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- 10/24/24: Saylor Said What? 🤡🇩🇰🦄
10/24/24: Saylor Said What? 🤡🇩🇰🦄
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Specs’ Insights
1. Vitalik calls Michael Saylor’s self-custody comments ‘batshit insane’
I probably did more than most to spread the "mountain man" trope (btw I consider those remarks of mine outdated; snarks and AA changed the tradeoff space completely), and I'll happily say that I think @saylor's comments are batshit insane.
He seems to be explicitly arguing for a… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin)
11:57 PM • Oct 22, 2024
⌐◪-◪ → Vitalik just called Michael Saylor "batshit insane," here’s why. In a recent interview, Saylor spoke out against self-custody, claiming Bitcoin is held by "paranoid crypto-anarchists" who don’t understand government regulations or the actual risk of seizure.
He argued that the risk of seizure is lower when custody is provided by regulated public entities like Blackrock, Fidelity, or JPMorgan because lawmakers/politicians are invested in these platforms.
Basically, Saylor sold out. It’s a pretty sad day when one of Bitcoin’s biggest bulls throws away one of crypto’s core tenets (self-custody) just to shill his own bag, MicroStrategy. I mean, for fuck’s sake Saylor, it’s right in the title of the whitepaper: “A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.”
Bitcoin is the world’s first public digital payments infrastructure — a beautiful, powerful thing designed to restore power to the people. And now, Saylor is pushing for regulated custody.
Naturally, after getting roasted by the Bitcoin community, Saylor backpedaled and endorsed self-custody in a post on X.
Do you think we should forgive him? Let me know in Specs.Chat.
2. Denmark proposes 42% tax on unrealized crypto gains
BREAKING: 🇩🇰 Denmark considers taxing unrealised gains on #Bitcoin and crypto with a bill to be tabled in January.
— Bitcoin Archive (@BTC_Archive)
9:14 PM • Oct 23, 2024
⌐◪-◪ → This is theft. Denmark’s Minister of Taxation is proposing a 42% tax on unrealized capital gains on crypto. Yes, that means Danes would be taxed on value increases (and decreases) every year, even if they haven’t sold.
The bill will be formally proposed at the beginning of 2025 and could take effect January 1st, 2026, at the earliest. Taxes on unrealized gains are already unethical in my opinion, but this proposal is even worse — it specifically targets crypto. Why?
The whole thing reeks of nothing but greed and envy, and it makes me sick to my stomach. Hopefully, this doesn’t go through, but if it does, Denmark will quickly learn about the true power of self-custody.
Ultimately, they’re just shooting themselves in the foot and pushing what is arguably the most important technology of our time, blockchain, right out the door.
Have fun staying poor, Denmark.
3. Uniswap's integrates Across Protocol for native in-app bridging
Breaking chains 🦄 @Uniswap integrates Across for in-app bridging.
— Across (@AcrossProtocol)
3:10 PM • Oct 23, 2024
⌐◪-◪ → Your DeFi life just got a LOT easier. Uniswap just integrated Across Protocol, enabling native in-app bridging across 9 different networks. The feature is already live in the Uniswap interface and wallet, supporting native assets (ETH, ARB, OP), stablecoins, and wBTC.
This is a big deal because it turns what used to be a painful experience (bridging) into something as easy as making a swap — and as we all know, the future is cross-chain.
It's nice to see a company actually listen to its users. This was one of the most requested features in a Twitter poll earlier this year.
And it’s not just something people want; the demand is real. Over 6M Uniswap users are already trading across multiple chains.
It might seem like a small win, but in terms of UX — it’s huge. No more external (sketchy) bridges, just a single (familiar) interface and lightning-fast transactions.
Basically, Uniswap just abstracted away bridging.
Everything Else
⛓️ Crypto & DeFi
Scroll’s token down 32% as whales scoop up airdrop
Solana price hits new record versus Ethereum
Ripple CEO Garlinghouse predicts a crypto 'reset' after US election
zkLink postpones its token vesting ahead of planned launches
Midas launches yield-bearing wrapped Bitcoin token with 4% yield
Character AI imposes new safety rules after a teen user commits suicide
🏦 Wallstreet & VC
US elections could trigger a 'Minsky moment' bond market crash, says analyst
Bernstein analysts think $200k Bitcoin by 2025 is conservative
Bitcoin miners pivot to AI to survive, Core Scientific ahead of the game
TeraWulf to raise $350M through convertible notes for share buybacks
Amity Ventures leads $3M pre-seed round for Borderless
Bitkraft Ventures backs $9M round for Party Icons
🏛️ Legal & Regulatory
Ripple faces SEC heat after missing court deadline
The Fed is the wrong regulator for stablecoins, Coindesk opinion
Binance launches GOATUSDT perpetual contract with 75x leverage
Blockchain.com execs face scrutiny for not filing accounts in the UK
🌎 Rest of the World
🖼️ NFTs & Metaverse
Pudgy Penguins expands toys to 2,000 Walgreens locations
Ubisoft releases its first original NFT game "Champions Tactics"
‘Tomarket’ reveals airdrop details as Telegram game tops 40M players
Pump.Fun’s new video feature wrongfully used to upload child abuse videos