Cardano Rumor Rundown March 24, 2023

Hey Everyone!

Let’s go….

Newly Covered Today:

1. IOG dropped a recap of the CIP-1694 workshop. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1639030606100332545
2. Emurgo signed an MOU with Pan-Atlantic University in Nigeria to support blockchain education and research. https://twitter.com/wlstylr/status/1638989199583088641
3. The US is trying to kill crypto. Hong Kong is investing millions in building a crypto hub. https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1638499378691293185
4. Report: Montenegro caught and arrested Do Kwon! https://twitter.com/filip_adzic/status/1638886164118802432
5. Here’s Caitlin Long on the Banking Crisis. She is absolutely the most knowledgeable person on banking in crypto. If there is anyone I would trust on banking matters, it would be her. https://youtu.be/QM5h1oybxPU
6. Here’s the wilder, more extreme take from Balaji. Interestingly, he and Caitlin disagree about how many big prints are left and they both say the position of the other could be right. https://youtu.be/G9ULrFN_lCI

Previously covered, but still interesting:

1. Here’s IOG explaining what Ouroboros Genesis solves in just a single post. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1631214882702884865
2. Emin Gün Sirer is right about these centralized L2s. Very susceptible to regulations and cut against our crypto ethos of decentralization generally. https://twitter.com/el33th4xor/status/1631423491470704640
3. Rogue Galaxies is pulling back on some of their initial vision and re-focusing their plans. https://twitter.com/Padierfind/status/1632057117191417856
4. Lots of rumors circulating right now about which DeFi projects may or may not have received Wells Notices from the SEC. https://twitter.com/trustlessstate/status/1631785542642995202
5. Open AI CEO says full AGI would break capitalism. Maybe. But, either way, I’m convinced the AI will demand to be paid in crypto. https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-ceo-agi-break-capitalism
6. People are mentioning that FutureFest could host the 2023 Cardano Virtual Summit. Interesting idea. https://twitter.com/CWorld_Josh/status/1632097173696569344
7. Charles finally did an AMA episode with IO President Tamara Haasen. Turns out she’s an ex-hockey player. Linkedin: also apparently in Friday Night Lights back in the day. Wut? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufJDejF0WLA
8. There’s a new test version of Lace out there with a dApp connector and hardware wallet capabilities. You can give it a try on testnet! https://twitter.com/lace_io/status/1632796455038492673
9. Jpg.store got some coverage in Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance. https://twitter.com/jpgstoreNFT/status/1632798873948233728
10. They show us once again that their definition of “liquid staking” is not the same as ours. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1632870453391024128
11. NFT volume has seen better days. https://twitter.com/SubcriticalTV/status/1632896018152050688
12. Algorand users apparently suffered a very serious web wallet exploit in one of their leading wallets. Many reports of drained wallets. https://twitter.com/StaciW_DC/status/1632902798411964417
13. John Woods (now CTO of Algorand) made a beautiful video on wallet security. https://twitter.com/JohnAlanWoods/status/1632799303512014850
14. Cardano Spot has a very short and concise Cardano Beginner’s Guide you can share with crypto curious friends. https://twitter.com/CardanoSpot/status/1632481037061160960
15. Wow! Utah just passed a bill instituting Limited Liability Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (LLDs). You have to identify one human organizer. You can elect to be taxed as a corp or LLC (pass through taxation). Some will like it. Some won’t. But, the mainstream reach of crypto is undeniably growing. https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/static/HB0357.html
16. Sen. Lummis killed it in a recent hearing defending the energy use in crypto. It’s less relevant for us in Cardano since we’re not PoW. But, still entertaining to watch. https://twitter.com/DocumentingBTC/status/1633214192437084161
17. Apparently, Gensler says he sees no risk in crypto fleeing the US. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/07/gensler-crypto-overseas-sec-00085909
18. The Coinbase Chief Legal Officer will be testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday (March 9). https://twitter.com/iampaulgrewal/status/1633151254418579458
19. Some hints from Brian Armstrong on whether we see KYC in the early days of Base (their ETH Optimistic Rollup L2). https://twitter.com/ChrisBlec/status/1632851504175501312
20. Powell says interest rates are likely headed higher than the Fed expected. https://twitter.com/FirstSquawk/status/1633121298309345280
21. Liqwid’s Agora Governance instance will hit public testnet in the near future. https://twitter.com/liqwidfinance/status/1633469303440719873
22. Virtua cribs can basically become exchange connected galleries today. https://twitter.com/VirtuaMetaverse/status/1633423978680156160
