunities. Metaverse popularity hit during the recent pandemic when people were advised to avoid person-to-person interactions in public places. Imagine working remotely and would want to meet a colleague from work, but […]

https://gaminglyfe.com/the-future-of-metaverse-seems-bright/

Metaverse In Gaming Market to Register CAGR 37.8% Growth, to reach US$ 478.5 billion by 2030 | Roblox Corporation, Tencent Holdings Ltd, Epic Games - Digital Journal

Metaverse In Gaming Market 2022: Industry Size, Regions, Emerging Trends, Growth Insights, Opportunities, And Forecast By 2030 , Covid 19 Outbreak Impact

https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/metaverse-in-gaming-market-to-register-cagr-37-8-growth-to-reach-us-478-5-billion-by-2030-roblox-corporation-tencent-holdings-ltd-epic-games

Blockchain, Tokens & Defi - A Little More...

Crypto Twitter Reacts to Chaotic Aptos Launch, APT Token Distribution - Decrypt

Since Aptos' launch yesterday, many took to Twitter to vent about false advertising, lack of transparency, and a huge VC token allocation

https://decrypt.co/112259/crypto-twitter-reacts-chaotic-aptos-launch-apt-token-distribution

Big Eyes Coin Raises Over $7 Million During Presale As Opposed To Axie Infinity And FTX Token - NewsWatchTV

The introduction of NFTs into blockchain technology is an innovation that changed how we view crypto. Before NFTs’ integration, crypto tokens primarily served the role of peer-to-peer transactions. In that capacity, they facilitated decentralized and anonymous financial transactions without the influence of a central body. The Ethereum blockchain has shown itself capable of powering several […]

https://newswatchtv.com/2022/10/18/big-eyes-coin-raises-over-7-million-during-presale-as-opposed-to-axie-infinity-and-ftx-token/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=big-eyes-coin-raises-over-7-million-during-presale-as-opposed-to-axie-infinity-and-ftx-token

Digital asset heists: 2022 set to be biggest year for crypto hacks

Hackers have grossed over $3 billion across 125 hacks so far, and is on track to beat last year’s figure of $3.2 billion.

https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/digital-asset-heists-2022-set-to-be-biggest-year-for-crypto-hacks-61749

Crypto Trading - A Little More...

FTX.US, Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Are Under Probe by Texas Regulators

Texas Regulators are investigating FTX.US over its high-yield, interest-bearing accounts.

https://blockchain.news/news/ftx.us-founder-sam-bankman-fried-are-under-probe-by-texas-regulators

Who Is Sam Bankman-Fried?

Few names in the world of cryptocurrency are more recognizable than Sam Bankman-Fried. With a net worth of nearly $17 billion, Bankman-Fried is on the list of the 100 wealthiest people at only 30 years old. So how did this young MIT grad gain so much influence in crypto in just a few short yea

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/cryptocurrency/who-is-sam-bankman-fried/

Bitcoin Needs to Continue Standing above $19,200 to Dilute Downward Pressure, Analyst Says

Market analyst Ali Martinez believes the leading cryptocurrency should stand above $19,200 to reduce selling pressure because this is a significant level.

https://blockchain.news/analysis/bitcoin-needs-to-continue-standing-above-19-200-to-dilute-downward-pressure-analyst-says

ESG (Environment, Social & Governance)

DeFi and the carbon credits market are a match made in heaven, so why has it stalled? - Dataconomy

One of the most promising areas of DeFi for good is the carbon credits market, where there appears to be a natural fit. But things haven't progressed as planned.

https://dataconomy.com/2022/10/defi-carbon-credits-market-match-stalled/

Ultimately, these DeFi startups attempted, in many cases, to upend the system by creating infrastructure to make it easy for people to buy carbon credits, which would then be retired and replaced with new tokens on the blockchain. As a result, the tokens will be stored publicly and safely, able to be bought and traded like any other crypto asset, thereby attracting prospective buyers who didn’t have any interest in carbon credits before.

Campaigns by crypto environmental groups led to millions of carbon credits arriving on chain. According to some scientists and watchdogs, many of the credits were tied to low-quality, long-dormant projects that didn’t improve the environment. The result? Market prices fluctuated wildly, causing mild panic among traditional carbon-credit buyers and issuers.

Even though these projects are still ongoing, it’s clear that crypto markets are unprepared to handle such a challenge. It’s not about DeFi or blockchain technology but how we think about using blockchain for social good. That’s the real issue here.

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