LensLinks: Issue 70

A blockchain news roundup, brought to you by Regiment LLC

Author

Len Pacek
January 12, 2023

Today in LensLinks:

  • SBF Wanted His Robin Hood Shares and the DOJ Steps in

  • 5 Bullish and 2 Bearish Cases for DeFi in 2023

  • Behind the Scenes on Indonesia's New Official Crypto Exchange

  • CES 2023 Smells, Brain Scanners, etc.

  • Vitalik's Latest Wish List

  • Bitcoin Taps $17.5K

  • RETRO: History of Virtual Reality

  • Are Immersive Experiences Creating "A New Digital Divide"?

  • And Much, Much, More...

QUOTABLE...

“Bitcoin and most of the market are testing broken supports as resistances. We have seen this over and over.”

- Il Capo of Crypto

NOTABLE...

SBF Fights for Robinhood Shares — Says He Needs Them More Than FTX Customers Who Only Suffer 'Possibility of Economic Loss' – Featured Bitcoin News

Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) says he needs his Robinhood shares more than FTX customers who "face only the possibility of economic loss."

https://news.bitcoin.com/sbf-fights-for-robinhood-shares-says-he-needs-them-more-than-ftx-customers-who-only-suffer-possibility-of-economic-loss/

DOJ Seizes SBF's $465 Million Robinhood Stake

Other assets related to FTX also have been seized. Claims to Robinhood shares in the case are to be resolved through forfeiture proceedings.

https://www.investopedia.com/doj-seizes-sbf-robinhood-shares-7092866

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is attempting to regain access to his Robinhood shares, worth over $460 million. The former CEO of the collapsed crypto exchange claimed that he needs them to “pay for his criminal defense,” stressing that without them the consequences would be serious and “irreparable.” FTX customers, on the other hand, “face only the possibility of economic loss,” SBF’s court filing states.

 Metaverse & Gaming

It’s the future … and it’s Metaverse

While it is known that the term “Metaverse” came into significance recently, it has already been around for a while

https://www.dqindia.com/its-the-future-and-its-metaverse/

Popular culture has always been a barometer for new ideas and innovations. The 1989 Hollywood flick Back to the Future Part II featured several futuristic gadgets, including smart home technology and fingerprint scanning. And characters in Steven Spielberg’s 2018 movie Ready Player One use a VR simulation to escape the harsh reality of the world, a precursor to the metaverse.

 Blockchain, Tokens & DeFi

5 Bullish and 2 Bearish Cases for DeFi Going Into 2023 (Opinion)

Decentralized finance (or DeFi) promised the benefits of financial services with the features of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. But the swarms of investors who flocked to it in the 2022 DeFi bubble are still waiting for their payday.

https://cryptopotato.com/5-bullish-and-2-bearish-cases-for-defi-going-into-2023-opinion/

Ethereum, over the course of 2022, experienced a staggering 76% drop in TVL (total value locked) in DeFi protocols. The total value of all cryptocurrencies locked to stake, lend, or put up as collateral on decentralized finance apps stood at $95 billion in January to start off 2022. By year’s end, it had declined to some $23 billion.

Crypto Trading

First Mover Asia: Behind the Scenes on Indonesia's New Official Crypto Exchange

PLUS: In crypto markets, there's a mini-rally in bitcoin, a narrowing of the "Grayscale discount" and a rally in altcoins.

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/01/11/first-mover-asia-behind-the-scenes-on-indonesias-new-official-crypto-exchange/

Good morning. Here’s what’s happening:

Prices: As bitcoins nudges higher above $17,400, altcoins are surging and the so-called "Grayscale discount" is narrowing thanks to growing speculation over Digital Currency Group's finances.

Insights: Indonesia’s government is launching a crypto exchange. But it’s not completely correct to think that it’s launching a competitor to Binance.

Metaverse & Gaming - A Little More...

CES 2023: Smells in metaverse, brain scanners, virtual advancements

Immersive technologies have been the theme of the annual CES tech show in Las Vegas this year with virtual reality products getting most of the limelight....

https://www.dailysabah.com/life/ces-2023-smells-in-metaverse-brain-scanners-virtual-advancements/news

What Does the Future of Gaming Look Like?

Gaming is evolving year by year and there seem to be no signs of slowing down. Here's what we think the future of gaming could hold.

https://www.makeuseof.com/what-does-the-future-of-gaming-look-like/

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

Ondo Finance Launches Tokenized US Treasuries and Corporate Bonds - The Defiant

Tokens Will Represent Deposits In Popular Bond ETFs From Blackrock and PIMCO

https://thedefiant.io/ondo-finance-bond-etf-tokens/

Vitalik Unveils 2023 Wishlist As Ethereum's Outperformance Continues | Seeking Alpha

December was a rough month for growth stocks and digital assets. Possible future market catalysts for crypto include industry restructuring, government regulation, and industry bankruptcies.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4569011-vitalik-unveils-2023-wishlist-as-ethereums-outperformance-continues

Crypto Trading - A Little More...

Bitcoin price taps $17.5K as traders in ‘disbelief’ doubt crypto rally

Bitcoin and Ethereum face CPI news with traders refusing bullish BTC price takes.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-taps-17-5k-as-traders-in-disbelief-doubt-crypto-rally

FTX: Now UK investors are caught up in collapse of crypto trading platform

Thirteen investors caught up in the collapse of cryptocurrency trading platform FTX have made fraud reports to UK police. FTX filed for bankruptcy on

https://www.cityam.com/ftx-crypto-uk-investors-caught-up/

Industry Retro (How far we have come)

History of Virtual Reality

Virtual reality dates all the way back to the 1800s. VR technology has only been evolving through the creation of the ViewMaster, Sensorama, and headsets.

https://www.fi.edu/virtual-reality/history-of-virtual-reality#:~:text=The%20use%20of%20the%20term,technologists%20were%20developing%20simulated%20environments.

ESG (Environment, Social & Governance)

Are immersive experiences creating a new digital divide?

Immersive experiences are widening a digital divide that was already exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is opportunity to close the gaps.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/davos23-immersive-experiences-close-digital-divide/

Immersive experiences are widening the digital divide that was already exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Differences based on gender, income, education and urbanicity exist in affinity to and participation in immersive experiences.

Inequitable access will limit the potential for global citizens to benefit from immersive experiences, but there is opportunity to close gaps.

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Disclaimer: This note is distributed by Regiment, LLC for informational purposes only and is sourced from publicly available media reports. It is not an investment recommendation or solicitation for any investment. The information is current as of date and subject to change. In such case Regiment, LLC does not undertake to provide any updates. Recipients must be aware that any private, alternative investments discussed are speculative in nature, often illiquid, and subject to loss of capital.