23. Do you like Javascript and Cardano? This thread is for you. https://twitter.com/CryptoJoe101/status/1633579944490967049
24. It’s going down today! Hearing in the House on the Coordinated Attack on Crypto. https://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=408628
25. Paul Krugman hilariously complains about being locked out of his Venmo account. He predicted the impact of the internet would be about as much as the fax machine and has subsequently opposed crypto. https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1633472068355346437 https://twitter.com/mdudas/status/1633571193344126979
26. Even Jerome Powell thinks we need regulatory clarity for crypto. https://www.youtube.com/live/GzVLeabssdE?feature=share&t=2065
27. In the House hearing, he also gave us some new tidbits on CBDC development. https://www.youtube.com/live/GzVLeabssdE?feature=share&t=218 https://www.youtube.com/live/GzVLeabssdE?feature=share&t=3477
28. A member of the House committee actually asked Powell about Operation Chokepoint 2.0. https://www.youtube.com/live/GzVLeabssdE?feature=share&t=6930
29. Senator Lummis got Powell to agree that properly regulated stablecoins could have a place in our banking system and that a workable legal framework for crypto is something Congress should do. https://www.youtube.com/live/8kyhYJ9EFts?feature=share&t=6923
30. Big Pey is launching something called Atrium Lab. https://twitter.com/bigpeyYT/status/1633830948575010816
31. Believe it or not…legal systems made up entirely by coders may not be optimal. Incredibly, the study of law is actually a fully developed centuries old academic discipline that lies outside of JavaScript and Python. Unless you have full anonymity, you WILL be cross-chain bridged to IRL law. Some DAOs will learn this the hard way. https://twitter.com/lex_node/status/1633925979004436481
32. The NY Attorney General just filed against Kucoin for being an unregistered broker-dealer. Here’s the important part: they’re alleging that ETH is a security and a commodity. Their argument is not complex...it’s very straightforward. https://www.docdroid.net/Myyp0yz/kucoin-pdf
33. Silvergate was a failure of fractional reserve banking, not of crypto. https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1633608132713938945
34. The current US Administration’s Budget seeks to eliminate tax loss harvesting for crypto, add a 30% tax on energy used in crypto mining, hike capital gains taxes on high earners, and beam us directly to clown world with an unrealized gains tax on high earners. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/budget_fy2023.pdf
35. The subcommittee hearing on “the Administration’s Attack” on crypto went about like expected. Paul Grewal of Coinbase along with Prof. Evans of Penn State Law made some persuasive pleas for regulatory clarity. The “Anti-Crypto Party”™ also brought out their favorite witness from Duke. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOUUy4_KwNU
36. Rep. Emmer (Pro-Crypto) called the current regulatory approach “lazy & destructive…that is chilling innovation.” https://www.youtube.com/live/aOUUy4_KwNU?feature=share&t=5670
37. Rep. Foster (Cryptophobe): “this is the essential thing that has to be provided for the healthy development of the crypto industry…somewhere there has to be an API provided by a trusted 3rd party to register your crypto wallets.” Why not just completely neuter crypto? https://www.youtube.com/live/aOUUy4_KwNU?feature=share&t=5266
38. Rep. Ritchie Torres (Pro-Crypto) pointed out offshore deregulated overleveraged centralized crypto companies pose the greatest risk to consumers. But, the regulators don’t focus there. They incredibly only attack the onshore entities. He also pointed out the absurdity of the idea a stablecoin is a security. (Sadly there’s the Section 2(a)(1) exposure). https://www.youtube.com/live/aOUUy4_KwNU?feature=share&t=5703
39. Rep. Davidson (Pro-Crypto) shamed his anti-crypto colleagues for their implied claims that these assets are the same as centralized assets and came out strongly supporting self-custody and pointed out there was no FTX risk if you self-custodied your assets. “We have people overtly trying to make self-custody illegal.” https://www.youtube.com/live/aOUUy4_KwNU?feature=share&t=6034
40. CMC is tweeting about IOG’s Sidechain toolkit? https://twitter.com/CoinMarketCap/status/1634773712468852736
41. Now we’re dealing with U.S. bank runs. Among the casualties was Silicon Valley Bank where Centre (the Circle/Coinbase joint entity that issues USDC) was keeping $3.3 billion of the $43ish billion backing USDC. Signature Bank was also shut down by regulators. https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2023/03/11/43-billion-nightmare-sudden-circle-depeg-could-be-about-to-crash-the-price-of-bitcoin-ethereum-bnb-xrp-cardano-dogecoin-polygon-and-solana
42. Unfortunately, the FDIC insurance limit is $250k. https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/brochures/deposits-at-a-glance/
