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  • 10/23/24: Gambryan Is Free šŸ¦…šŸ’ŠšŸ“œ

10/23/24: Gambryan Is Free šŸ¦…šŸ’ŠšŸ“œ

Top News

  1. Nigeria drops charges and releases detained Binance exec

  2. Pump.Fun launches tokenized video memecoins

  3. Vitalik publishes pt. 4 of his Ethereum Roadmap on ā€œThe Vergeā€

Specsā€™ Insights

1. Nigeria drops charges and releases detained Binance exec

āŒā—Ŗ-ā—Ŗ ā†’ Gambaryan is FREE! Nigeria has officially dropped charges and released U.S. citizen and Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan. The man spent seven months in jail on alleged money laundering charges, which were ultimately dropped due to concerns over his deteriorating health. His condition had become so poor that he was at risk of permanent damage, potentially losing the ability to walk.

However, the case itself isnā€™t over. The court denied Gambaryanā€™s lawyerā€™s motion for acquittal, meaning the EFCC will continue its money laundering case against Binance. Gambaryan was clearly just a pawnā€”a means to pressure Binance through human leverage.

This whole saga underscores the need for decentralized solutions in global financial infrastructure. When thereā€™s a perceived single point of failure or control, bad actors will find ways to exploit it, using whatever or whoever they can. In a decentralized world (like Bitcoin), thereā€™s no central point of leverage to manipulateā€”like getting pulled over by a cop, but your car doesnā€™t have a steering wheel or pedals for them to seize control of.

I'm relieved Gambaryan is free and finally on his way home. That said, Iā€™m disappointed in the U.S. government for allowing a citizen to be held hostage and deteriorate for this long.

Up next, FREE ROSS!

2. Pump.Fun launches tokenized video memecoins

āŒā—Ŗ-ā—Ŗ ā†’ Video memecoins have arrived. Pump.Fun, the leading memecoin launcher, just released a new feature that lets users tokenize videos as the foundation for their memecoins. At first glance, this might seem simple, but itā€™s actually a smart move with the potential for profound cultural ripple effects.

Think about itā€”video clips and gifs are by far the most viral content format today. Theyā€™re not only more information-dense but also favored by all major social media platformsā€™ algorithms. I love roasting the speculative and gambling side of memecoins as much as anyone, but there's something culturally significant happening here.

Weā€™re moving toward a future where memecoinsā€”whether static images, videos, or something elseā€”become the canonical version of an idea, permanently etched in the blockchain, ready to capture attention and be monetized in new ways. If a microphone converts physical energy (sound waves) into electrical energy, then memecoins are a transducer that converts attention into monetary energy. And video memecoins will do this even more efficiently.

This reminds me of Telegramā€™s feature that lets creators monetize emojis and stickers, but with videosā€”almost like a GIPHY, but monetizable. Itā€™ll be interesting to see what old viral videos get retroactive memecoins issued from their original creators, much like what we saw with Nyan Cat and DOGE.

3. Vitalik publishes pt. 4 of his Ethereum Roadmap on ā€œThe Vergeā€

āŒā—Ŗ-ā—Ŗ ā†’ Vitalik is on a roll, with over 5 blog posts in under 30 days! His recent post is a continuation of his series: Possible Futures of the Ethereum Protocol. This one focuses on Phase 4 of the Ethereum Roadmap, The Verge.

In his blog post, Vitalik outlines the key purpose of The Verge: making fully verifying the chain so computationally affordable that every mobile wallet, browser wallet, and even smartwatch can do it by default. Itā€™s a pretty simple idea that, if achieved, could enable massive decentralizationā€”just think about the number of internet-connected devices in your house alone.

This isn't just about security; itā€™s about reshaping power dynamics in the blockchain ecosystem. The Verge could break down the last remaining barriers between the average person and true participation in the network. No more relying on large node operators or centralized validatorsā€”everyone with a smartwatch or a toaster (okay, maybe not toasters...yet) becomes a mini-validator.

But wait, thereā€™s more. Vitalik also discusses quantum resistance and whether Verkle trees are even the best technology here, as theyā€™re vulnerable to quantum computingā€”despite originally being the leading idea for stateless validation. So The Verge isnā€™t just about more nodes; itā€™s about long-term survival and resilience.

If Ethereum pulls this off, it wonā€™t just be the decentralized finance layer of the internetā€”it could become the backbone of a fully decentralized digital infrastructure where validation and security are as ubiquitous as WiFi.

Everything Else

ā›“ļø Crypto & DeFi

  • Peter Todd goes into hiding after HBO documentary

  • SUI integrates with Google Cloud for real-time blockchain data

  • Solana Elmnts launches tokenized mineral rights platform

  • SOL's Realms is under new management

  • XRP Ledger pushes into tokenized RWAs with $1B fund for data centers

  • Justin Sun might be good for Wrapped Bitcoin

šŸ¦ Wallstreet & VC

šŸ›ļø Legal & Regulatory

  • Rep. Khanna becomes 1st Democrat congressman to endorse BTC reserve

  • Gary Gensler approaches the end of his reign over U.S. crypto regulation

  • GameStop meme stock craze prompted SEC to change market plumbing

  • Tether CEO expects U.S. to catch up in crypto regulation

  • Bipartisan hope grows that crypto laws will pass before the year ends

  • Rep. French Hill remains hopeful for crypto legislation in 2024

šŸŒŽ Rest of the World

  • Buenos Aires adds ZK proofs to city app to boost residents' privacy

  • India considers banning Bitcoin and Ether in favor of CBDC

  • United Arab Emirates launches DAO framework in Free Zone

  • Metaplanet raises $66M through stock acquisition rights

  • South Korea regulations stipulate no memecoin listings for 2 years

šŸ–¼ļø NFTs & Metaverse

  • Valko and Farokh hosting CryptoPunks space today

  • Farcaster only generates $10k revenue so far in October

  • Marc Andreesen discusses $GOAT memecoin on podcast

  • Terminal of Truths is now worth $3.4M, with $1.4M in $GOAT

  • Azuki launches teaser for next anime episode

  • Pump.Fun nears 1M SOL in lifetime fees

  • Magic Eden adds support for BeraChain and ApeChain

  • Decentraland launches revamped virtual world with enhanced performance

  • Coinbase partners with NBA team GoldenState Warriors

  • Foundation rebrands to Rodeo to focus on social network

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