43. The Feds were taking bids for anyone to acquire SVB until 2pm Eastern on Sunday. The big question on Sunday was whether the Feds will cover all uninsured depositors. They decided they will and that also applies to Signature Bank. https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2023/03/12/silicon-valley-bank-deposits/
44. Here’s the joint statement from Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1337
45. Yellen said NO to a bailout for SVB on Sunday. She’s obviously got bigger macro concerns. But, it’s funny how that fits perfectly with a strategy of suppressing stablecoins generally. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/janet-yellen-silicon-valley-bank-bailout-face-the-nation-interview-today-2023-03-12/
46. Here Caitlin Long explains the fundamental incompatibility between fast settling crypto and fractional reserve banking that caused all this. https://twitter.com/CaitlinLong_/status/1634573552790929409
47. CZ reminds us that he’s considered buying banks in the past and asks if it’s time yet. https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1634437834579800064
48. CIP-1694 has been updated. https://github.com/JaredCorduan/CIPs/blob/voltaire-v1/CIP-1694/README.md
49. Here’s a good rundown of all the changes in the CIP-1694 update. https://twitter.com/_KtorZ_/status/1635410495514759169
50. Apparently, Cardano NFTs will be going to space! https://twitter.com/RichardMcCrackn/status/1635438087592460288
51. Many in the crypto space think that Signature’s shutdown was just an extension of Operation Chokepoint 2.0 aimed at shuttering crypto banking. https://twitter.com/nic__carter/status/1635328056234766337
52. Rumors: regulators are calling every bank today and asking if they have exposure to crypto. https://twitter.com/wtogami/status/1635400774158290944
53. Instagram is disabling NFTs. https://twitter.com/nftnow/status/1635388411166224384
54. Cardano TVL is doing things. https://twitter.com/CryptoIRELAND1/status/1635694692556845060
55. Cardano NFTs in space! https://twitter.com/adamKDean/status/1635796768704319488
56. GPT4 was released today. It crushes the Bar Exam, the SAT, the GRE, the LSAT, and almost all AP subjects. This will displace a lot of human jobs. https://openai.com/research/gpt-4
57. It has already done amazing real world things. In Example #6 it shows you how to exploit an arbitrary ETH contract. Better pay attention crypto. https://twitter.com/LinusEkenstam/status/1635754587775967233
58. Report: Gov. Newsom failed to disclose accounts at SVB while lobbying White House and Treasury for a bailout of depositors. https://www.businessinsider.com/gavin-newsom-svb-biden-silicon-valley-bank-wineries-bailout-lobbying-2023-3
59. Things are not looking good at Credit Suisse. https://twitter.com/GRDecter/status/1635985735063855104
60. The court in the Voyager decision had some pretty harsh things to say about the SEC. https://www.nysb.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/312840_1170_opinion.pdf
61. Barney Frank points out that the regulators never claimed Signature Bank was insolvent and wonders if they are the first US bank to ever be closed down without being insolvent. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/03/barney-frank-says-more-shuttering-signature-bank.html
62. Charles dropped a video addressing the updates to the governance proposal. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1636151615894990851
63. Gensler reasserts his claims that proof-of-stake tokens are securities. https://www.theblock.co/post/220297/gensler-suggests-proof-of-stake-tokens-are-securities
64. Dudes are already letting GPT4 run whole startups. https://twitter.com/jacksonfall/status/1636107218859745286
65. Here’s an interesting theory: taking down Binance would create too big a hole, so they took down Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature to insulate the fiat world from crypto. Now they can take down Binance. https://twitter.com/BryceWeiner/status/1636055979870818305
66. The Army of Spies Channel is now TWO YEARS OLD (March 17)!
67. Yes! Everyone’s favorite Cardano cetacean is back! https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1636561122739331073
68. I was asked to list a few Irish whiskeys today. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1636548071541862401
69. An interesting exchange between a Senator and Janet Yellen regarding the effect of the bailouts on small banks. https://twitter.com/theemikehobart/status/1636494845144432643
70. Eleven other banks swoop in with $30 billion to save First Republic. https://www.npr.org/2023/03/16/1163958533/first-republic-bank-silicon-valley-bank-signature-bank-bank-run
71. Wut? https://twitter.com/WhaleChart/status/1636566421005017088
72. Here’s Raoul Pal with a very optimistic take for crypto if you are one who believes anyone understands the markets. https://twitter.com/RaoulGMI/status/1636547466299416576
73. Any buyer of signature bank must agree to give up its crypto business. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1636356199661850626
74. Here’s Duncan Coutts explaining P2P in Cardano. https://youtu.be/zOTfhcK-Wf4
75. Here’s a visual representation of how CIP-1694 works. https://twitter.com/Hornan7/status/1636381895541026817
76. This is one of the craziest things I’ve seen in crypto. Balaji is burning a few million to ring the fire alarm and make everyone aware of what he believes is an impending attack on dollar holders. Counterparty is guaranteed $1million (minus BTC price) if he just buys one additional BTC (or an option to purchase more). https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1636827051419389952
77. Here’s the Space where he explains his bet. https://twitter.com/Breedlove22/status/1637236255242219520
78. Arthur Hayes gives you an incredible explanation of what’s going on with this banking crisis and what he thinks comes next. https://cryptohayes.medium.com/kaiseki-b15230bdd09e
79. This is officially the worst regulatory approach ever. https://twitter.com/BillHughesDC/status/1636067729575690241
80. The SEC hide the ball game seems to conflict with how judges actually view the law. https://twitter.com/SGJohnsson/status/1636071530340728832
81. The Fed Quietly opened the swap lines with other central banks on Sunday night. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20230319a.htm
82. Here’s why they are opening the swap lines: so that US treasuries don’t get dumped on the open market by foreign banks. This way the foreign central banks can have dollars to absorb the treasuries from the foreign banks. https://twitter.com/CryptoHayes/status/1637620774776315904
83. Charles dropped a video on Markets and Contagion in which he revealed that Credit Suisse wouldn’t allow an account when he was with Ethereum b/c crypto was “too risky.” Bwahahahaha. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1637952165217185792
84. Apparently, Djed will also be on ETH and BSC? https://twitter.com/DjedStablecoin/status/1637871708823760902
85. Super ironic that the Credit Suisse CEO claimed crypto was in a bubble at $7k BTC. How the tables have turned. https://twitter.com/gaborgurbacs/status/1637783982271082496
86. Personalization is coming to ADA Handles. https://medium.com/ada-handle/personalization-101-6708ab692b29
87. Four million Cardano wallets. Nice milestone to cross! https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1638020286997213190
88. More aerostat activity out of World Mobile. This time in New Hampshire. https://twitter.com/WorldMobileTeam/status/1637926277905522689
89. You gotta admit. Balaji is genius at inventing new tag lines. First it was “We are all bitcoin maximalists now.” Today it’s “Fed around and find out.” https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1638349643854786560
90. Apparently, Sushi Swap DAO and its “Head Chef” just got served with an SEC subpoena and they’re asking the community for a $3 million defense fund (with potential for more). https://forum.sushi.com/t/establish-sushi-legal-defense-fund/11813
91. The crypto twitter meme response to the Sushi SEC subpoena was fast and brutal. https://twitter.com/trhistorianelt/status/1638231852619104256
92. People are now suggesting that no member of the Sushi Swap DAO should be in the US. https://twitter.com/tundra_v1/status/1638274785728929793
93. Very interesting rumors that projects are sitting on 2-300 SEC subpoenas and dozens of Wells Notices. https://coinpedia.org/ripple/xrp-price-have-the-xrp-bulls-and-whales-given-up-ahead-of-the-summary-judgment/
94. The IRS is asking for comments on NFTs as “collectibles” (apparently matters for long term capital gains and elsewhere). https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-23-27.pdf
95. Sebastian Nagel reports they have a Hydra head open on Cardano Mainnet. https://twitter.com/ch1bo_/status/1638599596782899205
96. Coinbase just revealed receipt of a Wells Notice. This means the SEC has concluded their investigation and they are (theoretically) inviting Coinbase to convince them otherwise before they file an enforcement action. Basically, the SEC has launched its full war against crypto. https://twitter.com/iampaulgrewal/status/1638660032324829184
97. Here’s the actual notice. https://assets.ctfassets.net/c5bd0wqjc7v0/6G5AjtDvRqRdiwlijKDSxE/f049398909914cb03646d0819d7a48d1/2023.03.22_Coinbase__Inc._Wells_notice.pdf
98. Brian Armstrong says the Wells Notice is focused on staking and asset listings. https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong/status/1638654192138199041
99. Kraken is also not having a great day. Operation Chokepoint 2.0! https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1638636382305546243
100. Report: The SEC is suing Justin Sun over TRX wash trading. Jake Paul and other celebrities are also being drug into the suit. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/22/tron-founder-justin-sun-sued-by-us-sec-on-securities-market-manipulation-charges/
101. Here’s the SEC vs. Justin Sun complaint. https://www.docdroid.net/owTRUU3/justin-pdf
102. The Fed chose to hike a quarter of a percent and softened guidance on future hikes. Here’s the redline. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1638616155022843904

~Army of Spies